Loving Quinn Novel by North Rose

(Annora)

White fiery rage propels me out of Quinn’s building right into the rush-hour foot traffic on the sidewalk. The rush of bodies press against one another as everyone makes their way home from work. It makes blending in with the crowd easy, as I hear Quinn call my name a few minutes later.

When I glance behind me, I see his frantic eyes searching the moving mass of bodies. Ignoring his calls, I rush into the sea of people as I make my way towards the nearest café. As soon as I step into the café, the smell of fresh coffee calms my nerves.

I pull out my cellphone and call Shawna to come pick me up. The next call is to my mother to have her pick Grace up from her violin lesson. I ask her to take Grace home with her and I will be by to pick her up later. She asks me if there is anything wrong, but I tell her everything is fine.

That is a lie, but she doesn’t need to know that.

After ending my call, I find a table to sit at, then order a coffee when a waitress comes by. As I wait for Shawna and my coffee, my mind drifts back to everything that happened since Quinn stepped into my office today.

Oh my ** I have dreamed about Quinn so often in the past. All the times we spent tangled up with each other, all naked and sweaty that summer. The past pales compared to what I experienced today.

The power of his arms as he held me against the bookshelf. Every ripple of his muscles under my hands as he thrust into me. The way he destroyed my control as he slowly made love to me. That was what he did. Quinn didn’t f**k me, not at first. He tenderly made love to me.

Oh, how I loved it when he went from tender to rough. The way he pounded into me had me moaning his name much louder than I should have. It was glorious.

Shame washes over me as I think of all the people who could have overheard my moans of pleasure. I will never live this down if there was anyone who heard me. can hear the rumors now. Dr. Winters had sex in her office yesterday. By the sounds of it, she was fully satisfied.

They would be right on all accounts.

Quinn had more than satisfied me. What made it worse was that he left me wanting more. Even now, my body aches for his touch. Something that will never happen

again. Not after how he treated me in his penthouse.

1

The accusations he flung at me hurt beyond anything else he could have said. To accuse me of telling him about Grace now because what Kyle is trying to do is horrible. Claiming that I told him about Kyle so that he would use his money and power to stop the custody suit from happening. That is something I would never

do.

I don’t need his money, nor do I need his influence to help me. Money, I have. Influence I have. Yes, having Quinn at my side will help, but that is not why I told him about our daughter. Grace deserves to know him.

They both deserve to have a relationship with each other. One I robbed them of for so long. Fear crawls through my veins as I think of what Quinn may do next. Will he take his revenge by fighting for custody of Grace himself?

That thought makes me stand up from the table just as Shawna enters the café. “Can you take me to my parent’s house?”

“Yeah, but you have to tell me what happened on the way.”

Once we are in her car, I tell her to hurry. I need to reach my parent’s house as soon as possible. The need to make sure my daughter is safe is the most important thing right now. Fear of losing her makes me cry as Shawna gets on the highway,

“Annora, what is going on.”

“Kyle is trying to take Grace from me. Then I told Quinn about her and now he wants to take her from me too.” I tell her in fits and starts as I ***ob.

“What the hell? You told Quinn about Grace? Why would he try to take her from you?”

Holding nothing back, I spilled everything that happened since Saturday until I ran from Quinn’s apartment. Shawna is outraged when I stop talking. She called both Kyle and Quinn a**s and threatened them both with bodily harm.

“Now all I can think of is getting to my daughter.”

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Chapter 17

“Does Quinn know where your parents live?”

“I don’t think so, but there isn’t anything stopping him from finding out.”

What can I do to stop Quinn from taking Grace. I refuse to speak to him again unless I am forced to. All my dreams of the life we dreamed of together are now ashes in my heart. That life will never happen. It causes me immense pain, as that has been the one dream that I have wanted more than anything since Grace was born.

To have Quinn with us as we build our lives together would have been bliss. Now, after his hurtful words, I no longer want that dream. All I want is to keep my daughter.

The sudden sound of my phone ringing causes feat to clog in my throat. The name on the screen makes fresh tears spill down my cheeks, followed swiftly by anger. I sent the call straight to my voicemail. There is no way I am talking to Quinn right now.

Not after everything he said to me before I left his penthouse. I know he will only call back, so I turn my phone to silent, then shove it into my purse. There is no way I will be able to have a rational or civilized conversation with him now or anytime soon.

** him.

Before we pull into my parent’s driveway, I wipe my face clean. There is no way to hide my red, puffy eyes, but I can always blame it on allergies when my mother asks questions. I am not ready to tell them about Quinn.

My father has disliked Quinn since I told him the news about my pregnancy. When he asked me who the father was, I told him the truth. They both claimed to have had their suspicions we were sexually active but had hoped we were safe. We had been. Mostly.

Except on the last night that we spent together.

“What are you going to tell your parents?”

I look over at Shawna as we pull into the driveway. “I will tell them about Kyle, but not about Quinn. Let them focus on one thing at a time. I may be overreacting, thinking Quinn wants to take Grace, or I may be correct. I won’t know until I listen to the voicemails, he left me.”

“Do you want me to stay with you?”

That makes me love Shawna even more. Her willingness to drop everything just to stay by my side. I have done the same thing for her since we met. It helps to know she has my back.

“Thank you for the offer, but I will be fine.”

“Will I see you at work tomorrow?”

“No. I am going to take the rest of the week off. There is a lot that I need to get prepared for. Kyle and Lana may fool themselves with this custody thing.

I would rather be prepared just in case they actually have a chance.”

Shawna reaches over, then pulls me into a fierce hug. I return her hug with a laugh. When I pull away, she reaches up to wipe a tear from my eye.

“Call me if you need anything. I am off this weekend, so I can help you with anything you need. I can watch Grace at my place if you need space. My parents are in Europe this weekend. That leaves their condo empty. Grace could use the pool.”

That is a great idea. Grace loves to swim. She also begs to spend more time with Shawna.

“Yes. Let’s do that. Grace will be so excited to spend time with you at the condo. Are you sure you want to take her all weekend?”

“She is my favorite girl. We will have a blast, I promise.”

With that decision made, I got out of the car. “Thank you for coming to get me today, Shawna.”

“Always.”

As I turn away to go into the house, I see my mother standing in the doorway. Her face is grim as she watches me walk towards the house. I never like it when she

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Chapter 17

I would rather be prepared just in case they actually have a chance.”

Shawna reaches over, then pulls me into a fierce hug. I return her hug with a laugh. When I pull away, she reaches up to wipe a tear from

my eye.

“Call me if you need anything. I am off this weekend, so I can help you with anything you need. I can watch Grace at my place if you need space. My parents are in Europe this weekend. That leaves their condo empty. Grace could use the pool.”

That is a great idea. Grace loves to swim. She also begs to spend more time with Shawna.

“Yes. Let’s do that. Grace will be so excited to spend time with you at the condo. Are you sure you want to take her all weekend?”

“She is my favorite girl. We will have a blast, I promise.”

With that decision made, I got out of the car. “Thank you for coming to get me today, Shawna.”

“Always.”

As I turn away to go into the house, I see my mother standing in the doorway. Her face is grim as she watches me walk towards the house, I never like it when she has that look on her face. The news I will tell her will only make her expression worse.

Damn you, Kyle,

(Quinn)

After losing Annora in the sea of pedestrians on the sidewalk, I head back to the penthouse. Guilt swamps me as I ride the elevator up. I can’t believe I accused her of using our daughter like that. The Ancora remember wouldn’t do that.

I am surprised with myself for even thinking she would do anything i aruand her of Maybe it was the shock of finding out that we have a daughter. The girl who has owned my heart and soul since I was eighteen gave birth to my child.

Our child.

Perhaps it was also the knowledge that she kept our daughter from me for all these years. Not knowing where I was is one thing, but there were other ways she could have gotten the news to me. Aaron’s parents still live in the same town her grandparents did.

Annora knew their names and with one phone call to her grandparents, I would have known about my daughter before she was born. All she had to do was pick up the d**n phone. I would have been there for both her and our baby at every chance I had.

Instead, I learned about it twelve years later.

Now, here I am, rushing around my penthouse looking for my d**n car keys. I have called Annora like twenty times since I lost her in the crowd. Each time I called; it rang endlessly until finally being sent to voicemail. The last time I called her, it went straight to voicema

Which means I either filled the box with all my messages, or she declined the call.

I should have taken more time to think before I spoke these hateful words. Had I done that she would still be here with me. We could discuss how I am going to meet our daughter.

Elizabeth Grace Greyson

Closing my eyes, I imagine my mother’s face. What would she think about all this? How would she feel about my daughter being named

her1 want to believe that momuna would be beyond happy. Now, I need to repair the damage I did today.

Aaron calls as I am searching for my keys. I have been expecting him to call since I told him I wasn’t coming back to the office today. I am * even sure where to start when he asks if I am ok

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Chapter 17

“Annora had my child.”

“What? What the actual f**k, Quinn. When did she tell you this?”

“Today. We came here to the penthouse after we spoke at the hospital.”

Aaron swears profusely on the other end of the line. “What was her reasoning for keeping this from you all this time? How do you know she is telling the truth?”

I repeat the conversation Annora, and I had when we arrived here. When I finish, all I can hear from my best friend is a steady stream of cursing. Then I told him what I said to Annora before she stormed out of my penthouse.

“You are such an a**ole, Quinn. Are you out of your mind?”

That question crossed my mind right after Annora slammed my door. “Aaron, I have wanted this for so long. At the first opportunity, I f**d it up. She won’t answer my calls. I am going over to her house as soon as I find my d**an car keys.”

“If I were Annora, I would make you beg for forgiveness, or kick you in the balls. I wish you luck, my friend, and I can’t wait to meet your daughter.”

“Right after I meet her.”

Aaron hangs up and I go back to searching for my keys. My mind goes through all the things to say to Annora to express how sorry I am. I wouldn’t blame her if she made me wallow in my misery for a few days.

Can I give her that much time? Logically, yes, but my emotions and impatience may prevent me from giving her any time at all. I want to meet Grace. To get to know my daughter after all this time.

What is she like? What is her favorite color? Does she have hobbies? Does she play sports? There is so much I want to know about her.

Then my insecurities sink in, making me stop in my tracks as I head to my bedroom for the sixth time. Will Grace hate me for not being there for her? Will she accept me as her father or will she continue to call that b**d Kyle, her father? How will she react to all of this?

Please don’t let my daughter hate me.

Finally, I have located my car keys. I shove them in my pocket, grab my cellphone, then head to the door. My only thought was to get to Annora’s house to beg her for forgiveness. If she will even let me through the door.

The ringing of my phone makes me growl in frustration as I look at it. The call is from that same unknown number. Pressing the butto. for the elevator, I answer the call.

“Hello?”

“We need to talk, Quinn.”

Rage fills me when I hear her voice say my name. It proves all my suspicions about who has been calling me correct. What the f**k does she want? Why has she been calling me like this?

“No, we don’t, Dionne.”

Yes, we do. I think you will want to hear what I have to say.”

After everything this woman did to me, there is nothing she can say that I will want to hear. So, rather than give her any more of my time, I hung up the phone. It is time to have my number changed. Again.

For the second time in a matter of days, the same sentiment crosses my mind. The same one that crossed my mind when she told me about our baby.

The child we created was an inconvenience to her life.

Dionne Masters can rot in hell for all I care.