"I love having her in there," I continued as we came to a stop in the kitchen, the large wooden dining room table nearly groaning with brightly wrapped presents. I placed mine down and turned to face Quinn's mother. "She's a lively one."
Eve laughed. "That's a good way of putting it. The girl's wild. Definitely gives her father a run for his money. I didn't think it was possible for a kid to be more hyper than Quinn was when he was a boy, but Sophia managed to top him."
"Ah." I giggled. "Karma at work."
"Oh, absolutely! And well-deserved. I've been dying my hair since I was thirty-two because of him. It's only fair he has a taste of his own medicine."
"My mom says my time's coming."
"Smart woman."
The sound of kids yelling and laughing pulled my attention to the back door just as it opened and Quinn appeared, looking flustered and exhausted. "Mom, if we don't cut that cake soon, they're going to riot."
At that, I let out a full-blown laugh. His head jerked toward me and surprise registered across his handsome face. "Lilly. I didn't know you were in here."
"Just got here."
Eve moved around the kitchen, pulling the fridge door open and unearthing a large cake box. "I had to let her in, that's why I haven't gotten the cake out yet. It'll just be a few minutes."
"Why don't … " He trailed off and pulled in a deep breath, like he was trying to calm himself. "I'll take care of the cake. Why don't you go help wrangle all the kids?"
Eve gave him a look I couldn't quite decipher but didn't say a word as she headed out into the back yard. As soon as the door closed behind her, Quinn propped his hands on the kitchen counter, dropped his head, and sighed.
"Hey," I said softly, coming up behind him. "You okay?"
He didn't bother to move. "Yeah, I'm good. You should get out there. Lilly's been asking for you."
Those familiar shutters started to come down. I opened my mouth to speak, to try and get him to confide in me, but the backdoor opened again, letting in screams of all the kids.
"Quinn?"
His head shot in the direction of the voice, and there was no missing the way his back went rigid. For the life of me, I couldn't understand his reaction to the pretty, middle-aged brunette woman standing in the doorway. And what was even more confusing was the fact that she looked just as uncomfortable as him. She wrung her hands in front of her as she continued speaking. "Sophia sent me to find you."
He moved to the cake box and lifted the cake out, setting it on the counter so he could put the candles on the top tier. It was as if he was doing everything in his power not to make eye contact. "Almost finished," he stated in a flat voice. "I'll be right out."
She looked like she wanted to say more, but forced herself to remain quiet. Moving her gaze to the floor, she whispered, "Okay." It was almost painful to watch. It was so obvious that, whoever she was, she wanted to reach out to him, but he was just as closed off with her as he was with anyone else.
Suddenly Sophia's loud, shouting voice came echoing into the kitchen. "Grandma! Where's Daddy?" Sophia barreled up next to the woman in the doorway and wrapped her arms around her legs, causing the air to freeze in my lungs.
Grandma. Oh, God. His wife's mother.
Quinn offered Sophia a tense, tight smile. "I'll be right out, Angel."
Sophia's eyes finally landed on me, and her smile nearly enveloped her entire face. "Miss Lilly!" She disengaged from her grandmother and came at me.
I returned her hug, loving how genuine it felt every single time. "Hey, Little Miss. Happy birthday."
"Thanks! You wanna come outside with me? I can show you my piñata!"
I looked from her to Quinn, and back again. "Give me just a second, sweetie. I'm going to help your daddy get everything ready."
Sophia headed back toward the door, back to her grandmother. The woman smiled down at Sophia and reached for her hand. "Come on, sweet girl. Why don't we get everyone to sit down so we can serve up the cake?"
Lilly
"I'VE GOT THIS. You can just head outside."
I narrowed my eyes at Quinn. There was something weighing heavily on him, something he was determined to handle all by himself, even though I was standing right there, ready and more than willing to be a shoulder for him to lean on. We were friends. Friends helped each other.
And I was going to help him whether he wanted it or not, damn it!