Page 23 of A Newport Christmess

Quinn’s gaze flew to me, her insulted expression similar to the time she misinterpreted my ‘I’m not surprised you’re divorced’ comment. Let her think what she wanted for now. I was trying to help her.

“You’re wrong.” Nikki looked at Quinn. “Tyler is fun, successful, and extremely attractive.”

Kade leaned forward, catching Quinn’s eye. “I don’t know if I’d call him extremely attractive. I feel like that description should be reserved for ... I don’t know ... one’s fiancé. Decently attractive would probably suffice.”

The corners of Nikki’s mouth curved upward, and she discreetly fanned herself with the hand closest to Quinn. “He’s super hot,” she mouthed.

Kade shook his head and chuckled. “There you go, objectifying men again.”

Nikki flashed a wide smile over her shoulder. “Don’t tell me that Quinn and Tyler wouldn’t make a beautiful—”

“I was going to ask Quinn to be my date,” I blurted.

Quinn’s head spun toward me, her eyes unblinking. She might have looked less shocked had I confessed to being a serial killer.

I shifted again but held her questioning stare. I couldn’t tell her my reasons for this complete about-face. Not yet. She simply needed to trust me. But how was I supposed to convey that to her, especially after giving her so few reasons to do so?

She took in my expression for so long I wondered how I should react when she declined. “I ...” She gave a hard swallow. “I think that sounds fun.” She glanced toward Nikki. “I mean, if that’s alright with you?”

Nikki looked from Quinn to me and back again before pasting on a smile. “You don’t need my permission if that’s what you want.” She genuinely seemed disappointed with how this had gone, so I couldn’t regret my impromptu decision. But when I glanced back at Quinn’s uncertain expression, I realized I was likely the only one with no regrets.

* * *

I closed the door behind Nikki and Kade. They’d, thankfully, had dinner reservations and hadn’t been able to stay much longer, which was perfect because I needed to explain my new plan to Quinn.

“Why did you ask me to be your date for the wedding?” Quinn asked, preempting me. I turned around to find her standing near the couch, her hands on her hips.

“Tyler is a player,” I said, suddenly feeling defensive.

Quinn’s expression softened like she suddenly understood why I’d said she wasn’t his type. “And what about Rachel? Your asking me had nothing to do with avoiding her?”

I shrugged. “It’s symbiotic.”

She scrunched her nose. “Huh?”

“A mutually beneficial relationship—or, in our case, a mutually beneficial arrangement. I don’t want Nikki to set me up, and you don’t want to go to the wedding with Tyler, so we go together.”

She crossed her arms, looking anything but intimidating with the pink remnants of calamine lotion that still covered parts of her skin. “How do you know I don’t want to go with Tyler? Despite your opinion, Nikki obviously thinks highly of him.”

“My sister doesn’t know him like I do. Trust me. He’s a tool. Besides, you were the one who said you had no intention of dating at the moment.”

She gave a reluctant nod. “So where does that leave us?”

My head drew back. Did she think I actually wanted to take her to the wedding? I thought I’d made my intentions clear. Why did women always like to complicate everything? “What do you mean?”

“The whole not-being-nice-to-each-other thing? Are we still doing that?”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “You voided that with your whole damsel-in-distress, Sleeping Beauty routine.”

She pursed her lips. “You mean my allergic-reaction-to-the-tree-I-told-you-I-didn’t-want routine?”

Why did this woman make me want to smile at the most inconvenient times? “Again. I’m really sorry about that. But I’m glad to see the hives went away.”

Her slightly puffy eyes grew wide, and her hand went to her face. Had she forgotten about the hives? With the way she raced into the bathroom, apparently, she had.

An audible gasp reached me, and she leaned out of the bathroom, piercing me with a glare. “Why didn’t you tell me I looked like this?”

I allowed my gaze to rove over her. “Like what?”