I just want to make sure she gets the hat back. That’s all.
A breath stuck in my chest, I drive to Madoc’s.
I go through the list in my head.Say goodbye to Tate, Juliet, and all the kids.Madoc and Fallon will be last. Don’t forget Jason and Katherine.
Farrow Kelly and Noah Van der Berg will probably be there as friends of the families. I don’t need to address them.
And give Quinn the hat.Assuming I can keep the compass.
What if she’s not there? I punch the gas, telling myself it’s better if she’s not. I’m a little worried about looking into her eyes and saying goodbye again.
It’ll be good to get back home, though. To the salty sea air. The spices and sunbaked desert. The sounds of the music pouring out of shops and the feel of my sheets.
Unable to stop the image before it comes, I see Quinn in my head, on top of me and barely shrouded in the shadow of the drapes over the moonlight that streams through my window in my apartment. The sheets fall down her legs like water as she presses her body into mine.
My mouth falls open. What would it be like to have her out there with me, all to myself, for a visit? I could. No one would think a thing if I looked out for her while she travels. And we wouldn’t be here, so I wouldn’t have to be on guard. I mean, why not?
All to myself…
Another image flashes through my mind, her in my bed, every night…
Her moans hit my ear, and my groin swells and aches, making me groan. The car swerves, and I jerk the wheel, tires screeching under me.
My chest caves.Fuck.
What the hell? Sweat breaks out on my forehead, and I breathe hard, trying to keep the car straight.
It’s Quinn.
Quinn!
Dammit.
I pull up to Madoc’s house, halting quickly, and leave the Cubs cap on my passenger seat this time. It’s the last business I have with her.Later. If she shows.
I grab the bottle of top-shelf Scotch whisky instead, unopened and left over from my father’s things, that I want Madoc to have.
The massive, circular driveway has nothing in the center—no fountain or flowerbed—just a basketball hoop on the far left where I played with Madoc a few times. I loved being here, and in my memory, I still hear the ball bounce and the leaves blow on the crisp fall days.
The space is now filled with cars. I take inventory of Jared’s Dark Horse, Jax’s McLaren, a couple of JT Racing work trucks, several others I don’t recognize, and three motorbikes.
Quinn’s bicycle isn’t here.
Madoc opens the door as soon as I reach for the handle.
I smile, holding up my bottle. “Brought the good stuff.” I step inside. “Let’s compare.”
He takes the liquor out of my hands. “Happily.”
Fallon had warned me he distilled some of the worst Irish whiskey her father had ever tasted, but Madoc made sure to also add that her father drank it every time he visited. I’ve never tried Irish, so cheers. I just hope I stay sober enough to get myself on a plane tonight.
He closes the door, and I walk with him through the foyer. “You invited too many people, didn’t you?”
“Psh…”
I cock an eyebrow. That wasn’t an answer. He knows I don’t like to be the center of attention. He has Kade for that, unless that kid haschanged.
Jared’s wife Tate approaches, followed by Fallon, Jax, and his wife Juliet. I glance behind them, taking in the patio full of people. Music vibrates against the sliding glass doors.
