Crazy for You Read online

  Quinn looked from her mother’s beaming face to Edie’s and said, “Live together.”

  “Yes,” Meggy said proudly. “It’s all because of you. You said you didn’t care what people thought, that you had to live your life for yourself, and all I could think of was how much I wanted to do that, too, to go for it all.” Meggy smiled at Edie, happier than Quinn could remember seeing her in years. “And then we talked and decided it would just be so convenient. And Edie moved in tonight, and I’m so happy. I’ve wanted this for years.”

  “Years.” Quinn looked over at Nick, who avoided her eyes. “And how does Daddy feel about this?”

  “We haven’t told him yet,” Meggy said. “He’s bowling.”

  “That’ll teach him,” Nick said, and Quinn glared at him to shut him up.

  “So you and Edie have moved in together without telling Daddy,” Quinn said, trying to regroup.

  “He’s probably not even going to notice unless I stand in front of the TV,” Edie pointed out.

  “I’m only doing what you said to, dear,” Meggy said. “Going for it all. You were right.”

  “This wasn’t what I had in mind,” Quinn said.

  “Well, we have to go.” Edie picked up her purse, brisk and matter-of-fact as ever. “Your father will be home any minute and he’s going to need an explanation.”

  “That I’d like to hear,” Nick said, and Meggy ignored him to kiss Quinn good-bye.

  “I just want to be happy, Quinn,” Meggy said, and then they were gone.

  Quinn leaned against the counter and said brightly to Nick, “So. This is new.”

  Nick nodded. “Interesting night you’re having.”

  She met his eyes. “They’re not moving in together so they can go to garage sales, are they?”

  “Nope.”

  Quinn swallowed. “Did you see the way they looked at each other? For years, she said. How could I have missed this? How could I have been so blind?”

  “Well, they haven’t exactly been advertising. And who thinks about their parents’ sex lives, anyway?” He looked slightly revolted as he said it. “I don’t want to think about it now.”

  “I’m not ready for this.” Quinn said. “This is my mother. She doesn’t do things out of the blue. She just stands there in the middle of everything and stays the same.” Katie got up and headed for the dog door, and Quinn went to watch her, still talking. “I can depend on her to be boring. I don’t like this at all. It changes things.”

  “I know how you feel,” Nick said, and took his beer into the living room.

  Eight

  Quinn never took her eyes off Katie for the five minutes she was out in the cold, but she thought about Meggy the whole time. Years, she’d said. I’ve wanted this for years. And now she was going after what she wanted, so happy, glowing at Edie. Okay, so it was selfish for her to just dump on Joe like that, selfish to turn everybody’s life upside down, but still…she was so happy.

  Well, good for her, Quinn decided. Whoever had come up with the idea that women were supposed to sacrifice for others was probably a guy anyway. Good for Meggy for going for it. Katie came back in, and Quinn shut the dog door so she couldn’t get out again and then began to plan. Nick was in the living room and so was the couch. And he’d just rescued her dog without her even asking. She should show her gratitude for that.

  Whether he wanted it or not.

  When she went into the living room, Katie tiptoeing cautiously behind her, Nick was standing by the stereo with a CD in his hand looking as hot and heroic as ever, but when he heard her, he dropped it back on the stack with the others and stepped away, looking guilty.

  “Music?” she said, and he said, “No.”

  It sounded as if he was saying no to more than music. Of course, she was in her fat coat and clunky boots, and she’d just gotten him arrested, so he probably wasn’t in the mood to neck. But she was. She’d wanted him right there on the pavement when he’d told her he was going to rescue Katie. And she and Darla had made a pact to be more aggressive. Darla was wearing black lace, for heaven’s sake. And then there was her mother and Edie. The least she could do was make an effort.

  Nick shoved his hands in his pocket and ignored her, looking hot and nervous, and she thought, He’s up to something or he’d have left by now. That was encouraging.

  “I should go,” Nick said. “I have to work tomorrow.” But he didn’t move.

  Quinn took off her coat and threw it on the chair behind her. “So my mother’s going for it all.” She wandered over to the stereo, trying to look casual as her pulse pounded, and picked up the CD he’d dropped: Fleetwood Mac’s Greatest Hits. He must have dug that one out of the stack. What the hell. She punched the button and slid the disk in the tray. “Well, good for Mom. I mean, we only get one shot at life. Shouldn’t we make the most of it?”

  The first bars of “Rhiannon” filled the room. Not one of Quinn’s favorites. She turned it down to background level so they could talk. Or so she could. Nick wasn’t helping much. “I mean, shouldn’t we make it as exciting as possible? Since we’re only here once?”

  Nick was looking at her funny, probably because she was talking like a beer commercial. Quinn drifted past him—not easy to do in rubber boots—and sat down on her mother’s red couch. They’d been on the couch when things had heated up before. She wasn’t proud; maybe it would work again. She unbuckled her boots and felt him sit down next to her, and her pulse went into overdrive. So far, so good. She kicked off the boots and wiggled her toes. “Listen, I’m really grateful for everything you’ve done for me tonight.” She stole a look at him under her lashes.

  He looked grim, staring at her, his arm stretched along the back of the couch.

  She leaned against the back of the couch and then rolled her head closer to his hand. “You stuck with me through everything. You really are my hero.”

  “You know you’re driving me crazy, right?” he said.

  “Well, I was hoping.” Quinn tried to keep her voice from shaking. “I’ve been thinking about this a lot.”

  Nick’s face was like stone. “This is a bad idea. You’re my sister-in-law.”

  “Ex-sister-in-law. Twenty years ago. Darla says the statute of limitations is up.”

  Nick closed his eyes. “Darla knows about this.”

  “Well, of course, Darla knows about this.”

  “This is not what I want,” Nick said. “You’re my friend. My best friend. I need to keep you that way.”

  Quinn would have kicked him out for being a wimp if he hadn’t just rescued her dog and she hadn’t wanted him so much. “So why are you here on this couch then?”

  “You’re right, it’s the couch,” he said, refusing to look at her. “Classical conditioning. It’s not me, it’s the couch. Let’s go in the kitchen.”

  But he didn’t move.

  “I like this couch,” she said, and he finally looked at her, his eyes dark and hot on hers, and her throat went dry.

  “So do I,” he said.

  She swallowed and leaned forward a little so that her cheek brushed against his hand. “You know, we can’t just keep pretending this isn’t here, this thing between us.”

  “This is dumb,” he said. “This is such a dumb thing to do.”

  “No, it isn’t—” she began, and then he slipped his fingers into her hair, his hand real on her, not a fantasy, and she stopped, a little breathless, wanting him, afraid of him, not sure what to do next.

  He said, “This is dumb, but I’ve been thinking about this since the last time we were on this damn couch, so just this once.” He slid his hand to the back of her head to bring her face closer to his. “Maybe this’ll be really lousy and we’ll never have to do it again.” He sounded a little out of control, and she held her breath as he leaned closer—amazing to have him that close, to feel how warm he was, how dark he was—and then he brushed her lips so softly he almost wasn’t there, making her heart clutch, tantalizing her until she wanted to