After Amanda left, Quinn returned her attention to Cal. She mightnot be able to say the same about his sister, but she was perfectly at easespending time with him without Amanda around. She expected conversation toreturn to the relative ranking of the StarWars movies, but she found him looking at her with a far moreserious expression than the admittedly opinionated discussion warranted.
“I hope I didn’t ruin the end of your weekend.”
She really did like this kid. “Not at all.”
“So, you had a good time?” Cal’s tone and the angle of his headmade it sound like a loaded question.
“We did. I’ve had the cabin for close to fifteen years. It’s peaceful.”
“I’m glad.” He seemed like he wanted to say more but wasn’t surewhat, or maybe how.
“I can take you up there sometime if you’re into that sort ofthing.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m not sure there’s time before school starts, but I don’tclose it until the end of October. And there’s always spring.” Only aftersaying it did the implication—that she and Amanda would still be together comespring—hit her. Too late to take it back now. She picked up her coffee to stopherself from making it worse with caveats.
“Are you in love with her?”
Of course, he chose the exact moment she took a sip to drop thatquestion. She didn’t spit all over him, but she choked and coughed. And coughedand coughed.
He waited patiently, drinking his own water, while she struggledto catch her breath. Finally, when she’d cleared her airways and collected herthoughts, she asked, “Did you orchestrate that whole lunch thing just to ask methat question?”
“Maybe.”
She appreciated his honesty. “Can I ask first what makes youask?”
His gaze didn’t waver. “Do you think it’s an unreasonablequestion?”
“Uh.” How did he go from goofy teenager one minute to making herfeel like the teenager talking to an overbearing father the next? “We haven’ttalked about it.”
He blinked. “I didn’t ask if you’d talked about it.”
From everything she’d gathered, Cal was a pretty laid-back guy.She wondered if the pain medication he’d been given affected his filters. Ormaybe if his sister had put him up to an inquisition. “Yes, but you can see howit’s a conversation I’d feel better having with her first.”
Cal nodded slowly. “I’ll concede the point.”
Quinn hoped he was speaking figuratively. She didn’t want it tofeel like a battle. “It’s sweet that you’re protective of her.”
Cal sighed. “She likes you, you know. Like, a lot.”
It was clear he didn’t make the statement lightly. “I like her alot, too.”
“I know it’s cheesy or cliché or whatever, but don’t hurt her,okay?”
With that one comment, he went from brooding dad type to littleboy trying to look out for his mom. She appreciated it. More, she got it. She’dnever had that sort of experience with her own mother, but she’d made a pointof sitting down with both Gary and Xinxin before their respective weddings. Shereached over and patted Cal’s knee. “I’m going to do my absolute best not to.”
The answer seemed to satisfy him. He nodded again. “Good.”
She didn’t want to come across as trying to change the subject,but she was so ready to change the subject. “So, how are you feeling?”
He gave her a bland look. “Really? That’s the best you could comeup with?”
She shrugged, not really minding that he called her out. It madeit seem like they were friends. Even if she and Amanda weren’t using words likelove yet, she hoped they would. And having a good relationship with her kidswas an important part of that. “Okay, then. How about this? Does your sisterdislike me or does she dislike anyone who dates your mother?”
Cal laughed. “What makes you think she doesn’t like you?”
She merely raised a brow.
“Okay, okay. Fine. She doesn’t dislike you in particular.”
It was good to have an answer, although she wasn’t sure if itmade her feel better or not. “So, she doesn’t like anyone your mother dates?”
He sighed, like he was trying to decide how to answer. “Here’sthe thing. Mom doesn’t date.”
Amanda had said as much, but she’d taken it to mean notextensively. “Like, at all?”
“She did a couple of years after the divorce. Nothing stuck.Honestly, I don’t think she found it all that fun. And then she just stopped.”
Maybe she shouldn’t be asking him such things, but since theywere already on the subject, it didn’t feel like fishing. “How long has itbeen?”
“Before you? At least five or six years.”
Amanda had alluded to something brief shortly before they gottogether. Perhaps it didn’t last long enough to mention to her kids. “Huh.”
“The thing with Daniella is that she hates our other mom’s newwife. And so I think she secretly hopes that will explode and they’ll end upback together.”
“Oh.” She didn’t see that coming, but it made sense.
“Which is seriously bananas. They’ve been divorced for likelonger than they were married. If it was going to happen, it would havehappened by now.”
She didn’t know why, but his delivery came across like a vote ofconfidence. It made her worries about being in Mel’s shadow seem almost silly.Still, she didn’t want to give the impression she had any role in the matterone way or the other. “I’m sure stranger things have happened.”
“Truth.”
She couldn’t put her finger on the exact dynamic she and Cal hadgoing, but she liked it. Not equals, exactly, but a mutual respect. And hegenuinely seemed to enjoy her company as much as she enjoyed his. Maybe one dayshe and Daniella could get to something remotely in the same vicinity. “Anymore burning questions before your mom comes back?”
She’d been kidding, but he seemed to take the question to heart.“I don’t think so, but I will make another request.”
Given the serious nature of his last one, she braced herself.“What’s that?”
“Try to get her to go away again. It’s good for her.”
She laughed. “I don’t think I’m the one you have to convince.”
“Oh, man. That’s so one hundred.”
She spent enough time with Jacob and Adam to know that was a goodthing. “I mean, I’m
