Ready or Not Page 6

  “So, how did this happen? Just yesterday you said he couldn’t stand you. It didn’t much look like that to me.”

  Brianna laughed. “I can imagine what it looked like.” She shook her head, still not believing Kayla had caught them in bed together. “He asked me to dance at the wedding. One thing led to another, and well, we ended up here.”

  Kayla threw her a cheeky grin. “That has to be the CliffsNotes version. Come on, I want details.”

  “Well, you’re not getting any. It’s private.” Time to change the subject. “Besides, he’s gonna be down any minute. I don’t want him to catch us talking about him. His ego’s plenty big enough.”

  Kayla waggled her eyebrows. “Can’t blame him. The guy does look mighty hot in a sheet.”

  Quinn sailed into the room, still buttoning his shirt. “You think so?”

  Brianna tossed him a disbelieving glance. “What, and you don’t?”

  Quinn’s lascivious leer had her chuckling. “Well, maybe after last night I think you think I do. At least a little bit.”

  Brianna grabbed the tea towel off the counter and flung it at his head. “See, I was right about your ego. The last thing it needs is to be fed.”

  “Speaking of being fed, is there any chance you could spare some cereal? Or coffee? Please?”

  Quinn’s pitifully hopeful look was more than she could resist. Rolling her eyes, she turned to put a pot of coffee on. “Yes, to both. I hope you like cornflakes.”

  Kayla started grabbing bowls and utensils, setting them on the table. “Yeah, I ate the last of the raisin bran yesterday.”

  “Cornflakes are perfect. What can I do to help?”

  Brianna waved him into a chair. “Sit down and stay out of the way. This kitchen is too small for all of us to be moving around in it. Especially a big galoot like you.”

  “Maybe I should take offense at that. Are you insinuating I’m clumsy?”

  “No, just big and in the way.”

  Kayla giggled. “Just do as she says, Quinn. It’s the easiest way.”

  Quinn grinned and parked himself in the chair Brianna had indicated. “I know when I’m outgunned.”

  An hour later, Brianna couldn’t get over it. Breakfast had gone really well. Quinn fit in with Kayla and her far better than she would ever have imagined. Not that she’d ever pictured anything of the kind. Hell, two days ago she couldn’t even picture having a lengthy conversation with him, and now he’d not only joined them for breakfast, which was mind-boggling enough, but she’d had sex with him, too.

  Bloody-amazing, mega-incredible, super-duper sex at that.

  Yep, this was definitely a banner day for Brianna Michaels.

  After the last of the coffee had been polished off, Kayla started to stack dishes in the sink.

  Quinn got up and stopped her. “Leave it. I’ll help Brianna clean up in here.”

  Kayla cast her a questioning look and Brianna nodded. “Yeah, go and start scoping out the paper for the yard sales you want to check out. We’ll get a late start, but maybe we’ll find some fun stuff anyway.”

  “Sure thing. It was nice meeting you, Quinn.”

  He smiled. “Same here.”

  They watched her grab the paper off the hall table and head upstairs to her room.

  “She’s a great kid.”

  “Don’t let her hear you call her a kid. But yeah, she’s the best.”

  “How long since you’ve been raising her on your own?”

  She started filling the sink with water. “About six years.”

  He nodded. “You’ve done a great job with her.”

  “The hard part was already done by our parents. I just kept up the rules and standards they’d already set with her. They were the same ones they’d set for me, so it was easy to know what they were.”

  He picked up the tea towel and started drying a mug. “Still, you’ve had to make a lot of sacrifices to take care of her.”

  Was it a sacrifice? She thought of how much they’d helped each other through the loss of their parents, and all the subsequent trials that had followed, and she didn’t think it was a sacrifice at all. It was a blessing. “Depends on what you consider a sacrifice, I guess.”

  “You had to put your own life on hold, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, but that was only temporary. My dreams are still there, and now that she’s going to university soon, I can start pursuing them again. So really, it was only a small delay.”

  He nodded and didn’t say anything more while he thoughtfully dried a bowl.

  Brianna watched him out of the corner of her eye, wondering what was running through his head. The simple fact that she was standing here talking to him at all was unbelievable. In fact, this whole morning was surreal. Had anyone asked her, she would have expected him to scurry out of the house as soon as he was dressed, but instead he’d sat there like he did this every Sunday morning with them.

  “Brianna, I’m not sure where this relationship of ours is going.”

  Ah, here it comes, the big kiss-off. Best to play stupid. Let him spell out what’s on his mind. “What do you mean?”

  “You and I, we’re so different. Don’t get me wrong, I like you, but where can this go?”

  “Does it have to go anywhere?”

  He sighed. “Maybe not for you, but I’m looking for more than just a fling and I just can’t see a future for us.”

  What the hell did that mean? “Don’t you think it’s kind of early to be talking about any of this?”

  She pulled the sink plug and watched the water drain out, not wanting to make eye contact with Quinn. Even though she’d pretty much expected him to do this, it still really hurt.

  “Well, that’s the thing. I don’t see any future for us. We’re too different. I have a reputation to uphold, especially in connection with my job, and you, well you’re…”

  She speared him with a look. “I’m what? A flake? That’s what you told Steve, isn’t it?”

  Satisfaction shot through her at the surprise that flashed across Quinn’s face. “I didn’t think he’d tell you about that. But I guess it doesn’t really matter. It’s the truth. We’re complete opposites, and totally unsuited.”

  What a complete jerk. He barely knew her. Had based his opinions on circumstantial evidence at best, and he called himself a lawyer? “I think you’d better leave.”

  “You know I’m right.”

  “What I know is that this conversation is over. Don’t let the door hit you on your way out.”

  Quinn studied her for a minute, then placed the tea towel down on the counter. “This is for the best.”

  “You’re right, it is. I don’t waste my time on hypocritical jerks. Good thing I never bothered to give you my phone number ’cause now I don’t have to tell you never to call me.”

  He didn’t comment. Simply nodded, then turned and left.

  Minutes later she still hadn’t moved. Just stared at the spot where he’d disappeared through the front door. She sighed. Big hunky Quinn was gone.

  The stupid jerk.

  Emotions churned through her in a confused jumble. She couldn’t decide exactly how she felt. Of course, she was angry, but more than that was swirling around inside of her. Anger, hurt, incredulity, inevitability, and even relief. Talk about being conflicted.

  The relief part surprised her though. While she really didn’t want to get into a serious relationship right now, the truth was, for Quinn she would have made an exception. Sure, she was looking forward to being free to go after some of the things she’d put on hold to take care of Kayla. But despite all that, last night had been more than just sex for her. What exactly it was she wasn’t quite sure, but it definitely didn’t fall into the fling category.

  Since she’d gotten up this morning, she’d wondered what it had been for Quinn, and now she supposed she knew. He wasn’t interested in anything more than a fling with her. She obviously wasn’t up to
his high standards. Never had been. It served her right for letting things go this far. She’d always known he didn’t approve of her, so what did she expect?

  An unaccustomed feeling of panic washed over her, and her heart twisted as fear settled into its depths.

  Shit! What the hell had she let herself in for this time? She was very much afraid it was nothing but a whole pile of heartache.

  * * *

  Quinn felt like a total shit.

  As well he should. He was a total shit.

  The moment he’d realized he was in trouble was when his mind kept straying from the baseball game playing out on the TV in front of him, to the disappointed look on Brianna’s face. He’d let her down in a very basic way and he couldn’t believe how much that bothered him.

  “Earth to Quinn. Anybody in there?”

  Mark waved his hand back and forth in front of Quinn’s eyes. How long had he been doing that? He shoved Mark’s hand away. “What?”

  “They just made a home run and you didn’t even blink. I was worried you’d died or something.”

  “Very funny. I’ve got a lot on my mind, is all.”

  Mark sat back on the couch. “It must be something pretty big. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything distract you from a game.”

  Quinn grabbed the bowl of chips away from his brother. “You’re making a big deal out of nothing.” If you could call Brianna nothing. She was probably the biggest something he’d come up against in his life.

  And therein lay the problem. She was definitely the wrong something for him. He’d gone down that road and didn’t have any intention of going down it again. “Just watch the game. You’re staring at me like I’m some kind of monster from the deep.”

  “It’s Brianna, isn’t it?”

  Quinn scowled.

  “I knew it! You’ve been acting weird ever since she did the stripping act on Friday. And don’t give me that look. I saw you take her outside to dance at the wedding.”

  “It was just a dance.”

  Mark laughed. “Yeah, that must be why I saw the two of you practically running out to the parking lot afterwards. Because it was just a dance.”

  Quinn took a swig of beer. “You’re making too much of it.”

  “You don’t fool me one bit. I’ve known you my whole life and I can read you like a book.”

  “Would ya drop it, already?”

  Mark set down his beer. “This is worse than I thought. You really like Brianna a lot, don’t you?”

  Quinn snapped. “And what if I do? It’s not a crime. It’s also none of your business. Besides, it’s never going to come to anything.”

  “Why not?”

  “She’s not my type.”

  “Bullshit! She’s exactly your type. Always has been.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Now let it go.”

  Mark shook his head. “You’ve always called Brianna a flake. The only other woman I’ve known you to call a flake was Celia.”

  “Don’t drag up ancient history.”

  “I wouldn’t if it was ancient history. You’re letting what Celia did to you color your opinion of Brianna.”

  “Well, they’re both the same unreliable type.”

  “That’s just it, they’re not.”

  Quinn leapt off the couch and started pacing. “Women like Celia and Brianna will make you fall in love with them, and then dump you when the going gets tough. Who needs it? I want someone reliable. Someone who’ll stick around when I need them most.”

  “Unlike Celia who dumped you the second you were injured and couldn’t be captain of the football team any more?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Look, Celia was flighty and shallow. But most of us knew that all along. You were the only one who didn’t see it.”

  “Probably because I was thinking with my dick.”

  Mark laughed. “True enough. And understandable. Celia was hot. If she’d been gunning for me like she’d gone after you, I wouldn’t have stood a chance either.”

  Quinn grunted. “Lucky for you she didn’t.”

  “Agreed. But you’re wrong to say that Brianna is like her.”

  “Come on! You’ve seen some of the stunts she’s pulled, same as I have.”

  “Yeah, but I see them differently than you do. You’ve always called her a flake. I’ve always thought of her as fun-loving and adventurous. Big difference, if you ask me.”

  “Well, I don’t see it.”

  “’Cause you don’t want to see it.”

  “’Cause there is no difference.”

  “Really, and what about her sister, Kayla? Brianna took over raising her when their parents died. You don’t call that loyal and responsible behavior?”

  “No, I mean, yeah, of course.”

  Could Mark be right? Could this be what had been nagging at him? He’d been so preoccupied with believing the worst of Brianna, he’d ignored the good things. Not that he’d been thinking clearly since Friday anyway. It felt like he’d been in a perpetual state of arousal since seeing Brianna’s luscious breasts flaunted in all their glory in front of him. He really was a dweeb. Flash a pair of breasts under his nose and his dick took over all the thinking. But then, it wasn’t just any pair of breasts that had reduced him to that state. Only Brianna’s.

  Maybe he wasn’t such a dweeb after all.

  Maybe he was only a dumb shit.

  He supposed he could live with that. But could Brianna?

  * * *

  “What a self-righteous, judgmental bastard!”

  Brianna stifled a grin as she watched her best friend, Maggie, indignantly stomping around her living room on her behalf. Not that she blamed her any. She’d been semi-fuming for most of the day herself. “You won’t hear any arguments from me.”

  Maggie tossed her head of glorious red curls. “I should think not! Who does he think he is, anyway?”

  “He thinks he’s a respectable, conservative guy who needs a respectable, conservative woman in his life. That wouldn’t be me.”

  “Self-righteous bastard.”

  Brianna grinned. “Now you’re repeating yourself.”

  Maggie sniffed. “Yeah, well, it bears repeating.”

  Kayla had gone out with friends and Maggie, who was feeling much better than she had on Friday night, had come over to commiserate over this morning’s fiasco. Good thing, too. Brianna had gotten sick of berating herself for getting involved with Quinn in the first place. It was a damned stupid thing to do when she knew good and well what he thought of her. “I guess I’m mostly mad at myself now.”

  Maggie threw herself on the couch beside her. “Yourself! Why?”

  “I should have steered clear of him.”

  “Come on, you and I both know you’ve been lusting after his fine bod for ages. You couldn’t pass up a chance to get in on some of that.”

  “If that had been all it was. Instead, sleeping with him has just made my feelings for him even stronger. I really didn’t need this.” Brianna dropped her head back against the couch.

  Maggie leaned in closer. “Was the sex any good at least?”

  Mind-blowing. Earthshaking. Delicious. “Yes.”

  “Gee, don’t elaborate or anything. Details, girlfriend. I want details.”

  Brianna chuckled. “Well, you aren’t getting any.”

  Maggie sat up in a hurry. “This is worse than I thought. Please don’t tell me you’ve gone and fallen in love with the jerk.”

  Had she?

  Oh hell, who was she fooling? She’d been half in love with him for years. All sex had accomplished was to push her over the edge into full-fledged, heart-stopping love, instead of just lust-filled fantasy love.

  Shit.

  Brianna looked over at Maggie’s expectant face. “I think I have.”

  “Dammit, girl! You should know better than that.”

  “It’s not like I consciously decided to d
o this, you know. I didn’t wake up this morning and say, ‘Hey, this looks like a good day to totally screw up my life.’”

  Maggie cocked a brow at her. “You sure?”

  “Oh, shut up! It just happened and now I have to deal with it. That’s all there is to it.”

  “I still say he’s a jerk.”

  “Nah. He’s just a man who knows what he wants. It just doesn’t happen to be me. Well, maybe he is a bit of a jerk.”

  “A stupid, blind jerk who doesn’t know a good thing when he sees it. You’d be the best thing that could ever happen to him.”

  “I’m not what he wants.” Brianna sat forward and picked up her glass of wine, raising it in a toast. “Here’s to stupidity. When everything else fails you, it’s always there, ready to do its part to fuck up your life.”

  Maggie clinked glasses with her. “To stupidity!” She took a sip and put her glass down. “So, what are you going to do now?”

  What was she going to do? Survive, of course. Just like she always did. “I’ll get on with my original plans and put this whole mess behind me as a lesson well learned. Keep away from hunky lawyers who don’t like flakes.”

  “You’re not a flake.”

  “Close enough.”

  “For crying out loud. Sometimes you act before you think. That doesn’t make you a flake. Just a wee bit…”

  Brianna raised her eyebrow. “Flakey?”

  Maggie tossed a cushion at her head and laughed. “Reckless, rash, hasty, thoughtless.”

  “Oh yeah, I see the huge distinction there.”

  “There’s a difference and you know it. You’re being dense on purpose.”

  Brianna sighed. “No, I get exactly what you’re saying. Anyway, what we think doesn’t matter. Quinn’s only concerned with what he thinks and he thinks I’m a flake.”

  She took another sip of her wine and set it down again. The really sad thing about all of this was that if they loved each other it wouldn’t matter. He’d accept her as she was, and she could continue to pursue whatever things she wanted and he wouldn’t hold her back. If only he’d given them half a chance things could have been so different.