She was still scared.
Focusing on her apartment for now, she used Instacart to order food and, while she waited for the delivery, got to work cleaning out the old stuff in the fridge she’d forgotten about in her rush to go over to Austin’s and help him with whatever problem he’d deemed urgent.
That issue had turned out to be a baby. One who had captured her heart. Never mind the baby’s father. What had started as a way to get him out of her system had quickly turned into so much more. He wasn’t the playboy she’d pegged him for. Instead he was a man to admire. One to fall in love with. God, what had she done?
Her doorbell rang and she went to open it, checking through the peephole first, surprised to see not her food order but Evie on the other side. She opened the door and let her friend in. “What are you doing here?”
Evie, wearing a pair of baggy sweats, an oversized tee shirt and leather jacket, along with flip-flops, with a brown bag in hand, frowned. “You texted me that you were on your way home from Austin’s for good, and you didn’t expect your best friend to show up with pints of ice cream and an ear to hear why you left Mr. Wonderful and his adorable baby?”
Quinn blinked and tears fell from her eyes. “Come in here and give me the ice cream. You better have gotten one cookie dough for me.”
“Of course I did. And a chocolate fudge brownie for me.”
Before Quinn could close the door, the Instacart delivery woman arrived and Quinn accepted the bags. “Thank you,” she murmured.
“You’re welcome. Have a nice night!” The woman walked off.
Quinn locked up behind her and headed to the kitchen, quickly putting the perishables away so she could return to Evie in the den and get started on her ice cream.
By the time she joined her friend, Evie had the television on and an old episode of Friends playing on the screen, which was much smaller than the huge display in Austin’s family room. The thought made her sad, and she pulled the pint out of the brown paper bag, grabbing a spoon Evie had snagged from the kitchen.
Because Quinn’s unpacking had taken a few minutes, the ice cream was a little soft, and she dug in, moaning at the delicious, creamy cookie taste.
She’d eaten three huge bites when Evie said, “Okay that’s enough. Spill what happened tonight.”
Caught mid-bite, Quinn met Evie’s gaze, finished the ice cream, and sighed. “We got home from New York and Austin looked at the paternity test results. He’s Jenny’s father.”
Remembering how relieved he’d been, how he’d nearly collapsed and she’d stepped up to hug him and hold him while he processed the news, her heart twisted in her chest.
“Is that good news or bad news?” Evie dug into her chocolate and shoved a huge spoonful into her mouth.
Quinn managed to smile. “It’s the best news. He’d already decided to keep Jenny regardless. This just gives him a legal leg to stand on once he finds the mother.”
“It’s crazy that she hasn’t surfaced yet. Do you think she just wanted to get rid of her kid?” Evie asked.
Quinn shrugged. “Austin’s gut is telling him she’s going to want something in return for Jenny … eventually.” They’d talked about that late one night.
Evie put her pint on a magazine on the cocktail table. “So why did you leave him then? Did he say he didn’t need you anymore?”
Quinn shook her head. “He asked me to go shopping for baby furniture for Jenny’s room.” At the thought, her throat filled and her eyes welled up with tears.
Evie raised her arms in the air. “I’m fucking lost. You’re going to have to spell it out for me, honey.”
“Fine. We’ve been sleeping together, raising Jenny together, and creating a family together. In one short week, he demolished the walls I built, the feelings I had about not wanting children, and the preconceived notions I had about his willingness to settle down.” After that rush of information, Quinn had to catch her breath.
“Whoa. So essentially you love him.”
“I do.” Quinn bobbed her head up and down, admitting it out loud for the first time. “He said he cares about me, and he thinks we can have something great if it’s what I want, too.” And God, she wanted that.
“Then why in God’s name did you leave?” Evie asked.
Quinn had been asking herself that over and over. “Because I love him and I’m scared it won’t work out. That he’ll realize he just needed me for Jenny’s sake. That his caring about me isn’t the same as loving me.” She rambled a list of excuses even she didn’t believe.
Evie rolled her eyes. “For the love of God, for a smart woman, you’re an idiot.”