“Great. I’ll message Rob to let them know.” Quinn took her phone out of her back pocket and hesitated for a moment as she looked up from it. “I must warn you. I haven’t brought a woman over there before, so they might make a fuss.”
“You haven’t? Why?”
“I don’t make a habit of introducing women I date to my family. It’s never been serious enough to do that.”
“So why me?” Riley asked. “We haven’t known each other long.”
“No, but it feels right, don’t you think?” Quinn paused. “It just feels right.”
“Yeah.” Riley’s smile widened as she inched closer and cupped Quinn’s cheek. Her long fingers curled around Quinn’s neck, then softly grazed her hair, and it made Quinn shiver. “How long before we have to leave?”
“Two hours,” she whispered when their lips brushed. “Does that work for you?” She took Riley’s bottom lip between her teeth and tugged at it, then kissed her again, tasting the Champagne on her tongue.
“Hmm. I need to have a shower, but there are other things I’d rather do right now.” She smirked mischievously as she inched back and ran a finger down Quinn’s chest. “But I’m good at multitasking. Perhaps we could take a shower together?”
“I like that idea,” Quinn said, shifting on the spot when a tightness spread between her thighs. “Have you ever had sex in a shower?” She bit her lip and paused. “Hot water, lots of soap, slippery skin…”
“No.”
“No?” Quinn’s voice went up a notch, and she drew out the word teasingly slow as she arched a brow at her. “Well, that’s a sin. We’d better cross that one off your list.”
“How about we take the bottle into the bathroom?” Riley suggested. Her eyes lowered to Quinn’s lips. “We can toast to rare wines, hot showers, and everything that feels right.”
52
RILEY
“Riley!” Lila came tearing up to her and gave her a hug.
“Oh! Hi, honey. Look at you!” Riley stepped back and put her hands on Lila’s shoulders. “You’re so pretty, just like a princess.”
“Aunt Quinn bought me this dress,” Lila said with a toothless grin. “It’s a fairy dress, but Mom won’t let me wear it to school.”
“I don’t think any of your friends wear fairy dresses to school now, do they?” Mary kissed Riley on her cheek and pulled out a chair for her. “It’s so nice to see you again.”
“Thank you so much for having me.” Riley greeted Rob, then Tommy, who walked into the kitchen with an iPad in his hands. “What are you playing there, Tommy?”
“It’s a racing game. I’m really good at it. I’m number three in my league.”
“Please put that away, Tommy,” Rob said. “No games at the dining table, you know the rules.”
“But I haven’t finished yet and if I stop now, I’ll—”
“I’m serious, Tommy.” Rob took the iPad from him and placed it on top of the fridge where he couldn’t reach. “You can have it back after dinner.”
Tommy sat with a sulking expression and crossed his arms. “You never let me do anything.”
“Poor boy. Must be so hard for you,” Quinn joked, jutting out her bottom lip. She glanced at Riley, put her hand on her thigh under the table, and mouthed, “Are you okay?”
Riley smiled and nodded, a little nervous for the night ahead. Not because Mary or Rob made her feel uncomfortable, but she knew bringing her here was a big deal to Quinn.
The kitchen was cozy and messy, a typical space for people with kids. It was cluttered with toys, there were drawings on the fridge, held down with novelty magnets, and a big calendar on the door was full of scribbles. The sink was overflowing with mugs and plates, and a fresh lick of paint on the wall still showed the outline of a marker where one of the kids had drawn on it. “You have a beautiful home,” she said to Mary.
“Thank you. We love it, although I apologize for the mess.” Mary placed a big, wooden chopping board with antipasti on the table and sat down with a content sigh. “And it’ll be even better now that we can afford to do some work on it.” Smiling, she gestured at the wall. “That includes repairing all the creative damage these two have done over the years.”
Riley laughed. “I’m sure it came at a good time.”
“Yes, it’s definitely cause for celebration,” Rob said. “Our parents couldn’t join us tonight, but we’ll all get together next time. Dad has a pickleball tournament, and he likes to have a drink with his team after the game, so Mom’s driving him. Now, we don’t have Champagne in the house, I’m afraid, but we do have a splendid Barolo that’s been waiting to be sampled at a special occasion, and it pairs perfectly with the buffalo mozzarella.”
