AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She opened her eyes and realized that he’d moved onto the platform and was now crouching in front of her chair. She put her hand on his shoulder. She wanted to let him make it right, but she was torn. Should she just make her confession now? Would it come out? She was pretty sure that Bonnie aka Cora wasn’t going to spill it, but if this afternoon had proven anything, it was that secrets had a way of coming out of the shadows.
“It’s okay,” she said, touching his cheek and feeling the stubble underneath her palm.
He turned his head and kissed her before standing and taking the chair next to hers. “It’s not okay. I’m sorry I didn’t know about Nick or even that Bonnie had been pregnant. What kind of man was I?”
She reached out for one of the snifters. “A selfish asshole.”
“Agreed. I hate that I hurt you twice with this same indiscretion. You know I’ve changed.”
“I do know,” she admitted. “It’s not for me to forgive. As you said, this indiscretion is something we covered a long time ago. The kids are going to struggle. Especially Logan, as he hates the Williamses as much as you do.”
Auggie took a sip of his brandy, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. And as she looked at him, she saw what she’d missed earlier: the strain around his eyes. He was taking this hard. Harder than she’d seen him take any news they’d ever received.
“Are you okay?”
He shook his head. “I have a son I didn’t know about. I’ve been in meeting rooms with him over the years and never recognized him...how could I not have?”
Juliette reached over and took his hand in hers, squeezing it. “You weren’t looking for a son. You were looking at a rival, so that’s what you saw.”
He lifted her hand to his mouth, his lips brushing her knuckles. “I really did hit the jackpot when I met you, Jules. I know I haven’t always acted like it, but you are the greatest treasure of my life.”
She couldn’t stop the tears that fell when he said that. He put his snifter down and lifted her onto his lap, holding her and apologizing. But she knew the tears weren’t for what he’d done but for whatshe’ddone and the impact it was going to have on her family and this man she loved.
Quinn’s rented house was two streets over from his gran’s place. As they walked, Logan held her hand and they both took sips from the bottle of Jack. Most of the homes were dark but he could hear the sounds of music and laughter from the backyards. It was a quiet kind of night in this tranquil setting.
Usually being on Nantucket made his skin feel too tight. He wasn’t a downtime guy and this trip wasn’t really any different. Quinn didn’t say much as they walked and she’d kept his shirt on over her dress. He wanted to say something that would make this seem like it was something more than a hookup. His mom always said to be honest and shoot straight.
“What are you thinking?” Quinn asked. “You keep looking over at me as if you want to say something.”
“I do. But I’m not sure how to say it,” he admitted. As with all deep truths, it was hard to actually voice.
“Then just say it.”
He smiled. “My mom would say the same thing.”
“Your mom has given you advice on women?”
“Inadvertently. You know today wasn’t the first time we’ve had to confront my dad’s infidelities. One time when I was about ten, I thought they were going to break up for good. She was so pissed. She cries when she’s mad. She was in the garden deadheading plants and Dare and Leo and I went out to help. She turned to the three of us, with those wilted flowers in her gloved hand and tears in her eyes, and said, ‘Don’t lie. Never lie to a woman you love because that just makes the truth hurt that much more.’ I didn’t have a clue what she was talking about.”
“So what are you trying not to lie to me about?” Quinn asked, cutting to the point in that blunt way of hers. Had the magic of the evening faded for her? He was still drifting in the summer evening in a haze of whiskey and regret that he’d ruined their cuddle on the beach.
“Nothing. I don’t want to lie about anything. I think we both know that hooking up wasn’t what either of us planned, but it feels like more than a hookup to me,” he said. Damn, why was he talking so much? He should stop drinking. He saw a trash can near the sidewalk and walked over to throw away the bottle.
“It wasn’t what I planned,” she admitted. “But I don’t regret it or I wouldn’t have asked you back here. I know you’re not in a good place, Logan. I’d have to be an idiot to read this any other way than we were hot for each other and you needed a distraction.”
A distraction.
“No. I mean yes, but you are not just a distraction,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck as if that would make things clearer.
She opened the door to the cottage she’d rented and they stepped inside.
He leaned back against the door as he closed it. “I wish we’d done this a few weeks ago. Before...” He stopped himself. Before what? Before he’d set about undercutting his rival who also happened to be marrying into his extended family? No. What he’d meant was before he’d become this guy. The man he was today, who never let anyone get the better of him. He wished...stuff hadn’t happened. That somehow he’d have been different in college so that the two of them would have—No, that wasn’t it either. He wouldn’t change the man he was for anything. He knew that.
“Hey,” Quinn said. She stood on the natural woven runner just watching him. “Let’s just not lie when it comes up. I want to spend the night with you because I know this is it. You and me are never doing this again, so I want to get every second with you until the sun comes up. What do you want?”
He stared at her. Wondered how he’d ever been lucky enough to call her his, and knew that he wanted that exact same thing. She was the oasis in the crazy that was his family and this wedding of the year.
“The same. And maybe a shower. I have sand in places that it isn’t meant to be.”
