He walked in his daughter�s room. Instantly he heard music and he saw Quinn and her father dancing in the middle of the room. It reminded of some Lifetime movie where the daughter idolized her father then went on go on some crime spree with the bad boy she fell in love with. He wanted to watch but soon he was spotted,
�Come here.� Mr. Garner called him over and Quinn turned her head but didn�t leave her father�s arms or stop dancing.
�I�m an old man. Take over for me.� He kissed Quinn on the forehead and motioned for him once again to join them. He pushed Nick into Quinn�s arms and began to walk away,
�I need to go check on your mother.� After he received a pat on the back they were left alone. Quinn started their movement and he smiled down at her as they danced. She licked her lips and he knew she wanted to kiss him. He could see it in her eyes. Her hand slid to the back of his neck and pulled his head down towards her. Her head tilted and even though he knew this was something they should do he couldn�t resist it anymore than she could. He couldn�t get enough of kissing her. Every time their lips touched is was a reminder of why he enjoyed being with her. It was always so passionate. Whether it was intense or soft it was always so damn intense. Nothing made him feel better, intimately speaking, than kissing her. It was if she would rather kiss him than breathe. She has mastered the art of kissing. She was able to kiss him and breathe at the same time without missing a beat.
Even though the kissing was damn near hypnotic he knew one of them had to come to their senses,
�We can�t keep doing this.� She groaned her displeasure but he was firm,
�Quinn, we really can�t. I know you don�t want to get caught.� He still remembered being walked in on by her last man.
He was scared beyond words that day. There they were in her bed, naked, having this great sex and in walks her boyfriend. At that moment Nick felt afraid for his life and sorry for this guy. He had a beautiful woman and he sees her riding another guy.
They kissed for what seemed like minutes but unfortunately it was only seconds before putting a little space between them.
�Let�s finish the dance ok?� He nodded and stared at the wall as they danced. Suddenly something hit him,
�Your father was in a rush to get out of here. You think he�s mad at me or something?� Her answer was instant,
�No, in fact I think my father really likes you.� That was a surprise to him. He didn�t think any girl�s father has ever liked him.
�Really?� She nodded,
�He�s talked a lot about me being nice and understanding and giving you another chance and stuff like that.� Wow, someone from her family was sticking up for him. That was something he never would have imagined three days ago.
�Is that why things have changed between us?� She looked at him and he couldn�t tell if it was out of amusement or anger.
�Nick, things changed because we slept together.� That seemed, somehow, like it wasn�t a nice thing.
�What? So I sleep with you and you won�t be mad at me anymore?� She sighed and ended their dance as she stepped away from him,
�What I�m saying is that I remembered that I care for you a lot. But even before that I realized that I was making myself more unhappy by being angry at you. Actually I don�t think I ever really that angry with you� He found that hard to believe. She seemed pretty angry to him,
�You could have fooled me. I thought you were damn angry.� She walked back over to him and her hands were wrapped around his waist,
�I think I was more upset with myself for getting in such a situation. I love you.� He lifted her chin with one finger and made her look into his eyes,
�Do you mean that?� She nodded her head immediately,
�Yes.� He needed to know if it was real. It was so easy for people to say those three words now.
�Why?� She didn�t hesitate.
�Because even though it may be hard for you to say things I think you care for me even more than I know. You make me happy.� That was it. That was all she said and it seemed so right. There was none of that you make me laugh, you�re sweet, and other things. He made her happy, it was just that simple and somehow it was enough. In the end, regardless of the arguments, the misunderstandings, the amount of time you spend with someone, the romance or lack of it, it was all about being happy. If she was one of those people who threw out the mention of love like it was no big deal he probably would have heard it from her sooner. So he accepted that she loved him because when it was all said and done she made him happy as well.
�I love you.� He ran his thumb over her lips and she closed her eyes and smiled,
�I know.� All he could think about was them. The two of them and their daughter. He wasn�t thinking of repercussions and he definitely wasn�t thinking about her life without him.
They were sitting by Mac�s bedside when Kristin entered into the room,
�Hi. How is everything?� He was happy she was here. She and Quinn always seemed to get along. She was the one that reached out to Quinn from the very beginning. Even before anything happened between the two of them.
�Things are ok. Everything seems to be stable, just waiting for more word from the doctor.� Quinn didn�t bother to lift her head from his shoulder and that was when he realized she was asleep.
�Oh, she looks exhausted.� Kristin said as she gave Quinn and MacKenzie a sympathetic look.
�Yeah, last night was the first good night of sleep she got. I think it made her see what she was missing.� He looked down and began to play with her hair. It was so pretty. It reminded him of the times he would watch her sleep. He would run his hands through her hair and his fingers over her smooth skin even before they started having sex.
In those times he wondered what it would be like to be with her. To feel himself inside of her, to hear her call his name and hold onto him tightly.
There was silence and he looked up at Kristin who was staring at him,
�What?� She smiled and placed her hand on his other shoulder, the one that wasn�t occupied by Quinn,
�You just look so comfortable, so right taking care of her.� He felt comfortable, he felt right but there was this tugging feeling that something just wasn�t right and he couldn�t understand.
�She�s been handling everything.� Kristin looked around and found a chair in the corner then pulled it close to him.
�How is the baby?� He had talked to the doctor before he came in the room and it was all the same. She looked really good but she wasn�t out of the woods just yet. He was so ready for his daughter to get out of the hospital. He wanted to play with her, he wanted to take her out, he wanted to hold her and play with her. He couldn�t take much longer of seeing her with tubes connected to her little body. It wasn�t fair. It just wasn�t fair for her to have to go through something like that.
�She�s going to make it. It�s not all clear yet but I know she�s going to be ok.� She smiled and looked over at the bed.
Chapter 91a