June looked between Mo and Bronwyn and then grinned. “You two are a trip. Mr. Quinn, I hope you’ll be around more often.”
“I’ll be here tomorrow as well. After that, we’ll have to see. At some point, she’s going to kick me out.”
June shook her head. “Not if I can stop her.” She gave Bronwyn a sassy grin. “Ms. Pierce, I got word from hospitality that the interview room is ready for you. I’ll message you when Mr. Brown arrives.”
“Thank you.” Bronwyn checked her watch. “I’m going to head to Hideaway and check in with Cassie. Then I’ll visit the front desk. Depending on how long that takes, I may or may not make it to housekeeping before the interview.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Did she need to give June the play-by-play? Or was that for his benefit? Either way, he was glad to know the plan.
Bronwyn grabbed her iPad from the conference room table, took a deep breath, and walked down the hall. Mo took a position slightly to her left and stayed there until they walked into Hideaway’s kitchen.
“Mo!” Cassie’s smile had been infectious since she was a baby. “What’s my favorite cousin doing here?”
“I came to see you, of course.”
“Yeah, right. You saw me yesterday.”
“It’s already been too long.”
Cassie removed her apron and spoke to Bronwyn. “It’s the quiet ones you have to look out for.” She walked to him, and Mo opened his arms. Cassie snuggled in, and he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“How’s married life?” Mo asked.
The answer was obvious. Her glow was enough to brighten any room, but he wanted to hear her answer anyway. He wasn’t supposed to have favorites, but aside from Cal, Cassie really was his favorite Quinn cousin.
“Amazing! As you already know since you asked me yesterday.” Cassie looked toward the ceiling. “Save me from overprotective cousins.” Then she looked at Bronwyn. Mo didn’t know what she saw, but Cassie’s eyes widened. “Okay, okay. I know. I’m the luckiest girl in the world.”
“And I will continue to point that out anytime you start acting put upon when you’re so loved, you bump into it everywhere you go.” Bronwyn’s reply made Mo think this was an ongoing conversation between the two of them.
“You’re loved too, Bronwyn.”
Bronwyn’s response wasn’t a grin or a joke. She changed the subject entirely. “How’s everything here today? Anything I need to know about?”
Mo tuned out most of the conversation after that. Did Bronwyn not believe she was loved?
To be fair, there were few people on earth as loved as a Quinn. The family was loving, affectionate, and not shy about it. But Bronwyn was...
Bronwyn was ... what?
Her grandmother loved her. But that lady had spent her lifetimemanipulating everyone and everything around her to the point that it was hard to tell if her motivations were pure or not.
Her parents loved her but not the way parents should. Mo had disappointed his mom and dad on more than one occasion. He’d had a multi-year run of disappointments after Bronwyn left. And then, when she came back, they were disappointed in him again.
Not that they’d ever said that. They loved him through all his faults and foibles. They loved him when he made them proud and when he made them despair. He’d grown up certain of that.
Bronwyn had not.
Her extended family didn’t love her. They loved that she could bring in money. They loved that she ran The Haven so well they could go on vacations and live their lives without worry. But Bronwyn herself? No. They didn’t love Bronwyn for who she was.
Her friends ... well, Cal and Landry and Meredith loved her. And had never wavered in that love.
The kids adored her. Eliza’s “Aunt Bronwyn” had nearly killed him from a cuteness overload.
She was loved. And loved deeply.
But that didn’t mean she felt loved.
