The Best Part of Me (26 page)

The woman blushed and covered her mouth. “Heavens me! I apologize for not introducing myself. I'm so absentminded these days. My name's Katherine McKenna. I'm Sean's mother. And Ewan's aunt.”

Ewan noticed the familiar black Honda in his aunt and uncle's driveway as soon as he turned in. There was no way that Maura Hughes would be here paying a visit, which meant that Quinn was around.

Fuck.

Not that he wasn't happy to see her, but Quinn being in the same room with his aunt? It was a recipe for an embarrassing disaster of epic proportions.

He found his uncle alone in the kitchen, pouring himself two fingers of scotch.

“Hey there, my boy. How are ya?”

Ewan pulled down a tall glass for water. “Good. You?”

“Oh, just fine,” he said, taking a sip of his drink. “Your aunt's pulled over your pretty little friend for dinner tonight.” His uncle was looking out the back window to where Quinn's familiar figure was kneeling next to a row of pink flowers. His aunt, covered with her kitchen apron, stood next to Quinn with her arms folded over her chest, nodding away like a woodpecker.

Quinn's long green dress was sleeveless, exposing her freckled shoulders. Her light brown hair, which looked even lighter with the sun shining on it, was swept up in a knot at the back of her head. She was facing away from them, and the light cotton fabric of her dress clung to her shapely behind as she leaned over the flowers. One look at her ass was a blaring reminder of how long it had been since he'd been with her.

“Kate's got it in her head to redo the back garden. She asked your gal for help. Bribed her with food just to get her over here.” The two men watched as the women moved farther away in the yard.

“She's not my
gal
, Uncle.”

Connor let out a harsh laugh. “Stop playing the fool, son. There isn't anything wrong with admitting what's so clear to everyone else.”

Everyone else needed to mind their own bloody business.

“What's for dinner?” Ewan asked, changing the subject.

“Roast beef.”

“Again?”

“Afraid so. But because of our guest we get to eat it on the fancy plates.”

Sure enough, her aunt had pulled out the plates she saved for special occasions. There was even a vase full of flowers in the middle of the table.

Jesus.

Putting his glass in the sink, he headed out into the back garden. He watched as Quinn hiked her skirt up to mid-thigh as she straddled another flower bed. This time, the sun was positioned perfectly so he could see the darkened silhouette of her lean legs and hips underneath her skirt.

Goddamn it. Weren't women supposed to wear some sort of skirt underneath their skirts to prevent this very thing?

Ewan looked back at the kitchen window and narrowed his eyes at his uncle, who barked out a laugh at Ewan's murderous expression. Quinn was standing normally again, and she'd moved—thank God—into a shaded portion of the yard. Ewan shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans.

“Ewan!” his aunt said, finally realizing he was halfway across the yard. “You snuck up on us!”

Quinn smiled at him as he approached. She looked so calm and peaceful. Some people were just meant to be outdoors, and she was one of them.

“Hey, Aunt Katherine.” He kissed his aunt on the cheek like he always did when he greeted her. “Hey, Quinn.”

There was a soft pink blush creeping across her cheeks that was lovely. Especially since the last time he'd seen her she'd had puffy red eyes and a tear-streaked face.

“Quinn has agreed to help me with my back garden. Isn't that wonderful?”

“Yeah. And I hear you've offered to pay her in roast beef.”

“Of course not! I will pay her a proper fee, for sure. Quinn, dear, we can discuss that later if that's okay. I wanted you to have a look at the garden so you can come up with one of your brilliant ideas. But goodness, it must be time to eat by now. Come on, kids, let's head into the house.” She hurried off toward the back door, leaving the two of them alone.

“I hope you don't mind I'm here. Your aunt stopped by the house this afternoon, and she asked if I'd come over.”

Ewan shook his head. It wasn't that he minded she was there. It was the inevitable clusterfuck he saw coming once they all stepped inside that he was worried about. He'd never had a woman over for dinner before. And technically, since he hadn't invited Quinn, his record still stood. Knowing that he wouldn't invite Quinn over himself, his aunt had taken it upon herself to get the ball rolling. No wonder she'd sounded so desperate this afternoon when she'd called to remind him about dinner.

“How's your day been?” he asked.

She smiled and nodded. “It's been good.”

With it being her mother's birthday, he knew it was probably tough for her, but she seemed to be holding up okay. As they stared at each other for a moment and he searched her face, he could tell she was telling the truth. The warmth that had been missing the night before was back in her eyes. She looked happy.

A soft tendril of hair fell down from the messy knot on the top of her head. His gaze followed as it snaked down around the bare skin of her collarbone. Without thinking, Ewan reached out and hooked it back behind her ear. He didn't miss Quinn's quick inhale as his fingertips wound their way along her chin. He stepped closer to her and could smell the sweet lavender scent that always seemed to linger on Quinn's skin. He didn't dare kiss her or allow his body to make contact with hers or else they'd be on their way to his truck for a quick trip back to his apartment rather than going inside to eat the dinner his aunt had made. He'd just have to make sure there was plenty of time for fun later.

“If we make it through dinner unscathed, wanna get out of Ballagh tonight? Go get into some trouble?”

Quinn's eyes were slightly dazed and locked on his lips.

“What kind of trouble?” she whispered.

“The kind that involves you and me and no clothes.”

Quinn swallowed and raised her eyes to his.

“Think your aunt would mind terribly if we skipped dinner?”

He grinned. “Unfortunately, yes, she would. And just a word of warning…my aunt's roast…” Ewan shook his head and winced.

Quinn laughed when she caught his meaning. “Gotcha. Thanks for the heads-up.”

He nodded his head toward the back door. “Come on.”

Let's get this over with.

“Is there anything I can help with?” Quinn asked as they entered the kitchen, where Ewan's aunt was pulling a stone pot out of the oven.

“Not a thing, dear. Why don't you wash up and go have a seat in the family room while Ewan gets you something to drink.”

She smiled at Ewan as he rolled his eyes. Quinn washed her hands at the kitchen sink before joining Connor McKenna in the family room. The house, on the whole, was larger than most of the homes in the area. It was a two-story stucco with a chimney stack on either side of the house. The entire property was surrounded by high hedges and giant oak trees. It was obvious that Connor and Katherine McKenna did well for themselves. Who would have thought a village pub and a few restaurants would pull in so much money?

Connor shifted uncomfortably in his small upholstered chair.

“Bloody chairs are completely useless if you ask me. Ten minutes sitting here and I'll need a chiropractor to help me walk again.”

He obviously didn't spend a lot of time in this room. In fact, it didn't look like anyone did. The formal furniture was arranged in a U-shape with the focal point being the massive stone fireplace. There was a beautifully woven rug under the dark-wooded chairs, and the emerald-green drapes that dressed the windows were thick velvet. Ornate lamps sat atop the side tables, and a glass-topped coffee table sat in the middle of the room. There was not one speck of dust to be seen.

Ewan's uncle still shifted in the seat across from Quinn, looking about ready to rip the dainty arms off the chair.

“I think Kate meant for you to have a look at those. No other explanation for why she hauled them down from the attic.” Ewan's uncle pointed to the photo albums sitting on the coffee table. Quinn smiled, picking up the book on top.

The very first picture was of a lovely looking family standing in front of a Christmas tree. From the small handwritten caption, the photo was taken about twenty years ago.

Connor had more hair on his head, but his jovial smile was still the same. The Katherine in the photo looked just like the woman in the kitchen fixing dinner, except for her hair being a tad bit darker. Two children stood in between them, both with light blond hair. Sean's grin was just as ornery as it was now. And from the uncanny resemblance, the little girl standing beside him had to be his sister.

“Is this your daughter?”

“Yes, that's our Megan. She lives in Chicago with her husband. She's two years older than Sean.”

The little girl was an exact replica of her mother. Standing with her hands clasped in front of her, she didn't have a hair out of place. She had a pleasant look about her. Judging from how she looked in the photo, Quinn knew she must have turned into a beautiful woman.

The final member of the family was a tall dark-haired boy standing to the left of his uncle. The boy's dark blue eyes gazed at the camera, and the familiar expressionless face made Quinn's heart clench. Although his uncle's arm was slung tightly around his shoulders, Ewan seemed to be separate from the group. His arms hung at his sides, his chin was slightly tilted up, and his slim body carried what could only be described as teenage awkwardness.

Even though his face was that of a boy, it was hauntingly mesmerizing. Although Ewan could hide it better as an adult, she knew he still carried around the same sadness this little boy couldn't keep out of his eyes.

Quinn gently moved her finger along the side of Ewan's teenage face, wanting to hug him.

“Here's your wine.”

Quinn looked up to see Ewan standing beside her, extending a glass toward her. His brow was furrowed like he knew what she'd been thinking and it bothered him.

“Thanks.” He'd remembered she preferred Merlot. She scooted over to the side for him to sit next to her, but he shoved his hands in his pockets instead.

“I'd prefer to stand. I don't want to mess up Aunt Katherine's new furniture.”

“Damn waste of good money is what it is,” his uncle grumbled.

“I heard that!” Katherine yelled from the kitchen.

Connor McKenna flinched and Quinn smiled. She continued to flip through the pages of the photo album, coming across many pictures of Ewan. There were a number of him and Sean, mud covering every inch of their legs, holding rugby balls. There were some family vacation shots, one of which was taken at a beach somewhere. Sean and Ewan were in swim trunks, Megan in a one-piece bathing suit.

There was a picture of a grumpy Ewan standing next to his beaming uncle on his high school graduation day. Ewan's dark hair was a lot longer than what it was now. His long bangs had almost covered his eyes. His face had filled out from the little boy she'd seen on the first page. He was insanely handsome, even at that age. With his diploma in hand, his dark, striking features were evident, not to mention what looked like a bruise above his left cheekbone.

Just as Quinn turned the page and saw a picture of Ewan standing behind the bar at the pub, his aunt came into the room.

“Alrighty, dinner is ready. Oh, Quinn, you found some old photo albums!” She clasped her hands in front of her, delighted.

“Yeah, imagine that,” Ewan muttered.

His uncle tried to hide his laugh by clearing his throat. Katherine pushed her way past Ewan and sat next to Quinn, commandeering the album.

“I just love this picture,” she said, flipping back to one of the beach photos. Sean and Ewan stood in waves about knee high. Sean, looking to be seven, had a look of terror on his face while Ewan had a hold on his cousin's upper arm, dragging him out of the water. “Sean had just been stung by a jellyfish. Ewan came to his rescue and pulled him out of the water. We aren't sure if the look on Sean's face was because he'd just gotten stung or from Ewan's continued attempts to convince him that the only way to make the sting go away was if Sean let him pee on his leg!”

“Jesus,” Ewan whispered as he turned to leave the room.

“Ewan McKenna, what have I told you about taking the Lord's name in vain?”

“Sorry,” he muttered from the kitchen.

Katherine huffed and shook her head, looking at Quinn. “The amount that boy, and my son for that matter, call upon the Lord, you'd think they were praying every time they opened their mouths.”

Connor McKenna stood up with a loud sigh. “I'm starving.”

“Oh, all right, I can take a hint.”

“I'm not hinting at anything, woman. I'm flat-out saying let's eat.”

“Come, dear. Let's get to the table before my husband expires,” she huffed. She placed the open album on the coffee table before hurrying out of the room, muttering to herself, most likely not calling upon the Lord while doing it.

The finely appointed dining room was off to the other side of the kitchen. The big mahogany table had chairs for ten people, but the plates were set two on each side. Ewan was already seated, but once Quinn came into the room, he stood and pulled out the chair next to his.

“Shall we say grace?” his aunt asked after they were all seated.

Quinn bowed her head and waited as Katherine said a quick blessing. Ewan sat patiently beside her as his aunt scooped helping after helping of roast beef, mashed potatoes, and green beans onto Quinn's plate.

“Quinn, we are just so excited to have you here. Do you know that Ewan has never brought a girl home before?”

“Ewan didn't bring her home, dear. You did,” his uncle said as Ewan shifted in his seat.