More Than This Read online

  Quinn turned back to the blender. “I spend a lot of time with you, too, and you’re nothing special.”

  “Hey, Auntie. He’s not on the elevator,” Kyra called from the hall.

  “He always takes the stairs. Give him a few minutes.” Right after she said it, she heard the stairwell door clunk.

  “Hi,” Ryan’s voice echoed in the hall. “I’m Ryan. Who are you?”

  “I’m Kyra.”

  “Nice to meet you, Kyra. Can I go in to see Quinn?”

  “Sure.” Kyra reentered the loft, tugging Ryan behind her.

  He looked around the open space. Quinn tried to imagine how he would view it. In the short time they’d been there, Kate’s kids had managed to make a huge mess in her living room. Toys and crayons were scattered across the floor.

  Kyra released his hand and closed the door. Ryan carefully stepped over toys and around toddlers. Nicole looked up and smiled at him. He wiggled his fingers at her and she waved back.

  “Hi, Ryan.” Indy got off her stool and kissed his cheek. “It’s been a while.”

  “Hi.” He nodded to Kate. “I’m guessing the kids are yours?”

  “You guess right. You met Kyra in the hall. That’s Thomas and Nicole,” she said, pointing to each child.

  “Hi.” Quinn finally turned away from the blender. The last time she’d seen Ryan, she practically threw herself at him. It didn’t matter that they’d shared a friendly dinner afterward, the embarrassment still hung around her. So did the flurry of heat in remembering the kiss. “What brings you by?”

  “I wanted to give you this.” He slid a flyer on the counter next to the chips.

  She picked up the glossy paper with writing in deep blue and purple: THE TWILIGHT CLUB. “What’s this?”

  “It’s a good blues bar, but once a month, it’s karaoke night. Next Thursday is the next night.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Well, aren’t you a knight in shining armor,” Indy purred.

  “Huh?” He took a chip, slathered it in dip, and popped it in his mouth.

  “We were discussing this list and Quinn’s plan of attack. By my count, you’ve helped her with roughly half the list.”

  He popped another chip in. “I’m doing what any friend would. I’ve offered to help with the second half of the list, but she declined.”

  Indy laughed.

  Quinn’s face warmed.

  “So what’s next on the list?” he asked.

  Indy answered, “We were telling Quinn where she should go—”

  Quinn saw the glint in Indy’s eyes and cut her off. “On vacation.” She did not want Ryan’s help figuring out where to pose nude.

  “She needs to go somewhere alone,” Kate said.

  “And it can’t be job-related,” Indy tossed in.

  “A job-related vacation?” Ryan asked.

  “Whenever she goes on vacation, she explores things she can go back and teach. She’ll visit the graves of dead authors and stuff. This needs to be about her.” Indy’s smile held something devious. Quinn was afraid to wonder what.

  “How about Vegas?”

  “No,” all the women said in unison.

  “Whoa.” Ryan put his hands up. “Just a suggestion. Nothing academic in Vegas.”

  “I don’t do Vegas,” Quinn said grimly.

  Ryan eased his hip against the last free stool. “Why not?” “Nick and I were married in Vegas.”

  Ryan choked on a chip. “You got married in Vegas?”

  “Yes.” Quinn turned her back on them and wiped off the counter. “You want a margarita?”

  “No, thanks.”

  Quinn gulped her margarita. She hated talking about Nick and her pathetic wedding and marriage. It seemed so romantic at the time. A whirlwind romance, a cross-country drive. They landed in Vegas and got married in a little white chapel.

  She hadn’t done anything spontaneous since.

  “Let’s think of some other places to go. Florida?” Kate nudged them forward in conversation.

  With her composure regained, Quinn turned back to her guests. “I am not going to Disney World alone.”

  “There’s more to Florida than Disney World,” Kate said.

  “Yeah, beaches. No, I want something different.”

  “New York.” Indy’s eyes lit. “There’s shopping, night life, shopping, restaurants, shopping . . .”

  “Crowds, rude people, and I don’t like to shop that much.”

  Kate rested her chin in her hand. “How about Niagara Falls?”

  Quinn crossed her arms over her midsection. “I want to go there, but I’m saving it.”

  “For what?”

  “It’s where my mom and dad had their honeymoon.” She sighed. “I always hoped I could go there on mine too.”

  Indy pushed away from the counter. “I think it’s time to have intelligent conversation. I’m going to talk to the kids.”

  Quinn’s eyes closed and she shook her head. She hated not being able to mention her parents in front of Indy.

  Kate’s voice was full of sympathy. “Don’t worry. She’ll be fine. You know how she gets when it comes to your parents.”

  “New Orleans,” Ryan blurted.

  Quinn and Kate both looked at him.

  “Don’t tell me there’s another ex-husband who married you in Louisiana.”

  Quinn smiled and shook her head. He’d done it again. She wouldn’t have thought of New Orleans.

  “New Orleans is full of culture. It won’t be as exciting this time of year as it would be during Mardi Gras, but since you don’t like crowds, you’ll enjoy it.”

  Indy didn’t get up from her spot on the floor with the kids, but she called out, “That makes it exactly half the list you’ve helped with. What’s his reward, Quinn?”

  “No reward necessary,” Ryan said, much to Quinn’s relief. “I have to get back to the bar. I’ll call you tomorrow. Enjoy your night.”

  On his way to the door, Thomas stepped in front of Ryan and handed him a truck with its wheel popped off. “It’s broke.”

  Ryan knelt down and held out his hands. “Let me see.” He fiddled with it for a few minutes and reattached the wheel. He handed the truck back to Thomas and ruffled his hair on his way past. “Absorb all you can, little guy. This might be last time they let you hang out in a roomful of girls.”

  “Real funny, O’Leary. We didn’t throw you out,” Quinn called.

  “Only because I’m charming. And I’m your problem solver.”

  He slipped out the door before Quinn could respond. She couldn’t argue. He’d been charming from day one, which is why she refused to go out with him. Since then, he had proved to be quite the problem solver. He’d become a better friend than she imagined.

  She clapped her hands. “Okay, looks like I’m going to New Orleans.”

  Indy leaned her arms on the counter. “Now that the vacation is settled, you guys didn’t notice the present Richard gave me. I wore my hair up to show them off, but I guess vacations and baby talk trump jewelry.” Indy shifted her head so the lighting caught and sparkled on the sapphires dangling from her ears. “What do you think?”

  “They’re beautiful,” Quinn responded. She personally preferred jewelry less flashy, but they looked perfect on Indy.

  Indy inclined her head toward Kate.

  “It’s not a diamond ring,” Kate pointed out.

  Indy’s face turned cold. “Why do you always try to ruin my happiness? What kind of friend are you?”

  Kate stiffened. “I’m the friend who’s been telling you what a mistake Richard is from the moment you told us the whole story. He is married. All you’re going to get is hurt.”

  Indy’s eyes flashed with anger. “He’s getting a divorce. You need to accept we all don’t want the perfect marriage you have. Richard offers me a good time. It’s all I’m looking for.”

  Quinn would never understand Indy’s affinity for unattainable men. Indy never searched for any permanency in he
r life. Quinn, on the other hand, couldn’t wait to be tied down with a family.

  CHAPTER 7

  Ryan and Griffin sat on the black leather couch in Ryan’s living room. They each held a bottle of beer. The White Sox game played on the TV for lack of anything more interesting to watch. Ryan shifted in his seat. He hadn’t been able to get Quinn out of his head for the past week. The more time he spent with her, the more he wanted her, and the more he realized he needed to distance himself from her. Nothing was working, though.

  “If you don’t sit still, I’m going to hit you. What’s wrong?” Griffin threw one arm over the back of the couch and leaned back into the corner.

  “It’s Quinn.”

  “How can you be so hung up on her? You just met.”

  “I’m not hung up. I told her I’d help her with her list. What do you know about speed dating?”

  “Not much. I’ve never done it. All I know is a bunch of people move from table to table and try to hook up in a couple of minutes.”

  “I’m thinking of setting up a speed dating night at O’Leary’s. What do you think?”

  “Isn’t your bar already a place where people go to pick up strangers?”

  “The format takes the awkwardness out of it. I think it’d be easier for shy people.”

  “Like Quinn. I can’t believe you’re trying to . . . woo her.”

  “Woo? Who the fuck says that?”

  “I can’t think of another word to fit. You’re going out of your way to do a bunch of crap to make her like you. What’s next, a love poem? Why don’t you ask her out?”

  Ryan puffed out his cheeks with a breath of frustration. “I have. She won’t date me because I can’t be her summer romance.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because her romance ends with summer. If we get involved, we’d lose our friendship.”

  “That makes no fucking sense.” He stood to get another beer.

  Ryan shrugged. “It’s her list, her plan.”

  From the kitchen, Griffin called, “When the hell are you going to unpack all of these boxes? I’m tired of stepping around them at every turn. How important could the crap be if it’s been in boxes for two years?”

  “It’s probably not important. This was a temporary move, remember?” An easy place to go and lick his wounds after Cassie dumped him.

  “What do you tell women when you bring them here?”

  “I don’t bring them here.”

  Griffin returned carrying two fresh bottles of beer. He popped the cap off one beer and took a drink. He set the other on the table in front of Ryan. “So you’re going to help her find some other guy?”

  Ryan settled back in the couch. “No. Yes.” At Griffin’s raised eyebrow, he continued, “I’m going to help her complete her list, making sure she doesn’t find a guy better than me.”

  “And you say you’re not hung up on her.”

  The following afternoon before the crowds picked up at the bar, Ryan called Mary into his office. The petite blonde entered and closed the door behind her.

  “What’s up?” she asked, still holding the towel she’d been using to wipe down the bar.

  “Remember when you asked about setting up a speed dating night?”

  “Yeah, I remember. You shot me down.”

  Ryan smiled at the spunk of his manager. “I didn’t shoot you down. I had other, more pressing projects. Like running another bar. Do you still have the information?”

  Mary hopped a little with excitement. “I can do it?” She straightened. “I mean, we can do it?”

  “Put together the information. How long will it take to plan it, what would the bar be responsible for, how many people we’d need on staff, how much business we’d lose to close for the event. You get the picture.”

  “Can I ask why the sudden change of heart?”

  “Someone I know told me how difficult it is to meet someone. I’m trying to help her out.” He settled back in his chair and thought of Quinn. She was enough of a reason for the headache Mary caused.

  “Her?”

  Ryan nodded. “A friend.”

  “If you say so. I’ll be out front if you need me.”

  The last thing he’d do was ask any more questions. Mary pontificated enough on the merits of planned singles events to last him a long time. He wanted to kick back and relax. Without thinking, he dialed Quinn’s number.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi. It’s Ryan.”

  “Hi. How’s it going?” Her voice melted across the line like warm butter.

  Yes, she was well worth the headache. “My manager talked me into hosting a speed dating night here at the bar. I assume you’ll be up for it. Your Romeo might be there.”

  “You need to stop trying to fulfill everything on my list. These are supposed to be things I accomplish.”

  “You will accomplish them. I’m providing extra opportunities. Besides, there are things on your list that require a partner.” He imagined her stripping naked for him. He’d like to see her lose total control—during orgasm.

  “I appreciate the opportunities, but it feels like cheating.”

  “How’s the rest of the list coming?”

  “I want to kill Indy for making me pose nude. I’ve scoured so many art classes this week. I hoped to find a senior citizen group to pose for. I figured it would be less embarrassing.”

  “Now, that would be cheating.”

  “I know. I didn’t have any luck anyway. One class I answered an ad for was horrible. I walked in thinking I’d ask questions, get some information; instead, I found myself staring into a roomful of naked people. It was like being part of a nudist colony. I was mortified.”

  “Hold on. Let me grab a pen. Now where was this?” He pretended to fumble for a pen on his desk.

  She laughed. “You’re funny. They all weren’t naked, but the group in the middle of the room was. In retrospect, it might not be as terrifying if I wasn’t the only one in the room naked, but it caught me off guard. I couldn’t even speak. I turned thirty shades of red and bolted.”

  “I can come by with my camera if you want. You can pose for me.” He toyed with the idea of where it could lead.

  “No, thanks. I’m talking to photographers tomorrow. Hopefully it will go better. What have you been up to?”

  He heard her shift her position and pictured her curling her legs under her on the couch, settling in comfortably. Like she planned to hang on and talk for a while. “I’ve been working. Nothing exciting. What are you doing with all your free time?”

  “Looking for a place to get naked. Sounds crazy. I also looked into planning my vacation to New Orleans at the end of the summer.”

  “So you liked my idea. You’ll have a great time. Next time we get together, I can give you some ideas of places to go. Actually, Griffin would know. I’ve only gone once, during Mardi Gras, so there are some blanks for me. He’s been there a few times. He could tell you the best of everything so you don’t waste your time.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

  “What else have you been up to?”

  Her quiet told him she had something going on but wasn’t sure if she wanted to tell him. When had he become so adept at understanding her moods? “Come on, spill it.”

  “I’ve been thinking about getting pregnant.”

  The air left his lungs as silence swallowed the room. She planned to have some guy get her pregnant? It didn’t make sense. It didn’t even fit who Quinn was. He didn’t even know what an appropriate reaction was. “Why?”

  “Because I really want to be a mom.” Her deep breath sounded in his ear. “The thing is, I always thought I’d find the right guy, get married, and have babies. That was always my plan. I want a family more than I’ve ever wanted anything. I’ve decided that after I complete my list this summer, I’m going it alone. I want a baby.”

  Indy should’ve told him, at least warned him off. Instead, she pushed Ryan in the direction he wanted, which was straight into
Quinn. He remembered Quinn telling him she didn’t want to be alone. He couldn’t understand her fear. He’d always had family. Even when they drove him crazy, they were his and he would never be alone.

  Ryan swallowed the pity stuck in his throat. “You won’t ever really be happy. You have to know that. You’re the kind of girl who wants the whole deal.”

  “I can’t find the whole deal. You’ve seen the dates I find. The men I attract. You’re a guy. You don’t get it. You have years to decide to have kids. Women have an expiration date.”

  “So you’ll settle for half of what you really want.”

  “Half is better than nothing.”

  He wished they were face-to-face. He wanted to touch her, shake her until she saw what a mistake she was making. They mumbled good-bye with plans to talk later.

  This at least explained why she kept pushing him away. Her plan didn’t make any sense to him. It wasn’t like she couldn’t still find someone. She was just so closed off, most people found it hard to see past her defenses. But he had and he wanted more.

  Raucous laughter reached him from the bar, pulling him from his thoughts about Quinn. Not the normal lunch crowd noise.

  Sure enough, Colin sat on a stool, telling stories to the crowd around him. Everyone loved Colin.

  Some things never change.

  Ryan didn’t interrupt but turned back to his office. He wasn’t quick enough.

  “Ryan. Wait.”

  He looked over his shoulder and saw Colin make parting gestures to his new friends. Ryan continued to his office.

  Moments later, Colin entered and closed the door behind him. “Do you have time to talk? I’ve been trying to catch up with you for days. I figured I’d get you here.”

  Ryan settled behind the huge solid oak desk that had been their father’s. All of the fixtures in the room had been standing in the same spot for more than a decade. Except the chair. Ryan had replaced his father’s broken chair with a high-end black leather desk chair. “What do you want? I have work to do.”

  Colin rubbed his hands together. A sure sign of another scheme. “That’s what I want to talk to you about. Work.”

  Ryan leaned back and waited for the pitch. He wouldn’t be as easily sucked in as their father had.