Always My Girl (The Shaughnessy Brothers) (16 page)

“Good for you.” Aubrey relaxed back in the sand again. “This really does feel good. Can you stay mad at Quinn for a little bit longer? Hugh thinks the walk to the sand is too much for me and makes me stay on the deck. I just need about fifteen more minutes of this bliss and then I’ll be ready to go back inside.”

“No problem. I’m just disappointed I didn’t get to finish my lunch. Those tacos were awesome. I may have to ask Hugh for the recipe.”

“We can reheat them when we get back inside,” Aubrey said. “Or I can tell Hugh I want fresh ones.” She looked at Anna with a wicked grin. “Don’t believe for one minute I don’t find ways to take advantage of all his hovering.”

“You’re an evil genius. I love it!”

* * *

No one mentioned the car—or the subsequent argument—again for the rest of the day. When Anna and Aubrey had gone back up to the house, Hugh offered to make them some fresh plates. The women looked at each other and giggled but refused to say why.

After lunch, they all sat out on the deck and talked about Hugh’s plans for the property and the resort. There wasn’t much Quinn could contribute to the discussion, but he loved watching how happy his brother was and how pleased Anna seemed to be.

Deep down, he knew real estate wasn’t her dream. He understood—sort of—why she felt like she had to find a different career, but he knew that if she had her way, this wouldn’t be what she was doing. So maybe she’d make enough money to get her to the point where she felt a little financially secure and then she could do what she loved.

Which was cooking.

She’d deny it till her last breath, but like he said, he knew her. She enjoyed the praise she received whenever she cooked, and she had loved running the kitchen at the pub. Hell, she should own the damn place! She had a head for business and the customers loved her. But for some reason, she didn’t think it was something she should do. Something about breaking out of a rut, and not working in jeans…he wasn’t sure, but he remembered all those things as parts of multiple conversations.

She made dinner for all of them, and they ate it out on the deck. Aubrey looked very relaxed and, for the first time since they’d arrived, so did Hugh. And Anna was positively glowing. That’s how he knew he was right. If something as simple as making a meal for her friends put that look on her face, why was she wasting her time in real estate?

After the way he’d screwed up with the whole car thing earlier, Quinn knew tonight wasn’t the time to bring it up, but he made a mental note to talk to her about it a little more. Soon. There was no reason for her to be miserable. Ever. He wanted to make sure she was happy—and that she stayed happy.

That made him stop and think. When had he ever been that considerate? No doubt he’d dated more than his share of women, but he had never been overly concerned about their happiness. Well, their future happiness. He was all about making them happy while they dated, but once they were done, he didn’t give them another thought.

He was far from done with Anna. Wasn’t sure he’d ever be. And not just because of their friendship, but because of the way he was beginning to feel. He’d always loved Anna—as a friend. He’d always been protective of her and loved spending time with her, just hanging out. But now it was different, in a good way. There was genuine affection. His need to protect her went deeper, and the need to spend time with her? Well, he almost wished he didn’t have to go to work most days because he just wanted to stay in bed with her, holding her, touching her…just being with her.

By the time they said good night to Hugh and Aubrey, Quinn realized he and Anna hadn’t really talked to one another since lunch. They’d talked as a group all day, but they hadn’t had any one-on-one conversation all day. And it bothered him. A lot.

Closing their bedroom door, he leaned against it and watched her move around the room. She was taking all the decorative pillows off the bed and pulling down the comforter. Then she went to her overnight bag and pulled out a T-shirt and the little bag that probably held her makeup and whatnot. Without a glance in his direction, she walked toward the attached bathroom. He reached out and placed a hand on her arm to stop her.

“Hey,” he said softly and waited until her brown eyes looked up at him. They weren’t twinkling like they normally did when she looked at him. Carefully, he maneuvered the two of them until she was in his arms. She held herself stiff, and he knew this wasn’t going to be easy. “Dinner was excellent tonight. You didn’t have to do that. It’s good for Hugh to have to work a little,” he teased, hoping to get a smile out of her.

He didn’t.

Okay, new approach. “Aubrey looked great after you guys came back in. This pregnancy is really agreeing with her so far.”

Nothing.

Not knowing what else to do, he released her and took a step back. “I’m sorry.”

Anna eyed him warily. “For what?”

She knew him too well, knew he had a tendency to throw a blanket apology out there just to make a situation go away.

“For not talking to you about the car. I should have. I didn’t mean for it to be a bad thing, Anna, I swear. I just…” He sighed. “For years, you’ve been the one taking care of me, and I let you. Hell, I even took advantage of it. And I finally found a way I could take care of you. I wanted…I wanted to do something that would make your life a little bit easier—to take at least one burden away from you. I know I didn’t handle it right and—”

She immediately dropped her things on the floor and went up on her tiptoes and kissed him soundly on the lips. Quinn wasn’t going to question it; he was just happy she was forgiving him. And she was kissing him. Anna was a spectacular kisser. One hand cupped her bottom while the other reached up to curl around the nape of her neck. God, she felt so good. All soft and warm and…everything.

Not wanting to break the kiss, he scooped her up in his arms and walked them over to the bed. Thankful the blankets were turned down, he immediately stretched out on top of her, kissing her, touching her, loving her.

Anna sighed his name when his mouth moved from hers. Quinn lifted his head and looked down at her. Her skin was flushed, her lips red from his kisses. “I want to take care of you, Anna,” he said, his voice soft and low. “Let me.”

A slow smile spread across her face as she relaxed beneath him. “I’m all yours,” she said.

They were the three sweetest words Quinn had ever heard.

“Oh, Quinn,” Anna said the next day as they drove up to her house. “What did you do?”

“What? We already covered this.”

She leaned forward in her seat as they pulled into the driveway. “I wasn’t… I didn’t think… Oh my God.” She sighed as he parked.

Yes, she knew there was a car waiting for her, and yes, she knew it wasn’t going to be something old like her Honda, but…

Quinn climbed from the car and walked around to the passenger side to help her out. He opened the door and held out a hand to her. “You promised not to be mad. Remember that.”

Anna took his hand and stood. His name came out on another sigh. “I can’t believe…”

“You seemed to have some sort of weird connection with your old Honda, so I figured I couldn’t go wrong with a newer one.” He let go of her hand as she began to walk around the new car. “It’s not brand-new, but it’s only two years old and has under five thousand miles on it. My guys checked it out, and it’s in perfect condition. I tried—”

But he never got to finish because Anna launched herself into his arms and kissed him. This was a much better reaction than what he had been expecting, so he readily jumped on board, banded his arms around her, and held her close. When she lifted her head, her smile was dazzling. “So…you like it?” he asked, gently lowering her to her feet.

“It’s perfect. It looks like it just rolled off the showroom floor! And I love the color! That blue is just so beautiful!” She gave a little squeal of delight. “Where are the keys? Can I look inside? Can I drive it?”

Quinn nearly sagged with relief and laughed as he reached into his pocket. “Here you go. The second set should be in the car, under the driver’s seat. It’s where I told Tommy to leave it.”

But Anna wasn’t listening. She had the car door open and was sitting in the driver’s seat and starting the car. “Ooo…power windows! I almost forgot what those were! Mine stopped working last year.”

“I remember,” Quinn mumbled, shaking his head.

“And power seats and mirrors!” She pushed buttons until the seat was in the perfect position for her and then worked on getting the mirrors just right. “This stereo is better than the one I have in my house!”

Quinn walked over to the passenger side and climbed in. “You’ve got every option available—cruise control, back-up camera, the radio has satellite, there’s a USB port here for your phone, and there’s Bluetooth—”

“This is amazing! I never thought I’d have a car this new.” Turning toward Quinn, she smiled, leaned in, and kissed him on the cheek. “I’m sorry I was a bit of a brat the other day about this. This is incredibly generous of you, and I…well…I want to say it’s too much but I love it already!”

“I figured we’ve got about twenty-plus years of you feeding me and helping me out,” he teased. “Now we’re kind of even.”

She shook her head and reached out and cupped his face in her hands. “It was never a competition. I wasn’t keeping track. I enjoy taking care of you and helping you.”

“Oh yeah?” he asked quietly. “I have to be honest, Anna. I really enjoy taking care of you too. I just wish I had been smart enough to start doing it sooner.” Then his expression turned serious, somber. “I should have paid more attention and not been so selfish. I don’t deserve you.”

A slow, sweet smile crossed her face as her thumbs skimmed over his cheeks. “Don’t talk like that. I don’t see it that way at all.”

“Then you’re the only one,” he said.

“Why would you even say that?”

“Trust me. I’ve heard it a lot over the years.”

“From whom?” she asked, pulling back slightly.

Quinn took one of her hands from his face and pulled it around so he could kiss her palm. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Damn right it doesn’t,” she said firmly.

“You sound pretty fierce there, Anna Hannigan,” he said with a grin.

She nodded. “It’s true. You’re stuck with me and there’s nothing you or anyone can do about it.”

Quinn wasn’t sure what to say to that. He kissed her and was about to go for something light and funny but she cut him off.

“Now close the door so we can take this baby out for a ride!”

* * *

For another week, they managed to stay somewhat cocooned in their own little world. While Hugh and Aubrey knew about the change in their relationship—and Anna was certain the rest of the Shaughnessys had an idea—Anna had managed to avoid her own family.

It was early on Saturday morning, and they were lying side by side in her bed catching their breath. “This is the best way to wake up,” Quinn said, turning his head and kissing her bare shoulder. “Let’s throw out our alarm clocks and stick with this.”

Anna playfully swatted him away. “We’d never get up if that were the case.”

Quinn sat up. “Nonsense. I’m energized and ready to go.” He looked over at the clock. “Holy shit…it’s after nine already?”

She chuckled. “See? I told you.”

He stood up and reached for his jeans. “How about some breakfast? I happen to make some great French toast.”

“You’re on,” she said and snuggled back under the blankets.

“Oh no,” he said, reaching for her hand and forcing her to sit up. “No going back to sleep. You’ve got about fifteen minutes and then breakfast will be on the table.”

“What? Not in bed?” She pouted. “Seems to me the least you could do is bring me breakfast in bed.”

“And I promise I will—another time,” he added. “I’ve got to go in to the shop today. Those two classic cars are supposed to get picked up at noon and I need to be there to sign some papers.”

Anna stared at him for a minute. “You mean Jake Tanner’s cars?”

Quinn nodded.

Guilt washed over her. She hated that she had managed to cost Quinn some very lucrative business. She reached for the hand that had just let hers go. “Quinn, I…” She sighed. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t expect you to lose such an important job because of me.”

His gaze hardened as he looked at her. “You’re kidding, right? Did you honestly think I’d still want to do business with that guy after—?”

“Look, what happened with Jake was awful and horrible and I hate it, but the bottom line is I’m okay. I was lucky. Nothing happened to me other than getting sick and feeling embarrassed.”

“Anna, what the hell are you saying?”

She shrugged. “I just think you should, you know, still do the work. I’d double the price if I were you,” she said in an attempt at humor, “but I’d still do the restorations. It would be great for your business. You know it, and I know it.”

“I don’t know,” he said hesitantly. “The thought of ever dealing with Jake Tanner again—”

“I know,” Anna interrupted. “Believe me, I know. But…just think about it, okay? I know how much you were looking forward to working on those cars. It meant a lot to you and the business.”

“You mean more to me than that, Anna,” he said fiercely, leaning on the bed toward her. “I can always find other restoration jobs, but if anything happened to you?” He stopped when Anna placed a finger over his lips.

“Don’t, okay?” she whispered. “Don’t think like that.” She kissed him and then smiled. “Now go and make me some breakfast. I’m starving.”

Quinn stood and still looked a bit unsure of himself, but he watched as Anna rose from the bed—naked and beautiful—and walked to the bathroom.

He was shirtless, his hair was a mess, and his pants weren’t buttoned. He raked a hand through his hair and walked out to the kitchen. He was pulling eggs and butter from the refrigerator when a sound by the front door caught his attention.

“Hey, Anna! What’s with the—” Bobby Hannigan stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of Quinn in his sister’s kitchen. “What the hell are you doing here?” he snarled, slamming the door closed.

For his part, Quinn did his best to remain calm. He had known they were going to have to deal with Bobby eventually—and Bobby’s intense dislike of him—but he had been really hoping it wasn’t going to happen quite like this.

“Hey, Bobby,” he said casually. “I’m making French toast. You want some?”

“You son of a bitch,” Bobby hissed as he stalked across the room, tossing his keys on the ground as he went. When he got close enough, he lunged at Quinn.

Quinn managed to dodge him, but a plate crashed to the floor in the move. “Look, let’s just talk for a minute, okay?” he said, trying to reason with Bobby.

“Are you sleeping with my sister? Is that why you’re here?” he growled, doing his best to back Quinn into a corner.

“Seriously, just calm down. I don’t want to fight with you.”

“Too bad,” Bobby snapped. “You couldn’t just leave her alone, could you? It’s not enough you’ve been taking advantage of her for years, or that your friend drugged her. No. You had to just swoop in and do this now!”

“It wasn’t like that!” Quinn yelled. “And it’s really none of your damn business what’s going on between me and Anna.”

“She’s my sister. That makes it my business.” He shook his head in disgust. “I really hoped she’d outgrow the stupid crush she had on you, but you just kept dragging her along.”

“No one was getting dragged! We were friends! Shit, Anna’s the best friend I’ve ever had! I would never hurt her, and as for what’s going on right now—”

“Shut up!” Bobby interrupted. “You just shut the hell up. I’ve been waiting a long time for this. I’ve been waiting for the opportunity to punch you in your damn smug face.”

Quinn stopped. His hands dropped to his sides. “You want to hit me? Would that make you feel better? Then go ahead. I’ll stand here and I’ll take it. If that’s what it takes for you to realize I’m not just fooling around with your sister, that she means something to me, then go ahead. Take your best shot.”

Bobby’s eyes narrowed.

“So help me, Bobby, if you do it, you’ll have me to deal with,” Anna yelled from the bedroom doorway. Slowly, she walked into the room. “What in the world is going on here?”

Bobby turned and looked at her. “I’ve been driving by your house for the last couple of days and haven’t seen your car. Finally I decided to stop in and see what was going on. Where’s your car? Did it break down again?”

“Actually,” she said hesitantly, “that’s my new car out in the driveway.”

“New? How?” Bobby stammered. “I thought you said you couldn’t afford a new car right now?”

She shrugged. “I couldn’t. But my old one crapped out, and Quinn helped me out and—”

“You bought her a car?” He cursed under his breath and took a few steps away. “You seriously bought her a freaking car?”

“Um…help me out here,” Quinn said quietly to Anna. “I can’t tell if he’s angry or impressed right now.”

“Yes, he bought me a car,” Anna answered instead. “I didn’t ask him to, and at first, I was really annoyed he did it, but…” She looked at Quinn and smiled. “But he knew I needed the help.”

“I knew you needed the help too!” Bobby said defensively. “I would have helped you get a car, Anna! You don’t need him doing it for you! You don’t have to sleep with him because he bought you a car!”

“Okay, that’s enough,” she said and walked over and gave her brother a shove until he fell back on the couch. “You need to understand and accept that Quinn and I are together. I don’t know what your deal is with him, but it’s got to stop.”

“You’re too good for him, Anna,” Bobby said through clenched teeth. “All these years you’ve waited on him hand and foot and he never gave you a second thought.”

“That’s not true,” Quinn protested. “I’ve always been there for Anna! We’ve been friends our whole lives!”

“That’s not what I’m talking about, jackass,” Bobby snapped at him. “She’s been pining after you since you were teenagers and you never noticed. Do you have any idea how many times she cried after you started dating someone new?” He didn’t wait for an answer. Slowly, he stood up and began stalking Quinn again. “Or how many times she would come home brokenhearted and disappointed because you didn’t thank her or appreciate the things she did for you?”

“Bobby,” Anna warned.

“No! It’s time he knew just how awful he was!” Slowly, he walked around Quinn. “How many times did you call her and ask her to make you food or bake you cookies, and she did it only to find you with another girl when she arrived?”

Quinn watched him warily at first and then with defeat. “If I could go back and change any of it, I would,” he said quietly. “I know I can’t and it kills me. I had no idea Anna felt that way about me.”

“Yeah, well…maybe if you paid attention to someone other than yourself—”

“Look, I get it!” Quinn finally snapped. “Do you think I like knowing how much I hurt her? Do you think it’s easy for me to stand here and listen to this?”

“You’re not good enough for her,” Bobby snarled. “You’re having fun right now and everyone’s happy, but I know you, Quinn. You don’t stick around. You don’t have staying power. Eventually, you’re going to get bored, and you’ll start treating her exactly like you used to. And I’ll be the one whose shoulder she’ll cry on.”

“It’s not like that,” Quinn said.

“We’ll see.”

Anna stepped in between the two of them, facing her brother. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Bobby,” she said sadly. “Thanks for believing I’m the type of girl who isn’t enough for someone to stay with.”

And then she stormed from the room, slamming the bedroom door behind her.

“Way to go, genius,” Quinn said, raking a hand through his hair.

“
Me?
This is all your fault!”

Quinn shook his head. “Uh-uh. No way. You came in here and started this. And by the way, why not try knocking next time instead of just barging in?”

“Barging…?” Bobby let out a growl of frustration. “You do realize I used to live here too, right?”

“Whatever. That was like…two years ago. This is Anna’s house now, and you have no right just letting yourself in. She’s entitled to her privacy.”

“Don’t you dare lecture me about my sister.”

Quinn threw up his hands in defeat and frustration. “You know what? We’re done. You need to leave so I can go and make sure Anna’s okay.”

“I’ll go and see—”

“No, you won’t,” Quinn said firmly. “You need to leave.” Then he sighed. “Honestly, Bobby, let me go and take care of her.”