Page 24 of What Love Can Do

“My mother’s family stopped speaking to her,” Quinn said. “An abysmal thing to do, if you ask me.”

“Maybe there was a reason they did that,” Lilly muttered, lifting one shoulder in knowing indifference.

Did she really just…?

“What good reason could there be, Lil?” Quinn was surprised she would defend his grandfather—all the Phillipses—that way. “What good reason would make a town, your sisters, your parents stop talking to you? It’s not like she murdered anyone, for feck’s sake. Ah, be gone with it. I thought you’d be more understanding.” He didn’t know why, but Quinn felt desperately irked right now. What business did Lilly have saying maybe there was good reason for his mam’s family to stop communicating with her? Like she knew anything. “Anyway, I need to get dressed and ready for the day.” He went back to looking for his shoes and fishing out a pair of socks from his open suitcase.

Lilly brought her hands to her reddened face. “Oh, Quinn, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what on Earth came over me. I’m just…” She sank into the armchair by the window and sighed desperately. “Stressed.”

Watching her, he dropped his guard slowly. Maybe she was feeling negative after-effects after being with him last night. Maybe she had learned about his mam through the proverbial grapevine and needed to hear the other side of the story. Either way, she really hadn’t meant to be offensive or hurtful.

“You know,” Quinn said, sinking onto the edge of the bed, “I only came to Forestville, because I wanted to see where my mam grew up, where she roller skated, the bridge where she dangled her feet, the people who helped shape her life. I didn’t expect to get judged for it, at least not by anyone who wasn’t my own family. But it seems like that’s what’s happening and I have no idea why. My brothers and I knew her like no one else, and yet we didn’t know her at all. I feel tremendous guilt for that, Lil. Knowing my first love, the queen of my heart, is gone, and I can’t ask her questions anymore. I just get these pieces left behind that I have to put together myself.” Quinn plucked his shoes from beside the bed and started putting them on, sock, sock, then shoe, shoe.

Lilly’s gentle hand fell on his shoulder, and his brain suddenly recognized the scent of her skin, and his body came alive the moment she touched him. Memories from last night swarmed into his brain—her naked belly, the one little beauty spot above her navel, her eyes as she was climaxing, the way she arched her back, and her fluttering lashes. “Quinn, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. I only meant that there are two sides to every story.”

“Three, actually. Two sides and the truth,” Quinn clarified. “Did you ask your mam about her? Is that why you seem different today? Because listen, I want you to know, as much as I love my mam, as wonderful a person as I know she is and will never be convinced otherwise, and as much as I want to get to know more about my mam by being here, I’m not her. I’m my own person.”

“And I get that. I do, because I’m my own person too, Quinn.” She crouched and stared into his eyes. Her fingers curled around his. “And I didn’t approach my mother, but she said…” She paused, choosing her words carefully.

“Said what?”

She sighed. “She said your mother hurt a lot of people when she left.” Releasing his hand, she lifted her fingers and grazed his chin, played with the stubble there, as she tried on a smile for the first time since coming into his room. “But it doesn’t matter, because I like you. Tons. What I should have said first was that I really had a great time last night. Thank you for the flowers.”

“They were your flowers,” he said, even though part of him wanted to ask her more questions about what her mam had said about his mam. But it was a subject that obviously troubled Lilly and besides, he already knew his mother’s family had felt betrayed by her leaving.

“Yes, but no one has ever given me any before.”

“No one has given you flowers?” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. How could such an amazing, gorgeous, smart woman never have received flowers before? What was wrong with American men? Did they not have eyeballs?

“No. I’ve only had one serious boyfriend before, and he wasn’t too charming,” she said with a caustic scoff. “But you—God, I know we said it would only be one night, but…”

“But?” He helped her to a standing position, forearms resting on each other, staring into each other’s pained eyes.

“But I really want to spend more time with you. Even if it’s just for a short while. Can you handle that?” A small dimple in her lower cheek appeared when she was uncertain, he noticed. He wanted desperately to kiss it.

Tapping the dimpled spot, he smiled. “I think so. Want to have fun as long as we can? Is that the idea?” Actually, that sounded good to him. After last night, he knew that one time seeing her naked wasn’t going to be enough.

“Yes.” She sighed and leaned into him, pressing her full breasts against his chest. Her arms snaked around his torso. She was warm and smelled like vanilla. “Do you have anywhere to go? Am I distracting you from leaving?”

Her soft breath warmed his chin, and he lowered his face to bite her bottom lip softly. “No, am I distracting you from getting back to work?”

“No. Is your brother going to come back any moment now?”

“I don’t know. But guess what? I don’t care.”

“I don’t care either.” They fell onto the bed and melted into a hot, sweet long kiss. Her delicate hands explored his hard body and she nudged his shoes off with her feet. “I’ve always wanted to see how comfortable these beds were,” she said, leaning against his pillow and pulling Quinn down on top of her.

He was already excited from just kissing. This was what she did to him. He wanted her, but he had to be careful. Don’t fall in love, he thought, even as he kissed her intoxicating lips and pale neck, removing her apron and shirt to reveal soft white skin, aching breasts yearning against his hands, and her pounding heart. Don’t do it, he mentally repeated for good measure, even as part of him acknowledged it might already be too late.

Ten

No, Lilly shouldn’t have given in.

Yes, she was supposed to only talk to him.

She had reminded herself over and over while heading to his room that they were not to end up in bed again, but the more she listened to Quinn talk about his mother, Maggie, the more his eyes glistened, the more he read aloud from her diary, the more Lilly felt drawn to him. For a moment there, she’d almost told him that Maggie Phillips had been responsible for the breakup of her parents in the early days, but she’d used every ounce of her soul not to. This man was mourning the loss of his mother. Last thing she wanted to do was tarnish any sparkling thoughts he had of her.

Mom might drive her crazy every now and then, but at least she still had her around. Quinn had lost his forever. Watching him defend his mother, Lilly realized that his heart brimmed with soul, with love. He was a mama’s boy, a mother’s firstborn, and he missed her.