“You let Erick back in?” Quinn kept her face hidden in my very bare chest.
Why was Ezra shirtless?
‘She likes my abs. Thought it would help,’Ezra answered.
I forced myself not to laugh and focused on my girl, pouring her heart out in my arms.
“Yes,” I answered her question. “He’s an Adler Michelson, and I am in no position to invite trouble from the Royalty of London.”
“But he left. Why would he go back to you?”
I raised an eyebrow. “That is the question of the hour. Maybe something you said stuck with him?”
Quinn turned her head, and a small, hopeful smile curled her lips. She scooted forward and pressed herself under my arm. “I missed you. I thought I wouldn’t. I thought after all my mistrust and anger, walking away would help me let go. But it didn’t. And then hearing Deirdre Grierson pretty much say the same things Everly and I accused you of.” She trembled and looked up. “I’m an idiot, and I’m scared, and it was easier to be angry with you than admit what I want.”
“And what do you want?” I asked. Ezra’s low voice came out breathless and needy.
We gazed into each other’s eyes. I needed to hear her say it. I didn’t want to make assumptions or live on my hopes. If she wanted all four of us, I needed physical words to pass through my ears.
Before she could answer, someone shook my real body.
I sighed, knowing too well who it was. Instead of bringing the heavy tension back, I booped Quinn on the nose. “Cayden’s shaking me. Don’t traumatize my lover while I’m gone. He doesn’t do ‘what-ifs’ and speculation. Your purple notes almost stopped his heart.”
Quinn giggled, and I returned to my body.
“Let it go, Cay.” Rowan was saying. “If you can’t stand looking at him, you can peel potatoes. Shepherd’s pie waits for no man.”
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
Cayden scowled. “Are you with Quinn?”
I moved my gaze to Rowan. “Defend my body.” Gave Cayden the finger and returned to Ezra’s body.
“Are you with Cayden?” Quinn asked the moment my baby blues replaced Ezra’s. Instead of sitting under my arm, she was across from me again. I mourned the loss immediately.
I rubbed my cheeks, or more accurately Ezra’s very scratchy cheeks. “He just asked me the same thing.”
Quinn’s face brightened.
“Yes. Rowan’s making us dinner,” I admitted.
Quinn sat up so her knees were tucked under her and looked up at me so adorably I thought my heart might explode. “You three are having dinner… together?”
“Unless Rowan is keeping Cayden from murdering me instead of cooking, then yes, that is the plan. Somehow.”
Quinn bit her lower lip. “Is there some way Ezra and I can join you?”
The hope in her voice physically hurt. Ezra grunted in the background, feeling it as well.
She’d been doing so well without the four of us. The Westwaters always had something to keep her entertained, but being busy wasn’t the same as being loved.
I pulled her back into my chest. “The only reason we can talk is the connection I carved between Ezra and me. You’re miles away; I can’t touch you.” Quinn took a few deep breaths against me, and I rubbed the back of her head. “We need to get you past these trials, and then you can be with us in person if that’s what you want.”
“Unless Cayden murders you tonight,” Quinn said softly, still not admitting what she wanted.
“It’s fifty-fifty.” I pulled her away from Ezra’s chest—God, it even looked good from this angle—and cupped her cheek. I couldn’t wait for her to say it. She needed a prompt. “You want all four of us, don’t you?”
Quinn’s cheeks turned scarlet. “I do. Is that okay?”
