Page 6 of Lost the Handle

I’ll call to confirm that, but I’m pretty sure I’m right. Stella flashes me a look. “Isn’t he living with his fiancée?”

Shit, I forgot about her. In my mind, she is nothing, but apparently she means something to Quinn.

Gag.

“No, they’re waiting till after the wedding.”

Everyone looks at me like I’m insane, but Dad just boops my nose and leans in. For only me to hear, he says, “You’re so cute when you are flying by the seat of your pants.”

I grin and wink. “Learned from the best.”

I move out of my dad’s embrace and wave at my family. “I’m off. Let me know when there’s a family dinner.”

“Hey, Em,” Aiden calls to me, and I turn back around. “You’ve already broken Quinn’s heart. Leave him be. I really don’t want any more of you two’s drama in my wife’s family.”

“Aiden,” Mom scolds, but Asher agrees.

“For real. He’s moving on.”

Stella shrugs. “You left him.”

My parents send me sympathetic looks. They won’t say anything because they know I won’t listen. I have always done things my way, and I know that can sometimes hurt a person. I have a lot of toxic traits, and one of them is that I don’t like being told what to do. I’ve been working on it, but it’s still an issue I acknowledge. It’s why I work for myself.

My siblings look at me with pointed expressions, but I don’t care what they have to say.

With a wide grin, I tell them the truth. “He’s mine.” They all gawk at me. “If I broke his heart, I’ll fix it. He’s not moving on because we belong together. Yeah, I left because I was young and scared. I made a mistake.” I shrug. “And he’s not marrying anyone but me.”

As I turn, I hear my dad mumble, “We need to find another place to stay.”

I can’t help the chuckle that escapes when my mom agrees, “Yup, Elli and Shea are gonna throw us out on our asses.”

I glance back at them. “No way. They wouldn’t do that to their future in-laws.”

Aiden glares. “They’re already their in-laws because of me.”

I wave him off. “But we all know Quinn and I are everyone’s favorites.”

With that, I get into my car. Instantly, my confidence fades. It’s easy to put on the mask of a badass, but the truth is, I’m beyond scared. I’ve come back to Tennessee with one thing on my mind, and already, I’m hitting roadblocks. I know Quinn won’t turn me away. As mad as he is that I didn’t want to be with him, no matter what, we have each other’s backs. I just need to prove that’s still the case and make him fall in love with me again. Because there is no way in hell I will watch my best friend, the love of my life, marry anyone but me.

I wasn’t ready before and I went about it the wrong way, but none of that matters.

Quinn Adler is mine.

Chapter

Three

Quinn

Isit pathetic that I want to call my mom to ask what to do?

Knowing her, she’ll laugh at me and say, “You made this bed. Now, lie in it.” My mom is the greatest woman I know. She is strong, confident, and the most loving person on earth. She loves me the most because I’m her baby and I’m better than my other siblings, but she also loves everyone she meets.

That being said, I don’t think she loves my soon-to-be wife. Which is surprising since I thought my mom would love anyone I brought home. That’s not the case, and I think she sees right through the ruse. No, I know she does, but I’ve done my best to deflect all her questioning. Hell, I don’t even know how I would explain it. Everything is so out of my control.

And it’s not going to get easier with Emery here.

Three years. Emery’s been gone for three years, and I’m still head over heels in love with her. I lean my hand into the doorjamb, my head falling forward as I draw in a deep breath. I can feel her on the other side, which I know is silly, but it’s true. I know she’s there. I think I had that dream because she was coming for me.

---