Page 15 of Stolen Hearts (WaterColor Romance #7)

Quinn had attempted to get some work done this morning.

She’d finished cleaning the bar. Last night once the grand opening was over, she’d sent her staff home fairly quickly.

Which meant this morning there was some definite tidying up to do.

She wiped down tables and took the garbage to the dumpster out back.

All the while her mind had escaped back to the previous night with Autumn.

Autumn had been a knockout in her gold dress.

The sight of Autumn in that dress would live rent free in her mind and dreams for the rest of Quinn’s life.

Her body still held the pleasant soreness from everything they’d done the previous night.

There were going to be recurring flashes of their night together running loose in Quinn’s mind for a while.

Quinn hurled a bag of trash into the dumpster.

From the pocket of her baggy jeans her phone dinged with a message.

A smile widened across her face. Autumn had promised to text her later.

She opened the message and stood staring for a long moment.

The name on her phone wasn’t Autumn’s. It was Rory’s.

Quinn forced herself to read the message.

Rory: We really need to talk.

Quinn rolled her eyes at the phone. She shut the bar’s doors behind her as she came back inside. Quinn sat herself down at one of the booths and sighed. It would be preferable if she never had to talk to Rory again. But it would seem her ex wasn’t going to make that an easy option.

Quinn: What could we possibly have to talk about?

Rory: For starters, I found this.

Quinn opened up the image that Rory sent along with her message. She cursed under her breath. Her grandmother’s opalite necklace hung from a well-manicured hand, that she knew belonged to Rory. Fuck! Quinn had been searching for that necklace ever since her move.

Quinn: I’ll send you the address you can send it to.

Rory: I want to come talk to you. I can give it to you in person.

Quinn was so frustrated she banged her hand down on the table.

The absolute last person on the face of the earth she wanted to talk to was Rory.

Though it seemed like she might not have much of a choice.

Quinn put the phone face down on the table.

She ran a hand through her hair. Why after all these months did Rory want to come talk to her?

Quinn let out an agitated groan. She picked the phone back up and decided to try one more time.

Quinn: You cheated on me. You’re with someone else. We broke up. I don’t have anything left to say to you. Please mail me the necklace.

The message was far more blunt than anything she’d usually send. In this case she saw no other option other than to be very clear and direct.

Rory: I made a mistake. I should have chosen you.

Quinn was pretty sure she was about to see red. Hurt and anger threatened to bubble to the surface.

Quinn: But you didn’t choose me. Mail the necklace.

Quinn finished the thread by sending Rory her address. She couldn’t care less if she never saw Rory again. The necklace, however, was one of the only things she had from her grandmother. The doors to the bar opened and Quinn had another flash of annoyance.

“We’re closed,” Quinn bit out. With the sun behind the person, it was hard to see their features. Madison stepped into the bar and pinned her with a surprised look.

“In a bit of a bad mood?” Madison asked.

“Sort of,” Quinn offered begrudgingly.

“Sorry I yelled at you,” Quinn added.

“That’s okay. I thought I was going to come in and get all the tea from last night. I guess things didn’t go as well as I thought.”

“It’s not that. Last night was amazing. It’s this morning that’s giving me trouble.”

Madison grabbed the seat beside her in the booth.

“Did something happen with Autumn this morning then?”

“No, not Autumn. Rory.”

“Did she text you again?”

Quinn simply handed Madison her phone so she could read the messages for herself. Maddison scrolled through the quick message exchange.

“Shit,” Madison said simply.

“I’ll second that shit and raise you a what the fuck.”

“What could she possibly want with you? Surely, she can’t expect you to drop everything and take her back.”

“This is Rory. I’m willing to bet in her mind we’re already running this bar together.”

“I forgot her penchant for delusional thinking.”

“Remember when she thought I’d be okay with her converting my home office into a cat sanctuary?” Quinn laughed.

“It’s hard to forget all of Rory’s hijinks. What are you going to do? That’s your grandmother’s necklace, right?”

“It is. I definitely want that necklace back. But I don’t feel like I should have to see Rory in person to get it. Surely there has to be a legal way to get the necklace back.”

“She probably knows that having it become a legal matter opens it up to becoming complex and expensive.”

“What do you suggest I do?”

“Text her back and tell her that you’re moving on with someone else. You don’t want to meet in person, and you insist that she send the necklace to the bar’s address.”

Quinn rolled the words over in her brain. Everything Madison was saying made perfect sense.

“Okay you’re right. This is ridiculous. She doesn’t get to cheat on me and then hold my grandmother’s ring hostage in exchange for me agreeing to talk to her.”

Madison handed her the phone and Quinn put out a quick text then sent it to Rory.

“Let’s forget about Rory for a moment. How are you feeling about last night with Autumn?”

“There are no words good enough to describe what happened with Autumn last night,” Quinn laughed.

“That good, huh?”

“Autumn is the kind of woman I wish I had met a long time ago.”

“You might not have been ready a long time ago. Now you are.”

“I’ve never been with someone who is so driven and passionate about what they’re doing.”

“I think that’s a good match for you actually. You’ve always been the kind of person to follow your dreams. So being with someone who is also passionate about their dreams sounds like the ideal match.”

“It is really nice to have someone I can support in something. Who will also turn around and be supportive of me,” Quinn admitted.

“I love this for you,” Madison smiled.

Quinn’s phone binged and she met Maddison’s eyes. They each expected a new message from Rory. Quinn smiled when she saw Autumn’s name across her screen. The relief must have been evident on her face.

“So that’s definitely not a text from Rory,” Madison laughed.

“It’s from Autumn.”

“And what did Autumn say?” Madison asked in a sing song voice. The tone would have typically driven Quinn crazy. But nothing could ruin her mood right now.

“She wants to know if I can come over to her friend, Piper’s house. For a dinner party with all her friends.”

“Oh, a dinner party. Is it supposed to be fancy?”

“No. She says it’s casual,” Quinn laughed.

“You’ve already met her friends. But I’d still say this is a good step. You guys are already starting out serious.”

“Do you think that’s a bad thing?”

“Bad in what way?”

“Like am I moving too fast?”

“I can’t answer that for you. I don’t think so. You two waited two months to even date. You’ve spent a lot of time with each other over the last couple of months. I think dinner party with the friends is just really sweet. Do you feel like it’s too fast?”

“No, to me it feels just right.”

“Then text her back and tell her you’d love to go to a dinner party,” Madison laughed.

Quinn sent the text. Her heart was full. It was rare to meet someone who could make her feel like she was on a roller coaster but grounded at the same time. That’s exactly what Autumn felt like though. Quinn’s heart was going a hundred miles per hour, but she’d never felt more secure and stable.