All the Way (Romancing Manhattan 1)
“Have I let either of you down yet? I spend months away every year; the difference is now I have a woman that I care about with me. There won’t be a problem with my work ethic.”
“We’re not questioning your work ethic,” Quinn adds. “But this is a different level of commitment. It’s different if she’s here, but if you’re planning on being gone, even twenty percent of the time, that leaves a lot on us, and I’m not sure I’m okay with that.”
“Fuck,” I mutter, and rub my fingers over my mouth in frustration. “Are you saying I should be apart from her for months at a time?”
“I’m not suggesting anything.” Carter sits back with his hands up in surrender. “I’m just concerned, that’s all.”
“Well, if this becomes a problem, we will say something,” Quinn says, watching me closely. “Whether you like it or not.”
“I would expect nothing less. What do you think of this?” I spin the computer so they can see it. “It’s in West Beverly Hills.”
“Have you talked to her about this?” Carter asks.
“No.” I look up and pause. “Maybe I’ll surprise her.”
“Don’t do that,” Carter replies, shaking his head. “Women like to pick out their own place. Choosing it for her is a recipe for disaster.”
“I agree,” Quinn says. “I wouldn’t want someone to just choose a house for me. And I know a woman will want to get what she considers to be her style.”
“I think that goes for anyone,” Carter adds.
“She’s under a lot of stress already,” I say, sounding reasonable to my own ears. “I can take this off of her plate and just handle it. So all she has to do is take a suitcase and move right in. We’re not leaving New York, so we won’t have to pack everything we own. I’ll buy new stuff.”
“You’re going to furnish it without letting her do it?” Carter asks. “Are you trying to be single?”
“I’m trying to help her out,” I say, getting frustrated now. “Trust me, she would appreciate this.”
“Uh-huh. Right. Have you guys discussed your controlling tendencies?” Quinn shakes his head. “Well, the first thing you should do is call a Realtor.”
“True. They can narrow it down for me. Maybe we should sell her condo.” I rub my chin and look out the window to the city, thinking it over. “That would really make the most sense. I plan on having her move in with me anyway. We don’t need two condos in the city.”
“Aren’t you getting ahead of yourself?” Quinn asks.
“What do you mean?”
“Ask the girl if she wants to move in with you before you decide to list her condo.”
“I’m not going to list her condo. It’s not in my name.” I shake my head and frown. “That’s not possible.”
“Because if it was possible, that’s exactly what he would do,” Carter says to Quinn, who nods.
“What are you saying?”
“That you’re a control freak, and when you get an idea in your head, you go full throttle, without asking others involved if it’s something they also want.”
I stare at my brother-in-law in confusion. “When have I done that?”
Both of them laugh, and I just close my laptop. “You know what, if you’re going to be dicks, you can leave. I don’t have time for this.”
“Right, because you’re planning to sell your girlfriend’s house out from under her so you can buy a house in L.A. that she hasn’t expressed any interest in wanting.”
“That makes me sound like an asshole.”
Quinn shrugs and Carter hides a smile behind his hand.
“Fuck both of you.”
“All right, all right. This isn’t why we came here,” Quinn says, laughing and clearly enjoying tormenting me. “We really should go grab a bite.”
“Either that, or I’m going to duck out of here for the day. Why is it so quiet?” Carter asks. “And why do I feel like it’s the quiet before the storm?”
“Because you always think the worst is going to happen,” Quinn reminds him.
“Sure, mister, I’m sure my mom is having a stroke and a heart attack.”
“Don’t start with me,” Quinn says, getting riled up. “I’m not the one who didn’t tell me that my sister was dying until it was too late to spend some decent time with her.”
“We’ve been over this,” Carter begins, but I cut him off.
“Enough. No lunch today. Both of you go home and do whatever it is you do to let off some steam. This is an old argument that doesn’t make any sense now. It’s done.”
Quinn sighs. “Yeah, I’m going home. Sorry, man.”
He stands and leaves, and Carter and I are left staring at each other.
“Are you guys ever going to forgive me?”
“We did a long time ago,” I assure him. “Quinn is still working through the grief.”
“Yeah, me too,” he says with a sad smile. “I never said thanks for going on that first date with me. It didn’t occur to me until later that it could have been painful for you.”