Loving Quinn Novel by North Rose

[Annona)

The silmer that settles over the room feels suffocating Suddenly, I feel the need to run. To run far away from the mess that I created. I should have tried harder to reach him back when I learned I was pregnant, I should have tried until my message got through.

I watch him as so many emotions flow through those sea green eyes of his. Shock is the first. I know what I just told him has come as a surprise to him. We haven’t seen or spoken to each other since that September day,

A week ago, we came back into each other’s Eves after so many years apart. When I saw him that night at the fundraiser, I thought he would leave to go back to wherever it was he was statiomed. I never imagined that he would be staying. Already living right here in California,

Would I have told him if I knew he was leaving? Maybe, or maybe I would have chickped out just like I did with Grace on Saturday. Now, I have no choice but to expose my secret to him. Especially not after what happened in my office between day.

“Can you repeat what you just said

“We made a child together, Quinn.”

Anger is the next emotion to cross his face. This I expected as well. I knew he would be angry with me for keeping our daughter from him. I can’t blame him at all because if I were him, I would be livid.

“Explain it to me. Annie. Why didn’t you write to me when you found out?”

knew this was coming, even expected his anger, but telling him now after all this time is harder than I imagined. “Can we sit?”

“You can sit. I need a drink.”

Quinn spins on his heels to go fetch a drink. I can only assume that it will be alcohol, I could use sonie myself, but this needs to be done sober. When he comes back, he sets a tumbler with ice on the table in front of me, then puts a bottle of whiskey next to it.

I can see his taste in alcohol has changed. He used to abhor the stuff when he was a teenager. I figure that was because of his father’s love of it. When did he start drinking?

“How long after we parted ways did you find out you were pregnant?”

His back is to me as he asks. He walks to the floor to ceiling windows then just stares out at the city below us. I can see his reflection in the glass. Those beautiful eyes of his are glittering with anger. A muscle in his jaw is ticking as he clenches it fight.

“At first I thought I caught the flu that was going around campus. Then I chalked the fatigue I was feeling up to long hours spent between classes, studying, and labs. Then when I realized how late my cycle was, I went to the clinic on campus.”

“How long, Annora?”

“Two months.”

“Then what did you do?”

I swallow hard at the anger in his voice. With a shaking hand, I reach out and pour myself a drink. After I drag the glass, I look back up at his rigid back. “I called

my mother.”

“How long after that did you even think to reach out to me?”

“I couldn’t remember where you were. Then, when I did, you were no longer in boot dimp. They wouldn’t tell me where you were sent since I wasn’t family. I tried to have my father find you, but you know how the Anny works.”

“You could have called Aagon’s parents. They would have told me. I would have been there for you anyway I could have.”

That was something I never thought of. I didn’t have their phone number, but I could have found that out easily from my grandparents. I am a f**ng idiot. All that

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Chapter 16

ture wasted because I didnt think ofthe two people who were more like family to than his ou

“Tall you have a bay of a pill

Emily

To answer his question, I get up from the sea and walk in when I hopped my purst Pulling out my w shaky Jejen, I walk to stand nest to him at the window

wallet, I slide Grace’s picture from the plastic holder inside. On

“Here, see for yourself.”

the sound of my voe, he turns to me. The glittering anger in his vestors make a step back, for the first fi him. This man is capable of violence, and I know .

him as a teenager, I am afraid of

When Qame Lake a step back, something shifts in his eyes, Beget mayber However, he says nothing, but looks down at my hand and the picture I hold out to him. He takes the picture from me, and the second he sees our daughter, I know he knows the truth.

“We have a daughter,”

His voor in bone when he speaks. Ti is no longer filled with anger. Instead, it is full of wonder. I can see the joy in his eyes as he studies Grace’s face. I want to be hps for him at this moment, but guilt swamps re

I feel immense guilt for all that precious time with our daughter I robbed him of Herth. The way she learned to walk. Her first words. I can bring none of that time back. Istle something greatly profound from Him. If he chooses not to forgive me, I will understand.

A brast, I will try

What is ben rate?”

“Elsabeth Grace Crepson 1 call her Grace.”

Q**m looks up at me for the first time since he took her photo from Surprise is written all over his face. “You named her for my mother?”

tele night.”

Before I have time to process it, he closes the gap between un, pulling me into a fierce embrace. By the way his body is shaking, I can tell that he is crying. So, I do the only thing I cap my around him and hold on tight

I’m not sure how long we stood there clinging to each other, but as he breaks away. I can see that the storm is not over yet. When he steps away from me,

tell him paything he wants to know. there will be more questions to art.

“Now is the time to have that seat. I will be right back I need to call Aaron to let him know I am not coming back to the office today.”

I know

Once he leaves the room, I sit down on the sofa apon. My eyes wander the room as wait for him to return. Quinn filled the walls of the living room with artwork. One painting stands out to me. Standing from the sala, I walk to it

It is a Japanese cherry blossom tree. At its bese sits a soldier with his rifle resting next to him on the ground. Beside him, blossoms from the tree form the body of a woman, with some blusoma blowing away in the wind. As if the woman is fading away

Lintas dog my throat as I look at the soldier’s face. I can see a single tear rolling down his cheek. Is this what Quinn felt like all those years we were a

“I drew that in a sketch pad one night. One man from my unit painted it a few years later and gar it to me

apart?

the sound of his voice, I gin around to look at him. He ditched the suit while he was gone. Now he is in a ded pair of blue jeans with a black t-shirt. What draws my attention is all his tattoon. One gands out above the others.

A cherry blossom tree.

I was

distracted exter while we were in my office to notice anything other than the way we fit together. Perfectly. Just like two lost pieces to an old puzzle Finally, other again with the entire image.

am sorry for my anger, Ånsors. Even more sorry that I scaped you. The way you stepped away from me made me regret it instantly. Can you forgive me?”

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Chapter 16

He stays a respectful distance from one, which makes me sail, but I understand.

“There is nothing to forgive. At least, not from you, I should be the one to ask for forgiveness from you”

Quinn looks away from me, then walks to the sofa by the coffee table with

whisky bottle on it. “Come sit down. We have a lot to discuss, it seems..

This was not how I was expecting our conversations to go today.”

I join h

him on the sofa, then I tum to him as I sit. “Did you really think I was going to tell you I was raped?”

(Quinn)

Just hearing that word from her makes my heart constikt at the thought. It is a painful thought, and it is one that I am ashamed to have thought of. When she told me Kyle wasn’t the father of her child, but there was fear in her eyes, I jumped to conclusions.

“I did, but I am ashamed of myself for even thinking it was a possibility.”

At her silence, I look over at her. There are dried tears on her cheeks. Some streaks are still wet. I put those streaks there with how I reacted to the bomb she dropped on me. Her next words make my heart break for her

“If you don’t want to be with me now, I get it. I won’t stop you from meeting Grace or spending time with her. She is your daughter too.”

Does this change how 1 feel about Annora? No, but I am still angry at her for keeping our child from me all these years. I do the only thing I can think of to wipe the sadne from her eyes. Closing the distance between us, I fuse my mouth to hers.

Her sharp intake of breath allows me to slip my tongue into her mouth. Passion are instantly as she clings to me. Reluctantly, I break the kiss. Sex is too easy. What we need now is more conversation. There is an emotional minefield to get through here.

“As much as I would love nothing more than to strip you naked again, I think it would be a bad idea right now.”

Her lashes lower to cover her beautiful eyes. I place my Engers under her chin to make her look at me. My thumb is running over her lower lip. I lean back in to place a soft kiss on her lips, When I lean back, the sadness in her eyes is gone

“There is a lot that we need to talk about, but make no mistake here, Annie. I very much want you. I want the life we talked about as kids. Now that I know we have a daughter, I want it even more. You had my heart at eighteen and you still have it.”

“I haven’t told Grace that you are here in town.”

“Does she know about me?”

This surprises me,

“She knows Kyle isn’t her father. I haven’t really told her about you. It was painful to think about you. I couldn’t share you with our daughter. It was selfish of me She looks so much like you, Quinn. Her eyes are so like yours.”

“Thank you for naming her after my mother. She would have loved it.”

“The minute they placed her in my arms; I knew what I wanted to name her. You loved your mother so much. I wanted to honor her memory with our child.”

“I have a confession. When I had you on your kitchen counter and I saw your belly belce you tried to cover yourself. I imagined what you would look like round with cur child.-

Sadness and willt

her eyes as she looks at me. “I robbed you of that and so much more. How can you forgive me for that?”

1 cup lart face in my hands. “Annie, you gave birth to my child. I can never be angry with you for that. I am sad that I missed you growing round with our baby. All things missed from her early life. What I missed from back then I can ever have, but what I can have is the time we have now. I want to get to know ben, Will you give that?”

She pulls away from me, then stands to walk to the windows. “There is one problem (haven’t bold you about. I lovedyyn. Kyle and his wh Lana.”

374Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

13:24 Mon, Sep 9 19 G

Chapter 16

“The fake b**h from the fundraiser?”

Her throaty laugh has just shooting straight to my**k. Shit, I missed the sound of her amazing laugh. Now is not the time for erotic thoughts.

“Kyle and Lara filed a custody suit against me Saturday,”

What the actual **k? Rage sp**es through me faster than I can stop it. The thought of that man having

g custody of my daughter makes me see red.

“There is no way in hell that facker is going to have anything to do with our

ur daughter.”

Hope flashes through her eyes as she turns back to me. Then a nasty thought crosses my mind. Did she tell me about Grace, hoping I would use my money and influence to stop kyle from taking her child? Would she do anything to keep her daughter from her ex-husband?

I stand up off the sola and walk to where she is standing. My body is stiff as I walk to her. I can’t believe I fell for the tears.

“That is why you told me now, isn’t it? You know I have the power, the money, and my outstanding military record to stop Kyle. That’s it, isn’t it? You never planned on telling me about Grace, did you? Now that you are facing this custody issue, you come to me

Annora spins around at my words. Her mouth is open in shock at what I just said. Shocked that I am right, I imagine. Then the raw naked hurt in her eyes registers in my mind second before her palm connects with my cheek.

“You really are the b**t*rd that I thought you were at the fundraiser.”

With that said, she races across the room to where her pure and briefcase is. Before I fully recover from her slap, she is out the door. I rush after her but reach the elevated just as the doors close. Frantically, I stab at the button to recall the elevator When that doesn’t work, I run back inside to grab my cellphone.

My call goes straight to her voicemail. Knowing she doesn’t have her car here, I go back to the elevator to chase after her. With luck, I can still reach her outside. Then throw myself at her mercy as I beg forgiveness for being a total jacka**.