Page 40 of A Newport Christmess

I looked down at Quinn, feeling an overwhelming amount of gratitude for this quirky, quick-thinking woman. “As much as we’d love to sit and reminisce about how happy we all are”—my gaze returned to Eliza—“Quinn and I had better get home. It was nice to see you, Eliza. Mark,” I said, dipping my head in acknowledgment. “Best of luck with everything.”

“It was nice to meet you both.” Quinn gave a little wave. “And I’m sorry again about the whole dad misunderstanding. You two are perfect for each other.”

Had I not known how genuine Quinn was, the comment could have been a well-delivered, back-handed compliment.

To Mark’s credit, he chuckled again. “It’s not the first time someone assumed I was Eliza’s dad. It was good to meet you both.”

With a final wave, I directed Quinn down the stairs and back the way we came to avoid any more encounters with Eliza and Mark.

When we were far enough away that they couldn’t see us anymore, I released Quinn’s hand and instantly regretted doing so.

“I can’t believe I thought he was her dad.” Quinn groaned. “Then I couldn’t stop talking, and I made it so much worse. Thirteen years younger.” She did an exaggerated imitation of herself. “Not quite as big of an age gap as between you two. Honestly, who says something like that?”

“Technically, Mark’s older than her dad, so it makes sense you thought what you did. And I probably shouldn’t have, but I thoroughly enjoyed the whole misunderstanding.”

Quinn nudged her elbow into me. “Yeah, because it wasn’t you making a fool of yourself.”

I laughed, realizing how heavy of a load the encounter had taken off my shoulders. I felt lighter. Freer. Quinn had not only made the whole conversation palatable but … enjoyable? Introspective, even.

Quinn glanced at me as we walked. “What are you thinking about?”

“How I need to rethink my whole life.”

“Oh, good. Nothing too impactful.”

I smiled. “I’ve spent the last two years trying to prove people wrong who couldn’t care less what I’ve achieved. And I just now realized it.”

Quinn didn’t respond, but her gaze remained on me.

I blew out a heavy breath. “Nikki set me up with Eliza. She was a friend of hers, and Nikki was positive we’d be perfect for each other. Between how hard Nikki oversold me, and that I was just about to graduate from law school, Eliza wrongly assumed I’d be able to provide the life she wanted instantly—a life that, I came to find out, looked very much like Nikki’s. Turns out most attorneys don’t make a portion of what one would expect—of what she’d expected.

“Right after we married, I was working at a small firm that didn’t even have benefits. She used her dad’s connections to get me a job at a bigger firm. I hated it—twelve-hour days and meager vacation time. But I did it for her. Except, it wasn’t enough. It didn’t take her much longer to realize she’d wasted her potential on me. Within a few months of our divorce being final, she married Mark.”

“And that’s why you’re wary of Nikki setting you up?”

“Exactly.”

Quinn released a heavy breath. “I don’t blame you.”

We walked in silence for a while before she met my gaze again. “I’m sorry that happened.”

“Don’t be. I think sometimes life brings you down a path to show you it’s the wrong one. Now I know.”

As we continued along the Cliff Walk, back to the truck, Quinn was unusually quiet, and I hoped I hadn’t said anything to cause it.

* * *

It was pretty early, but I could hear Quinn up and walking around, so I grabbed the large box sitting by the couch and started up the stairs. She opened the door and smiled. Then her gaze shifted to the box at my side. “What’s that?”

“A hypoallergenic Christmas tree.”

Her nose scrunched up in that adorable way of hers. “They make hypoallergenic trees?”

I shrugged. “You said you had a fake tree growing up, right? So the hope is this one should be hypoallergenic for you.”

She crossed her arms. “You promised you wouldn’t buy me anything else.”

“First, I never promised that. What I said was you weren’t indebted to me. And second, as your current landlord, it’s my legal duty to provide this residence with a Christmas tree that won’t cause any occupants to get hives.”