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Their hands are up, their voices going high. “He’ll kick the crap out of us. We got it.”
Leaning in between them, she purrs, “He won’t.But I will.”
They go white as a sheet, mumbling their understanding as they back off their stools, leaving George and me alone in the shop. She rounds the counter and steps into my arms, clinging to me in a way that feels so complete and right, I have to swallow down the emotion it stirs.
“How did it go?” she asks, peering up at me with concern in her eyes.
I run a hand over her hair and take a long breath. “Rough. I mean, I had a pretty good idea what I was going to hear, but he kind of lost it at the end.” I’m glad she wasn’t there.
“I’m sorry, Quinn. I know that has to hurt.”
Cradling her cheek in my palm, I tip her head back so she can see my eyes. “What hurts is knowing how muchI hurt you. And knowing that I’ll never be able to get back that day we had together.”
She blinks and pinches her lips between her teeth.
“What?”
Her eyes shift to the counter still covered in powdered sugar and crumbs. “Are there any more of those bars back at your place?”
I let out a short laugh that feels damn good after everything else today. “There’s one, and it’s yours if you come back with me.”
“Deal. Let me close things up down here and we can go.”
Ten minutes later, George and I head upstairs to grab a few things from her room—a few more than required for one night, and I’m smiling bigger than I was when I got called up for the draft. She threatens her brothers within an inch of their lives about cleaning up the mess in the shop and then we’re heading back to my place.
When we get into my apartment, I take her hand. “Georgeous, I’ve been thinking. Maybe we shouldn’t move in together yet. I feel like I’ve disrespected your dad and family so much already. Maybe we ought to wait for the wedding.”
She coughs, those honey-browns meeting mine. “The wedding?”
“Yeah. The wedding.” I tug her into me, loving the feel of her body against mine. “You got a problem with that?”
I know from the spread of her smile what her answer is before she says it. “No, no problem at all.”
Good. I’d wait for her forever if that’s what it took. But I’d rather get my ring on her finger and make her mine in every way as soon as humanly possible. “I’m betting we could pull one off within a month. But again, I don’t want to piss your dad off any more than I already have. You think two is enough?”
“I think you’re crazy. And I love you. And we can figure out the wedding plans later. But also I don’t think you’re going to have the trouble with my dad you’re worried about.”
I flash back to the look of sheer terror in her eyes as she told me,he will kill you. “Okay.”
“And you’re invited to his house for dinner on Friday. He… um… already checked your game schedule.”
“Great.” Damn, I thought I’d have more than two days with this woman before going into the light. But if that’s what I get, it’s what I get.
“How about that lemon bar?” I start for the kitchen, but she takes my hand and pulls me back toward the living room instead.
“Later. We’ll share it. But let’s sit a minute first.”
I ease into the corner of the couch and George pulls her phone out before tucking in beneath my arm. “You know, the reason we didn’t exchange numbers was because you’d dropped your phone in the pool or something.”
“Of all the shit to remember, I do remember that.”
She cuddles closer. “So there was only one phone between us. But you kept taking it.”
I look at her, my heart starting to thud. “Georgie, do you have pictures?”
“A couple.” She bites her lip and looks up at me. “I used to hate myself for not being able to throw this away. For holding on to something I didn’t think was real. But now I’m glad I did.”
Swiping her phone to life, she clicks on a video clip with palm trees in the background. And my heart nearly stops, because there she is. Georgie, my Georgie, but years younger, her wavy red hair streaming halfway down her back. Her younger self looks back at me, laughing.
