“Quinn doesn’t have a girlfriend. He’d tell me,” Mom says.
Elle chokes on her soda. “You’re the last person he’d tell. He would tell Uncle Liam or Noah, first.”
“Noah hasn’t said anything to me,” I add.
“He hasn’t said anything to me, either,” Elle says. “But a few weeks or so ago, Mom and I were at the coffee shop and this girl came up to him and said something about knowing his sister, which let’s be real, even if she thought she knew you, she’d think I was you, ya know?”
I nod.
“Anyway, I’ve been in a few times, she’s flirty with him. Dana even said she was hanging around their table the one time she went in to talk to him.”
“Gotcha,” I say. I’d like for Quinn to find someone, although not sure how she’d fair with this family of ours. It’s a lot to take sometimes. I glance at our mom, she’s completely lost in thought. “You okay, Mom?”
She looks up and smiles. “Just thinking about the first time we all met Quinn.”
“Christmas with Liam, Josie, and Noah,” Elle reminds us.
“The three of you were so small. I could hug all of you at the same time.”
Elle and I both reach for her hand. “I’m sure you still can if you try. I’ll call and beg Quinn to come out to the beach house this weekend,” I tell her.
“I’d like that. Everyone will be there. Just like old times,” she says before going back to her food.
The last thing my parents are is old, but with all of us growing up and doing our own thing, I imagine life is so different for them now.
12
Noah
I never thought I’d feel relieved that Peyton found a dress. I know the bride’s dress is an important part of a wedding, but in all honesty, I don’t care if she’s wearing shorts and a tee-shirt, I just want to marry her. Although, now that I think about it, if she were in my jersey, I’d really like that.
Of course, I broke a cardinal rule when I asked to see it. After she told me she fell in love with it the moment she stepped into it, I had to see what the fuss was all about. Huge no-no on my part, which doesn’t make sense since she gets to see my suit and helped me pick it out. This wedding stuff is confusing.
Things with the Pioneers have settled down. I’ve been working my tail off to make sure the owners know where my heart is. It’s in Portland. It’s there that I want to buy a house and start a family with Peyton. The city, it’s really amazing when it comes to their sports teams. The vibe is contagious, and it’s where I want to be. Right in the heart of it.
While Peyton has been in Los Angeles doing wedding stuff, I’ve been looking for houses. I’ve found a few that I like, one that overlooks the city. It’s near to where I took Peyton a few weeks ago after I almost destroyed the single best thing that’s ever happened to me. There are times when I get lost in my own head, forgetting that I have a partner. The crap the Rams pulled… I let that get the better of me and took it out on Peyton. If she hadn’t shown up at practice, I don’t know where my head would be right now.
Some of the guys gave me a lot of shit when Peyton was announced as staff. The ribbing can be fun for the most part, but I carry a certain amount of fear. Not that I don’t think Peyton knows her shit, because she does. I just think the guys won’t take her seriously because she’s female. I hope she busts their balls so I can laugh at them.
As soon as my plane touches down, I text her.
r />
Hey babe, just landed. Headed to the beach house.
Hurry! Quinn’s bringing someone home. My mom says she walked in on them doing it.
Doing it?
IT
IT could be a lot of things.
S.E.X.
I know. I just wanted to hear you say it.
I didn’t say anything. I typed it.