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“I knew it,” Ava said with glee. “Awesome.” She apparently got a good look at my face, and her smile disappeared. “Not awesome?”
I leaned my forehead into my hand and rubbed it, trying to find words. Despite being a guy who made a living off them, I was sure as hell struggling now.
“She’s too attached?” Ava guessed when I didn’t say anything.
I shook my head. A half grin popped out. “Quincy’s pretty carefree.” More carefree than I’d ever be. “We set boundaries, and she respects them.”
“Areyouhaving a hard time with boundaries?”
“Nope,” I said quickly. “We agreed it ends when she goes to school.”
Ava studied me. “Did you grow feelings?”
Shit, this conversation had gotten uncomfortable fast.
“I care about her,” I said. “It’s impossible not to care about Quincy.”
“Yeah, I can see that. She seems like an awesome girl. Caring, dedicated, funny. Cute.” She emphasized the last word.
I couldn’t argue with any of that.
“You don’t seem like you’re happy,” Ava said.
“I’m not unhappy. Just…worried, I guess.”
“What are you worried about?”
“It’s…probably a mistake. The longer it goes on, the more we could start to care. The more we start to care, the more someone gets hurt.”
“What if you took away the end date?”
I shook my head. “That’s the only thing making it okay. Keeping it temporary.” I folded my hands together and leaned my forehead on them. “I’m forty-two, Ava. She’s in her twenties and about to go to college. She has her whole life ahead of her, her whole future. She’s going to be a teacher.” I cracked a grin, thinking about how good she’d be. “It wouldn’t be right for me to plan a future with her. She needs to go into the education program with no ties, nothing holding her back. Hertwenties, Ava. When I was in my twenties, bars and friends were just as important as books and tests. If she drove home to Dragonfly every weekend to see me and Juniper, she’d miss out on college life. That stuff is important.”
Ava looked thoughtful as she nodded. “It is. I get it. You’re in homeowner and fatherhood mode. She’s in English 101 and frat-party mode.”
“Exactly.”
“Are you thinking you should put an end to the fling sooner rather than later?”
The thought of having Quincy under my roof but not in my bed… I didn’t like that thought. At all. “Do you think I should?”
“I think that’s entirely up to you. Would it make anything better?”
It’d make everything downright shitty and awkward. I shook my head.
“There’s your answer then, Mr. Romance. Keep on romancing until your deadline. Respect the boundaries. You’ll miss her when she’s gone, but you knew what you were getting into from the beginning.”
And that was the bitch of it. I’d known, at least on some level, and I’d done it anyway.
I had a feeling I’d pay for it later in the form of missing Quincy like crazy, but I’d get through it.
CHAPTER29
QUINCY
The Sunday before Thanksgiving, I dashed through a light rain into Henry’s as soon as they opened for brunch. I glanced around for Cynthia, but she wasn’t here yet. Not surprising since we weren’t supposed to meet for another few minutes.
“Quincy,” Arielle sang out as I walked inside.
