Page 52 of A Newport Christmess

Her laugh vibrated the phone. “Oh, there’s one last thing. Can you ask Quinn what she wants to do when the guys show up Tuesday? I’d hate for her to be uncomfortable, so if she prefers, we can get her a hotel, or she’s always welcome to join me and the other ladies at our Airbnb.”

The thought of Quinn leaving was surprisingly hard to swallow. “I can ask her, see what she prefers.”

“If she’s too accommodating, see if you can push her a little. I really do want to make sure she’s comfortable. Though with Tyler crashing there, it might be beneficial for her to stay, allow them to get to know each other a little better.”

I was entirely caught off guard by her comment and couldn’t decide what to respond to first. “I can’t believe you’re still trying to set Quinn up with Tyler when I’ve clearly stated my interest in her.”

“It hasn’t been clearly stated, actually. And the little I pulled out of you was not convincing. So yes, I’m going to continue trying to set her up with Tyler since I know your feelings for her are some sort of act of defiance against me.”

“You’re wrong,” I said, feeling the weight of my comment more than she could know. “So please don’t ruin anything by getting Tyler involved. Which brings me to my second issue. Why is he staying here? He’s not part of the wedding party.”

“He asked me if there was somewhere he could stay, and I figured since there were only eight groomsmen, that even if Quinn chooses to stay, you’ll have extra space for him.”

“And you just assumed I’d say yes?”

“Not a doubt in my mind.”

I’d done this to myself, always giving in to everything Nikki wanted—except for my social media boycott. I’d not budged on that. That was, until Quinn. Now, it was only a matter of time before Nikki realized it, and I’d be back to helping her with her social media account. Either way, there was no point pretending I’d say no to her about Tyler staying. “He can stay, but he’s sleeping downstairs, far away from Quinn.”

“If you’re not careful, Landon, you might just convince yourself you’re falling for her.”

“I’ve already told you I am falling for her.”

“Let’s not rehash your pathetic attempts to convince me. I just want to see you both happy, and my matchmaker instincts tell me you’ll both be better off with the people I have in mind for you.”

“Again, I think you should get your instincts checked. They’ve seemed a little off lately.” And they’d certainly been off with Eliza.

“They’re not off. Not this time. But, hey, I’ve got to run. Kade is searching Dad’s cupboards like a hangry scavenger.” Kade’s voice neared the speaker, and Nikki let out a loud giggle.

“See you tomorrow,” I said, eager to end the call before I was forced to hear wherever this was going between them.

“Yep,” she said, obviously distracted. “I’ll send everyone your love.”

“Thanks.” Another loud giggle had me tapping the end call button. In the quiet that followed, my thoughts drifted back to Quinn. I blew out a puff of air. What was I doing? This whole pretending-to-like-Quinn thing was turning into a disaster. And it didn’t help that I was insanely attracted to her. I needed to knock off whatever this was I was feeling while somehow still acting like I was interested in her when we were around other people.

“Was that Nikki?” Quinn’s voice sent me spinning toward her. Thick waves of hair hung wildly around her face, framing tired, blue eyes. It looked like I wasn’t the only one that didn’t sleep well, and I hated to think I’d done anything to cause it, but I probably had.

“It was. She called to let me know we can’t visit my grandma until tomorrow.”

Genuine concern lined her face. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. With the snow, they can’t get their parking lot cleared for visitors until later today.”

“I made that gingerbread house, so don’t forget to grab it before you go.”

“When did you have time?”

She shrugged. “Yesterday afternoon. It didn’t take very long. I have extra dough in the fridge in case any of my pieces get damaged, so it was a matter of rolling it out and cutting it to the right shape. I also have extra royal icing for you to bring, but you may want to stop at the store to grab some candy for that more traditional look.”

“You really didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to.” She gave a light smile and moved toward the fridge. “Are you hungry?” She pulled open the door and reached inside, then her eyes darted to me. “It’s warm.”

I started toward her. “How about the freezer?”

She tossed the other door open and quickly shut it again. “It still feels cold in there. Hopefully, the power comes on soon.”

“It almost feels warmer in there than it does in the room. Too bad I didn’t think to set out all the food last night. It probably would have fared better.” I touched a few of the lukewarm items when my eyes fell on the large, covered bowl. “Do you think your dough’s gone bad?”