Page 19 of Stolen Hearts (WaterColor Romance #7)

Try as she might Quinn could not stop pacing around the bar.

The pacing wasn’t near as bad as the pounding in her heart.

Rory would be here once the bar opened. A part of Quinn had hoped that Autumn would want to come be with her during this encounter with Rory.

But Autumn wouldn’t be here until later.

Quinn didn’t blame her. This was her mess to sort out with Rory, not Autumn’s.

The biggest trouble lies in Quinn not knowing if she was ready for this meeting at all.

The last time Quinn had seen Rory she was still painfully in love.

Her heart had been torn to pieces by Rory’s betrayal, but the love Quinn felt hadn’t yet faded.

That had been the hardest part about her breakup with Rory, saying goodbye to someone she wasn’t completely ready to let go of.

Now here she was months later. Quinn had certainly charged forward.

She’d bought the bar, and she was dating someone new.

Autumn. Everything about Autumn just felt right.

The woman was grounded in a way that made Quinn feel safe and secure.

She was nothing like Rory. Living with Rory had always been life on freefall.

Quinn had never had her feet on the ground with Rory.

The woman was a tornado spinning everything into her own sphere.

She’d never been allowed to be her own person with Rory.

But Autumn gave her the space to be who she truly was.

Quinn glanced down at her phone. She stamped her feet impatiently as she waited.

They hadn’t opened yet, but in true Rory fashion no specific time had been given.

Rory had simply said that she was going to try and be there sometime before opening through closing.

Rory had tried to tell Quinn she might not be there until after closing, but Quinn had laid down a boundary.

She’d told Quinn that after closing she’d be leaving to spend the night with her girlfriend.

Rory had been displeased with the restriction, but she’d agreed to come before closing.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you this nervous,” Maddison drawled from the doorway.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever been this nervous,” Quinn admitted with a laugh.

“How are you holding up?”

“Oh, you know, I’m getting ready to see the woman who ripped my heart out and stepped on it. Living the dream,” Quinn tried and failed to smile.

Maddison simply stepped forward to wrap her arms around her friend.

“That’s why I’m here.”

Quinn squeezed Madison a little tighter. She allowed herself to take a moment’s pause, gathering herself.

“You can do this. It’s just a talk and necklace exchange.”

“You’re right. I’m just nervous to see her. Last time I saw Rory I was still in love with her.”

“Are you in love with her now?”

“I don’t think so. I mean it’s been months. And this whole thing with the necklace has really pissed me off.”

“Then what’s going on in your mind that’s causing you to worry about your feelings?”

“I guess throughout the end of our relationship I just felt like such an idiot. I was so in love with her that it blinded me to everything else. So, when I think of who I was when we finally broke up, I’m not proud of that person.

I feel like I was naive, clinging to someone that clearly wasn’t treating me well. ”

“So, you’re not afraid that you’re in love with Rory. You’re afraid that maybe you haven’t learned your lesson. That even after all of this you’ll see her and be drawn in?”

“I guess so.”

“Let me ask you a question. How do you feel about Autumn?”

Quinn felt her face light up. A smile tugged at her mouth, and she couldn’t deny it.

“I love her,” Quinn stated. She’d never felt more sure of anything in her life.

“You’re over Rory. The spell is broken,” Maddison laughed.

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because just thinking about her makes your eyes shine differently. You’re over the moon in love with her. You never once had that look on your face with Rory.”

“Thanks, friend. I needed to hear that.”

One of the servers flipped on the open sign. Quinn felt a tangible settling of her nerves. She was in love with Autumn. Rory was in the past. And the sooner she could get her grandmother’s necklace, the sooner Quinn could move on.

“Pour me a drink while we wait,” Madison half-demanded.

Quinn walked to the bar and grabbed two glasses.

“I thought you were coming later with Autumn and Jordan?”

“I am. But I wanted to swing by a bit early because I knew you’d be freaking out.”

“You’re certainly not wrong about that. But I am feeling a little better since you got here.”

“That’s what friends are for. You’re probably just mostly feeling the anticipation.”

Quinn sighed deeply, she felt something settle in her chest.

“I think you’re right. More than anything I just want to get this over with so that I can move on. Cut the cord with Rory so that Autumn and I can focus on being together.”

“I think that’s the right attitude to have.”

Madison checked the time on her phone and offered Quinn a small smile.

“I’ve got to go get ready. I’ll be back in a little bit with Jordan and Autumn.”

“I can’t believe you decided to make a whole night out of my most awkward moment.”

“Oh please. I’ve known you for years. This is not your most awkward moment,” Madison teased.

“Maybe. But it definitely ranks up there.”

“I can give you that much for sure. Rory always was a strange bird,” Madison conceded.

Madison had never liked Rory. Though she’d never said those words exactly until they had broken up.

Still, there had been plenty of signs along the way.

It had been in the expression on Madison’s face when she looked at Rory.

The subtle way her friend had asked her if she was “sure” about Rory.

Since the breakup they had bonded over the way Madison had truly felt about Rory.

“You knew there was something going on with Rory before I ever did,” Quinn admitted.

“I knew I didn’t like her for you. I knew something was off about the way she interacted with you. But you were so happy, and I couldn’t bring that to you based on nothing but a vibe I was getting.”

“I think from now on if you get a vibe, I wouldn’t mind you telling me.”

Madison offered her a smile and patted her shoulder.

“Well, the vibe, as it were, feels good with Autumn. You should keep that one around for a while.”

“You think so?”

“Don’t you?”

“Oh, yeah. I mean I don’t think I could get rid of Autumn if I wanted to. She already owns my heart,” Quinn admitted.

She didn’t mean to imply any sense of romance. Her words were merely a statement of fact. Autumn had stolen her heart a long time ago. Now that she had the opportunity to date Autumn, she was determined to be the best girlfriend she could be.

Madison offered a wave as she left, promising that she’d see Quinn in a few hours. Quinn busied herself behind the bar, pouring drinks and talking to customers.

“You look right at home.”

Quinn turned towards the familiar voice. Rory’s voice. She smiled at Quinn as their eyes met. Quinn studied her for a long moment, trying to decide on the right words to say.

“That’s because this is home,” Quinn answered with a smile.

Rory simply smiled and inclined her head to the side, an invitation to meet Quinn at one of the booths.

“Let me finish up here and I’ll be right over,” Quinn offered a tight smile. Rory nodded, but her face was unreadable.

Quinn took her time, making a show of how busy she was.

Although it wasn’t much of a show. In truth, she was busy.

Running a newly opened bar meant that there was always a tiny fire to put out.

She glanced to the booth where Rory sat unbothered as always.

Quinn sighed, and she felt the breath all the way inside of her bones.

There was no point in delaying the inevitable any longer.

She would hear whatever Rory had to say, get her necklace back, then send Rory on her way.

Quinn slid into the far side of the booth. She didn’t miss the momentary expression of displeasure that swept across Rory’s face when she didn’t choose to sit closer.

“Well, what was so important we needed to do this in person?” Quinn asked. She was pretty sure that her frustration was evident in her tone. She had to give it to Rory, the woman made no indication that she could pick up on Quinn’s discomfort.

“I wanted to see you,” Rory admitted with a smile.

“Here I am,” Quinn said a bit more flippantly than she’d intended.

There was a momentary flash of displeasure that swept across Rory’s face.

“Do you really not want to see me?” Rory asked.

“Why would I want to see you? It’s been months. You cheated on me before our wedding and moved into my dream home with someone else.”

Rory had the good sense to look sheepish.

“You’re right. Everything I did was selfish.”

It was certainly more of an admission of guilt than Quinn had ever gotten before.

“Why are you here Rory?” Quinn asked.

“You moved on before we even broke up. So why are you here? Months later. Now that I’ve bought a bar and met someone new. Why now?” Quinn tried again.

Rory studied her for a lingering moment.

“I missed you. I saw you on Instagram and you’re opening this bar and looking really good. It made me want to reach out. It made me miss you.”

Quinn rested her face in the palm of her hand.

“I don’t think you miss me. I think you miss the novelty.

The idea of you and me and a life together.

Because you had me. And once things got to be serious you started to get bored.

So, you found someone new. Now, you’ve been with her for some months.

You’ve been living together, and the sparkle has worn off.

Then, you look online and you see that I’ve moved on.

I’m starting a new business. A beachside bar.

And you think to yourself, ‘That looks like fun,’ and reach out.

Not because you miss me. But because I’m on a fun new adventure. ”

Rory looked as if she’d been struck. Even during their breakup when Quinn had been at her angriest, she’d never spoken to Rory in this way. But since dating Autumn, Quinn had become much more secure in taking up the space around her.

“I didn’t realize that you felt that way.” Rory’s words were quiet. Quinn had clearly struck a nerve.

“Does she even know that you’re here?” Quinn asked.

“Who?”

“Your new partner,” Quinn grumbled.

Rory’s cheeks reddened, a clear sign she was embarrassed.

“No,” she finally admitted.

“Give me my necklace and go back home.”

“Quinn,” Rory began but stopped before she could finish her sentence.

“As much as I’d love to stick it to the person you cheated with. That’s not who I am. So, figure out what you want. If it isn’t the person you’re with, then break up with her like an adult.”

When Rory nodded Quinn knew her words had landed.

“We had some fun times, didn’t we?” Rory asked.

“We did,” Quinn admitted.

“I’m sorry for everything I put you through.”

“It led me here. I can’t be too mad,” Quinn admitted.

“Is being here that great?”

“I have a wonderful new business. And a fabulous new girlfriend,” Quinn smiled fondly. She may have thrown in the part about Autumn to twist the knife, but that didn’t make her words any less true.

“Being here looks good on you,” Rory smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“Okay. I came all this way. Give me one final dance and I’ll leave.”

“You want a dance?” Quinn asked incredulously.

“I do. It feels fitting. Our relationship started with a dance. You met me out one night and remember? You asked me to dance. This can be our goodbye dance.”

Quinn shook her head. She knew that Rory had always been a touch extreme when it came to assigning meaning to things. She supposed one dance couldn’t hurt.

“One dance, and then you’ll give me the necklace and leave?” Quinn reasserted.

“You have my word,” Rory promised.

Quinn slid from the booth and made her way to the dancefloor.

She offered Rory her hand, but the woman stepped in close and wrapped her arms around Quinn.

She felt a shudder go through her, not from desire but distrust. It had been a long time since Rory’s arms had held her in this way.

A long time since she’d been this close to Rory.

Quinn could remember a time when being this close to Rory felt good, natural.

Now, all Quinn felt while dancing with Rory was an unsettled awkwardness.

As the song drew to a close Rory pulled away.

Quinn watched as Rory reached into her jean’s pocket and pulled out a small box.

She opened the box and revealed the necklace Quinn’s grandmother had left her.

Quinn felt tears threatening to sting her eyes.

She’d been sure that she’d lost the necklace forever, it felt wonderful to be getting it back.

Rory saw the flash of emotion and pulled the necklace from the box.

Rory leaned forward and fastened the necklace around Quinn’s neck.

From this close Quinn caught the familiar scent of Rory’s perfume, juniper and mist. Before Rory pulled away, she leaned in placing a kiss on Quinn’s cheek, her hand resting on Quinn’s chest. Quinn held up a hand, pushing her back as gently as she could manage.

“That’s too familiar,” Quinn warned.

“Sorry. I got wrapped up in the moment.”

Quinn nodded understanding.

“Thank you for the necklace, but you should go now.”

It was perhaps the only kindness Quinn could offer to her ex. Rory seemed to understand. She offered Quinn a smile.

“Have a good life, Quinn. You deserve the best,” Rory did her best to smile. A strange sadness seemed to come over Rory’s face. Quinn found that she couldn’t relate to the sadness. Her life had only gotten better since moving on from Rory.