Page 20 of Knot Giving Up 2

It’s strange to be legally drinking in public, right out on the street, but that just adds to the charm of the evening and gives it an illicit edge that’s exhilarating.

“Quit hogging it,” McQuinn huffs and reaches for the bottle as Meggie drinks. “And no rose petals.” He rolls his eyes before wrapping his lips around the glass bottle and taking a swig.

It makes me think about his lips wrapped around other things, and rose petals don’t sound so bad.

“Monsieur,” I try my best fake French accent. My Korean is fluent, but my French is all from half a semester in junior high. “Oui oui, omelette du fromage. Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?”

McQuinn rolls his eyes again but passes me the bottle with a smile. I pull him in for a quick kiss before taking the champagne.

Dante takes Ellis’s hand and gives him a spin as he croons, “Baguette. Viva la revolución. Muy guapo.”

“That was Spanish,” Harrison chides as he grabs the bottle from me and drinks deep.

“Who cares?” Dante laughs and dips Ellis as if they’re ballroom dancing. “We’re in Paris!”

We buy cheese at a cheese shop and try to find a bakery that’s open, but most have closed up for the night, which seems strange when the sun is only just setting. We eventually settle for bread from a little grocery store we find and grab some fruit and nuts while we’re there too, before taking it all down to a spot by the river.

“I don’t think you can get more quintessential Parisian than a picnic by the Seine.” Meggie sighs contentedly as she slides a piece of overpriced fancy cheese into her mouth while sitting on Ellis’s lap.

“I can think of something even more quintessential to the city of love.” Ellis drags his hand up Meggie’s leg.

“I like where your mind’s at.” I scoot closer on her other side and kiss her, letting my hand slip under her shirt.

“It may be legal to drink in public, but I’m certain public indecency will still get us arrested,” Harrison’s curt voice reprimands.

“Take the stick out of your ass, old man.” Oz slaps him on the back, surprising him enough to make Harrison stumble.

We all laugh at Harrison’s expense, but I feel a little bad for the guy. I’m normally pretty astute when it comes to knowing what’s going on with my pack mates, but Harrison’s resistance towards Meggie has me confused. It’s clear he likes her. He’s attracted to her and wants to keep her in the pack after the Olympics. So what’s his hold up?

“Harrison is right,” McQuinn says with a scowl in my direction. “We aren’t the only ones out here.”

That one, I understand. McQuinn might not talk about his feelings much, but he’s not great at hiding them.

He’s also right. We aren’t alone out in the French moonlight. Couples and solo people are meandering around enjoying the night just as we are. A guy with a dark ball cap is strolling not too far away, and I catch his eyes as I judge the distance between us. Definitely too close for public foreplay.

I give Meggie’s thigh one playful squeeze, eliciting a little squeak from her, while I meet McQuinn’s eyes with a challenging smile. I’ve had about enough of his attitude. He looks at Meggie with just as much longing as the rest of us, and I know he’ll fall hard if he just gives her a chance. But he’s so caught up in his jealousy and fear that he might ruin what we have if he can’t deal with his insecurities.

I stand up and offer McQuinn my hand. “Let’s see what else we can discover.”

He takes my offer, and I pull him up and into me, kissing him hard and fast and whispering against his lips, “Harrison isn’t the only one with a stick up his ass.”

He swallows, gaze flicking momentarily to Meggie before settling on me. I pull him towards the river while the rest of the group gathers up what’s left of the food. “It doesn’t have to be a competition.”

“Everything’s a competition,” McQuinn grunts.

I turn him to look at me and take his face in my hands. “You’re not going to lose me.”

“You can’t promise me that.”

“I can.” We stare at each other and I almost offer the one thing I know will convince him of how I feel. A bond. But it’s too soon. We only just confessed our feelings for each other a week ago. Even if we’ve been together sexually a lot longer than that, it’s still too early. He’d laugh in my face if I asked him to bond with me.

“You might lose me,” he mutters, “if Glenn catches up to us and we don’t have his money.”

That kills the moment.

“If we medal, then we won’t have to worry about him. We’ll be filthy rich.” I chuckle, but McQuinn’s expression doesn’t lighten.

“Hey!”

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