Page 52 of Rushing Into Love

“You guys didn’t have football today, did you?” Quinn asked, taking his seat next to Charlie and across from Ryder.

“Nope,” Ryder said. “We ran into each other at the movies and then had an impromptu play date.” He smiled, took a bite of his burger, totally at ease.

I, on the other hand, was freaking out inside. I moved some food around on my plate, tried to relax.

“Sounds fun,” Quinn said in a neutral voice.

“The movie was awesome, Uncle Quinn!” Charlie bounced in his seat with excitement. “There was this bad guy and then all the good guys got together and blew him up!” He made a ‘boom’ sound effect and blasted his hands apart to demonstrate.

“That’s cool, buddy,” Quinn said, smiling over at Charlie. He shoved some french fries in his mouth, swallowed, then turned and stared directly at me. “Done any more publicity lately?”

Locking eyes with him, I forced myself to stay poised. “Outside of the interview withLA Today, where I squashed any and all rumors, you mean?” I lifted my chin, pressing my lips together in a tight line.

“Huh. I must have missed that day,” he said with a smirk before taking another bite of food.

Ryder jumped to my defense. “It was a solid strategy. Crickets ever since.” He placed a reassuring hand on my leg under the table. I relaxed a little, appreciating the back-up.

“That is good news,” Pops said, chiming in. “How’s the food, kids?” He turned to Charlie and Alex for their opinion.

“It’s good,” said Alex, shooting him a thumbs-up.

Pops chuckled, a deep rumble. “Glad I got the stamp of approval. Eat up, you kids are growing!”

Ryder laughed and the kids kept eating until every last bite of food on their plates was gone. Gigi and Pops made small talk and I chimed in occasionally the best I could. I hated to admit it, but I was bothered by Quinn’s disapproval of me. I certainly understood where he was coming from; it sounded like Ryder had gone through hell with Shayna, so I totally got that he’d be concerned. But how was I going to convince Quinn that I wasn’t in this relationship for all the wrong reasons? I definitely needed his approval if Ryder and I were going to work out long-term.

And suddenly, long-term was looking more possible than it had ever looked before. After the last few days, I didn’t think we could take our relationship back to the friend zone. No, I was in it to win it now and there was no turning back.

14

Ryder

Later that night, after Bree and Alex left, and I’d put Charlie to bed, Quinn and I sat in my den, sipping glasses of bourbon, neat, in front of a warm fire.

“Why’d you have to give Bree such a hard time?” I asked, staring into the orange flames.

“Just looking out for you, little brother,” he said, kicking his feet out. “I know how you get attached.” He rubbed the back of his neck, took a sip of his drink.

I ran a hand over my face and exhaled hard. “Dude, I can handle myself,” I said in a gruff voice. I was annoyed at his holier-than-thou attitude, like he’d never screwed up a relationship in his life. “Your track record isn’t exactly stellar,” I pointed out, glancing over at him. “When was your last real relationship anyway? Two years ago?”

Quinn sat up straighter, put his hands on his knees, sloshing his drink back and forth. It glowed amber in the light of the fire.

“It’s been almost three,” he admitted. “But we’re talking about you here, not me. I’m not the one chasing LA tail, brother.”

I clenched my glass hard, squaring my jaw. “I’m not just chasing tail, Quinn, you know that,” I said, angered by his characterization of my relationship with Bree. “It’s not like that.”

“It’s not?” he challenged. “What do you know about her, really, Ryder? Do you know if she’s going back to LA? What her future plans are? Do you know anything about her family? Her friends? Does she want kids?” He rattled off the questions and I realized I didn’t know hardly any of the answers. But there was no way I’d admit it.

I sat up taller and straighter. “I think she’s going to stay here, in Peachtree Grove. She’s cool with her sister, so yes, I’ve met her family. We’ve talked about her relationships with her parents and I’m sure she has loads of friends in LA, that just hasn’t come up yet.” I jutted my chin out defiantly, skipping the question about kids. I honestly had no idea and wasn’t going to bring that subject up anytime soon. I’d be cool either way—I already had Charlie.

“She must be one hot lay,” Quinn said, smirking and leaning back in the armchair, crossing his legs at the ankles.

I bristled. “I told you—it’s not like that, Quinn.” I wasn’t about to start sharing the details of my sex life with my older brother.

“Right. I saw the eyes you two were making at each other all night. Even Mom could read that,” he said, teasing. “And don’t think you’re so suave that I didn’t see you feeling her up under the table.”

My cheeks flamed. “I wasn’t feeling her up,” I said, protesting.

“Sure. Whatever, little bro. I know a hook-up when I see a hook-up. Just sayin’.”

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