All the Way (Romancing Manhattan #1)(49)

“You’re going to furnish it without letting her do it?” Carter asks. “Are you trying to be single?”

“I’m trying to help her out,” I say, getting frustrated now. “Trust me, she would appreciate this.”

“Uh-huh. Right. Have you guys discussed your controlling tendencies?” Quinn shakes his head. “Well, the first thing you should do is call a Realtor.”

“True. They can narrow it down for me. Maybe we should sell her condo.” I rub my chin and look out the window to the city, thinking it over. “That would really make the most sense. I plan on having her move in with me anyway. We don’t need two condos in the city.”

“Aren’t you getting ahead of yourself?” Quinn asks.

“What do you mean?”

“Ask the girl if she wants to move in with you before you decide to list her condo.”

“I’m not going to list her condo. It’s not in my name.” I shake my head and frown. “That’s not possible.”

“Because if it was possible, that’s exactly what he would do,” Carter says to Quinn, who nods.

“What are you saying?”

“That you’re a control freak, and when you get an idea in your head, you go full throttle, without asking others involved if it’s something they also want.”

I stare at my brother-in-law in confusion. “When have I done that?”

Both of them laugh, and I just close my laptop. “You know what, if you’re going to be dicks, you can leave. I don’t have time for this.”

“Right, because you’re planning to sell your girlfriend’s house out from under her so you can buy a house in L.A. that she hasn’t expressed any interest in wanting.”

“That makes me sound like an asshole.”

Quinn shrugs and Carter hides a smile behind his hand.

“Fuck both of you.”

“All right, all right. This isn’t why we came here,” Quinn says, laughing and clearly enjoying tormenting me. “We really should go grab a bite.”

“Either that, or I’m going to duck out of here for the day. Why is it so quiet?” Carter asks. “And why do I feel like it’s the quiet before the storm?”

“Because you always think the worst is going to happen,” Quinn reminds him.

“Sure, mister, I’m sure my mom is having a stroke and a heart attack.”

“Don’t start with me,” Quinn says, getting riled up. “I’m not the one who didn’t tell me that my sister was dying until it was too late to spend some decent time with her.”

“We’ve been over this,” Carter begins, but I cut him off.

“Enough. No lunch today. Both of you go home and do whatever it is you do to let off some steam. This is an old argument that doesn’t make any sense now. It’s done.”

Quinn sighs. “Yeah, I’m going home. Sorry, man.”

He stands and leaves, and Carter and I are left staring at each other.

“Are you guys ever going to forgive me?”

“We did a long time ago,” I assure him. “Quinn is still working through the grief.”

“Yeah, me too,” he says with a sad smile. “I never said thanks for going on that first date with me. It didn’t occur to me until later that it could have been painful for you.”

“It’s not. You have to move on with your life, Carter. Darcy would want that.”

He just frowns, and then stands. “I’m going home too. Gabby should be home anytime. I’ll help her with her homework.”

“Have a good day.”

He walks out and I open the laptop again. This place in Hollywood looks amazing. I reach for my phone and make a call.



“How are you, baby?” I grin and maneuver my way through traffic, happy to finally hear London’s voice today.

“I’m good,” she says. “I’m sorry I didn’t have a chance to call earlier. It’s been a busy day.”

“It’s okay, I understand. How did everything go? Tell me about it.”

“The contract signing took forever because I had my agent and an entertainment attorney there. I haven’t done that before, but there is more involved here, so we went through page by page.”

“How many pages is the contract?”

“Seventy-eight.”

“That’s a long day,” I reply with a laugh. “I’m glad you brought the attorney in.”

“My agent suggested it, and I thought it was a good idea. We had a few changes, and I countered for more money, but I know they expected that.”

“Of course.” I nod and switch lanes. She’s so damn intelligent. “Have I told you today how proud I am of you, London?”

“I don’t think so.” I can hear the smile in her voice, and I want nothing more than to be there with her right now, celebrating properly.

“Well, I am so proud of you. This is a big deal, and that’s not lost on me.”

“I know, and I appreciate that,” she replies. “So, although it was a long day of reading a bunch of legalese that I didn’t entirely understand and then having it explained to me, and my brain is about as full as it can be for one day, I can honestly say that it went very well.”