A Right to Remain Read online

  Her lips lifted in a dazzling grin as she moved closer. “Kind of fitting for us, don’t you think?” I listened to the words closely and nodded. “Can I have this dance with you?” she asked.

  Without even responding, I wrapped my arms around her waist, and we began to sway back and forth to the music. She looked up and began to sing the words to me, and my clichéd candlelight dinner proposal I had planned went right out the window. I reached in my pocket and touched the box I had just picked up from the jeweler. The song changed, and Louie was now belting out Only You.

  “Hey,” I whispered in her ear.

  “Hmmm?” She looked up at me.

  “I was wondering something.”

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  “Well, there’s something in my pocket I want you to see.”

  Her eyes widened. “Quinn? You should know you don’t have to resort to those perverted lines to get me to have sex with you,” she teased. Her hand moved into my pocket and her body stilled as the music continued to play while she slowly removed the box. Biting her bottom lip and staring up at me, she lifted the lid and gasped when she opened it up and stared down at the ring, speechless.

  “I hope it’s not too soon for you, but I know how I feel for you in my heart, and I know those feelings are never going to change. I love you so much, Lacey.”

  She shook her head, never taking her eyes from the ring. My nerves were starting to become a little rattled, wondering what was going through her mind and how she was going to respond. Maybe I was wrong for listening to that little voice inside my head telling me it wasn’t too soon for this. Just because it wasn’t too soon for me didn’t mean it wasn’t too soon for Lacey. She had been through so much in this past year. How could I have been so stupid to not think about that, and only about how I was feeling and what I wanted? Of course it was too soon for her. If I could only get back the last five minutes, I would have thought things over a little better. Sometimes I could be such an idiot.

  “Quinn?” Lacey broke me from my inner turmoil.

  I cleared my throat, preparing for the biggest rejection of my life. “Yeah?” I responded.

  “I may be wrong, but isn’t there a question that goes along with this ring? Unless, of course, I’m being presumptuous and this isn’t that type of ring.”

  Relief swept over me, now fairly certain by the look on her face with how she was going to respond. I got down on one knee, causing her to let out a giggle. “There absolutely is a question to go along with this ring, and I hope you answer it the right way.”

  “Well, that depends on what the question is.” Her eyes were sparkling with tears.

  “Do you want to spend the rest of your life with me? Will you marry me?”

  “Yes and yes!” She nodded, and the tears now spilled from her eyes as I removed the ring from the box and slid it down her finger. I stood up and she threw her arms around my neck. “I never thought I’d ever be happy again. I love you so much, Quinn.”

  “I love you too, Lacey.”

  “I can’t wait to be your wife.” She stood on her tippy-toes and pressed her lips to mine. “But on one condition.”

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “I want to get married on the dock by the lake.”

  I nodded. “Okay, that sounds good to me. You name the date, and I’ll be there.”

  “I don’t care when. I don’t care if it’s just me and you. All I care about is being with you for the rest of my life.”

  “That’s funny.” I bent down and grazed my lips over her neck. “Because that’s all I care about too.”

  “And they lived happily ever after,” she whispered in my ear.

  “Well, I don’t know if they will, but I sure know we will.”

  She threw her head back and laughed, revealing that beautiful smile she had held back for so long, but was no longer afraid to show. I had learned so much about myself in this past year, even if some of it did hurt like hell. But one thing was certain. Sometimes we need to stop wasting time trying to mend the things in life that are beyond repair. Instead, we need to allow them to fall completely apart so we can start rebuilding them with a stronger foundation, and Lacey showed me how to do just that. She reconstructed the pieces of my heart, day by day, little by little, piece by piece, until it was finally whole once again.

  Epilogue

  3 years later

  Lacey

  Quinn and I married only two months after getting engaged. So much had changed from the life I wanted to escape from a few years ago. Now, every day had been like a dream that I didn’t want to wake from.

  Quinn had been promoted to lieutenant, and my coffee shop was all I dreamed of and more. I had hired two more girls in addition to my dad’s wife and Camille, due to the amount of business I had been getting. Quinn had done a total remodel of the lake house after I refused to live anywhere else. I was so glad to have stood my ground, for he had converted it into the most beautiful home I had ever seen. Neil and I were as close as any father and daughter could be. It was as if there was no time lost between us.

  “Okay, I think we’re all set,” I said to Jennifer as we took a breather after working all afternoon to prepare the shop for the annual Christmas tree lighting and Christmas tour taking place in a few more hours.

  “Honestly, Lacey, you’re really overdoing it. If you go into labor right now, I don’t know the first thing about delivering a baby,” she teased.

  I laughed. “Relax, I still have three weeks to go, and even if I did happen to go into labor right now, I have complete faith in you, Jennifer.” It made me so happy to have formed such a close relationship not only with Neil, but his wife as well.

  “Is Quinn working tonight?” she asked.

  “He said he would be here. Hopefully he won’t get slammed with anything at the last minute.”

  I looked up at the sound of the bells on the door, locking eyes with the biggest piece of my heart. Those light blue eyes, perfectly round face, and chubby cheeks always put a smile on my face. I had discovered a whole different kind of love two years ago when Jillian Rose Lavery was born. “Mama!” she squealed.

  “There’s my little bean!” I took her from Neil’s arms and kissed her on the top of her head. “Did you have fun with your poppy today?”

  She nodded. “Nother loli, Poppy?”

  “Shh-shh, Jillian, that was our little secret,” Neil replied, squeezing her leg gently.

  She giggled and buried her head into my shoulder.

  “Jillian, let’s see if the cookies are done yet. We’ve got gingerbread men!” Jennifer said.

  She excitedly wiggled out of my arms, and I placed her on the ground, allowing her to go running off in the back with Jennifer.

  “Yes, she did eat more than just sugar today,” Neil took a seat next to me and answered before I could even ask the question. “We stopped off at the diner after our little shopping trip, and she had a half of a grilled cheese. I had so much fun with her today.” He was unable to stop smiling, something he was never able to control whenever he spoke of Jillian. He was so proud to be her grandfather and loved her so much. It made me happy to know he was given a second chance. A chance he was never given with me. “We stopped off to see Santa…” He let out a loud, hearty laugh. “And she told him she wanted a little sister for Christmas.”

  I shook my head and smiled, giving my belly a little pat. “Well, if the ultrasound tech was right, I think she’ll be getting her wish.”

  “Guess Quinn is destined to be surrounded by beautiful women.”

  “Yeah, he’s okay with that.”

  “Well, I feel like the luckiest man in the world. I was given a second chance with my daughter and now I get to see my beautiful granddaughters grow up.” He placed his arm around me, and I rested my head on his shoulder, feeling like I could fall asleep.

  “You should go home and get some rest before all the festivities start up. You look exhausted.”

  “Nah,
I’m good.”

  I lifted my head to the sound of the bells on the door. “We’re here to help out!” Camille exclaimed as she and Quinn’s dad entered the coffee shop. Camille’s eyes focused on me, and she gave me a disapproving shake of her head. “Lacey, you are overdoing it. You look burnt out, honey.”

  “I’m fine. I’m just taking a little rest, and I’ll be as good as new.”

  “Why don’t you go home for a little while and lie down. We got everything covered,” she suggested.

  “That’s what I told her,” Neil chimed in.

  “Great, now I’m getting tag teamed.” I laughed.

  I knew I was now going to be triple teamed when Quinn walked through the door. “Daddy!!” Jillian shouted as she came running to the front to greet him.

  “Hey, baby girl!” He scooped her up in his arms and hugged her as she smothered him in kisses, babbling on about her day until something Camille was doing caught her eye, and she wiggled out of his arms to go see what it was.

  I smiled as he approached me, bending down and placing a gentle kiss on my belly, the same way he had greeted me for the past eight months and the nine months I had been pregnant with Jillian. He took a seat next to me, looking me over. “Don’t even say it!” I warned.

  “What?” he asked.

  “I look tired.”

  “Well, you kind of do. Lacey, you haven’t been sleeping well. You’re working way too many hours. You need to slow down a little.”

  “And I will. Just let me get through tonight, and I promise I will.”

  He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. “Santa is right up the street. Do you want to take Jillian now, before it gets too crazy later on tonight?”

  “Yeah, sure, even though she already saw him at the mall today with Neil and put in her request for a baby sister.”

  He smiled and grabbed my hand, pulling me from the chair. I threw my coat on while he bundled Jillian up in hers. We walked out onto the already busy street and headed toward Town Square. Quinn carried Jillian and took my hand in his free one. I loved seeing the excitement in Jillian’s eyes as she looked around at all the shops lit up in lights. This was her first Christmas she somewhat understood, and I was looking forward to seeing her face on Christmas morning when she awoke to her presents from Santa.

  “Oh, Quinn! I have to get that for your mom!” I shouted over the Christmas music when we walked past one of the gift shops displaying a beautiful angel suncatcher in the window. Camille couldn’t get enough of angels. She displayed them all over her house.

  “Okay, I’ll wait out here with her or else she’ll be grabbing everything in the store.”

  I walked inside and took the suncatcher from the window, unable to resist giving the place a once-over, taking in all of the other whimsical items, until I felt it…a weird feeling in my stomach almost as if the baby had dropped. She’s probably just flipping around, no need to panic. Jillian was like a jumping bean the entire time I had been pregnant with her. I still decided to err on the side of caution and get in line to make my purchase. I bit my lip and gripped the shelf I was standing by when I was overcome with a sharp pain in my abdomen. As much as I wanted to deny it, I knew exactly what it was—a contraction. I breathed through it as I handed the clerk my credit card, acting as if everything was normal. He handed me the bag, and I took a deep breath, deciding I would avoid any unnecessary panic on Quinn’s part and tell him after we got back to the coffee shop that our baby was more than likely coming sometime tonight instead of three weeks from now.

  Quinn

  I hugged Jillian tight as we looked in the toy store window at the train display. I couldn’t believe my love for this girl. She and Lacey were my entire world, and in a few more weeks, I would have another person to add to that list. There wasn’t a day that went by I wasn’t thankful that Lacey had been the one to answer that ad to rent my place. I didn’t want to think of how things would have been if she hadn’t. I couldn’t imagine my life any differently.

  “Quinn!” I heard a familiar voice shout, turning around to find myself face to face with Sara and some guy who I was assuming was her husband. I had heard she had gotten married after her son was born.

  “Hey,” I replied.

  Sara’s eyes widened at the sight of Jillian, and a huge smile lightened her face. “Oh my God, Quinn! Is this your daughter?” She shook her head and chuckled. “Of course she is, she looks just like you. She’s a doll!”

  “Yup, this is Jillian.” I looked down at Jillian, who was resting her head on my shoulder. “Can you say hi, Jilly?”

  She lifted her hand and stared down at the gloves on her fingers before wiggling them around in a waving motion.

  “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Jillian.” Sara smiled before clearing her throat. “Ummm…Quinn, this is Martin.”

  I nodded and shook his hand.

  “Sara, I’m going to run into this store here and see if they have a puzzle for Colton.”

  “Okay, I’ll be right in,” she replied, seeming a little relieved.

  “So your son is how old now?” I asked.

  “Three.” She smiled. “We’re here spending the weekend with my aunt. My parents are up for the weekend, so we’re celebrating Christmas a little early. I wanted to take him to the tree lighting so badly, but he didn’t want to go. He’s helping with decorating my aunt’s tree and baking cookies.”

  I nodded and smiled. “So everything’s good?” I asked.

  “Yeah, it’s great.”

  I sensed doubt in her over-enthusiastic reply. I looked down at the enormous diamond on her finger. She had finally gotten everything she wanted from life: a child, a rich husband, an expensive apartment in the city, but she still didn’t seem happy.

  “What about you?” she asked. “You look great, Quinn.” Her eyes glazed over.

  “I’m very happy,” I replied.

  Her eyes shifted as Lacey came walking up next to me. She stared down at her pregnant belly before meeting my gaze once again and taking a deep breath as if she was trying to pull it together. “Your daughter is beautiful,” she said to Lacey.

  “Thanks,” Lacey replied.

  She stared up at the sky before forcing a smile and focusing her attention back on me, seeming like she was on the brink of tears. “Well, it was good seeing you. Merry Christmas.”

  “Yeah, Merry Christmas, Sara,” I replied as she walked into the toy store.

  “Quinn,” Lacey whispered in my ear. “I think we need to get back.”

  “Ah, come on, Lacey, don’t let her ruin our time. She’s—”

  Lacey shook her head, and I could tell by the look on her face that her need to get back had nothing to do with Sara. “I just had two contractions, and they’re about five minutes apart.”

  I tried to remain calm and not freak out like I wanted to as we started heading back to the coffee shop. “Well, maybe they’re just the ones…you know, the false alarm ones the doctor always talks about.”

  She shook her head and stopped dead in her tracks, taking a deep breath. I could see the pain on her face, and I was wishing there was something I could do to take it away. “No, Quinn, these are the real deal,” she replied after working through it.

  Now I couldn’t hold back my panic. “Well, let me call my mom and dad to come and get Jillian—”

  “It’s okay, we’re a block away. We’ll drop her off and then head to the hospital.”

  “But, Lacey, what if you give birth in the car?”

  “I’ll be fine, Quinn, I promise.”

  ***

  “Famous last words,” I said to Lacey as I looked down at our son wrapped up in a blanket in her arms. We had just made it to the hospital in time for him to be born, and if I hadn’t gone about ninety miles per hour to get there, he would have been born in the car. Lacey’s ten minutes of labor this time was a far cry from the ten hours with Jillian.

  “I can’t believe she is a he.” Lacey giggled and pulled him closer
to her chest. “He’s perfect, Quinn.” She looked up at me with tear-filled eyes and placed him in my arms. It was love at first sight. The same way it had been when I held Andrew in my arms for the first time and the same way it had been with Jillian. It was a feeling that never got old. Lacey rested her head on my shoulder and both of us were unable to take our eyes off him. “I’m so happy,” she whispered.

  “So am I. I have everything I ever wanted in life, thanks to you. Thank you so much.” I kissed her on the head.

  “I just thought of something.”

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “Well, we were so focused on girl names, we never picked out any for a boy.”

  I looked down at my boy in my arms and kissed his forehead. “Samuel,” I whispered.

  “After your father…I love it,” she whispered. “What about a middle name? Maybe Matthew?”

  “Aaron,” I replied without hesitation. She pulled her bottom lip in and nodded as my gaze met up with her tear-filled eyes.

  “Perfect,” she whispered, choking back a sob.

  “I’m gonna go get Jillian so she can meet him.”

  “Okay.” She nodded. “I love you so much, Quinn.”

  “I love you too, Lacey.” I leaned down, giving Samuel a kiss on the head and whispering in Lacey’s ear, “More than you’ll ever know.”

  ***

  I wasn’t sure if Jillian knew exactly what was going on, but she sure was excited. She insisted we bring the baby some gingerbread men she and Jennifer had made, and when we stopped off at the store to buy Lacey flowers, she made a point of telling everyone we came across that she had a new baby. I still didn’t break it to her yet that her little sister was a little brother, but I was pretty certain that wouldn’t matter to her once she saw him.

  I told her which button to press when we stepped onto the elevator, and she bounced up and down with excitement while gripping her bag of gingerbread men. I scooped her in my arms when we stepped off the elevator and made our way to Lacey’s room.

  “Are you ready to meet your new baby?” I asked.