Rulers of Deception (13 page)

She attempted to laugh off the notion. His words hit closer to home than she wanted them to. “I’ll be fine.”

When he left, her smile faded and anger replaced it. Anger that a creep like Daniel could get under her skin so effectively, and even more bitter that she’d let him.

With Daniel gone,
Grant retreated back into his office to brood. He didn’t want to let what he’d witnessed bother him so much, but how could it not? His sister and his family were being bullied by a whiny know-it-all.

Despite Madison’s pleas that he not solve the problem, Grant seriously considered calling up Reed McAllister. So much so that when he returned to his desk the first thing he did was lift the phone and begin to dial McAllister’s number. He hesitated though, and set the phone back onto the receiver. He’d never been a brash man. Running to McAllister with complaints about his son could come across as childish.

Not to mention, McAllister might choose his son over the Vassers. Then where would they be?

Annoyed at the situation, Grant leaned back in his chair and faced the wide windows of his office. Outside, the city weathered the heat of early summer.

A knock on his door had him turning. Marshall entered, a cheerful smile plastered over his face. “Don’t tell me I happened to catch you taking a break?”

Grant managed a smile. “Of course not.”

Marshall closed the door and invited himself into one of the chairs across from his nephew. “Well, make time for an old man who’d like some company.”

“I don’t see an old man.” Humor softened Grant’s eyes, sparking a laugh in Marshall.

“I don’t like to see it either, son. But every day that face in the mirror looks just a little bit more weathered and I feel aches in places I didn’t know existed.” Marshall rested his hands on his knees and glanced out the window. “Oh, to be thirty again.”

“I think you remember it being better than it was,” Grant commented, reaching for his great-grandfather’s fountain pen and passing it between his fingers. It was a habit that helped calm him.

Marshall looked back at him with a wink. “I remember the sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll. I regret that the three of you never had the chance to be young like that.”

“Times are different,” Grant replied. “All we wanted—all we needed—was this hotel.”

“Just don’t let it keep you from living your life, Grant.” Marshall’s voice softened, his humor fading. “You have a wife now. Maybe a couple of kids someday. Don’t leave them in the dust of your ambition.”

Grant’s brows drew together. “You say that like you fear I already am.”

Marshall smiled, brushing off the seriousness of the statement. “After what you kids went through last year, after what we all went through, I feel you deserve to relax a bit. Don’t work so hard.”

“The only thing I’m good at is working hard.” Grant set the fountain pen aside, avoiding his uncle’s eyes. “To be honest, I don’t know anything else.”

“You know how to love that wife of yours.”

Grant nodded and said nothing, lost in thought.

Marshall looked out the window again, pensive. “I made the choice not to settle down, but that doesn’t mean it was the right one. There was one time, one woman, that came damn close.”

“What happened?” Grant asked.

Pain tightened the features of Marshall’s face. “She died. I didn’t want to care; didn’t have room for it in my life. But care I did.”

“I never knew that.”

Marshall winked. “That’s because I never told you. How is Quinn doing, anyway? I haven’t seen her much since she’s been hiding away in that kitchen with the grumpy Spaniard.”

Thinking of the car ride the night before had Grant’s lips quirking in a smile, but it didn’t last. “She’s been moody. One minute she’s affectionate, the next she’s angry with me.”

“Our Quinn? Angry?” Marshall blinked in surprise. “You sure you’re not talking about someone else’s wife?”

Grant frowned, troubled. “I wonder if working with Raoul is taking a toll on her.”

“Could be.” Marshall considered, though he looked doubtful. “Why don’t you bring her home a gift? Ladies love surprises.”

“Like what?” Grant asked, shaking his head. “She likes thoughtful things. I don’t know how to be thoughtful.”

“Get her a puppy. She’d love that.”

“We have a dog already.”

“You have
your
dog,” Marshall corrected. “Get her a dog of her own.”

Grant pondered that for a moment, realizing it may just work. “I suppose I could research the best breeders in town and find a suitable one…”

“If I know our Quinn, she’d want a mutt,” Marshall decided. He rose to his feet and adjusted his suit jacket with a smile. “Go to the pound and pick up the saddest, loneliest little pup there and trust me, she’ll love you for it.”

“If you say so.” Grant got up to shake hands with his uncle. “If not, I’m holding you accountable.”

“That’s fine. I could always use a puppy. Or a woman, if she decides to leave you,” Marshall joked.

“But you’re an old man.”

“Ouch.” Marshall laughed. “I guess I deserved that.”

Grant’s teeth flashed in a smile. “She’s mine.”

“Yes, she is. Now do your best to keep her that way.”

The taxicab pulled
up to the clinic on East 70
^th
Street. Quinn stepped out and looked up, taking in the several-story stone building in front of her. The tree-lined street bustled with activity, no one even noticing the nondescript door that led to the clinic sandwiched between a jeweler and a dry cleaners.

Feeling tense with worry, she went inside and found herself in a small waiting room lined with chairs and end tables in soothing pastel colors. Since she didn’t see Kennedy sitting among the women who waited, she went to the counter to get them checked in.

“Hi,” she greeted the secretary, who smiled up at her politely. “My sister is meeting me here in a few minutes. I’d like to set her up for a pregnancy test.”

“No problem.” The clerk handed her a clipboard with some paperwork on it and nodded toward the seating area. “Fill this out and bring it back and we’ll arrange for the test.”

“Thanks.” Quinn tried to smile at some of the other women in the room, all of whom avoided making eye contract. Some looked nervous, others looked bored. All seemed to not want to be there, a feeling Quinn agreed with. She hated going to the doctor, even if it was just for a test.

She plopped down into a chair by the door and began filling in the forms. Since she didn’t know everything she jotted down what she could, needing to do something while she waited. If she just sat and stared around the room she knew she’d go crazy with nerves.

If Kennedy really was pregnant then Quinn knew she’d feel obligated to protect her, to help soften the news to the family. Kennedy had come to her and not Madison for a reason. As much as Madison tried to repair her relationship with her sister it still wasn’t perfect. It probably never would be.

Worry creased her brow as she checked off boxes on the form. What are you here for today? When was the date of your last period? Have you experienced unexplained nausea? Mood swings? Bloating or swelling of the abdomen? Are you on birth control?

The list went on and on. As Quinn approached the end, her stomach began to turn over. She realized she had one or two of these symptoms. Maybe even three or four. When was the last time she’d had her period? She couldn’t remember. With everything that’d been going on with work she must have lost track…

And she had been feeling off lately. The night before she’d been overcome with desire to the point of public indecency, which she still couldn’t believe Grant went along with. And when she’d gotten the phone call from Kennedy she’d just gotten done vomiting during her work shift. Then the other night she’d been emotional and angry with Grant over nothing. That wasn’t like her.

When the door opened and Kennedy crept inside, Quinn actually jumped in her seat. By the look on her sister-in-law’s face, she must have been as white as a sheet.

“What’s wrong? Will they not let me take the test?” Kennedy asked, tears already in her eyes as she knelt down beside Quinn.

Quinn only shook her head. “No. No, they’ll be able to do it. You just need to finish filling this out.”

“Are you okay?” Kennedy took the seat beside Quinn and reached for her hand.

Quinn swallowed back the knot in her throat, unable to answer. “Excuse me.”

She hastily got up and asked the receptionist where the bathroom was located, then sprinted off in that direction. When she came back from losing what little she’d managed to eat for lunch, she went to the counter once again and asked for her own forms to fill out.

“Wow, how crazy
is that?” Kennedy laughed, walking with Quinn out of the clinic. “I’m not pregnant and you are. It all worked out okay, just like you said.”

Quinn let out an unsteady breath, feeling a bit woozy. “Yeah. Okay.”

“Aren’t you happy?” Kennedy practically skipped down the sidewalk, cheerful at knowing she was free and clear.

“Of course I’m happy,” Quinn retorted, trying to stay positive. Focusing on the thought that there was a life growing inside of her helped lift her spirits enormously. A baby. Her and Grant’s baby. In the end, that was all that mattered. “I just need to decide how to tell him. You can’t say anything. You have to promise me.”

“I promise.” Kennedy linked arms with her and smiled again. “You’re going to be the best mom. Can I baby-sit?”

Quinn snorted. “Knock your socks off.”

“Ten weeks along. How come you didn’t even notice?”

“I guess I was just so busy…” Quinn trailed off, still getting over the sticker shock. “Grant and I haven’t even really talked about kids.” She remembered the conversation from a few nights earlier and how awkward he’d gotten at the mention of a baby. Would his tune change now that it was their reality?

“He’ll be a great dad. He’s all serious and stuff, nothing like my dad was.” Sadness came into Kennedy’s eyes then as she faced Quinn. “If there’s anything Grant’s not, it’s a deadbeat. Besides, you guys are old. Why not have kids now?”

“Who says I’m old?” Quinn brightened with a grin. “And you’re right. Why not now?”

As they hailed a cab and hopped in together, Quinn noticed a man in a car across the street taking photographs of the clinic. She didn’t have time to dwell on it as the cab pulled away to return her to the hotel.