Page 51 of Just Let Go

It had been three years of praying for some shift in Mimi’s stubbornness, and now, finally, here she was. Armed with a warning from the old woman not to let her work consume her and the memory of an absent mother who’d given Quinn her first heartbreak.

Her designhadto win. Surely Lucy and Hailey understood that. They were two of the only people in the world who knew her plan. She’d even kept it hidden from Dad and Carly. She couldn’t break her father’s heart all over again—he’d be devastated if he thought for a second that Quinn sensed something in her life was missing, especially after he’d spent every waking hour trying to take care of her and Carly, to make sure they had all they needed.

And they did, of course, except for one thing.

Their mother.

Shannon brought their food and set it on the table in front of each of them.

“You know we’re going to support you no matter what,” Lucy said, pouring syrup on her pile of pancakes.

Quinn thought it was wholly unfair that her friend could eat that way. She turned her attention to her two scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, and side of fruit. Some people weren’t so lucky. “I know. I’m just stressed, is all. There’s so much riding on this—I have to get it right.”

Quinn stabbed at the eggs with her fork but stopped mid-bite when she spotted Grady just outside the door.

“Oh no.”

Lucy followed Quinn’s gaze as the bell above the front door signaled Grady’s arrival. It might as well have been a siren the way he pulled the attention of everyone in the restaurant.

“Oh, I heard he was out causing trouble again last night,” Hailey said. “Someone said he almost got in another fight at the Lucky Lady.”

“Who cares? As far as I’m concerned, a man who looks like that can do whatever he wants.” Lucy took a bite of pancakes.

“I know you don’t mean that,” Hailey said. “That’s just not a smart thing to say.”

Lucy waved her off. “Oh, you know what I mean.” She set her fork down. “Is he coming over here?”

Quinn, who at this point was staring at her food as if it were the most interesting thing in the world, could feel her friends staring at her.

“He’s looking at you,” Lucy practically hissed the words. “Oh my heck...”

Grady was now standing beside their table—Quinn could see his shoes. Shoes she recognized because they’d been on the floor of her living room that very morning.

“Morning, Mr. Benson. I’m Lucy Fitzgerald.” Lucy stuck a hand out across the table, in front of Quinn, and waited for Grady to shake it. He did, and Quinn scooted back in her seat, daring a glance at Hailey, whose wide, curious eyes were asking Quinn all kinds of questions. Namely,What is he doing at our table and why does he seem to know you?

Grady dropped Lucy’s hand.

“Do you already know Hailey and Quinn?”

“We’ve met,” Hailey said. “I obviously work here.” She glanced down at her Hazel’s uniform—a brightly colored turquoise T-shirt with yellow lettering.

“And Quinn?” Lucy was digging now, Quinn could tell.

“We’ve met,” Grady repeated. Quinn didn’t have to look at him to know he was wearing that trademark Grady Benson go-ahead-and-fall-in-love-with-me smile. She’d spent the better part of her morning shoving the memory of that exact expression out of her mind.

Because no matter what, she was absolutelynotgoing to succumb to his charm. She could only imagine the number of women who’d fallen for it over the years. He clearly knew what he was doing when it came to making women swoon. Even her friends seemed smitten by him, for Pete’s sake.

“Hey, I just wanted to come by and say thanks,” Grady said, attention now firmly on Quinn.

“Thanks for what?” That was Lucy. Always inquisitive, that one. Today inquisitive felt a lot like nosy.

“Don’t mention it,” Quinn said.

No, really, please don’t mention it.

“What are you thanking Quinn for?” Lucy asked, her tone a little more serious this time.

“For last night. She was a saint. Guess she’s good at keeping secrets too.” He tapped on the table twice. “I’ll see you in a little bit.” He started off but turned back only a few steps away from the table. “Oh, and you’re out of shampoo. I’ll pick more up for you since I used the last of it.”

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