“This place is so beautiful, even in the dark,” said April. “How long have you lived here?”
“My entire life,” smiled Quinn. “Hopefully, tomorrow you’ll get to meet my grandparents and great-grandparents. They’re amazing. My great-grandfather was one of the original members of our team when they were just called REAPER. My great-grandmother was a former FBI profiler.”
“That’s amazing!”
“Yeah, she’s something else. Still looks beautiful for her age.” Quinn realized that eventually he’d need to talk to April about the pond as well but there were too many secrets to Belle Fleur to shove them all into one evening.
“Tell me more.”
“Well, they had triplets, Georgianna, my great-aunt, Marc, my great-uncle, and Wes, my grandfather. My grandfather and grandmother, Virginia, had triplets. Dad, Uncle Christopher, and Aunt Sadie. She’s married to Ham, who you met earlier.”
“That is so wild,” smiled April.
“It gets wilder. As you know, I’m a triplet but Sadie and Ham have triplets, my cousins Ambry, Bailey, and Cole. Uncle Christopher and his wife, Ramey, have two sets of triplets. Brooks, Mitchell, and Marissa and Cooper, Levi, and Caleb.”
“Holy shit,” she whispered. “Can I rethink us having sex?” Quinn chuckled, shaking his head.
“You can rethink sex all you want because what we’re going to do is very different. Sex is something you have to satisfy an urge. Making love, that’s different. Making love is what you do when you know that the person beside you is yours. Forever.”
“F-forever? Quinn,” she started.
“Listen to me, April. I realize how absolutely shitty your last few days have been. I also know that all of this,” he said sweeping his arm in a big circle, “is a lot to deal with. But my family is unique in so many ways. Beyond all the triplet births, beyond the ghosts, beyond the amazing people.
“My great-grandparents fell in love within a few days. My grandparents were childhood friends, then married. My parents met when my mother worked for an international aid agency and rescued a trafficked little girl. She was getting ready to be sold for marriage to a man five times her age.”
“Wow! I knew I liked your mom.”
“They’re incredible, April. My whole family is incredible. The men and women you’ve met so far are just the tip of the iceberg.” April stopped in the path, gripping Quinn’s arm and slowly moving behind.
“Wh-what is that?” she whispered. Quinn laughed, pulling her beside him to stand tall.
“It’s alright, Semu. Come and say hello to April. You’re not supposed to swim over here, you know that, you bad girl.” The gorilla signed to him and he laughed, April laughing as well. Quinn grinned at her.
“I learned sign language for my deaf passengers,” she said. “She said she isn’t a bad girl and don’t call her that. I agree. Hello, Semu.” She signed to the gorilla, giving her own name. Semu got closer, touching her long hair and then her face. She gave a sweet wave and left the two on the path.
“This place is unbelievable,” laughed April. “Can we please get to the cottage before I fall over from exhaustion?”
“Oh, shit, yes,” he said lifting her in his arms.
“Quinn! I can walk.”
“You can but this is a good excuse to hold you close.”
“You’re such a gentleman,” she smiled.
“Not always,” he winced.
“Yes, you are. You pulled my cardigan over my cleavage in Coronado even though you were enjoying the view from your vantage point.”
“Damn. You saw that?”
“I could feel your eyes looking. At first I was worried that you were going to bethatguy. Then you did the unexpected. You covered me up. That was the first thing that told me you are a gentleman.”
He opened the door, pushing it open and then closed with the toe of his boot. Turning, he locked the door, still holding her tightly and walked back down the hall. He stopped in front of the bedroom doors. One on the left, one on the right.
“Which one?” he said. “Your choice and your choice is fine.”
“Good. Take me to bed, Quinn.”
