Page 9 of All You Need Is Love

From the seat next to him, Quinn snagged his hand once more. Her cold skin pricked his.

Genevieve served him iced tea and Thomas plopped a huge steak on his plate. The family passed salad, fruit, and asparagus—the potato salad conspicuously missing—and chatted about the latest local news. Apparently Quinn’s family owned Froggies, a pizza place in town, and they invited him to try it sometime this week in between family reunion festivities.

Then the conversation moved on to Quinn and work. She chatted about her latest accomplishments—the three huge accounts she’d recently landed—and her new apartment overlooking Prospect Park in an up-and-coming neighborhood of Brooklyn. As Marshall bit into his steak, the butter and salt popping on his tongue, he let his eyes wander to Shannon. Her small nose flared just slightly and her tiny chin trembled as she watched Quinn.

Their gazes connected for a split second and Marshall tried out an encouraging smile. But as soon as he did, Shannon’s eyes jerked back to her plate and she shoved a bite of carrot into her mouth.

“It sounds as if you are doing well, Quinn.” Genevieve’s smile was genuine. “Not that I expected any less from my oldest.”

“She’s only the oldest by three minutes. Come on.”

Tyler’s good-natured tease had almost everyone chuckling, even Quinn, who rolled her eyes. “Three minutes is three minutes, baby brother.”

“All right, you two, that’s enough.” Genevieve turned her attention to Shannon. “Your sister has some big news to share with everyone.”

Shannon’s jaw clenched. “That’s okay, Mom. Tonight isn’t about me. It’s about Quinn coming home.”

“Balderdash.” Thomas set his fork on his plate and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “It’s about all of us being together for the first time in a decade.”

Quinn shifted beside him, a slight frown marring her beautiful features.

A decade? Hadn’t Tyler and Gabrielle gotten married last fall? But wait. Quinn and Marshall both had worked eighty-hour weeks for months, trying to make sure everything was perfect on the Lipman campaign. He vaguely remembered her mentioning some family function she was missing to be there.

Surprising that she was even here at all now, much less with a fake boyfriend.

“So.” Quinn tapped her fork against the ceramic plate. “What’s this news, Shannon?”

“Oh. Well.” Shannon stared out toward the ocean. A strand of hair brushed across her cheeks, and Marshall swallowed past the urge to reach across the table and tuck it behind her ear.

This was going to be a long week.

“I’ve decided to adopt Noah Robinson.”

No one said a word, the silence so profound that the cicadas in the yard took up the conversation. Finally, Gabrielle touched Shannon’s arm. “That’s amazing, Shannon. Congratulations. We’ll become mothers together.”

Leaning forward to see her from his location on the other side of Gabrielle, Tyler smiled. “He’s lucky to have you, sis.”

Shannon bit her lip. “I’m the lucky one.”

Marshall snuck a peek at Quinn, who wore much the same look as Shannon had earlier when Quinn was spouting all the good things about her life. Huh. What was the dynamic there?

Something in him just had to let Shannon know, in some small way, that what he’d said earlier was true. That he’d been real, even if she now probably thought him a complete fake. “I think it’s fantastic.” He cleared his throat. “And very noble of you.”

She nodded once, then looked down.

“I’ve said it before, sweetheart, but we are here if you need us.” Genevieve took a sip of water. “I’m not sure how you’ve managed the application while also juggling the reunion festivities.”

“I thought Ashley was the family event planner,” Quinn said.

Before Shannon could respond, their mom spoke up again. “Ashley was planning the reunion, but then she started dating Derek Campbell—they got engaged last week—and she asked Shannon to take over.”

“Ashley is also in charge of Ben and Bella’s wedding next weekend, Mom.” Shannon’s soft voice seemed to beg for peace.

“I didn’t mean to imply she was shirking her duties, dear.”

Quinn clucked her tongue. “Guess you miss a lot when you don’t live in town anymore.”

“You also miss a lot when you never call.” Thomas pursed his lips.

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