“Come in,” Riley said, opening the door wide. “Aww, flowers. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Everyone needs flowers.” Quinn handed them over along with the wine, followed Riley into the kitchen, and put the chocolates on the kitchen island. “You have a dining table.” She was baffled to see how the kitchen had transformed. The new wooden table was laid out with a cloth and candles, and there was already a bouquet of roses next to the lilies on the worktop. A huge abstract painting covered most of the back wall, and there were navy curtains in the windows. With the lights dimmed, music playing, and a delicious smell coming from the oven, she would even go as far as to say it felt homey in here.
“Yes. It arrived this morning. I hope the chairs are safe to sit on because I assembled them myself.” Riley chuckled as she put the flowers in a vase. “I thought we should eat here as it’s the only part of the house that doesn’t echo, and I’m sick of the sound of my own voice.”
“I like what you did with it.” Quinn looked her over. “You look different too. What happened to your suits?”
“Yeah…the suits.” Riley laughed as she glanced at her jeans and sneakers. “They weren’t very practical here, so I invested in a new wardrobe.”
“You look nice. It suits you.” Quinn’s eyes lowered to the white shirt that was unbuttoned just far enough to show the edge of Riley’s black, lace bra. Her dark hair was pulled up into a messy top-knot, and a few stray locks were loosely pulled behind her ears. She’d clearly tried to change her style, but she was still as elegant as before, with the fine silver necklace and diamond studs in her ears. “Not that the heels and skirt didn’t suit you,” she clumsily continued. “Those were great too. I mean…never mind.” She shook her head and laughed. “Oh my God, I’m babbling, forgive me.”
“It’s fine. Thank you.” Riley looked her over in return and smiled. “You look nice too.”
“Thank you.” Quinn blushed when their eyes met. She rarely found herself in the company of women as beautiful as Riley, and she couldn’t help but stare. Riley’s look was inquisitive, as if she was trying to figure her out.
Quinn had changed twice before she came here, and that was crazy. She didn’t normally care all that much about how she looked, but apparently, she cared what this woman thought of her. Wearing jeans and sneakers herself, she’d swapped her white shirt for a gray sweatshirt as she didn’t want to look too formal, and she was grateful she had or they’d look like twins. “Do you need help with the food?” she asked, filling the silence that was becoming somewhat awkward.
“I think I’ve got it under control.” Riley opened the oven to check on her dish. “Only just. I have no idea how it will taste, so I got a couple of freezer pizzas in case I mess it up.”
“It smells good.”
“Cannelloni with ricotta and spinach, and my not-so-homemade tomato sauce. I figured stuffing pasta would be a safe option to start with.” Riley bit her lip and grinned. “That, and Lindsey told me you like Italian food. I’m also aware that strategy might not work to my advantage, as you may have had a much better version of this dish before.”
“I have had it before, but I’m sure it will be delicious.” Quinn sat down when Riley gestured to the table. “Are you and Lindsey besties now?”
“I like her. I saw her last night at the town meeting.” Riley opened the fridge and took out a bowl of salad, sprinkled some lemon juice and olive oil over it, and tossed it. “I invited her tonight, but she said she was busy.”
“Okay.” Quinn found it hard to believe Lindsey was busy, as she was usually curled up with her cat and a book at night, but she kept that to herself. “And how was the town meeting?”
Riley put the salad on the table and joined her with a humorous look on her face. “The first part was dreadfully boring,” she said. “The second part was hugely entertaining.”
“The Q and A part?” Quinn asked.
“Exactly. Wow, there were a lot of opinions on things I really didn’t think mattered. And I mean a lot. There was mainly disagreement, although in essence, they were all saying the same thing. It could have been easily solved with a small compromise, but I decided to stay out of it since I’m new here and I didn’t want people to think I’m some pompous New Yorker who’s come here to teach them how to make quick, democratic decisions.”
“Oh yeah? Are you good at that? Maybe you should try your hand at politics.”
“I’ve been told to steer away from leadership or stressful situations, so best not,” Riley said. Quinn could tell she was putting on a brave face, as the humorous twinkle in her eyes was gone. She was still smiling though; a beautiful, wide smile that showed off her neat, white teeth.
“Your heart?”
“You spoke to Lindsey…” Riley opened the bottle of red wine on the table and poured them both a glass.
“Yeah, she filled me in. We speak almost every day. As I said, there’s no malicious gossip, but I’m not going to sit here and pretend I don’t know.” Quinn decided it would be best to be honest. Against all odds, she liked Riley, and it was nice to have someone new to talk to.
“I appreciate that.” Riley tilted her head, crossed her arms, and regarded her. “However, does that mean you’ll call Lindsey tomorrow to tell her everything we’ve discussed tonight?”
“No,” Quinn said resolutely. “Lindsey gossips, I don’t. I might tell her we’ve had a lovely evening, but I’d never tell her anything about you personally.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“I promise. As the only out gay woman in town, I’ve been the center of gossip too many times to take part in it myself, so no.” She leaned in and lowered her voice to a whisper. “And you already know I’m gay because you asked Lindsey about my love life.”
“Oh.” Riley winced. “Busted.”
Quinn noticed Riley looked embarrassed, so she shot her a sweet smile. “It’s okay, Riley. Everyone does it, and it’s not a big deal.”
13
