Neanderthal Marries Human

I buried my face in Quinn’s neck and moaned my mortification.

I felt Quinn’s rumbly chuckle and his kiss on my hair before he responded to Dan. “If you try to high-five me, I’ll punch you in the throat.”

“The high-five line is for Janie, not for you, Dummy.”

Quinn pressed his lips together to keep from laughing, and I was sure that if no one had died yet from awkwardness, then my autopsy report would be the first of its kind.

“I’m kidding. I can feel her embarrassment from out here.” Dan continued to whisper. “Listen, I have new clothes for you both hanging just outside the door along with two towels, and I’ve drawn the curtain so you can’t be seen when you open the door. I just spoke to the pilot. They’ve moved us back in the take-off queue. You’ve got fifteen more minutes, and you’re welcome.”

I closed my eyes, sent up a silent prayer that Dan would find someone worthy of his awesomeness, and snuggled closer to Quinn’s body.

This always happened when we made love. I always seemed to forget where I was. I didn’t think of myself as an exhibitionist, nor did I take any pleasure in the possibility of being caught. Rather, when I was tangled up in Quinn, I existed in a blissful alternate universe, and everything else just…ceased.

Quinn grabbed several paper towels in quick succession. He shifted away, but continued to support my forehead on his shoulder. He pressed the paper towels between my legs and waited until I took over, then he threaded his fingers through my hair.

As usual, they got stuck in the curling snakes, and he used the leverage to lift my face from his neck. His eyes skated over my features before pinning me in place, and I saw that his expression was dreamy and content, one of wonder and worship.

“How do you do that?” His question was quiet, reverent.

“Do what?”

“How do you make everything better?”

My forehead wrinkled as we studied each other. “What did I make better?”

“After last night, I thought you….” He exhaled, frowned, shook his head. Then his mouth pulled to the side in a barely there smile. “You make me better.”

I returned his smile and leaned forward an inch to kiss his nose. “Quinn, we’re going to settle this. Tomorrow, at home, we’re going to discuss everything until we both feel good about it. And then, you’re going to help me decide what shade of ferns we’re going to use for our centerpieces.”

He blinked. “Ferns?”

“Yes. Ferns are much more environmentally friendly than flowers. Also, there are hundreds of varieties, and they come in a vast array of colors.”

My smile grew because his eyes widened with alarm.

CHAPTER 10

It was Tuesday night, and nothing was settled.

We arrived home late Sunday night. He carried me from the limo to the apartment to the bed, and undressed me while I lay complicit and dozing. I awoke Monday mid-morning to the chiming of my cell phone. Quinn must have found it in my luggage, charged it, and placed it on my bedside table at some point.

I gave the noisy device a dirty look and cursed it. Nevertheless, I glanced at the screen then bolted upright in bed. The alert was for three text messages from Quinn. The initial texts sent back-to-back at 9:00 a.m. made me smile.

The third message made me frown.

Part of me wondered if the New York trip was just a way to avoid discussing the wedding plans. On the flight home, his eyes had glazed over whenever I tried to show him pictures of centerpiece ferns and groomsmen tuxedos.

Regardless, Quinn had called briefly from New York on Monday night, just long enough for me to determine that he was dead tired and needed to go to sleep. He also texted then called me Tuesday morning for a quick I love you and I miss you that made my knees weak and my brain witless.

Therefore, nothing was resolved.

Yes, we’d attacked each other in the bathroom of the airplane.

Yes, the oxytocin it released into my system had gone a long way toward re-affirming our bond within my brain. At some point I would have to sort through how much of the bond was brain chemistry and how much of it was corporeal. For now, I was going to assume it was mostly corporeal.

But, no, we hadn’t yet talked through the ramifications of Quinn’s admission about the private clients.

Instead of obsessing over whether or not I’d displayed good judgment by seducing my fiancé rather than talking through our issues then seducing my fiancé, I decided that I would focus my energy on sorting through the situation as it currently stood and define a list of action items.

First, I was going to write down all of my concerns and questions related to Quinn’s admission and our impending marriage.

Then, when he came back from New York, we were going to sit down and review all the concerns and questions.

After that, I was pretty sure I was going to seduce him again.

And, lastly, I was going to force him to go through an entire wedding magazine and discuss whether the cake should be white with white frosting or chocolate with white frosting.

One thing I was sure of based on every wedding cake picture I’d seen was that wedding cakes should have white frosting.

But first I had to break the news of our engagement to my knitting group.

I decided to show up late to knit night for a few reasons. Mostly, I wanted everyone to find out at the same time rather than one at a time as they arrived. I would tell them as a group, they could have their reaction, and then we could move on to other topics rather than dragging it out.

I had no idea what to expect.

Therefore, I emailed Marie from work that I would be one hour late. I stopped by a shop to pick up two extra bottles of red wine, mentally rehearsed what I would say, and worried a little that they wouldn’t be supportive of my decision. After all, Quinn and I had only been together for a few months.

Turns out, I needn’t have worried.

As soon as Marie opened the door to her apartment, I was greeted with a very loud, cheerful chorus of “SURPRISE!”

They were all standing in the small entryway wearing hats and blowing noisemakers, and smiling at me like I’d just told them I’d solved world hunger.

I opened my mouth to respond, but didn’t get to do anything other than puff out a breath as Elizabeth pulled me through the door and I was surrounded by a six-woman group hug.

“I’m so happy for you!”

“Let’s see the ring!”

“Give her a minute.”

“How did he do it?”

“Did you bring us anything from London?”

“Nice shoes! Can I borrow them?”

They ushered me into Marie’s crowded apartment, all speaking at once, and I started to laugh—and cry.

Elizabeth, the first to notice, shushed the group and pressed my hand between hers. “Janie? What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Through my tears and laughter, I managed to splutter, “It’s just…you just all….” I sniffled and pressed my lips together to keep my chin from wobbling as my gaze moved over their happy, slightly perplexed, somewhat worried faces. “I was nervous about telling you and you already know and it’s such a relief and you’re all so happy for me and I am just so lucky that you’re all my friends.”

“Aww.” Ashley’s arms encircled my shoulders from behind. “Of course we’re happy for you!”

“We all are,” Fiona added, giving me a sincere smile. “You deserve every good thing.”

“And we brought presents!” Sandra’s eyes were huge and excited, and she wagged her eyebrows as she added, “Spoiler alert, I bought you edible underwear. Also, further spoiler alert—they’re a matching his-and-hers set.”

Everyone burst out laughing, and Kat covered her face—which had turned beet red.

“Come in and sit down.” Marie pushed me to the sofa while everyone else settled in around me. “We have champagne and lemon drops. I didn’t know which one you preferred.”

“A lemon drop sounds great, and I brought wine too.” I held up my bag, which was promptly confiscated and passed to Marie.

The barrage of questions began again, and I held my hands up. “Wait, before I tell you the how and when, what do you already know? And how did you all know?”

Elizabeth sat forward. “It was me. Remember a few weeks ago when I met you and Quinn at the bathroom fixtures shop?”

“The one on West Lake Street? With all the sinks on the wall?” Fiona asked. She added with a faraway look, “I love that place.”

“Yes, that’s the one. Well, Quinn told me about his intentions then. I helped him pick out the rings in exchange for a heads-up when he asked.”

“So, Quinn told you?” I was astonished, both that Quinn and Elizabeth had worked together, and also that Elizabeth had been able to keep the proposal a secret for so long. Then again, even though we were technically roommates, we hardly saw each other anymore. Since moving into the building just over a month ago, I usually spent most of my days and nights at Quinn’s place.

“Yes. He texted me Friday at, like, one in the morning—which I guess would have been seven in the morning in London.”

“What did he say?” Ashley asked. “You never did show us the text.”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and said in a droll tone, “All he texted was it’s done. Of course I knew what he was talking about, but a few more details would have been nice.”