“It led me here. I can’t be too mad,” Quinn admitted.
“Is being here that great?”
“I have a wonderful new business. And a fabulous new girlfriend,” Quinn smiled fondly. She may have thrown in the part about Autumn to twist the knife, but that didn’t make her words any less true.
“Being here looks good on you,” Rory smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
“Okay. I came all this way. Give me one final dance and I’ll leave.”
“You want a dance?” Quinn asked incredulously.
“I do. It feels fitting. Our relationship started with a dance. You met me out one night and remember? You asked me to dance. This can be our goodbye dance.”
Quinn shook her head. She knew that Rory had always been a touch extreme when it came to assigning meaning to things. She supposed one dance couldn’t hurt.
“One dance, and then you’ll give me the necklace and leave?” Quinn reasserted.
“You have my word,” Rory promised.
Quinn slid from the booth and made her way to the dancefloor. She offered Rory her hand, but the woman stepped in close and wrapped her arms around Quinn. She felt a shudder go through her, not from desire but distrust. It had been a long time since Rory’s arms had held her in this way. A long time since she’d been this close to Rory. Quinn could remember a time when being this close to Rory felt good, natural. Now, all Quinn felt while dancing with Rory was an unsettled awkwardness. As the song drew to a close Rory pulled away. Quinn watched as Rory reached into her jean’s pocket and pulled out a small box. She opened the box and revealed the necklace Quinn’s grandmother had left her. Quinn felt tears threatening to sting her eyes. She’d been sure that she’d lost the necklace forever, it felt wonderful to be getting it back. Rory saw the flash of emotion and pulled the necklace from the box. Rory leaned forward and fastened the necklace around Quinn’s neck. From this close Quinn caught the familiar scent of Rory’s perfume, juniper and mist. Before Rory pulled away, she leaned in placing a kiss on Quinn’s cheek, her hand resting on Quinn’s chest. Quinn held up a hand, pushing her back as gently as she could manage.
“That’s too familiar,” Quinn warned.
“Sorry. I got wrapped up in the moment.”
Quinn nodded understanding.
“Thank you for the necklace, but you should go now.”
It was perhaps the only kindness Quinn could offer to her ex. Rory seemed to understand. She offered Quinn a smile.
“Have a good life, Quinn. You deserve the best,” Rory did her best to smile. A strange sadness seemed to come over Rory’s face. Quinn found that she couldn’t relate to the sadness. Her life had only gotten better since moving on from Rory.
Chapter 20
Autumn had spent more time than she cared to admit curating her look for the evening. If there was even the possibility of running into Quinn’s ex, she wanted to be looking her best. Perhaps she was being silly. It wasn’t as if Quinn seemed fond of her ex. But the idea of running into Rory awoke a long-buried sense of being territorial.
When she’d finally picked her outfit, a stark white jumpsuit with a gold-colored belt and golden jewelry for highlights she knew she looked stunning. Piper had always said that knowing what you look best in was a woman’s best weapon.
Autumn appraised herself one more time. She did look good. Those long hours in the gym were starting to pay off. Her doorbell rang and she opened the door to reveal both Madison and Jordan. They each looked stunning as well. If there had ever been a wing woman dream team these two, were it.
“We all look amazing,” Madison laughed.
“Of course we do. We all know what we’re going out for tonight,” Jordan responded matter of factly.
When Autumn and Madison made no response, only offering sheepish smiles Jordan sighed.
“We’re going to show this Rory woman who’s boss. And to show Quinn how much of a catch Autumn is. Lest she forget.”
It was official, Jordan was next level. Autumn had an inkling that she could learn a great deal from the woman. Autumn couldn’t help but admire Jordan and Madison’s outfit choices as well. Jordan wore a golden top with just enough of a plunge in her neckline to give a peek but not enough to give away all her secrets. She had coupled the top with a pair of black slacks and heels. Madison had gone in the other direction. She wore a white top that hugged her curves and a navy skirt that showed off her well-toned legs. The three of them were knockouts.
Autumn was sure that everything with Quinn and Rory would be over quickly. Quinn hadn’t seemed eager to even have an in-person conversation, much less spend extra time with Rory. With any luck, Rory would be gone before they even got to the bar. Then Autumn could focus on getting to know her two new friends and hanging out with her girlfriend.
“How are you feeling about this evening?” Jordan asked. There was concern in her deep brown eyes. Autumn couldn’t help but find the woman equal parts fierce and comforting.
“I feel better about it. Quinn doesn’t seem like she even wants to reconnect with Rory. So hopefully she’ll be able to getthe woman in and out of the bar quickly. We might not even see Rory at all.”
“For what it’s worth I agree with that assessment. Quinn seems more eager to get the whole thing over and done with than she does actually interacting with Rory,” Madison offered.
