I nod. “That’s my longest so far.”
“Serious question,” Mr. Dawson asks. “What do you do if you have to use the bathroom during an operation.”
“You scrub out and go. If a surgery is rather long, there’s usually another surgeon in there anyway. And during long procedures, I tell my team to take breaks if they need them. I’d rather have a nurse step out for five minutes than pass out from being dehydrated. It’s usually hot in the OR.”
Mr. Dawson playfully elbows his wife. “Still think those romance doctor shows are realistic?”
“Archer won’t watch those with me,” Quinn says with a laugh. “He critiques it the whole time.”
Nodding, I smile at Quinn. “It drives me crazy.”
The conversation comes back to the table, and the awkwardness fades away. Once we’re done with dinner, Mrs. Dawson and my mother clear the table. I offer to help but am shooed away, being told to go sit with Quinn who started feeling sick. It was the first time in a while she ate everything on her plate and having a full stomach can make anyone not feel well.
Quinn is in the living room with Jamie, and I sit on the couch next to her. Quinn rests her head on my shoulder and I drape my arm around her body.
“You know what’s weird to think about?” Quinn starts, stretching out her legs. “Like ten or twelve years ago, we could have been in this very spot. All of us.”
“We used to bicker over who got to sit by you,” Jamie laughs.
“I know,” I tell them both. “I already told Quinn, but you two were obvious back then.”
“I thought we were so sly,” Jamie laughs. “It’s crazy how things turned out.”
“Yeah, it is.” I lean over and give Quinn a quick kiss. She closes her eyes, and after a few minutes of resting, she feels better enough to get up and fix her hair before we open a box full of either pink or blue balloons.
As soon as Quinn leaves, my dad comes and sits next to me.
“Mom said you’re thinking about a fellowship?”
“Yeah. For trauma surgery.”
“Are you sure that’s what you want to do?”
“It is,” I assure him.
Dad just nods, and I’m sure he’s thinking the same thing as Mom…which is what I’m thinking now.
“Where’s Quinn?” Kara asks, coming into the living room. “The box is out, and I can’t promise Mrs. Dawson won’t accidentally open it.”
I laugh. “She went to fix her hair. I’ll find her.”
I leave the living room and get cornered by Quinn’s grandmother, who openly hit on me the last time I spoke with her.
“Hello, doctor,” she says and eyes me up and down. “Come here.”
“I, uh, I need to find Quinn,” I stammer.
“She can’t know what we’re doing.”
Oh God.
“What?”
“Keep your voice down.” She grabs my hand and pulls me forward. She’s too old to be this strong. “Act natural if anyone comes in.” We go into Mr. Dawson’s office and Nana shuts the door behind us. I spent over ten years in school yet nothing has prepared me for this.
“Quinn is my only granddaughter,” Nana starts. Wait. Quinn has two female cousins. “Well, the only one who’s dating a man I tolerate. I more than tolerate you.” She winks and reaches into the little sequined purse she’s carrying. “Which is why I want you to have this.”
I blink, staring at the ring in Nana’s fingers. “It was mine,” she says softly. “It’s nothing fancy, and the ring won’t fit Quinn. But I want you to have it, take the diamonds and make it into something Quinn would like.”
I take the delicate ring, unable to say anything.
“I can tell you love her.” Nana curls my fingers around the ring and pushes my hand away. “And call me old-fashioned—what have you—but you knocked her up. You should marry her.”
Yes, she is old-fashioned. The problem isn’t me not wanting to marry Quinn. It’s me not knowing if Quinn wants to marry me. Not yet at least.
“Take your time.” Nana zips her purse. “But not too much time. I don’t have much longer left to live.” She gives me a wink and leaves the office. I’m stuck, rooted to the spot with Nana’s ring clutched in my hand.
Blinking, I shake myself and put the ring in my pocket, a little worried I’ll lose it. I have to take another minute to collect myself, and then I go find Quinn. She and Jamie come down the stairs as I’m coming up. Quinn’s hair doesn’t look any different to me, but she’s glowing, and seeing her makes me feel like I did the first time I laid eyes on her.
Only now, she’s mine.
I grab her by the waist and pull her in for a quick kiss. Fuck going slow. Quinn is mine…and I want her to be mine forever. I can feel the ring in my pocket, and I don’t think I can go any slower. I want to propose to her tonight.
13
Quinn
I hate being the center of attention. Why did I agree to this? I can feel everyone’s eyes on me, and my heart gets a little fluttery knowing at least four cameras are trained on us right now.
“Ready?” Archer asks, looking into my eyes. His are glimmering, and I think mine are too. I nod, and he puts his hand over mine. I’m supposed to be looking at the camera, smiling and making a point to have a nice photo taken. But I can’t look away from Archer. He guides my hand, going to the pull tab at the top of the box. It rips open, and the cardboard flaps at the top of the box slowly push up and the first balloon pops out.
It’s pink.
We’re having a girl.
Archer wraps his arms around me, pulling me into a tight embrace. We kiss, and I forget everyone is watching and taking pictures. Standing here with him makes me feel like we’re a family, and for a moment, I forget we’re going home in opposite directions.
“My only daughter is having a daughter,” Mom says, coming in for a hug. “Now I can start shopping.”
“Don’t go crazy, Mom. We still—” I cut off before I let myself finish the sentence. I don’t want to think about it yet because it scares me, though it’s not the unknown that’s making me nervous this time around.
I know what I want, and that scares me.
Jamie acts as our unofficial photographer, and I hold the pink balloons to one side while Archer stands on my other, with his hand resting on my stomach. We spend a few minutes taking photos and then go into the kitchen for dessert. I stand by the counter, admiring the food but thinking I won’t be able to eat any of it.
Archer comes up behind me, arms going around my waist. He slides his hands over my stomach and kisses my neck.
“You were right,” Archer says, lips against my flesh. “We can start calling the baby Emma.”
“Emma.” Tears fill my eyes and I turn around in Archer’s arms, lip quivering. “You like the name?”
“I do. I’ve been mentally calling her that for a while to see if I’d like it. Now it fits.”
“Oh,” I croak out, and tears roll down my cheeks.
“Are you crying?” Owen asks, eyes wide. He’s across the counter from me, filling his plate with cookies and brownies. “You never cry.”
“I’ve been crying a lot lately,” I admit with a laugh.
Archer tightens his hold on me. “Whatever you do, don’t bring up endangered species.”
“I’m having deja vu.”
Archer pushes off the ground, sending the glider back. The heat of the day hasn’t worn off yet, despite it being after dark. The sounds of a country night surround us, and the dogs run and sniff around the yard.
“We sat here and talked,” I say, resting my head on Archer’s shoulder. “That night I spilled the drinks on myself at Getaway and you took me home.”
“Oh yeah. We did sit here.”
I tip my head up. “It was the first time we had a real conversation. Want to know something silly?”
“Always.”
“I thought you were going to kiss me that night.”
“I wanted to kiss you.”
“What?” I heard him correctly but need to hear him say it again.
“I wanted to kiss you that night.”
“Why’d you pussy out?”
Archer laughs and kisses me now for good measure. “I wasn’t sure you’d want me to. And I knew if I kissed you once I’d want to do it again.” He runs his hand through his hair. “You said you thought I was going to kiss you, but did you want me to?”
“I did.”
“Then why did you pussy out and not kiss me?” he says with a laugh.
“You gave off some very mixed signals. Up until the night this little girl was conceived. And then after.”
“Yeah, I’m still sorry—”
“It’s okay, Arch,” I say quickly. We’ve moved past our issues with that. There’s no need to bring them up now.
“Actually, Quinn,” he says slowly. “There’s a story behind that, and I want to tell it to you.”