But Sawyer first of all, of course. It’s the home where both of your fathers grew up.” Then she made a face. “And we all know neither one of them wants to step foot there ever again.”
“You don’t know that for sure,” Maddie soothed.
“Darling, you’re very sweet. But I am very certain. Even though the car crash that killed their father was an accident, both Carter and David still blame me for his death. Nothing I say or do now is going to change that. But—” she placed her palms on the table beside her plate, and the diamonds on her fingers caught the light shining through the two-storied windows “—I have not given up on my grandchildren. Which is why I am so delighted that all of you were able to join me on this little jaunt to Las Vegas. I wish the rest of your siblings had been able to join us, but I’m still delighted all the same. My dear Arthur always said I’d get a kick out of this place and he was right.” She stood from the table and went over to the windows. “Such ridiculous ostentation,” she said, then gave them a wink. “I positively love it.”
Looking at her mischievous expression, Quinn found it almost hard to believe that Vivian wasn’t quite the picture of health that she appeared to be.
The reason? She called it the “little thing squatting inside my head.” Quinn and everyone else in the family called it what it was. An inoperable brain tumor.
So if she wanted to treat her grandkids—those who could get away on such short notice, at least—to this impetuous, lavish trip to Las Vegas, who was he to argue?
He couldn’t solve the problems between her, and his dad and uncle. But he could make sure he didn’t add to the hassles between them.
Which was a good reason to get the whole marriage certificate thing with Penny squared away as soon as possible.
Almost as if she’d read his mind, Penny suddenly stood up from the table and began clearing away her dishes.
“Penny,” Vivian chided softly. “There’s a butler here who takes care of that.”
“I know.” Penny didn’t stop what she was doing. “Old habits are just too hard to break, I’m afraid.” She disappeared through the connecting door into the kitchen.
“Well, I don’t mind breaking habits,” Greer said drily. “Someone else to clean up my dishes? I’m all for that.”
Quinn tuned out his cousins’ chatter as he swallowed the rest of his food, and then carried his plate and coffee into the kitchen after Penny.
She was standing at the sink with her shoulders slumped and visibly jumped when she noticed him.
“Sorry.” He set his plate on the counter next to the sink. Didn’t mean to startle you.”
“You didn’t.”
It was such an obvious lie, he let it go unchallenged.
“We’ll get it worked out, Penny.”
Her jaw shifted from side to side. “I don’t want to talk about it here.”
“I have the feeling you don’t want to talk about it anywhere.”
She shot him a pained look.
He sighed and looked over his shoulder through to the dining room. His cousins and grandmother were still sitting at the long table. “The certificate’s signed by an officiant. I’m going to check it out this afternoon. See what I can learn.” He considered asking if she wanted to accompany him but decided not to. If she didn’t want to discuss it, he doubted she’d want to traipse around with him looking into it.
“We were drunk. Obviously.” Her voice was low. “There’s no other explanation. It’s probably not even legal.”
He wasn’t going to debate the matter when he didn’t know the legalities, either. “I’ll let you know what I find out.”
Her long lashes swept down, hiding her vividly blue eyes again. She nodded and turned on the faucet to rinse another plate before leaning over to place it inside the built-in dishwasher.
There didn’t seem much point hanging there. Particularly when the only thing his eyes wanted to do was linger on the creamy skin exposed below her T-shirt when she’d leaned over.
His fingers twitched slightly, tingling. He knew exactly how her smooth, supple skin felt.
He also knew exactly how her skin tasted. It was there inside his memory, bright and vivid, even though he didn’t specifically recall anything besides waking up with his arms full of her warm body.
“Quinn!”
He dragged his mind into the present when he heard his name being called from the other room.
Penny had straightened and was rinsing another dish beneath the faucet. Shoulders hunched. Eyes averted.
He curled his fingers against his palms but the prickling sensation didn’t go away.
“Quinn!” Typically impatient, Ali came to the kitchen doorway. “Have beans in your ears? I’ve been calling you.”
He ignored her. “We’ll get it worked out, Penny,” he said again in a low voice, before turning to face his cousin. “What?”
Ali’s gaze was flipping from him to Penny and back to him again. Her cop’s mind was undoubtedly conjecturing. “Nothing,” she said after a moment. “Nothing at all.” Smiling faintly, she turned and left the room.
“And that’s why I didn’t want to talk about it here,” Penny muttered behind him.
He glanced at her. “You going to be one of those wives who always has to be right?”
She flushed. Gave him a look fit to do more damage than the grenades had done. “I am not your wife,” she muttered between her teeth.
“For both our sakes, darlin’, I hope you’re right.”
The clerk at the county marriage bureau was polite, friendly and adamant.
It was entirely likely that Penny Garner really was his wife.
And the pain inside Quinn’s head rose to a new level.
“The officiant—” the clerk deciphered the signature on the marriage certificate “—Marvin Morales, has ten days to file your certificate. We often get them within a few days of the wedding, though. Once the marriage is recorded, a certified copy is typically available after a day or so.” She handed him back his crumpled paper. She’d already told him it was merely his keepsake certificate versus the official document. If she had any personal opinion about the state of the piece of paper, she kept it to herself. “You can get certified copies in person, via regular mail or order them online.”
Even though it was Sunday afternoon, there was a long line of people waiting behind him for their turn at the counter.
The
