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“That’s hilarious. Good to know you still want me to meet your mom,” Quinn teases me. “But seriously, I’d love to go over there for dinner. Just let me know what time to be ready.”
“Will do. What are you up to today?”
“Painting. I’ve gotten so behind since we started renovating the store. Plus, it doesn’t take much brainpower, and hungover painting usually results in some interesting pieces. You’re going into the station today, right?”
“Yeah, I’ve got some paperwork to catch up on myself. Shouldn’t be but a few hours though.”
She nods her head and holds her hand out for me to grab it. “Come shower with me, and then we can get on with our days.” I grab her hand and pull her up the stairs as fast as I can, making her laugh all the way up.
* * *
Walking into the police station,it’s relatively quiet. Saturday afternoons don’t tend to bring too much trouble. Anything from Friday night has usually been taken care of, and it’s still too early for anything crazy to have happened.
I walk through the main doors and into my office. The piles of paperwork have me sighing, and I haven’t even started. Putting it off for a moment longer, I walk down the hall and into the bullpen to see if any of the guys are around.
“What are you doing here?” I ask Rachel, who’s standing by the whiteboard with the investigation photos up.
“Oh, hey there,” she says, slowly turning around. “I had some stuff I didn’t get to yesterday. This is pretty horrible, huh?” She jabs her thumb over her shoulder, pointing to the board.
“It is. We’ll get our guy though, don’t worry.”
“Oh, I’m not,” she says with a small smile. “What are you doing here on a Saturday?”
“The same as you. Trying to catch up on all of the stuff I’ve gotten behind on these past couple of weeks,” I tell her. She nods her head in understanding.
“How’s Quinn?”
“Amazing,” I say. I can’t keep the grin off my face. “She’s heading up the new art gallery for Trish. The opening day is a couple of weeks away. You should definitely come. You don’t have to buy anything, but there will be appetizers and drinks and stuff.”
“Sounds interesting. I’ll see if I can be there. Well, I better get back to it. Let me know if you need anything since we’re both here.”
“Will do. I may send an email if there’s anything I need you to file. It’s been so long I’m not sure what I even have on my desk right now.”
Rachel laughs and nods her head as she walks out of the bullpen and back to her office, which is little more than a cubical. I blow out a deep breath and slowly make my way back to my office. I shouldn’t complain, but this is the part of my job I hate the most.
I sit down at my desk as a ding from my phone signals a text.
Quinn:If you hurry up, you can make it in time to help me clean up.
Me:Typing furiously as we speak. Wait for me.
Smiling to myself, I get to work and do my absolute best to get done as quickly as possible.
31
QUINN
Ilook in the full-length mirror on my bathroom door for the umpteenth time, trying to decide if this is the right outfit for dinner with Cooper’s parents. I have on the white dress I bought at Trish’s when Hailey and I went shopping. Maroon flowers flow across the dress and it’s fitted at the waist. It comes down to my ankles, but with the t-shirt style sleeves, it’s pretty casual.
I’m worried it’s either too casual or not casual enough. Really, I’m just nervous about meeting Cooper’s parents in general. When we were first introduced at the grocery store, Cooper got us out of there so quickly, I didn’t have time to properly meet her. Which, at the time, was hilarious, but now, I wish I could’ve spent a few more minutes with her to get a feel for how this is going to go.
I’ve never met someone’s family before. I’ve never let a relationship get far enough to warrant meeting the family, so I am completely out of my wheelhouse. I don’t know what the protocols are for this situation because it’s not something I’ve ever experienced.
I’m in love with their son, and there’s a lot of comfort in knowing that Cooper loves me back, but what if I’m an embarrassment to him? What if I say or do something idiotic? Worse still, what if his parents aren’t impressed with me? They could think I’m some wandering, goalless tramp who will bring their beautiful son down into the muck.
Okay, that was a bit harsh. I shake my head because even I recognize that isn’t going to happen, but they could still be unimpressed with my life goals. I had this amazing career that I was insanely good at, and I threw it all away. My mom’s words ring through my head,“Aren’t you going to practice again? You can’t live like a bum forever.”Is she right? Am I a bum because I’m not using the degree I worked so hard for?
Ugh, I hate that I let myself do this. Just because I am not following the exact plan laid out before me by my parents doesn’t mean I am a flighty, insignificant child. I do have goals and dreams for my life, they just aren’t what my parents would deem acceptable.
