Quinn (The Beck Brothers #3) (13 page)

The taxi pulled up out front of the Leclair household and
the driver helped Quinn get their bags out of the trunk. Margot tipped the man,
starting for the front door of a beautiful townhouse. He shouldered their bags
and followed. Margot used her key to open the door, and they walked into the
foyer where she told him to set the bags down. Quinn set them down against the wall
next to the door, and followed Margot as she headed into what looked like a
living room.

Sitting on one of the couches was a man, probably about the
same age as Quinn, and a younger girl who was probably about nineteen or
twenty. Both looked remarkably like Margot. They had the same dark hair and
hazel eyes. The younger girl was extremely cute, and the guy was okay looking,
he guessed. Quinn has never made it a point to check out other guys. Margot
never mentioned that she had siblings, but he suspected that’s who these two
were.

“Margot!” the young girl cried as she jumped up off the
couch and ran for her.

Margot hugged the girl as best she could with her crutches
and spoke to her in French. They went back a forth a moment as the man got up
and joined them. He gave Margot a hug and kisses on her cheeks. As Margot
continued to speak with the girl, the man turned his attention to Quinn.

“I am Remi, Margot’s older brother,” he said and held out
his hand.

Quinn shook it. “I’m Quinn.”

Remi smirked. “Ah, yes, Margot has told us about you.”

“Remi,” Margot hissed and slapped his arm.

Quinn raised an eyebrow at her. Margot blushed and smiled
sheepishly at him. “Nothing bad.”

Quinn hummed. He wasn’t quite sure he believed her. Then the
younger girl stepped in front of him, holding out her hand. “I am Colette,
Margot’s sister.”

Quinn shook her hand, also. “Quinn.”

 
Colette looked
Quinn up and down, murmuring something to Margot in French that had Margot
blushing harder, and her brother rolling his eyes. Quinn hated being left out,
but he probably didn’t want to know what she said.

“Where is Maman?” Margot asked.

“She is upstairs with papa’s things,” Colette sniffed.

A female voice said something in French from behind him.
Quinn turned to see an attractive older woman with short dark hair coming down
the stairs; he could see who Margot and her siblings looked like now. Margot
told him on the plane that her mother spoke very little English, so she would
have to translate for her. She handed Quinn her crutches and hopped on one foot
the couple of feet to reach her mother. They hugged each other tightly and
spoke quietly to each other. Margot turned and held out her hand for her
crutches.

Quinn stepped forward and handed them to her. She stuffed
them under her arms, took Quinn’s hand, and tugged him forward. She introduced
him to her mother in French. The only thing Quinn understood was his first and
last name. The older woman’s eyes flicked to him. She blatantly looked him over
and Quinn tried not to shift uncomfortably under her shrewd gaze. She then held
out her hand.

“Bonjour, Monsieur Beck,” she said.

Quinn took her hand and gently shook it. “Bonjour, Madame
Leclair...” he said, then repeated what Margot had taught him, the ‘I’m sorry
for your loss’ in French.

Margot’s mother smiled sadly and nodded. “Merci,” she said
gratefully.

Margot had Remi show Quinn the bedroom that they would be
staying in, while she stayed behind with her mother and sister. When Quinn
walked into the small room, he couldn’t help but smile. It was Margot’s old
bedroom and it was sooo Margot. The walls were a bright florescent pink, with
lime green accents all over the room. Obviously, her mother never touched
anything. There were pictures still tacked to the walls of a young smiling
Margot with friends. A couple of posters were still on the walls of young men
that Quinn couldn’t name. They were probably actors or musicians who were
famous in France. Then Quinn saw the bed and almost groaned aloud. It was only
a double - Margot would have to sleep on top of him, or he was going to have to
sleep on the floor. He wasn’t sure if he could handle Margot sleeping on top of
him, yet. Quinn glanced at Remi who was standing by the door with his arms
crossed over his chest and a smirk on his face.

“Would you like me to get some extra blankets for the
floor?” Remi asked knowingly.

Damn Margot.
She must have told her brother about his issues with touching. “Yeah, sure.”
Quinn sighed in resignation and dropped the bags in front of the closet door.

Remi chuckled and left the room. Quinn took the opportunity
to look at some of the pictures scattered around the room. On one section of
the wall, there was a bunch of pictures from what looked like high school.
Margot looked cute and a bit nerdy, but had a huge smile on her lovely face in
each one. On her nightstand was a picture of her with her arms around the neck
of an older man. The love and adoration in Margot’s eyes for the man she was
with was apparent.

Remi returned with a stack of blankets and an extra pillow.
He set them on the bed and turned to Quinn. He held up the picture. “Is this
your father?” he asked Remi.

Remi nodded. “Oui,” he said.

“Margot said he was a great guy,” Quinn murmured quietly and
looked back down at the picture.

“Oui, he was. I think he would have liked you,” Remi said
with a small smile.

Quinn glanced at him and frowned. “How can you say that when
you barely know me?”

“One trait that I share with my father is that he knew a
good man when he saw one. I can see that you are a good man, Quinn, and my
father would have seen that, too,” Remi said sincerely then turned and left the
room.

Quinn stared at the now empty doorway. Wow. He didn’t expect
that. Quinn returned the picture frame to the nightstand and headed downstairs.
He found everyone in the kitchen, sitting at the table. Feeling like an
intruder, Quinn shoved his hands in his pockets and stepped into the kitchen.
Margot waved him over, pulling out the chair next to her for him to sit in. She
gave him a small tired smile that had a tinge of pain in it. That’s when Quinn
remembered that she hasn’t had her foot propped up at all today. It would start
to swell and become more painful as the day went on if she didn’t prop it up at
all. Quinn reached over and turned her and her chair so that she was facing
him. He reached down and grabbed her calf, brought her leg up, and propped her
wrapped ankle in his lap.

Margot gave him a grateful look, and his heart fluttered in
his chest. He couldn’t remember ever caring so much about a woman. He’s never
been the kind of guy to take care of a woman if she was sick or hurt, but
something about Margot brought that out in him. He wanted to make sure that she
was comfortable; he didn’t like when she was in pain, and it just tore at his
heart when she would cry. Any other woman could cry and he wouldn’t really give
a shit. Well, except for his mother and sister-in-laws. Oh, and Adalyn, that
little girl has her father and uncles wrapped around her little finger.

Quinn sat in silence as Margot and her family spoke in
French. He didn’t understand a word, but by the somber tone, he was guessing
that they were talking about Margot’s father. After a little while, Margot and
her sister made dinner, with Margot mostly sitting at the table chopping up
vegetables. While the women cooked, Remi took Quinn out to get a bottle of wine
for dinner. They walked, since it wasn’t too far to the local liquor store.

“So has my sister driven you crazy yet?” Remi asked as they
walked.

Quinn laughed. “She must drive a lot of people crazy if
you’re asking that.”

Remi chuckled. “Oui, she does.”

Quinn shrugged. “She did in the beginning when we first met,
but now that I know her better, she’s not that bad,” he said quietly.

“You are fond her, yes?” Remi asked curiously.

Quinn nodded. “I am,” he said, a little surprised by how
quickly he answered.

“Margot is a wonderful woman. She is kind, loving, and
understanding.
 
You will not find a
better woman,” Remi said confidently.

Quinn smirked. “I’m starting to see that.”

Remi studied him for a moment before saying, “I want my
sister to be happy. I can see in her eyes that you make her happy.”

Quinn snorted. “I don’t know how that’s possible,” he
muttered, shaking his head.

Remi cocked his head and frowned. “Non? Margot has told me
all that you have done for her. She thinks you are special, plus, she said that
you are the best kisser,” Remi said, trying to fight the smile that curled his
lips.

Quinn groaned and hung his head. “Does she tell you
everything?”

Remi laughed. “We are very close, so yes, she tells me most
things. That was the only detail she gave me, thankfully. She tells Colette the
details, though.”

Quinn rolled his eyes. “No wonder Colette keeps looking at
my crotch.”

Remi burst out laughing. A few people passing them smiled at
his outburst. Quinn smiled, too.
 
He liked Margot’s brother; he seemed like a really great guy. Quinn was
glad he was getting along with Margot’s family; it would make this trip a whole
lot easier.

~~~~~

Margot watched Quinn, something she constantly found herself
doing more and more often. They were sitting at the kitchen table eating
dinner, and Quinn was sitting across from her and next to Remi, who seemed to
have become fast friends. This made Margot ridiculously happy because Quinn did
not take to people easily, so for him to get along so well with her brother was
something close to a miracle.

Quinn was so handsome - his brown eyes were warm and soft as
he listened to her sister tell a story about when Margot was younger, a small
smile playing across his beautiful mouth. Quinn was so sweet to her earlier
when he propped her foot up on his lap, as she and her family talked about
funeral plans in French. Margot did not think that he was aware that he was
doing it, but he had sat there massaging her calf the entire time.

Quinn’s deep chuckle pulled Margot out of her thoughts. She
was looking at his mouth, not realizing it. When Margot brought her eyes up to
his, she found that he was looking at her, and what she saw in them shocked
her. Her breath caught, and her heart fluttered frantically, because what she
saw looked a lot like love and adoration. Maybe she was just seeing what she
wanted to see, but Margot hoped not, she was quickly falling for him, and she
would be devastated if the feelings were not returned.

Quinn’s smile faded and he dropped his gaze away from hers,
and Margot sighed quietly. Even if he was feeling that way toward her, he still
thought that he was not good enough for her, and he would probably never admit
to it anyway. She wished she could change his mind, but she had no idea how or
where to begin.
 

After dinner, Quinn helped Remi clean up. Margot’s mother
went to be alone in her bedroom; Colette also went to her room to call one of
her friends. Margot went into the living room and lay on the couch, tucked a
pillow under her bad ankle, and sighed heavily. She was so tired; it was a very
long day. Her ankle was throbbing, and so was her head. Her father’s viewing was
tomorrow night, and his funeral was the next morning. She still could not
believe that he was gone. She didn’t have any idea how long she was laying
there thinking about her dad, but Quinn’s voice startled her when he spoke.

“Hey,” he said softly.

Margot gasped, her eyes flying open as she pressed her hand
to her pounding heart.

Quinn winced. “Sorry.”

“It is okay,” she breathed.

Quinn came around the couch and lifted the pillow and her
foot, sat down, and put the pillow and her foot in his lap. “How you doin’?” he
asked as his eyes raked over her face.