The Best Part of Me (21 page)

And it was the
more
that he was afraid of.

It'd be best if he made himself scarce for a few days. She probably expected them to be together every night, which was something that he definitely didn't want to encourage.

After draining a glass of water himself and then filling another, he returned to the bedroom to find Quinn snuggled under the bedsheet with the quilt pulled up to her chin. The faint glow of the streetlamps coming in from the front window bathed her in light.

Ewan stood next to the bed and watched her chest rise steadily under the covers. Her long lashes lay against her cheekbones. Her pink lips were slightly open where they rested on the inside of her palm. Her light brown hair was spread out over his pillows. She looked so small and soft. And he felt like a glutton for wanting her again.

Quinn's eyes opened when he sat down on the bed beside her. She smiled up at him sleepily as she took the glass of water. She propped herself up on her elbow, clutching the quilt to her chest. Ewan watched as she drained the water before handing the empty glass to him.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Welcome.”

He returned the glass to the sink in the kitchen, wondering how to approach the topic of a few days off between the two of them.

He heard her moan from the bedroom. “I have to get up in less than an hour.” Another tortured moan.

When he returned to the room, she was lying back down with her forearm crossed over her eyes.

“It's only five o'clock in the morning,” he said after checking the clock.

“I have to be home before seven o'clock. Darcy is picking me up at eight.”

He lay down beside her on top of the covers, almost as if touching her would set off a whole new round of sex. Four orgasms in three hours would surely kill him.

“She asked me to help her with her final exam for the design course she's taking. We have to redesign an outdoor area.”

“On a Sunday?”

“I guess we can start on it today and we'll be done on Thursday. It's in Providence.” She snuggled closer into his side. “So you'll be rid of me for the week.”

A week! And she was just telling him this now?

“It's probably for the best,” she continued. “You and I don't sleep very much when we're together.”

Was
she
telling
him
that they needed to slow down?

She was going to be off in Providence doing God knew what with Darcy while he would be in Ballagh. He shifted slightly on the mattress, shoving his hands behind his head.

Jesus, Ewan, keep it together. This is what you wanted, remember?

Pulling his shit together before Quinn saw the disappointment on his face, he closed his eyes and feigned indifference. He felt Quinn move beside him and knew that she was looking at him.

“Did you hear what I said?” she asked softly.

“Yeah.”

A pause.

“Oh,” she replied, sounding disappointed. He felt a little bit more at ease knowing that she was expecting him to confess he would be miserable without her for an entire week.

“I'm sure the week will go fast,” she said as if to reassure herself. “We'll be back in time for Darcy's birthday on Friday. I'll see you there, right?”

“I wasn't invited.”

“Yes, you were. You'd know that if you opened your mail. The invitation is sitting on your dining table.”

He opened his eyes and looked over at her. “How do you know?”

“Because I saw it earlier. Before you came upstairs.”

He recalled the bright purple envelope that was posted locally. He'd received it earlier that day, along with other stuff. Including a stack of letters from his mother that his uncle had dropped off.

“You were going through my mail?”

She sat up quickly. “No. I just saw it on the table,” she said. “I wasn't snooping around. It was in plain sight.”

Even though he knew the letters were just lying on his table, her earlier announcement of the week-long trip to Rhode Island mixed with the possibility that she'd noticed the unopened letters from his mother pissed him off.

“Jesus, Quinn, did you go through my medicine cabinet too?” He swung his legs over the side of the bed and braced his arms on the mattress.

“No!” She scrambled out of bed. She stomped around the room until she stood right in front of him, naked as the day she was born. “But just so you know, I did go through your refrigerator. So don't get all bent out of shape if I happened to come across some very private bologna or something.”

He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. She was right. She hadn't done anything.

“Is this about those letters?”

His eyes shot up to hers and he returned her stare. She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for him to respond. He remained silent while they stared at each other.

“You worried that I found some letters from an old girlfriend or something?”

He could see the wheels turning in her head.

“Or maybe it's a current girlfriend?”

He saw that moment when his silence made her believe what she was saying. Maybe he should let her think what she'd like. What did he care? But when he saw the hurt creep into her eyes and remembered her distrust for men in general after her first boyfriend had dicked her over, the fight left him.

“No.” He shook his head. “That's not what they are. Just leave it alone, okay?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you in some sort of trouble?”

He had to laugh. She was really something else. Standing in front of him stark naked and ready to take on the world if he needed her to.

“No, I'm not in trouble.”

She continued to study him, and he could tell there were a million questions running through her mind. He stood and linked his arms around her hips. Her skin felt warm and smooth.

“It's nothing for you to be concerned with.” He nuzzled the side of her neck.

“The handwriting was feminine.”

“So is this ear right here that tastes so good,” he murmured as he nipped at her earlobe.

She released her arms to her sides and relaxed slightly against him.

“And this long, beautiful neck,” he said against her skin, “is decidedly feminine.” He felt her melt against him as he ran his tongue down the taut cord along her neck.

“I was jealous when I saw the letters.” She sighed into his hair.

“Hmmmm?” He was too busy to respond because he'd reached her smooth, delicate collarbone, which was surely becoming one of his favorite body parts of hers.

“I have to leave in forty-five minutes.” Her voice was growing fainter the farther south he traveled.

“Well, then we shouldn't waste any more time,” he said, scooping her up and placing her back on the bed.

She whimpered, but it wasn't out of protest. “I'm not sure my body can handle any more of you right now.” The desire in her eyes told him otherwise.

He slid his sweat pants off his hips and gingerly crawled into bed with her. He wasn't sure his body could handle it either, but he was damn well gonna try.

After all, it was going to be a long week.

Quinn fell into her chair just as Darcy slid into hers. The restaurant where they sat was crowded, but they were able to snag a small, round table in a corner of the outdoor patio.

Closing her eyes for a brief moment, Quinn felt every ache and pain that pulsed along her spine. She felt tiny twinges in the muscles of her arms, and from the way her feet felt, she could have sworn she'd just run a 5k in a pair of high heels. Opening her eyes, she saw Darcy staring at her through fatigue-heavy lids, and they smiled wryly at one another.

“Dinner is on me tonight,” Darcy said. “Don't even try to argue with me about it.”

Quinn laughed softly. “I'm glad to hear you say that. I forgot my purse in your car.”

They were as lively as a pile of rocks after four long, grueling days working on Darcy's final exam. They'd just finished the project, and it was a masterpiece.

The week had been long and arduous. Although the project had been Darcy's to manage, she'd given Quinn free reign of the landscaping element. Darcy had been less than enthusiastic about being assigned the outdoor room site, but it was the luck of the draw, and they had brainstormed on the hour drive to Providence from Ballagh on Sunday morning. Upon their arrival, they'd quickly stopped by Darcy's college to pick up information on their project site, and then proceeded straight there to meet with the client.

The client, Mrs. Daily, had turned out to be the new owner of The White Rose Bed and Breakfast in the picturesque Blackstone Valley, which was a half hour from downtown Providence. It was one of the quaintest, loveliest towns Quinn had ever seen. And as soon as Mrs. Daily had showed them to their project site, Quinn had known they had a gold mine to work with. It wasn't so much of an outdoor room but a small, beautiful courtyard that was snugly tucked between two stone buildings. Mrs. Daily owned both properties, so she said they would be able to make permanent alterations to either wall.

Quinn had been immediately impressed with Darcy's ability to pull details from Mrs. Daily that she hadn't thought to ask for. At the end of their site visit, Darcy had formulated a plan and was eager to get to a sketch pad. The theme, as Darcy called it, was Secret Garden Romance. They'd checked into a double room at the B and B and started work the next day.

Their days started at half past seven every morning after Mrs. Daily stuffed them full of scrambled eggs, sausage, and buttered toast. The third member of their team, Paul—the college-assigned undergraduate student who had an interest in carpentry—would meet them every morning at eight o'clock. He was staying with some of his friends just outside of town.

Paul was tall and lanky, and Quinn wondered how in the world he'd be able to lift a two-by-four, let alone handle all the woodwork for their project.

His dark brown hair was long, and he wore an elastic band around his head to keep it out of his eyes. He had thick dark-framed glasses that constantly slid down his nose. But much to Quinn's surprise, his carpentry skills were excellent. He had sure and steady hands and worked efficiently.

Darcy was intense and, not surprisingly, completely focused on her task. When they'd have dinner in the evenings, talk would revolve around their progress and plans for the next day. After saying good night to Paul, they'd stumble back to the room and pass out from sheer exhaustion.

They'd finally made it to Thursday night and had planned to have a celebratory dinner for a job well done. A waitress stopped by their table to take their drink order.

“Whiskey, straight,” Darcy said.

“A Miller Lite and a giant glass of water, please,” Quinn said.

The restaurant's patio was starting to get loud, and the women watched as their waitress dodged people left and right to find her way back into the kitchen.

“We totally killed that exam,” Darcy said after a minute.

Quinn smiled, agreeing with her. “What was your favorite part?”

Darcy thought for a moment and then said, “The water fountain in the middle of the courtyard. You did such an amazing job putting that in along with the plants around it.”

The fountain had been a last-minute idea of Quinn's. Originally they were going to put in a giant potted tree, but the idea of a water feature inside the space was too good to pass up. It just barely fit into the budget, and luckily, Quinn was able to install the fountain herself with the knowledge she'd gained from a college course. The piping had been a piece of cake, and they were able to find a really affordable fountain that fit the overall theme of the courtyard perfectly. It was round and tall and pumped out water slowly enough to emit a melodic sound as it cascaded down over the multiple tiers of the fountain.

“I loved the large lounging area at the end of the courtyard. The colors and textures you used were genius,” Quinn said.

Darcy had laid out the entire courtyard in the shape of a cross. As one entered the yard from the B and B, there were lovely benches that sat along either side of the doorway. A slate and grass pathway led toward the opposite end of the space. Where the path met with the fountain, there were other perpendicular paths that led to private seating areas for couples to enjoy. Beside the pathways were numerous shade plants that Quinn had placed into pots and some she'd planted in the ground. The light and dark green foliage was mixed with white flowering perennials. Large potted trees were scattered around the perimeter, and Quinn and Paul had worked an entire morning winding tiny white lights up the trunks and main branches.

The center pathway continued beyond the fountain and led to a large lounge area with comfortable weather-resistant couches and chairs. The fabrics were a combination of creams and beiges. Darcy had done a wonderful job of picking furniture and accessories that fit the romantic theme.

The kicker, however, was the beautiful miniature white roses that surrounded the fountain. They couldn't very well design a courtyard garden for The White Rose B and B without planting white roses. The soft colors and lushness of the plants created a wonderfully romantic ambiance, and Mrs. Daily had been absolutely thrilled. It was exactly the type of place that a couple on their honeymoon would love to spend a few quiet nights.

It was the type of place that Quinn would love to visit with Ewan.

After a day of site seeing, they could sneak away to one of the side tables in the courtyard for a romantic candlelit dinner. The sound of the fountain in the background. The scent of the roses drifting through the air.

“Are you ready to order?”

Quinn's daydream was interrupted by the return of the waitress with their drinks. When she took their order, she didn't write anything down, and Quinn knew that something was gonna get messed up with their food. But at that point, she was so tired she didn't have the energy to worry.