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Charlie sighed, but agreed. “Fine.”
“Give hugs,” Ryder said, and Charlie made the rounds, starting with Gigi and ending with me.
As he encircled my knees, he looked up at me, blue eyes wide. “It was good to see you. Thanks for the yummy pie.”
“Ah, you’re welcome, buddy,” I said, ruffling his soft hair. “Anytime. Stop by the bakery soon!”
“Okay. ‘Night.”
Charlie waved goodnight and Ryder and Bree left, hand in hand.
“Thanks so much for having me, dinner was wonderful. I had a lovely evening,” I said.
“Oh, so happy you could come, dear,” Gigi said, giving me a hug, her floral perfume reminding me of my mom. “You’re always welcome here.”
My heart squeezed harder at this. “Thank you.”
“And we really mean it, Delaney!” Pops said, chiming in. “Tell your family we say hello and don’t be a stranger!”
I smiled at them both. “I won’t be. Thank you again.”
“Bye, Mom, Pops.” Quinn gave both his parents a quick hug, then we followed in Ryder and Bree’s wake.
“Well?” I asked as soon as we spilled out of the house, out of earshot.
“Well, what?” Quinn asked, his brow furrowed.
“How’d it go?”
“Were you not just in the same room as me?”
“Yeah, I was. But your parents are probably just being nice. Maybe they hated me, but their Southern charm won’t allow them to be critical.”
Quinn chuckled. “How long were you in New York? That’s awfully cynical. They liked you. For real.” He wrapped his strong arms around me, pulling me in close to his chest. I took a soothing inhale, breathing in his masculinity and warmth, feeling safe.
“You sure? You’re not just saying that?” I looked up, my eyes locking on his.
“Yes, I’m sure. Trust me, I’d know if my mom didn’t like you. She doesn’t hold back on that sort of info.”
A twinge fired through my gut and I had to ask. “Did they like Julia?”
Quinn stilled, his grey eyes stony. He exhaled hard. “Yes. Sort of.”
I let that settle in the air, my insides churning with anxiety.
“I guess you could say they never liked her for me. They liked her fine as a person, but my mom wasn’t sold on the idea of us together.”
I bit down hard on my lip, trying to make sense of all this. “Did she tell you that?”
“Eventually, yes. Is that enough info for one night or do you have more burning questions?”
“Sorry, I...I...don’t want to pry and bring up bad feelings or anything...”
Quinn stared down at me.
“And I get that I totally am. But also, she was obviously special to you and then she was just gone. I’m having a hard time reconciling that.”
Quinn sighed. “Yeah, you and me both.”
