WhatsApp Lanie I didnât mean to a get tipsy, but it had been ages since rd had more than a glass or two of wine, and Quinn had been putting fruity drinks into my hands nonstop since | got there. Now | had the giggles, and the two of us sat together in a glider rocker in the shade while she filled me in on all the gossip Iâd missed while | was gone.
âYou look good, girl. Like, really, so good.â Her giggle faded into a bright, sincere smile as she nudged me with her shoulder. âTell me all about them.â
down | sighed happily. âI wouldnât even know where to start.â
âYou could start with what itâs like in the bedroooooom.â Quinn drew out the word, making it go up and like she was singing it.
Ahot blush stole over me. âItâs beyond amazing.â
âBut...â She twisted on the glider so she could look me full in the face. âHow does it, you know...work?â
âIt works the way it works with anyone. What do you mean?â | winked at her, knowing what she was getting at. | was just tipsy enough to tease her about it.
Quinn gestured. âAren't there just too many...you know. Sausages for the amount of biscuits?â
My jaw dropped at that little description, and then she burst into laughter. | joined her, laughing until tears streamed from my eyes and | had to clutch my stomach against the pains in it from working my muscles so hard.
âIt's not breakfast, Quinn!â | wiped my eyes as my guffaws softened into giggles that flared up again at the look on her face.
âWell, it's some kind of meal, because it sure isnât a snack,â she said through her laughter.
âWell, to answer your question, no, there are not too many sausages.â Another rush of heat flooded over me at the memory of the last time weâd been together. All those hands and mouths, worshiping my body and bringing me to ecstasy, over and over...
âUgh. Look at you, you're giddy! Seriously, girl,â Quinn added more seriously. âIâm happy for you. Jealous, but Iâm also really, really happy for you. So you...ahem, you got your memory back? All of it?â
| couldn't blame her for asking. If the situation was reversed, Iâd have been overflowing with questions, too. But | had to tread carefully with what | shared with her, and the drinks were making it hard for me to be Is sure | kept my stories straight.
| nodded. âYep.â
âAnd you found out why you ended up in Stillwood, pregnant and with a different name?â She tilted her head with a curious look in her eyes.
Constantine to confront their father, | went along. And then | found out that Xander and Zane were my mates originally, and Xander is Stellaâs father.â | knew | was babbling a little bit, probably repeating myself, but Quinn looked fascinated. âAnd Mason is the father of the twins that Xander and Zane were raising...â
Quinn rocked back in the glider. âWhat, what?â
Oh, sh it.
| swallowed hard, regretting that I'd let her give me so many drinks. | cleared my throat, trying to keep my voice steady. âUh, yeah...Yes. Their other mate-â
âAlice,â Quinn said, reminding me that | had told her that part already. âThe one who was also sleeping with Mason.â
âYes. Well, she had twins. And unfortunately, she died giving birth to them.â
All of our laughter faded, chased away with this solemn news. Iâd hated Alice once, with everything I'd had inside me. But |
couldnât hate a dead woman any longer, not even if sheâd done her best while she was living to ruin my life.
âWhat happened to the babies?â Quinn asked quietly | lifted my chin. âWhile | was in Stillwood, believing | was Katie, Xander and Zane were in Constantine, not remembering me, either, | canât get into all the reasons why, because itâs-
âComplicated, yeah. Sounds very complicated, Quinn interjected softly.
âThey were raising the babies they thought were theirs. They didnât know Alice hadn't been faithful to them.â
âAnd they didnât know you were here, pregnant.â
| shook my head.â When | went back to Constantine with Mason, he found out for the first time, too.â
âSo three pups. Two mothers. They all must be close to their doubling by now, if not through the first.â Quinn c ocked her head at me. âYou're raising another woman's children?â
| wanted to tell her the whole story about the rescue and how it had bonded me to Isaac and Alaina, but |
only nodded. âThey all belong to all of us, now.â
âYou're a better woman than | would be,â Quinn said. She looked over my shoulder, toward the house. She looked back at me. âNot to alarm you, but it looks like my brother finally got here.â