AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her eyes widen and then fill with tears. “You do?”
I nod. “Zero doubt about it. Someone once told me that the definition of love was caring about someone else more than you care about yourself. And when I ask myself who I care more about, it’s an absolute no-brainer. It’s unequivocally you.”
“Oh, my God. I’ve never had anyone say anythin’ so sweet to me in my whole life!” She stands on tiptoe, puts her hand on my stubbly cheek, and stares into my eyes. “I love you, too, Lincoln Silverstone. And you know why that’s kinda weird?”
Her declaration makes my heart sing, but now I’m confused. “Why?”
“Because I don’t even know your middle name. Or your birthday. Or what your favorite color is, or your favorite food. I haven’t met your family, well, except for your brother and cousin of course, and I don’t even know if you have any hobbies.”
“Andrew, blue, pizza, you can meet my parents at the picnic, and I don’t have hobbies except stalking the stock market. There. Your turn.”
She laughs. “You are too damn cute, you know that?”
“Come on, spill the beans,” I try in a poor attempt at a Southern accent.
“Renee, red, also pizza, you’ll meet my family in Mobile, and I like to go mountain biking and read smutty novels in my spare time. But you already knew that last part.”
“Yes, I did. Ooh. Maybe a smutty novel will get you there, huh? We can play an audiobook while I eat your pussy.”
She shrugs. “I’m game for anything.”
“Later,” I say, grabbing her hand. “I’m gonna cook for you.”
Meow.
We look to see Kitty sitting there, her tail curled around her feet.Meow.
“She’s probably wondering why you aren’t paying attention to her,” Quinn says, walking over and picking up the cat. She immediately starts to purr and rubs her head on Quinn’s shoulder.
I shake my head and follow them into the kitchen. She sits on a barstool with the cat curled up in her lap while I get a wine glass down from the cabinet, setting it in front of her. “Red or white?”
“Red,” she replies, petting Kitty while the little thing purrs like an engine.
“Be right back,” I say, heading down to the basement I’ve converted into a huge wine cellar. I select a sweet red and bring it back up to find her talking to the cat.
“You need to be nicer to your daddy. The world does not revolve around you, miss thing.”
Meow.
“Oh, yes, it does,” I say, chuckling as I open the wine and let it breathe for a few seconds. I pour just a splash in the glass and swirl it around. “Taste that.”
She swallows it back. “Great. Now, fill ’er up.”
I laugh and fill the glass to almost full. “I just wanted to make sure you liked it before I served it.”
“Wine is wine. I ain’t no wine snob.” She takes a big gulp. “But this is really good. What is it?”
I show her the bottle. “I got it in California. Napa Valley.”
“Oh, was that a nice place to visit? I’ve never been to Cali.”
“I’ll take you sometime,” I promise, my chest warm at the thought of making future plans with her. With Quinn. The first and last woman I will ever love.
I pull out pasta and sauce and set about making dinner. We chat about everything and nothing, and the scene is so normal that I love it and hope to spend the rest of my life this happy and relaxed.
Twenty-Six
Quinn
