Page 65 of Turning Up the Heat

“A little to the left, Quinn. No, more, more...there! Hold it right there. Ryder, straighten up a little more. Perfect!”

Pops bent down, turning the screws on the stand, grunting with the effort. Bree, Delaney, and Charlie all watched from the couch.

“Looks great, boys. Now let’s eat, the food’s getting cold!” Gigi said, wrapping an arm around Pops’ waist.

“Sounds good, I’m famished! Picking out the tree was a lot of work.” He winked at Gigi, throwing a strong arm around her shoulders as they headed towards the kitchen.

Delaney hung back, waiting for me. Her cheeks were flushed a soft pink from the heat of the room, and she looked more relaxed.

“Hey you,” she said in a soft, breathy voice, reaching for my hand.

Too bad we were still at my parents’ house; I’d really like to slip that dress off her shoulders, trail kisses down her neck, all the way to her round, full breasts...

“Quinn?”

“Huh?” I blinked at her, trying to get control over the heat rising in my jeans.

“I was asking about your work schedule this week. I’m going to be slammed with the extra holiday orders, but I wanted to be sure we saw each other.”

“I’m on duty starting tomorrow.” I bent down, my lips brushing her ear. “But I was hoping you’d spend the night with me tonight. Since I won’t be able to see your beautiful face for the next two days.”

She blushed, smiling up at me. “Deal. But don’t tell your mom,” she whispered, not all that quietly.

I tapped her on her scrunched-up nose. “Definitely not telling my mom. Now let’s eat fast, decorate this tree, and get out of here. I have something important to get done tonight.”

16

Delaney

Being with Quinn’s family was like stepping into a big, warm hug. I hit it off with Bree, Ryder was super friendly, Charlie was cute as could be, and Gigi and Pops couldn’t have been kinder. They reminded me of my family, minus the depressing cloud of grief that hung over us since my mom died.

And the belching. Gigi wouldn’t stand for that, I was sure of it.

“Thanks for dinner, Mom, that was great,” Quinn said, leaning back in his chair. One hand rested on my thigh under the table; I’d moved it down closer to my knee more than once tonight.

“Yes, thank you, Mrs. McCauliffe, everything was delicious,” I said, catching her eye at the head of the table. They were the same shade of blue as Ryder’s, a sharp contrast to her gray bob.

“Call me Gigi, please,” she said, giving me a warm smile.

I smiled back, a flush of gratitude washing over me. “Okay.”

“We’ll clean up, Mom,” Ryder said. “You and Pops grab the decorations and get started with Charlie. It is a school night.”

“Great idea, Ryder,” Gigi said, nodding. “C’mon, Charlie, you can help Pops with the lights.”

The three of them left the kitchen, leaving clean-up to the four of us. We all worked together, the guys clearing the table, the girls handling the dishes.

“Ryder, your father needs help reaching the top boxes,” Gigi said from the doorway.

“No problem, Mom.” He threw his dishtowel down, seeming happy to break away from the cleaning crew. “C’mon, Quinn, you can help too. We don’t need Dad lifting any more boxes. He does too much of that at the store already.”

The brothers followed Gigi out of the kitchen, leaving me alone with Bree at the sink. I stared into the dishwater, fixating on a large rainbow soap bubble teetering on the tine of a fork.

“Looks like everything’s going well with you and Quinn,” Bree said in a mellow tone. I could see how she’d be an effective therapist, with her honey voice.

“Yeah, things are good.” I nodded slowly.

“That’s great. I haven’t known him that long, but this is the happiest I’ve ever seen him.”

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