The Bookstore on the Beach - Brenda Novak Page 0,120
slight pause before he said, “You know, I don’t really want to do this, especially right now, but with everything coming out, I feel like I should make a confession.”
The somber tone of his voice put her on edge. “Oh, God. If you’re going to say you don’t want to see me anymore, please save it for another time. I’m not up to any more heartbreak.”
“It’s nothing like that. I hope you won’t write me off, either, when you hear. It’s just... I want to be completely honest with you. I don’t want you to find out later and be angry.”
She sat up. “What are you talking about?”
He drew such a deep breath she could hear the intake of it. “I really hope this isn’t a mistake...”
“Tell me,” she said. “You’re scaring me.”
“I knew Taylor was pregnant, Autumn—before last night.”
“How?”
He didn’t seem eager to answer, but he did. “Caden told me the day I played volleyball with him on the beach.”
“He did? But...why would he tell you? He didn’t even tell me!”
“He was pretty upset. My guess is he needed someone to talk to.”
Holding the phone tightly to her ear, she got up and crossed to the window. “So why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was tempted, many times. But I knew Taylor would never forgive me.”
Tears welled up. “You chose to keep it from me, even though I’m Taylor’s mother and the only one who was in the dark among the four of us?” That just felt...wrong. She’d begun to trust Quinn, to believe he would look out for her.
“I only made that choice because I care so much about you,” he said. “I didn’t want your kids to reject me right from the start. That would only make it harder for you and me to be happy together.”
She wiped away a tear that spilled over her eyelashes. “So when would you have told me?”
“Taylor asked me to give her a few weeks to break the news herself, and that sounded reasonable, given my newness to your life and theirs. So I agreed.”
“We’ve been sleeping together almost every night since then,” she said, feeling betrayed.
“I know. I’m sorry.”
Autumn stared at the empty place in the driveway where her mother normally parked. “Well, thanks for letting me know.”
“I can tell this is making you feel bad—”
“I’m fine,” she interrupted. “But I have to go, okay?”
“Autumn, please try to understand.”
“I understand, Quinn. I just can’t help feeling hurt,” she said and disconnected. She wasn’t in the mood to continue the conversation. She wasn’t in the mood to try to navigate their relationship while figuring out how to fix what had gone so wrong in her daughter’s life. For that matter, she wasn’t even sure she wanted to get out of bed today.
This was all Nick’s fault, she decided as she climbed back in and pulled the covers high. If he hadn’t left them, none of this would be happening.
* * *
Quinn dropped his head in his hand. Maybe it had been a mistake to tell Autumn that he’d already known about the baby, but he cared too much about her to let something like that hang out there. If she found out some other way, it would damage her trust even worse. And since Taylor’s pregnancy was going to be top of mind for quite some time, he felt it could easily come out—maybe even today, before he could see her again, which was why he’d acted to prevent that.
A soft knock sounded at his door. “Quinn?”
His mother. He’d been out so late he’d just rolled out of bed. “Hey,” he said as he opened his door wearing only the basketball shorts he’d changed into last night. “How are you feeling?”
“A bit stronger this morning. I was hoping you’d feel like going for a walk with me.”
“Sure. Around here?”
“At the beach.”
“Of course.” He was happy to accompany her, but she was getting so fragile he was afraid that she might not be able to make it very far.
He threw on a Surf’s Up T-shirt, grabbed his flip-flops and hurried out to take her while she had the energy.
“How are things going between you and Autumn?” she asked, once they’d parked and he’d helped her down to the water.
“Good,” he said, watching the white foam of the waves as the surf crashed only a few feet away from them. He didn’t want to mention Taylor’s pregnancy. It wasn’t anything his mother needed to worry about.
The scarf she’d wrapped around her head—something she wore