“Her name is Amanda and she’s a client.”
“She’s a client?” Kiera’s voice pitched high.
Quinn flinched involuntarily. She’d made a stink aboutprofessional boundaries a few months prior when Kiera had tried to get her toask one of her clients out. “This is different.”
“How so?” Alana posed the question before Kiera could sayanything else, her tone upbeat and curious.
“We’ve spent time together, become friends. I sort of kissed herby accident.”
Kiera shook her head. “Only you.”
“I did it without thinking.”
Alana shrugged. “I think it’s cute you got caught up in themoment. And I’m proud of you for going for it.”
It might expose her to merciless teasing, but she loved hersisters and they’d been her confidantes and her champions through the sad sagaof her divorce. “Going for it might be a bit generous. I mean, full disclosure,I apologized.”
Kiera burst into laughter. Alana bit her lip, but only for asecond before she joined in.
“Do chicks like that?” Jacob asked.
She’d forgotten they were part of the conversation. “Um, I thinkthey appreciate sincerity.”
“And you were sincerely sorry?” Poor Jacob seemed confused.
“Well, we’d spent the day together as friends, so I think it wasunexpected. And I was worried I’d crossed a line.”
Alana pointed at both boys. “That’s a good lesson. You shouldonly kiss a girl if you’re sure she wants you to.”
“But Aunt Quinn just said—”
Quinn lifted a hand. “That’s why I apologized.”
“And then what happened?” Adam, for some reason, seemedfascinated by the whole thing.
She closed her eyes for a second. “She asked if I wanted to kissher.”
“What did you say?” Adam asked.
Quinn shrugged. “I told her the truth.”
“And?”
She hadn’t paused for dramatic effect, but that’s sort of what itfelt like. “And then she kissed me.”
“Wow.” Adam nodded slowly. The level of his interest made herwonder if perhaps he was nursing a crush and strategizing what to do with it.
“I’m not sure it’s the smoothest move.” And she was probably thelast person who should be giving dating advice at this point.
Kiera raised a shoulder. “Hapless and charming seems to work foryou when you want it to.”
She shook her head. “How do you manage to tease and compliment meat the same time?”
Kiera smirked. “It’s a gift.”
The back door opened and Grace came tearing in. Xinxin and Garyfollowed. The timer on the stove beeped and Alana got up to pull the ham andscalloped potatoes from the oven. In the bustle of getting hands washed and thetable set, her pending date faded into the background. Which was fine by her.But when they all sat down at the table, Kiera snagged the seat next to her andleaned in. Quinn braced herself for, well, something.
“I’m happy for you, and I hope it works out.”
“But?”
“But nothing.”
Quinn regarded her with suspicion. “No, really. What’s the catch?The fact that you’re not the one who set me up?”
Kiera let out an exasperated sigh. “Stop. I’m not a jerk. Nocatch.”
“I wasn’t accusing you of being a jerk. I mostly appreciate thatyou don’t let me off the hook.”
“Aw, that’s like the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
It was her turn to say, “Stop.”
“Okay, fine. You’ve said nicer things. But I mean it. I’m happyyou’re interested in someone. And I’m glad you’re doing it on your terms.”
And this was why she loved her family. They could be the biggestpains known to man, but when push came to shove, they had her best interests atheart. And maybe even more importantly, they had her back. “Thanks.”
“But don’t think for one second you’re going to keep the detailsto yourself.”
Quinn laughed. “Noted.”
Chapter Thirteen
Amanda sat at her vanity, taking extra care with her makeup.It had more to do with taking pleasure in the ritual than being nervous abouther appearance. Quinn already knew what she looked like, after all. And hadseen her looking less than her best.
No, tonight was about slowing down and remembering all the funaspects of going on a date with someone. Just the right amount of anticipationwithout the worry of whether or not they’d hit it off. Not having to worry ifit was ill-advised was nice too. And since she was pretty sure Quinn wasn’t afirst date sex sort of person, it was kind of a relief to have that off thetable, at least for now. Maybe, though, maybe there would be a kiss. Or kisses,plural. She’d been thinking quite a lot about what it would be like to kissQuinn again. Kiss her in earnest.
Her doorbell rang at seven on the dot, making her wonder if itwas a fluke or if Quinn had arrived early but waited. Either prospect had acertain charm. She grabbed her purse and opened the door, only to find Quinnclutching a bouquet of irises. She couldn’t suppress the girly sigh thatescaped. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Quinn smiled. “Roses seemed presumptuous for some reason.But I didn’t want to come empty-handed.”
Amanda raised a brow. “A floral compromise?”
Quinn chuckled. “Yes, exactly.”
The little dance of forward and back, bold and timid, made herlike Quinn even more. “They’re beautiful.”
Quinn handed over the bouquet. “I’m glad you think so.”
“Give me a second to put them in water.”
Quinn followed her to the kitchen. “How are your kids enjoyingsummer?”
“Daniella is a counselor at a music camp up in Rochester and Calis working at Rustic Refined so he doesn’t have to get a job on campus firstsemester. They’re both lamenting how much adulting it all is.”
“Sounds rough.”
Amanda laughed. “You and your ex don’t have kids, right?”
“Correct. We decided to do the doting aunt thing. Or at least Idid. She was never one for kids.”
Something in the phrase struck her. “Did you want them?”
Quinn considered for a moment, like she was choosing her wordscarefully. “I thought I did. Lesedi, that’s my ex, wasn’t completely opposed.She would have considered them, for me.”
“Sounds like a hard position to be in.” What would she have doneif Mel hadn’t wanted kids?
“It was hard for both of us. She didn’t want to be the reason Igave up that dream.”
“So what happened?”
Quinn shrugged. “The more I thought about driving that decision,the less appealing it became. Lesedi would have
