‘Good idea.’
They fell into silence as they walked through the quiet, snowy streets and she knew he was deep in thought.
‘Are you OK?’ Alex asked.
‘Yes, I was just thinking I wish, more than anything, I had been in your life when Liam fell off the wagon. I don’t think I could have done anything to help him as I couldn’t help him before, but I could have helped you. I hate that you went through that alone. If I’d known, I’d have got you and Zara out of there.’
Alex stopped and reached up to stroke his face. ‘And I would have loved you for trying but I couldn’t leave him, no matter how vile he became. I think you swooping in and saving me would have pushed him over the edge and it felt like he was hanging on by his fingertips anyway. I tried so hard to help him, gettinghim into counselling, getting him into rehab, but he had to choose to want to get better and he never did.’
Snowflakes were melting on his eyelashes as he looked at her. ‘You were trying to help him but no one was there to help you. I would never have let him treat you that way. And that damage has had lasting consequences. That’s why you never moved on before.’
‘Yeah, I think so. I didn’t realise it before and now I feel like there’s a mental block, stopping me from trusting someone with my heart. Liam loved me so much and look how that turned out.’
Quinn didn’t say anything for a while. But what could he say? He couldn’t turn back the clock.
They approached her house, the one Alex had shared with Liam, the one where she’d watched her marriage fall apart. Maybe she needed a change of scenery; they could sell the house and move somewhere new. Would that help her move on? Or was she the thing that needed to change? She probably needed to fix herself rather than the things around her.
‘What will it take to get you to trust me?’ Quinn asked, quietly.
‘Time. There is nothing you can say or do to take away that pain but one day I will be brave enough to take that step with you.’
‘And I’ll be here waiting, until you do,’ he assured her.
And when she did she would have to be brave enough to tell him the truth about the night Liam died. If not before. She was a coward and she hated herself fornot coming clean about it before. Not telling him for all this time made it worse.
They reached her back door.
‘I’d ask you in, but after the last few hours I’m pretty sure how that would go.’
Quinn grinned. ‘Yeah probably, so I’ll just say goodnight and I’ll see you tomorrow morning.’
She nodded but she didn’t make a move to go in and he didn’t make a move to leave either.
He leaned forward and cupped her face and kissed her and she smiled against his lips.
‘You need to stop trying to make me fall in love with you.’
He smiled and stepped back. ‘Never. Goodnight, Alex.’
He started walking away and she couldn’t help smiling. She was in so much trouble.
CHAPTER 10
Quinn walked into Sweet Escapes the next morning to see if they had any more custard Danishes for Alex or perhaps something else. She had a sweet tooth and he liked being able to do this for her from time to time. Plus he figured she’d probably worked up a bit of an appetite from the night before
His cousin Max was serving behind the counter when he approached and Quinn placed his order for a box of strawberry and white chocolate muffins as they didn’t have any of the Danishes. The place was unusually quiet. A lot of people would grab stuff on their way to school or work so he was surprised to see he was the only customer. Although it had snowed heavily overnight so perhaps the weather was putting some people off.
‘Cleo found a bauble this morning,’ Max said, as he boxed up Quinn’s order.
‘She did?’ Quinn said.
‘Yeah, it had her famous Christmas tree cupcake on it. She’s so excited. And it just makes me want to find the guy who’s doing this and give him a big hug.’
‘I’m sure St Nick would really appreciate that,’ he said, dryly.
Max grinned. ‘By the way, is Alex OK after the other night?’ he asked.
Quinn frowned in confusion. How could Max possibly know what had happened between them?
