Page 137 of You Found Me
“That’s fair. One of my best friends is that same way—or at least she pretends to be.”
“It’s definitely not something everyone can do. I’m going to go grab all of us a treat and then we can just gossip like the old biddies do before I head back to the city.”
She gets up, not letting us decline the offer, and it reminds me so much of Mia that I laugh.
“How are you feeling about everything?” Spencer asks.
“Nervous and happy. I want the truth out there because I don’t want anyone in our lives to think we started this before we did. I know they knowofme, but they don’t all trulyknowme, and I won’t walk through this town like I have a scarlet A on my chest because of him.”
He nods. “I’m proud of you, Buttercup. Seriously. Are you going to say something to Quinn about Rick? I recognized her from his profile.”
“Oh stop it, you’ll make me blush,” I tease. “But I thought you did. I’m just not sure if it’s the right time to ask her about it.”
“Ask me about what?” Quinn asks as she sits down, placing a turtle brownie in front of Spence and a jumbo cinnamon roll in front of me and her. I glance at Spencer, whose face is full of surprise. Quinn smirks. “Did I guess right? I like to pretend I have a knack for picking out the perfect sweet treat for someone.”
“You nailed it,” Spencer answers, nudging me under the table with his knee.
“You really did. I’m a sucker for cinnamon rolls.”
“Same here,” she proves her point by taking a big bite.
“Are you still dating Rick Miller?”
Quinn chokes on her cinnamon roll before taking a sip of her coffee then proceeds to cackle. “Ew. Rick Miller isnotmy boyfriend, he’s my dad.”
I hear a gasp and realize it came from me. “Your dad?”
Quinn nods, and I’m still stunned. “But you don’t use his last name, for work or on social media.”
“That’s on purpose. When I decided I wanted to go into sports journalism, I didn’t want my last name to get me ahead. I wanted to do that based on my own merit. I use my mom’s first name as my last name.”
She senses something else is going on when Spence and I share a look, so she point-blank asks, “What’s going on? Do you know my dad personally?”
I take a deep breath, exhaling as Spencer leans in to kiss the side of my head. “Rick Miller is my biological father. I recently had the courage to look him up. But I haven’t reached out . . . yet. I was in a bad place when I finally found out his name. I felt broken and unwanted. It didn’t help to find out later on that my mom kept my existence from him because he went back to his ex-wife—I’m assuming your mom. I’m sorry.”
Quinn reaches out, grabbing my hand. “Please don’t apologize. When I was a teenager, he told me that he’d met someone and had started to fall in love with her before he got back together with my mom. That’s also when I found out they only got back together to help me cope with the fact that I’d be losing my mom in the near future. She had an aggressive form of cancer and he wanted to be there for both of us. I guess instead of telling your mom the reason, he left it as simply leaving her to be with his ex.” She rolls her eyes. “Typical men.”
“Oh my god. Quinn, I’m sorry about your mom. If I had known I wouldn't have brought it up.”
“Thanks. But it’s fine. I’ve had a long time to come to terms with losing her. However, I don’t think Dad would be able to live with himself if he learns about you and doesn’t get the chance to know you. Is that something you’re open to? If it’s not, what about getting to know me better? I’ve always wanted a sister.”
I smile. “I’ve always wanted a sister, too. I’d like to be the one to tell him about me. My mom offered to reach out, but I feel like it’s something I need to do.”
“Ooor . . .” Quinn says dramatically. “We can pull sibling shenanigans and spring it on him. He’s in great health which means no need to worry about a heart attack or stroke.”
Spencer and I both laugh at that. “I’ll think about that and get back to you.”
She smiles. “No worries. We’ll figure it out.”
A thought occurs to me, something that Grayson said the night of the Gala and looking at Quinn up close, I see it. “Do you know GraysonHayes?”
I watch as her smile drops before she pastes on a fake one in its place. “Somewhat. Our paths have crossed in the past. Why?”
“He was Chance’s captain and quarterback. He tried to intervene with Chance last month and when we were talking after, he said I reminded him of someone. But stated that he and I got along a little better.”
I hear a snort of derision from her that makes Spencer chuckle and ask, “So by paths crossing, I assume there’s definite rocky history there?”
“That’s one way to look at it. Let’s not ruin this day with my troubled past.”
