CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Moira~
Quinn was waiting in the front room. He looked completely different in a suit and tie. For that matter they all looked a little stiff and strange in their unaccustomed costumes. Maybe that was why people dressed up for weddings. The unfamiliar garb made it very clear that this was no ordinary occasion.
Sully stepped forward and offered her his arm. “You have your choice of celebrant,” he said. “Martha or Robin.”
It wasn’t even a choice. “Robin.”
“Good choice.”
Robin moved to stand before the fireplace. She motioned Quinn to stand in front of her. Lloyd and Martha drifted into place behind him. Lloyd was still wearing his expression of bemused humor. She was glad someone thought this situation was amusing. Her feet were cold in her soft pink leather shoes. She was scared to death.
Sully led her to stand beside Quinn and put her right hand in his. “You look after our girl,” he growled in Quinn’s ear.
“Yes, sir.” He looked down at her and her heart turned over. She had not realized how handsome he was. Without his beard he looked like a stranger. “Do you want to do this now?” he asked loud enough to be heard by the entire room.
“I do.” Her voice wasn’t even squeaky.
A certain stiff sternness vanished from his features. He looked even more handsome and his eyes sparkled. “Let’s do this,” he said to Robin.
Her aunt smiled serenely and began the short ceremony. It was over before Moira quite realized. It was very short for something so life-altering. Quinn took her engagement ring off and replaced it with the wedding band, before putting the other ring over that. He kissed her hand and handed her a larger matching band and she set that on his finger.
They signed a register and a marriage license. So did Robin, Sully and Martha. What had she done? She was married to a dragon.
Robin said, “You may kiss.” Her husband lifted her to his lips and kissed her with flamboyant passion. Moira was vaguely aware of gentle laughter. The room fell away. When Quinn set her down, they were swarmed.
Sully lifted her off her feet in a bear hug. “Be happy, niece.” He kissed both her cheeks and wrung Quinn’s hand.
Lloyd and Martha were just as effusive. Robin kissed them both and hoped they would have a long and happy marriage. Sully opened a bottle of champagne and toasted the bride. Lloyd reciprocated with a toast to the groom. The bottle empty, there was another round of happy kisses, and then they were alone in her narrow hallway, watching their guests depart.
Quinn shut the door. “Hello, Mrs. Drake,” he rumbled.
A brisk rapping interrupted their kiss. Quinn put her down and looked out the peephole. “Catering,” he announced.
Moira whisked herself into the kitchen. She heard Quinn thanking the waiter and the rattle of china and cutlery. The door shut.
“You can come out,” he called. “Robin sent us a wedding supper.”
Quinn was holding an enormous tray covered in domed silver dishes. “Where shall I put this?”
“Kitchen. It’s the only place with a table.”
He strode into the kitchen and set the tray on her glass tabletop. His shoulders were heaving.
“What’s so funny?” She didn’t see the joke. Unless it was the way he sucked all the space out of the kitchen and made her feel claustrophobic. Her chest felt tight and it was suddenly hard to breathe. He was just too big. He was going to squash her like a bug. Not on purpose, but just because they were so mismatched.
She was so caught up in her dire imaginings that she jumped when he said, “This place. I expected the furnishings to match the outside.”
“It usually does. This is my stuff. Don’t you like it?” Just her luck. She should have known better after Shoreside Cottage. She was doomed to life with Victoriana.
“Looks like the things I had in my condo – they’re all in storage in Seattle.”
“What happened to your condo?”
“I rented it out.”
“Oh.” His safety net, in case things didn’t work out on West Haven. Her nervousness increased a thousandfold.
He lifted the lid of the biggest platter. A cold lobster salad was surrounded by a mountain of greens. She cleared her throat. “Are you hungry?” Please, yes.
His eyes were locked on hers. “Ravenous. But I can wait until you’ve had supper. Where are your plates?”
She pointed to the dish cupboard and lifted the lid on the other two platters. A cheese and fruit plate lay under one dome, and chocolate mousse with a lavish swirl of whipped cream under the other. “I’ll stick the dessert in the fridge.”
Quinn laid the table. Opened the bottle of champagne on the tray and poured her another glass. He pulled out a chair. “Won’t you sit down?”
She sat. He pushed in her chair and moved own closer to hers. Scooped up lobster salad and placed her plate before her with a flourish. He gave himself a serving, shook out his napkin and took a forkful of lobster. And brought it to her lips. Bemused, she opened her mouth and found herself eating a perfectly moist and tender morsel of lobster while Quinn’s hot eyes rested on her flushed face.
She chewed but her throat was too dry to swallow. All the amusement left his face. “It’ll be okay,” he said. “Becoming a dragon is marvelous. I promise. You’ll be able to soar above the earth. It’s like sailing, only better.” His face was rapt.
Dear heaven, she hadn’t even remembered that she was about to become a scaly monster. The lobster was suddenly twice the size she had taken off his fork.