로그인Garrett nodded and said, "Yeah. I know."He then headed for the front door. Quentin followed him despite being told not to.When Garrett reached the entrance, he stopped and turned around. He looked at Quentin for a moment and hesitated before he finally spoke. "Come for dinner on the second."Quentin blinked in confusion. It took him a second to understand, and then it hit him all at once.In Jarrowind, it was customary for a woman's boyfriend to visit her family's home on the second day of the new year. If Garrett was extending that invitation to him, it meant that he'd truly accepted him."I'll be there," Quentin said quickly. "I won't be late."Garrett left without saying another word.Quentin stood at the door watching him go. The moment Garrett disappeared through the front gate, Quentin was practically sprinting back to Talia. He grabbed her from her chair, lifted her clean off the ground, and spun her around.His voice rang through the room, bright and unrestrained. "Ta
Quentin turned to look at Talia the moment he took the envelope. She was already looking back at him. But where her eyes held surprise, his were bright with something closer to tears.Seeing him like that stirred something deep within her. Quentin was one of the proudest men she'd ever known, and he could have had anyone he wanted.Yet he'd chosen her, a woman who'd already been through a divorce and had a child. Part of her wondered if that was even fair to him.But then she thought about it differently. She had feelings for him too, and that was enough.Her gaze softened, and she smiled at him. The sight of that smile caught him beneath the ribs, as if his heart had missed a beat and couldn't quite recover.Paige walked over with an envelope of her own and held it out to Quentin. "This one's from me."He was clearly surprised, but he took it happily. "The fact that you and Garrett are giving me these means you've accepted me. That means more than I can say. Thank you, both of y
Talia had feelings for Quentin. To him, knowing that felt better than anything.But even though every single word she'd said was true, Quentin still couldn't stand having her out in front of him like that. He stepped forward and slowly eased her behind him again.He was about to say something when Garrett cut him off. "We'll talk inside."Paige and Maeve both let out a visible breath of relief.Garrett turned and walked into the house without saying another word. Paige immediately waved the two of them forward. "Talia, Mr. Henderson, come on. Get in here."Maeve bounded down the steps and appeared at Talia's side and hooked a small finger around hers. She tipped her face up to look at her. "Aunt Talia, Dad really does love you. He's just…"Talia smiled softly. "I know, sweetheart. I know."She reached up and smoothed a hand over the top of Maeve's head.Maeve beamed. "Go on in. If Dad tries to yell at you or give you a hard time, I've got your back."Then she added quickly, "I
Talia and Quentin walked toward the front door hand in hand, and by then, Garrett and the others had already spotted them.Maeve stepped out from behind Paige and called out instinctively, "Aunt Talia."The worry in the young girl's voice was impossible to miss. It wasn't hard to imagine the kind of mood Garrett must have been in for the 20-odd hours Talia had been gone.The closer they got, the more nervous Talia became. She tried to pull her hand free, but Quentin's grip held firm, his fingers locked around hers like a vice.When they reached the front steps, Quentin stopped. He made no effort to hide anything. He stood there openly holding Talia's hand, his expression serious, and addressed Garrett directly. "Hey, Garrett."But Garrett didn't acknowledge him.Quentin wasn't bothered. He turned to Paige instead. "Hey, Paige."Paige, at least, greeted him warmly. She smiled brightly and said, "Good. You're back safe. That's what matters."Maeve's eyes hadn't left Talia once, h
Talia kept it simple. "It's 9:00 pm. If I don't go back soon, Garrett really will call the police."Quentin didn't seem the least bit concerned. "And? Are you agreeing to what I asked or not?"She had no leverage left, so she gave in. "Fine. I agree."Quentin scowled at her. "That was pretty half-hearted."Talia sighed. "You're such a child. You got what you wanted, and you're still not satisfied."She was barely limping along. He knew her leg was still hurting, so he bent down and scooped her up in one smooth motion. A faint smile tugged at his mouth as he looked down at her. "Pretty sure you're the one who got what she wanted."Heat flooded her face instantly.She always caught his meaning right away, and he wasn't wrong. She had absolutely nothing to complain about on that front.But she couldn't stop her mind from wandering. Was the reason he was so impressive simply... his experience? Had he been with enough women to get that good?She'd never let herself think about it b
Talia threw herself into Quentin's arms, crying. "Quentin, I'm scared."His hand moved gently up and down her back as guilt laced through his voice. "I'm sorry. I'll leave the light on for you from now on."She leaned against his shoulder and cried for a while before she gradually calmed down. Quentin held her the entire time, never once stopping the steady rhythm of his hand on her back.Where she couldn't see, his other hand was slowly regaining feeling. She'd been sleeping on it for the past three hours, and he hadn't had the heart to wake her, so he'd just let it go numb.After a while, Talia pulled back from his chest and looked up at him. She asked, "How late is it?"Quentin glanced at his phone and turned back to her. "Almost 9:00 pm."Talia shot upright in bed, panic flooding her face. "Quentin, I really need to go home."It had been almost 24 hours since she'd left last night. If she didn't get back home soon, Garrett was genuinely going to file a missing person's repor
Talia couldn't hold back anymore. Unable to break free from the hands pinning her, she screamed with raw fury, "You're a monster, Rodney!"Rodney didn't get angry. Instead, he let out a sharp laugh. "Yeah, I'm a monster. So what?"As soon as he said that, he hissed in pain.Talia looked down to s
At the mountaintop, five people lay flat on spread-out blankets under the night sky. Talia and Willow were nestled in the center with Quentin and Lucas positioned on either side of them.Staring up at the countless stars overhead, Talia felt her mind cloud over with confusion. The silence around he
When Jennifer heard Christian's concern, she quickly replied, "She accidentally fell."Christian didn't look at anyone else. His focus remained on Yvonne as he asked, "Is that true?"Yvonne nodded, her face a picture of pure grievance. "Yeah, I wasn't looking where I was going, so I tripped."Chr
Christian's call came through just as Talia was leaving Willow's apartment complex. She saw his name on the screen but didn't answer.After the call went to voicemail, her car suddenly refused to move. The dashboard displayed an error message.Talia tried adjusting a few settings, but the car stil







