“I’ll convince you tonight.”
I turn to look at Owen, not sure if his confidence is annoying or sexy. Heat rushes through me, settling between my legs with a quiver. Narrowing my eyes. I sink my teeth down against my lower lip. I can handle whatever Owen throws at me. I think. I hope. I’m not interested in dating or even hooking up.
“You won’t convince me, but go ahead and give it your best shot.”* * *
The century-old farmhouse looks exactly the same. It’s strange how the sight of it brings up a maelstrom of emotions.
Sunday dinners spent around the table.
Sneaking up the creaky old stairs and into Owen’s bedroom, which he shared with Logan for a while. When Weston moved out, Logan took his room, leaving Owen and me with way too much privacy.
Holiday time split between my own family and Owen’s.
There was so much promise. So much hope in a future together. I look at Owen and wonder what things would be like if we’d never broken up. Would he have eventually turned around? I didn’t demand a ring or a baby. All I wanted was a promise of a future together, to get serious about the next phase in our lives, and look for a place of our own to put down roots.
Owen didn’t want any of that, and at the time, it felt like a betrayal. Like I wasn’t enough for him. It haunted me for years, wondering where I’d gone so wrong. What I could have done differently to be enough for him. Looking back now, I can see that we were just too different of people.
The truck bumps along the gravel driveway, and Owen parks next to a Tesla.
“Whose car is that?” I ask.
“Archer’s.”
“Ahh, right. He’s a doctor.”
Owen takes off his seatbelt. “Quinn still makes more than him.”
I can’t help but smile and feel a little warm and fuzzy inside. One thing all the Dawson boys take seriously is looking after their baby sister. For a time, Quinn kind of felt like a sister to me too. I can’t even remember the last time I’ve seen her, and now she’s married with two kids.
Time goes by so fucking fast…until shit hits the fan and your own life is scattered to the wind all around you.
Smoothing out my hair once again, I get out of the truck and follow Owen around the house. We enter through the garage, and a brigade of dogs comes barking as soon as we step into the house.
“Easy,” Owen tells them, but his voice is lost under the scrambling of paws and excited barks. A large German Shepherd comes barreling over, nearly knocking Owen to the ground in his excitement.
“Dex!” Owen drops to his knees and lets the dog get up close and personal for a few seconds. “You’re getting fat,” he tells the dog, who’s now lying down for a belly rub. “This is Logan’s dog, Dexter.”
“He likes you.”
“Logan got him back when we were both at the house. He’s used to me.”
“Owen?” Mrs. Dawson calls. “Is that you?”
“No, Mom,” Owen calls back. “It’s a burglar, and I’ve secretly befriended all five dogs over the course of a year just so I can sneak in unnoticed.”
“Oh, well, good. Feel free to take any of the junk in the attic while you’re burglarizing the place.”
Owen gets back up, brushes dog fur off his lap, and goes through the rear entrance and into the kitchen. I follow behind, heart racing a little faster than I expected. Quinn and two other women, who have to be Scarlet and Danielle, are sitting at the island counter. Quinn is nursing the newborn I saw with Archer, and a gorgeous blonde woman I’m guessing to be Scarlet is holding baby Violet, who I recognize right away by the shock of blonde hair on her little head. Cascades of blonde waves fall around Scarlet’s face, and even though she’s sitting, I can tell she was one of those lucky women who lost all the baby weight right away without even trying.
A brunette is sitting next to her, and I’m guessing that’s Danielle, Logan’s wife. She’s pretty as well, and is talking and laughing about something with Quinn. Seeing the three of them there together makes me feel a little out of place, which isn’t something I was expecting to feel.
Because it means I want to fit in. Again.
Quinn looks up, about to say hi to Owen, and then sees me. All it takes is a split second of total shock on her face to let me know Owen didn’t tell anyone he was bringing me.
“Charlie?” Quinn’s eyes go wide.
“Hey,” I say with a small wave. “I take it you had no idea I was joining you for dinner.”
Quinn keeps staring at me like I’m a spirit who might disappear into the night if she takes her eyes off me. “No, he didn’t.” A second later, she rapidly blinks and turns to Scarlet.