"Don't worry," I muttered from the side of my mouth to Quinn. "They're totally machine washable."
He let out a deep belly laugh, and I noticed the sound pulled the gaze of his mother, father, and the man and woman I now knew to be his wife's parents. The four of them seemed shocked to hear him laugh, and I was left wondering what that was all about.
Before I could think longer on it, Quinn's voice called my attention. "Well, thank Christ for that, because there's no way I'm getting those off her feet. Pretty sure she's going to sleep in them."
I beamed up at him and watched in amazement as his eyes traveled down to my lips. That telltale spark I felt every time he looked at me like that ignited beneath my skin, once again, making me feel like there was something deeper between us.
I knew it was more than likely all in my imagination, and that I needed to brush it off, so in an attempt to do that, I shook my head and began gathering up the plates and other trash scattered around the table from Sophia's cake and presents.
"Just leave that," he began to argue. "I'll get to it later."
"I don't mind helping. Besides, two hands are better than one, and if we get this cleaned up now, you won't be stuck with the mess later."
That smile of his grew just a tad closer to his eyes as he reached down and started gathering up more trash. "Thanks."
THE PARTYGOERS HAD started to clear out a while later. I hung around, wanting to help clean up as much as I could before taking off. I was standing at the kitchen sink washing the last of the dirty dishes when a voice spoke up behind me.
"You're Sophia's dance teacher, aren't you?"
I looked over my shoulder at the pretty brunette, Sophia's grandmother. "Yes ma'am."
She closed the distance between us as I dried my hands and offered hers up for a shake. "I'm Janice Benson. It's lovely to meet you."
I shook her soft hand as I studied her sincere expression. "It's nice to meet you too."
"She talks about your class every time we have a call." She must have read my confusion as she went on to explain, "My husband and I live in Seattle. We don't get to see Sophia as much as we want to anymore, so we have regularly scheduled phone calls three times a week."
That was incredibly sad, and judging by what I saw behind her eyes, she felt the same way. I didn't know what I was supposed to say, what she expected me to say. There didn't seem like any right words, so all I could offer was a heartfelt, "It's really nice you take the time to keep in contact."
Her face only grew sadder, even with her attempt at a smile. "We miss her … them. We miss both of them."
I was about two seconds away from crying if I didn't get my shit together. She sniffed, clearly trying to hold back her own tears and gave me another wobbly smile. "Is he … " She stopped suddenly and cleared her throat against the rush of emotion that caused her words to break. "Quinn, is he … okay? I mean, does he seem happy?"
My mouth opened and closed several times before I was finally able to stutter, "I-I don't … I'm not … I … " I had no clue how to answer that question. The truth was, some days he seemed content, but as far as happy, I just wasn't sure about that. And I didn't think she wanted to hear the truth. She wanted hope.
"He laughed with you, earlier today. He actually laughed. I haven't heard that in … well, I don't know how long. That has to mean something, right?"
I couldn't let her continue with the worry she was carrying around, not if I was able to do something to help. "Yes," I whispered. "He seems happy."
The weight dropping off her shoulders was almost palpable. "Thank you," she spoke in a ragged whisper. "Thank you. That means-"
"Everything okay in here?" We were both startled by the unexpected voice and turned to find Quinn standing in the doorway leading to the back yard.
"Yeah," I answered brightly, trying to cover up the intensity of the moment that had just occurred. "All good. We were just finishing up the last of the dishes."
He hesitated before stepping fully into the kitchen. "You didn't have to do that."
"Oh … I didn't mind. I-" I was suddenly cut off by the man I'd come to know as Janice's husband. Quinn's deceased wife's father.
"Janice … you about ready, darling?"
Quinn's body went on alert, his posture stiffening as the man stopped just feet from him. Not once did he look over at the man he'd known as his father-in-law. I couldn't for the life of me understand the dynamic between all these people, but there was one thing I knew for sure. It wasn't healthy. For any of them.