Page 29 of Returning to Everton

And I melt into a puddle of goo right there in the kitchen. I sigh and put the note back into the bag. That will be going home with me. I look up and Quinn is looking at me smugly. I shake my head at her and stick my tongue out.

“Okay, kiddo, what do you wanna eat? Cinnamon roll or muffin?” I ask Violet.

“I want both, Mommy!” she declares.

I chuckle at that. “You can’t have both, Violet. I have my doubts that you’d be able to even finish one,” I tell her.

“But, Mommy! I wanna try everything!” she pouts.

“I know you do baby, so do I. But we’re going to have to try them one at a time. So what do you want to try first?” I ask again.

“If I take a cinnamon roll now will you hide the good muffins so the movers don’t eat them??” she implores me.

“Yes, Bug. I will make sure the movers and your Aunt Quinn don’t eat all of the good muffins. Although, I have a feeling they’re all going to be really good. But I know you’re talking about the s’mores ones.” I chuckle.

“Okay, Mommy!” she giggles as she takes a cinnamon roll off the table and runs off to no doubt gobble it up.

“What’s in the bag, Rowe?” Quinn interrogates me.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Quinn,” I say innocently.

“Bullshit. He gave me my own coffee cake, didn’t he?” she gasps. “You’re trying to keep it for yourself! You dirty little thief! Give me my cake! Don’t make me fight you, Rowen. I know damn well he gave you two. Now hand mine over, and no one gets hurt,” she threatens me menacingly.

I take off running out of the kitchen and down the hall. Clutching the bag of coffee cakes to my chest as I do. I want to make it a little harder on her if she catches me. Don’t want to make it as easy as simply grabbing the bag out of my hand. Plus, if she does that, she’ll have my cake too. And after I ran off with hers she won’t give me mine.

I run around the house using my magic to throw random items back at her. Not meaning to cause any harm, just slow her down. It works and I make it out the door before she can catch me. She follows me outside yelling at me the whole time.

“Damn it, Rowen! Don’t think I won’t chase your ass all over town for that cake! I’ve had Hudson’s cake before! And let me tell you, you are missing out!” she yells at me across the yard.

I stop and spin around. “You better be talking about his COFFEE cake, Quinn Mathews!” I shriek back at her.

While she has me distracted thinking she hooked up with Hudson, she magics the bag out of my hands. It gets about halfway to her before I stop it. We’re standing about ten feet apart in front of her house at eight o’clock in the morning giving each other the stink eye while we magically fight over a bag between us. While Quinn’s distracted trying to get the bag, I mutter a spell under my breath, and the next thing she knows the bag is gone.

“If you have any hope of ever seeing another coffee cake again you better get to talkin’ missy!” I growl at her.

She rushes over to me, presumably so the neighbors can no longer hear our conversation since it’s taken a serious turn.

“Hey, you listen to me right now,” Quinn snarls at me. “I havenevernotonceeventhoughtabout sleeping with Hudson Hopkins! That your mind would even go there shows just how much you...”

I deflate as she berates me. She’s right. I can’t believe I would ever think she would sleep with Hudson. “How much I what, Quinn?” I probe.

She lets out a deep breath. “How much you love that man, Rowen. You know I would never be able to hurt you like that. And for you to be so upset just thinking about me being with Hudson proves how much you want him to be yours. But what you don’t understand, Rowe, is that heisyours! He always has been. You just need to take him. Claim him as yours. That’s what he wants more than anything. Hell, that’s what they all want.”

Wait, what? “What are you talking about, Quinn?”

“I was joking when I said I’ve had his cake and you don’t know what you’re missing. I knew you would get the double meaning of that. I wanted to see your unfiltered reaction to thinking Hudson was sleeping with me, and you did not disappoint. If you didn’t really care about Hudson you wouldn’t have completely flipped your lid like that, Rowen. I knew you’d eventually find your head and realize I could have never done that to you and calmed down. Which you’re doing right now,” she chuckles.

“You know, if you wanted to know how I felt about Hudson, you could have just asked,” I grouch.

“HA! Yeah right. I’ve asked you a million times over the years, and you have never once acknowledged your feelings for him or any of the other guys.”

Okay, I guess she has me there. But still, that was sneaky and underhanded... and exactly something my best friend would do. I roll my eyes at my idiocy, why do I keep falling for her shit?

I bury my face in my hands and groan to myself. When I look up, Quinn is standing in front of me with her arms spread open and her head tilted to the side. I sigh and step into them. We both close our arms around each other and stand there just supporting each other. Or really, her supporting me. Like she always has.

“I’m sorry, Quinn. I know you got what you wanted, but I still shouldn't have freaked out like that. I know you wouldn’t do that to me. You never thought of any of the guys like that. So, I don’t know what made me think you would have,” I apologize while still holding on to her.

“It’s okay, Rowe. You know those guys are like annoying brothers to me. They were never like that for you. You definitely got lucky with that, because they all turned outhot!” she jokes.

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