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Quinn

Santana wired the first payment to Quinn's bank account just as she promised.

As Quinn closed her laptop, she breathed a sigh of relief. Having money in her bank account was a real weight lifted off her shoulders. She wouldn't be able to find a place of her own to live just yet, but at least she had a little independence.

Her relief gave way to nervousness as she realized she had scheduled a meeting with Santana. She hadn't seen her in the two days since she had tried to kiss her. Thank goodness the butler had interrupted them before Quinn did something she couldn't undo.

She got up from the sofa to shove her laptop into its bag. Santana had texted her yesterday, agreeing to meet with her at the mansion this morning. It was the weekend, so they would have time to talk over breakfast.

With her laptop bag in hand, Quinn grabbed the guesthouse keys from the coffee table and stepped out into the early morning sun. She walked toward the mansion, winding her way around the sparkling, aquamarine pool. Her pulse quickened with each step as she crossed the expansive patio into the mansion. After she tried to kiss Santana, she decided not to bring it up with her. But that plan didn't stop Quinn's heart from thumping in anticipation. She was going to see Santana for the first time in days and she had to find a way to play it cool. If Santana brought the almost-kiss, Quinn wouldn't even have an excuse to give.

When she got to the dining room, she found a dark-haired Hispanic man piling food onto his plate. The handsome man grinned at her. "You must be Santana's date for the wedding."

"Oh." Quinn stopped in her tracks and swallowed. "Date?"

"Sorry, you have no idea who I am." He smiled again. "I'm Santana's cousin, Oscar Lopez."

"You're the one getting married," Quinn said, recognizing his name from the wedding invitation. "Congratulations."

"Thanks." Oscar poured some tea into a teacup. "Last night my uncle told me Santana was bringing a date to the wedding, so it's nice to meet you in person."

Quinn sucked in a breath, stifling her protest. For whatever reason, Oscar believed she was Santana's plus-one to the wedding. Denying that might put Santana in an awkward position.

"Nice to meet you too," she said slowly. "I'm Quinn."

"Why don't you sit by me, Quinn?" Oscar patted the chair beside him, and she sat down reluctantly. "This is the perfect opportunity for us to get to know each other. It's not often I get to meet one of Santana's girlfriends. Usually, her relationships end so fast I never meet them." He chuckled.

Girlfriend? Quinn's eyes widened at his words.

"Not that I think you guys are going to end quickly or anything," Oscar continued, his voice wavering. "Sorry. I'm just nervous."

She glanced at him, noticing the sweat that had formed on his brow. He was tapping his fingers nervously on the large dining table. "Everything okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's just… my fiancee has left me in charge of choosing some last-minute meals for the wedding reception and I don't know if I've got the taste for it." Oscar frowned. "We Lopezes are pretty new to stuff like this. I mean, my uncle got my family from eating canned beans to all this fancy stuff." He gestured to the food on the table.

Food Quinn had taken for granted as a child but now looked at longingly. The table was laden buffet-style with croissants, frittatas topped with caviar, scones, and clotted cream, and fruit salad, with juice, coffee, and tea served in silver tea service.

She ignored the sudden rumbling in her stomach. "Your uncle?"

Oscar nodded. "Yeah, Santana's dad. My Tío Ricardo can be kind of a hard ass, but he brought my father along for the ride. Gave us money to start our own business and we've been selling cars ever since. Pretty sweet, huh?"

"Yes. I suppose it is," Quinn said weakly. Santana's father had given money to his own brother, while her family had languished in their upper-class poverty all these years. Jealousy reared its ugly head again. She grabbed a croissant and started to cram it into her mouth. Not the most ladylike move, but if she didn't stuff her mouth she'd probably say something they'd all regret.

"Anyway, my fiancee's family is pretty wealthy, so I don't want to screw this up," Oscar went on. "I want to make the right choices for the menu. Can't afford to embarrass myself in front of my new bride, can I?"

Quinn swallowed some of the buttery croissant. "I'm sure you'll do fine."

"You sure are nice. I can see why Santana likes you. She doesn't always meet nice girls." He grimaced. "Sorry. I'm blabbering like an idiot. Guess all this wedding stuff is giving me jitters."

"It's okay to be nervous." She flashed him a reassuring smile. Jealousy aside, it wouldn't hurt to be nice to Santana's cousin. "That's how you know how important this is to you."

"You're right." He smiled. "Come on, help yourself. Can't let this food go to waste."

Quinn did as he told her, adding croissants and scones to her plate. "Where is Santana anyway?"

"She's taking some mysterious phone call in her study." Oscar started to cut into his sausage, jabbing the meat in a way that would have made Quinn's mother gasp in horror. "Every time she takes a call in there I know something big is about to happen. All the important stuff happens in there."

That made Quinn perk up. "Do you know what the call is about?"

He shrugged. "Probably has to do with the deal in Latin America. There's a secret merger coming up, but you didn't hear it from me."

"Why is it a secret?" Quinn asked, lowering her voice.

Oscar's eyes darted around the room like he was making sure nobody was listening in. "Just in case the deal doesn't go through. If LIG tries and fails, it would send serious shockwaves through the market. Plus, the media always starts snooping around when a merger is on the horizon. Nobody wants the media digging through their trash."

"Oh." She gave a cheery laugh. "I'll never understand all this big-business stuff." It was better to let him think she had no need for the information.

"Well, remember that information doesn't leave this room." He took a sip of his tea. "It'll be our secret. And don't tell Santana I said anything. She's always going on and on about how indiscreet I am. The only reason she told me was because she needed my dad's help with something and had to let me in on it."

"Of course. My lips are sealed."


After they chatted about Oscar's upcoming wedding for several minutes, Quinn saw Santana enter the dining room.

"Quinn, I didn't expect to see you up so early." Santana was dressed in the most casual outfit Quinn had yet to see her in - a white blazer, a matching top, and a pair of dark denim. Her blazer sleeves were rolled up, showing off her tan forearms. She always made garments look as though they were spun to belong on her body.

It took incredible effort for Quinn not to stare at how stunningly gorgeous Santana was even this early in the morning. "You forgot about our scheduled meeting?"

Santana grimaced. "I'm sorry. I got a phone call and I forgot all about it. I see you've met my cousin already."

Oscar popped a grape into his mouth and nodded. "Yep. I'm glad you finally found a date for the wedding."

Surprise flickered in Santana's eyes for a moment. "Date? For the wedding?"

"Yeah, your dad told me you were bringing some mystery lady. Looks like I found her." Oscar grinned. "You be careful with her, Santana. She might end up making an honest woman out of you."

Quinn's face heated, and she forced herself to take a sudden interest in her fork. Almost kissing Santana was bad enough. Now her cousin was playing accidental matchmaker with them.

"Right. My dad." Santana's jaw tightened. "Quinn and I need a minute to talk, so you can go find Chef Emil in the kitchen. You can get started without me."

"Sure." Oscar stood from his chair and strolled out of the dining room.

A palpable tension settled over the room. It was so thick Quinn had to take a sharp breath before she lifted her gaze to look at Santana. The sensation of that brief moment their lips touched came back to her, sending a tingle down her spine.

"Oscar seems to think you're my date for the wedding." Santana folded her arms. "I'm sorry for the awkwardness that must be causing you."

"No, it's fine."

A sudden realization hit Quinn. If Santana had a date for the wedding, that meant she had some other woman in mind. A woman who was not her. Quinn's heart pinched. This unfamiliar feeling was much more than jealousy. Jealousy was something she'd grown accustomed to after all these years. This was like having the floor give way beneath her. It was like having her hopes dashed even though she'd never even hoped.

Furious at her own emotional reaction, Quinn pushed away from the table and rose to her feet. That kiss must have knocked all the sense out of her. She was pining over Santana when she was plotting to destroy her.

Santana gave her a hard stare, studying her like she didn't quite trust what Quinn just said. "It's not fine." Santana paused. "It's not fine, because now that my cousin has assumed, inviting you would be the most logical thing to do. I'd like you to be my date for the wedding."

Nerves fluttered in Quinn's stomach. Suddenly she was so stunned from shock that she grasped the back of the chair to hold herself up. For some unfathomable reason, knowing Santana wanted to take her made her happy. She had to talk her out of it. "Me? Don't you have a million other women you could ask?"

Santana held up her hands. "This isn't some kind of romantic gesture, Quinn."

Quinn's heart sank. Disappointment and relief flooded her, the contradiction setting her adrift emotionally. Part of her wanted to be Santana's real date. That was the part ruled by lust and desire. But the part of her ruled by reason knew that entertaining any kind of romance with Santana was utterly insane. "So, what is it?"

"My father wants me to bring a date to the wedding," Santana heaved out a sigh. "He wants me to project a certain image. I'm not actually dating anyone, which is making it nearly impossible for me to find a real date on such short notice. Not that it matters to my father. In his efforts to get what he wants out of me, he's probably told the whole family that I'll be bringing a date to the wedding."

Even though Quinn knew better than to ask personal questions, she wanted to ask despite the risk. Curiosity got the better of her. "What kind of image?"

"He thinks that we'll get in with the old families if we project a certain kind of stability," Santana explained. "In his mind, me having a date signals that I have a steady girlfriend. It probably sounds crazy to you—"

"No, that makes sense," Quinn reassured. "A lot of wealthy people judge someone by their partner. If they like the partner, they're more likely to give that person a shot even if they don't know much about them."

Santana's eyebrows furrowed. "That's exactly right. How'd you know that?"

Quinn grasped the chair tighter. Of course, she knew exactly how old money operated, but Santana couldn't know that. "I've designed clothes for some wealthy people. Getting close to them is all about connections, networking, and image."

Santana nodded. "That's why I'd like you to be my date. You could pretend to be my new girlfriend. Buy me some time while I bring some older families to LIG."

Quinn chews her lip. Going to this wedding was only going to invite trouble. If someone recognized her, she'd be sunk.

"I'd pay you, of course," Santana went on. "Like I said, this will be a strictly professional arrangement. You won't have to do anything other than stand by my side, make small talk, and be your usual charming self." She flashed a genuine, cheeky smile that actually made Quinn melt. "Just name your price. No price is too high."

Santana had done so much for her. She didn't even know her, and yet she'd given Quinn a place to stay, fed her, and paid her for work she barely started. Now Santana was offering to pay her again. None of Quinn's family's upper-class friends has shown her this much kindness in ten years. They had slammed the door in her face countless times. Pretended not to know her. Refused to help her in her hour of need.

Santana's kindness was throwing her off-kilter. Life had jaded her over the years. Quinn learned that people weren't generous or kind. Nobody did anything unless there was something in it for them. The only person she could count on was herself. Before she met Santana, she believed her to be cruel. Selfish and conniving. Like all the other Lopezes. But she wasn't cruel.

Quinn released her hold on the chair. "I can't take your money."

"Quinn, I really don't expect you to do this for free."

"I know you don't. That's why I can't do this for money."

She was only agreeing to this favor because she didn't like owing people. Didn't want to be in Santana's debt. Doing this favor would free her from any obligations in the future. Plus, Santana would trust her more. The wedding would also be another opportunity to prod more secrets out of Oscar.

As Quinn rationalized these things, her heart knew better. Santana's kindness was getting to her. Making her feel guilty. Making her like being around her when she knew that she shouldn't.

"Are you sure?" Santana asked.

"I am." There was a chance Quinn would be recognized at the wedding, but she had to chance it. She stood taller and stretched her hand out to shake Santana's. "I don't need money to agree to do this. I want to help. So, you've got yourself a deal, Santana."