Daughters Of The Bride(122)

She didn’t know why she was so uncomfortable. Her skin felt hot and tight. Her stomach was very unhappy and she was oddly breathless. Quinn was great. Being around him made her happy. She didn’t want anything to change, and she had a horrible feeling that if he kept talking, everything would.

“Courtney,” he began.

“Don’t. Please. Let’s just do what we’ve been doing. Talking and hanging out and the henna thing. That was great.”

“That was great. But that’s not all I want.” He removed his sunglasses and looked into her eyes. “Courtney, I’m in love with you.”

The words hit her with the power of a freight train. She felt physically battered and trapped. Definitely trapped. But she was in a car and there was nowhere to go.

“No,” she said firmly. “No, you’re not. You can’t be. This isn’t love. Love hurts and you don’t hurt me. We’re good together. Don’t do this, please.”

She tried to scramble away, but she couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.

The seat belt, she thought frantically. She unfastened it, then fumbled for the door.

“Wait,” Quinn said. “Courtney, we have to talk.”

“No, we don’t. Stop talking. You’ll ruin everything.”

She got the door open and nearly fell out of the car. Once she’d scrambled to her feet, she turned toward the hotel and started to run. Quinn called her name again and again, but she ignored him. She kept moving, brushing away stupid tears and wondering why he had to go and spoil everything.



It took her only about five minutes to get onto the hotel property. Courtney made her way to her room, going up the back stairs to avoid running into anyone. Once she reached the fourth floor, she realized she’d left her key in Quinn’s car and had no way to get into her room. Not without going back to the reception desk. She kept walking anyway and almost wasn’t surprised when she saw him standing at the end of the hall.

Her bag and luggage were at his feet, but what really captured her attention was the combination of pain and anger she saw in his eyes.

As she approached, he held out her room key. She used it to let them inside. He set her luggage by the bed, then faced her. She closed the door.

“Seriously?” he asked. “You ran?”

“I’m sorry.” She felt herself blushing. “I panicked.”

“Ready to have an adult conversation now?”

She didn’t want to. She wanted to push him into the hall and lock him out. No, what she really wanted to do was turn back time about fifteen minutes so this never happened.

“I take it you’re not in love with me,” he said flatly.

“I don’t want to love anyone,” she admitted. “And you really don’t want to love me. I’m not that special.”

“You’re telling me how I feel?”

“No.” She ducked her head. The sick feeling only grew. “Quinn, please. We’re so good together the way we were. It was fun and easy. There was no pressure. I like you a lot. More than I’ve ever liked anyone. But the rest of it. The in-love part. I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to care.”

She looked up and saw him staring at her.

“No, you don’t want to take the chance.” He shook his head. “Why didn’t I see that? This isn’t about me, it’s about you. The risk is too great. What was it you said? Love hurts?”

“It does. I’ve seen it.”

“If that’s the lesson you’ve learned, it’s the wrong one. I’m sorry, Courtney. I thought you were ready to be brave.” One corner of his mouth twisted up. “For what it’s worth, there are a lot of women who would love to know this is happening. They’d say I deserved it. They’re probably right.”

He turned for the door. She caught his arm. “Don’t go. Can’t we go back to what we had before?”

He glanced at her. “I don’t want that anymore. I want something more. I want it all. With you. Or I did.”

And then he was gone. He closed the door so quietly—as if he wasn’t angry. As if he had gone beyond that. Courtney sank onto the floor and pulled her knees to her chest. She told herself to keep breathing in and out. That was all she had to do for now. Keep breathing. The rest of it would take care of itself.





28

THE BIGGEST PARK in Los Lobos was at the north end of town, high on a cliff, overlooking the ocean. On a clear summer’s day, like today, there was no more beautiful view than this one, Rachel thought as she parked her SUV in the gravel parking lot. There might not be big shopping malls or fancy restaurants in town, but she didn’t care. This was worth giving up almost everything.