Amanda walked into the house to the sound of laughter and the smell of cinnamon. Neither seemed par for the course for her kids at nine in morning. “Hello?”
“In here, Mom.” Cal’s voice came from the kitchen.
Daniella and Cal sat at the island, unusual only because of the time. But when she stepped the rest of the way into the kitchen, she stopped dead in her tracks. Standing at the oven—in boxers, a Cornell shirt, and a pair of oven mitts—was Mel.
“Uh.”
“Good morning.” Mel turned to her with a big smile and pan of what appeared to be cinnamon rolls, like it was the most common thing in the world.
“M came over last night to watch a movie and decided to stay over,” Daniella said.
Mel set the pan down on the stove. “In the guest room, I promise.”
She nodded slowly. “Okay.”
“I hope you don’t mind.” Mel gave her best innocent puppy face. “I was texting with Daniella and she mentioned you were out and asked if I wanted to do movie night like old times.”
“Oh.” She’d never begrudge Mel and the kids a night of hanging out. And, honestly, she didn’t mind that it was at her house. But it meant Mel knew she’d spent the night elsewhere. Her kids were one thing, but she certainly didn’t owe her ex an explanation.
“How was the date?” Mel asked.
Fuck. There went that. “It was good, thanks.”
She expected a jab or maybe a suggestive look, but Mel offered neither. “Coffee?”
“Sure.” She’d had a cup with Quinn, but perhaps another shot of caffeine would make this whole situation a little less bizarro.
“I got it.” Cal hopped down from his stool and went to the coffee pot.
Mel opened the packets of frosting and started squeezing them over the rolls. “None of us had anywhere to be first thing, so I popped out for breakfast. They’re nothing compared to yours, of course, but us mere mortals have to make do the best we can.”
Cal handed her the coffee. “I said we could do cereal, but M said we should at least aim for the middle.”
“Good life lesson, right?” Mel bumped her hip lightly to Amanda’s as she passed with the pan of now-frosted rolls.
Amanda chuckled in spite of herself. “In some instances.”
“Will you join us?” Mel asked.
“Yeah, Mom. Join us.” Daniella, who’d been mostly quiet, got up from the island. “We can sit at the table even.”
Part of her wanted to start laundry and do yoga so she could drive out to the bakery before lunch. It was such a small ask, though. And it might help things with Mel get back on an even keel. She didn’t want hard feelings, but even more, she didn’t want Cal and Daniella to pick up on any weird energy between them.
She agreed and moved to grab plates, but Mel waved her away. Daniella got napkins and Cal snagged utensils from the drawer. In under a minute, they sat around the table with coffee and breakfast and she’d not lifted a finger. That might be as strange as all of them having breakfast together in the first place.
“They really aren’t as good as yours.” Mel licked her fingers and offered Amanda a wink.
“They’re not bad, though,” Cal said.
Daniella rolled her eyes. “That’s because you’d eat anything.”
“True.” Cal nodded affably. He turned to Amanda. “How was last night? We were all talking about how crazy it was for you to stay over somewhere.”
There was a thump under the table and Cal let out an “ow.” Amanda lifted an eyebrow at Daniella, who’d clearly been the instigator. “It was nice. And I’m going to leave it at that.”
Daniella let out an exasperated sigh, but Cal grinned. “You know this means you’re not going to be able to say, ‘Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do’ anymore when it comes to girls.”
Despite sitting at the kitchen table, surrounded by her kids and her ex-wife, her mind flashed to the night before. She’d seen a different side of Quinn and the truth of the matter was, the more she saw, the more she liked. “How about, when you’re my age, you can do whatever you want.”
Cal laughed, but Daniella scowled. The latter gave her pause. Daniella had seemed okay with, if not keen on, the idea of her dating. But something had changed. She didn’t know if it had to do with Quinn specifically, but she clearly wasn’t happy. Amanda filed the detail away. No way in hell was she having that conversation in front of Mel.
Before they finished eating, Cal put in a request for real cinnamon rolls before he left for college. Daniella concurred and invited Mel to join them. Mel offered a playful shrug and, when Amanda didn’t protest, accepted. The whole thing gave Amanda a sense of unease. Less the invitation itself and more because Daniella seemed so pleased by it. She’d have to do some digging the next time they were one-on-one.
But today was not that day. With breakfast done and everyone sufficiently amped up on sugar and caffeine, the day ahead took on a new level of urgency. Despite her reflexive tendency to join the bustle, if not direct it, she remained seated. Dishes were loaded into the dishwasher, the last of the coffee found its way into travel mugs, and everyone scattered to work or shower or whatever else beckoned.
Once she was alone, she contemplated the laundry and the yoga and all the other chores she generally busied herself with. But still, she didn’t get up. Instead, she sipped her coffee and shut off the worry about Daniella’s weird behavior and Mel standing at the oven in her pajamas and how she probably needed to do something about both those things. And she thought about Quinn and the way Quinn made love to her and how soon they might be able to do it again.
* * *
“Second date, huh?” Kiera gave Quinn a look of suspicion over the rim of her coffee cup.
“There’s no reason to sound so surprised.” Aside from the fact she’d only managed a couple of second dates after a couple dozen fix-ups. Zero third dates. And not a single hookup to speak of.
Kiera smacked her lips together, clearly dismissing the assertion. “So, what, ten more and maybe you’ll think about sleeping together?”
She pressed her own lips together, but silently. Her way of saying nothing and everything at the same time.
“You didn’t.”
She angled her head.
“Oh, my God. You did.”
She sipped her coffee, enjoying the emotions play so clearly across her sister’s face. “Again, there’s no reason to sound so surprised.”
Kiera folded her arms and leaned forward on the table. “I beg to differ.”
“Okay. I’ll give you that one.” As much as she didn’t relish discussing her sex life with her sisters, they knew she’d been celibate for the last two years. Kiera harassed her about it, Alana respected it, but both of them had started to worry about it.
“Tell me everything.”
“I will not.”
Kiera frowned. “Come on. Not the X-rated version or anything, but something. Even Alana won’t let you get away with complete silence.”
She could be vague, or coy, but she decided to be honest. “It was worth the wait.”
“Worth it as in the sex was good or as in you’re falling for this woman?”
A loaded question to be sure. One she wasn’t ready to answer, even to herself. “I’m going to say the former, but that still doesn’t mean I’m giving you the details.”
Kiera’s gaze narrowed. “You say that, but there’s something in your eyes that has nothing to do with being a prude. You’ve got feelings.”
She shook her head, as though doing so would somehow prevent it from being too real. “I think that’s a bit premature.”
“Maybe, but it doesn’t make it not true.” Kiera twisted a piece of hair around her finger, her signature fidget when she was worried about something. “How far gone are you?” Kiera’s reaction did more to stress her out than her feelings. Well, maybe not more, but as much as, at least.
“Not that far.”
“We need to meet her. Stat.”
Quinn lifted her hands, as though the gesture might defend her against the demand. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. We are not there yet. Two dates, remember?”
“But pseudo dates before. You said as much. And you slept together. You don’t do that lightly.”
She could pretend or say otherwise, but it would be a lie. “I like her. We click better than I’ve clicked with anyone in a long time. It doesn’t mean we’re in serious relationship territory.”
“You don’t have to be engaged to let your sisters meet the woman.”
Quinn raised a brow.
“What? We wouldn’t give her the third degree.”
“No. We wouldn’t.” Quinn put extra emphasis on the “we” because it wasn’t Alana she worried about. Or Xinxin or Gary, for that matter.
Kiera frowned. “I see what you’re doing there.”
“I wasn’t trying to be subtle.”
“Do you really not want us to meet her?”
She’d been mostly teasing, so the look of genuine concern on Kiera’s face gave her pause. “I’m sure you’d be gracious and lovely. If things keep going well, then soon. I promise.”
Like a switch being flipped, Kiera’s demeanor changed. Worried to victorious in exactly two seconds. “Fantastic. You name the day. I’ll host. Ooh, or better. We can get a babysitter and do a triple date.”
Quinn shook her head. Kiera shouldn’t be able to play her so easily at this point. Yet here they were. “One day, I’m not going to fall for it, you know.”
“Fall for what?” Her smile was all innocence.
“Don’t you need to get to work or something?”
“No, I’m killing time until the Chamber lunch at twelve.”
Quinn drained the rest of her coffee. She should start going to those again. They were good for networking, which she didn’t mind when networking wasn’t code for speed dating. “Well, I should probably get to work.”
Kiera smirked. “That’s what she said.”
Quinn groaned on principle. “You’re impossible.”
“Give me a break. I spend most of my days tailoring my sense of humor to the under ten crowd.”
“Fair enough. I should get to the office, though. We’re pitching for the new Planned Parenthood annex.”
Her eyes lit up. “You are?”
“They’re far enough along in the capital campaign to take bids. It’ll be a while, but they’re getting there.”
“Day made. It almost makes up for you holding out on me.”
Quinn stood and slung her messenger bag over her shoulder. “I’m not holding out.”
“I’ll concede the point when I meet her. What’s her name again?”
“Amanda.”
“And she’s divorced? With kids?”
She could literally see Kiera filing away the details. “Yes, on both counts. College age, though, or one in and one starting.”
Kiera nodded slowly. “I like it.”
Quinn chuckled in spite of herself. “I’m so glad you approve.”
“Don’t be a jerk.” Even as she said it, she stood to give Quinn a hug. “Love you.”
“Love you back.”
“See you Sunday?”
“Yes. Solo, but yes.”
Kiera sighed. “Baby steps.”
Quinn left the café and headed to her office. It wasn’t hard to imagine Amanda at one of their big family dinners. Maybe after her parents were back from their trip. Ironically, more people seemed to make for less pressure or, at least, less chance too much attention would end up focused on her.
Just as easily as she could imagine it, it struck her that she knew virtually nothing about Amanda’s extended family. And hardly anything about her kids. Really, she and Amanda hadn’t spent all that much time together. Maybe it was a sign she should slow down. Well, if not her moves, then her imagination. Because no matter how timid she might still be in the moves department, it wouldn’t take much for her imagination to get the better of her.