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CHAPTER9
Quinn
“Are you sure we’re okay?”I ask, sitting in the front seat of his truck and wondering if what happened earlier ruined everything we've been building these past few days.
“Yes, we’re fine.”
God, he still sounds pissed. I get where he's coming from, and I know he's just trying to help me and make things easier, but my pride is a fickle bitch, and I can't accept it. Not before I try to fix it myself.
“Wes, I know you're just trying to help me, and I appreciate it. But can we forget about that conversation for tonight? I was looking forward to this date, and I don't want work to get in the way.”
It takes a second, but I see the tension melt from his shoulders, and that smile I love so much appears on his lips.“You're right,” he whispers, taking my hand in his and kissing my fingers before placing it on his thigh. “I’m sorry. I just hate seeing you struggle when you don't have to.”
“And I love that, but right now, I just want to enjoy you and wherever we're going…” I trail off as we turn onto a dirt road and confusion sets in. Where the hell are we?
“You can get that petrified look off your face. This is my place.”
I let out a breath, and Wes chuckles softly beside me. I lightly swat at his chest and love the sound of his laughter when it fills the truck.
“You live all the way out here? I don't even know where here is,” I admit, looking around and seeing only trees and more trees.
“I moved out here when I came back from college. I hated feeling so boxed in and wanted space to breathe and just...live. So I built this place.”
I swear my mouth hangs open for another five minutes.“You're telling me that you built this place...from scratch?” He nods, still watching the road as it winds closer and closer to one of the most beautiful houses I have ever seen. “Holy shit,” I whisper as the structure comes into view, and I wonder if I can marry him specifically for this house.
It's nothing flashy or extravagant. From afar, it seems fairly ordinary, but the closer I get, the more details I notice—the full wraparound porch, the swings hanging on each side of the door, the Victorian peaks that hover over bay windows. Everything about this place screams home.
“This is gorgeous,” I whisper, not wanting to ruin the moment but also not able to keep my mouth shut.
“Thanks, it was a passion project. It's modeled after my grandmother's old house.”
My eyes peer over at him as he parks the truck in front of the detached garage, and I can't look away.
“She was my favorite person in the world and is the reason I started the security business in the first place,” Wes explains.” She always knew I didn't want to go to college. I went to appease my parents, but when I came back, she pulled me aside and told me to follow my dream. She gave me a check that day for over one hundred thousand dollars.”
I suck in a breath and flush with embarrassment when that smile turns my way.
“She sold her house to help me live my dream,” he says softly.
“Wow, she sounds like an amazing woman.”
His smile is sad, almost painful.
My heart breaks for him. “When did she pass?”
“Last year. She lived with me here for the last few months. I wanted her to be surrounded by her home, even if it wasn't the real thing.”
I think I am falling in love with him a bit at this moment. Who does that?“That's incredible,” I say before I think better of it.
Wes just smiles. “Helping those I love isn’t a hardship, Quinn, it's a privilege.”
I know he's not just talking about his grandmother, and the idea of him feeling even a shred of that toward me causes a flush of panic to set in.
He opens the door and gets out, making his way over to my side and helping me out.
“So what do you have planned?” I ask.
His eyes stay on mine for a few seconds before he breaks contact and leads me up the front steps.“Dinner and a movie,” he states as if this is the most normal thing in the world.
