Thinking it was a great idea and as good a place to start as any, she did some research on pricing, and listed the car online.

She and Tilly were standing in the kitchen arguing over dinner when her phone buzzed with an incoming FaceTime call from her parents.

“Oh, crap,” Quinn said, not sure any of them were ready for this, a “family” video call.

“Are they mean?” Tilly asked.

It was that which decided Quinn. “No. The opposite. Brace yourself,” she warned.

“For what?”

“My mom. She asks a lot of questions but she’s all heart, so grin and bear it.” She hit answer and her parents’ faces, way too close to her mom’s phone, came into focus, large pores and all. “Hey,” Quinn said. “Before you start on the inquisition, Tilly’s here.”

Her parents both immediately beamed. “Show me!” her mom demanded.

Quinn turned to Tilly, who was standing on the other side of the kitchen shaking her head and miming a finger across her throat.

Quinn merely walked over there with the phone, went shoulder to shoulder with Tilly, and smiled into the screen. “Here she is. Fifteen in all her glory. Tilly, meet my mom, Lucinda, and my dad, James.”

“Oh, honey,” her mom said to Tilly, bringing trembling fingers up to her mouth as her eyes filled. “You look just like my baby! Which makes you also my baby! You’re both too thin. What have you been eating? Are you getting to bed early enough? If you’re like Quinn, you’re absolutely not. That girl used to sneak out and—”

“Mom,” Quinn said on a laugh. “I’m trying to curtail the sneaking-out thing . . .”

Her mom smiled. “Ah. Karma has come around to bite you on the tush. About time.” She looked at Tilly. “You doing okay, do you need anything? I’ve been dying to come up, but Quinn thought I’d overwhelm you, which is ridiculous.”

Tilly looked at Quinn.

Quinn looked at her right back, daring her to misbehave.

Then Tilly smiled the sweetest smile Quinn had ever seen. “It’s so nice to meet you,” she said kindly. Kindly! “Quinn’s mean, keeping you away. You should come visit sometime.”

Her mom beamed.

Quinn groaned.

“We can’t wait to do that!” her mom said. “In the meantime, you keep Quinn in line, you hear me?”

Tilly laughed in genuine delight while Quinn groaned again. “Oh, I will absolutely keep her in line,” Tilly promised.

Looking thrilled at having a coconspirator, her mom smiled. “Good. Now what can you tell me about this Mick—”

“Mom, we’ve got to go. Love you,” Quinn said and disconnected.

“You hung up on your mom. That’s bad karma.” Tilly, looking smug, went to the fridge. “They’re very nice.”

“Uh-huh. Don’t snack, let’s eat a real meal.”

“So you can tell your mom you’re taking good care of me?”

“I am taking good care of you.”

They were arguing over dinner choices when someone knocked on the front door.

The cat, who’d been sitting near Quinn’s feet as was her habit, bolted. Tink didn’t like visitors.

Quinn opened the door to Coop and Mick. Mick held a casserole dish that smelled amazing and she fell a little bit in love.

“Wuff,” Coop said and nudged his big head into Quinn’s hand. She dropped to her knees and gave him a proper hug, for which she was rewarded with a face lick from chin to forehead. She laughed and stood up.

Mick smiled. “He took my move.” But he leaned in and kissed her too.

“If it helps,” she whispered against his mouth. “I like your move better.”

“Good to know. My mom cooked something for you and Tilly.”

“It smells like heaven,” she said.

“Meat loaf, potatoes, and green beans.”

“Comfort food,” Quinn said with a smile.

“Or a heart attack in a pan,” Mick said. “Whichever works for you.”

The three of them sat and ate together—with Coop beneath the table lying in wait for scraps—talking, and even laughing. Until Tilly dropped a bomb.

“Are you two going to sleep together tonight?” she asked.

Quinn choked on a green bean.

Mick patted her on the back and handed her over a glass of water. When she finally collected herself, Quinn looked at Tilly. “Of course not.”

“Because you two never sleep together, right?” Tilly rolled her eyes. “I’m fifteen, you know. Not five.” She stood up and gathered the plates. “I’m just asking if you could not make a lot of noise so I don’t have to keep the TV up loud.”

Quinn was horrified. “Is that what you have to do at Chuck’s?”

“Not every night,” she said. “Sometimes he’s too tired and Kendall sleeps in her own bedroom.”

Good God.

Quinn tried to kick Mick out as soon as possible after that, but the man—as she’d already learned in bed—couldn’t be rushed. First they did dishes. Then they had to go for ice cream because apparently Tilly couldn’t go on without ice cream. Then they walked Coop around the block to do his business, which since he was like his master and couldn’t be rushed, took a while.

When they came back, Tilly plopped herself down on the center of the sofa and proceeded to flip through the channels on the TV with the same intensity and concentration that a brain surgeon might show in the operating room. Certainly more intensity and concentration than she showed for her homework.

Or cleaning her room.

Or washing dishes . . .

Mick sat down next to her. Quinn tried to catch his gaze but he ignored her. She finally gave up and joined them, staring over Tilly’s head at Mick. He wasn’t afraid of bugs, women who saw ghosts, fistfights with his best friend, or going up against the city manager. And now he wasn’t afraid of teenage girls either. Who was he, Superman?

Tilly had pulled up Hulu and was staring in horror at the history. “Say Yes to the Dress?” She jabbed a finger at the screen and then looked at Quinn.

“Are you Hulu judging?” Quinn asked.

“Oh my God, yes!”

Quinn squirmed and very purposely didn’t look at Mick. “When I clean, I watch wedding shows. So what?”

“So you might want to seek help for that,” Tilly said. “There’s nothing new to watch.”

“We could watch a movie,” Mick said. “I brought a couple.” He tossed a few on the coffee table.

Tilly snorted. “DVDs,” she mused disdainfully.

“Got popcorn?” Mick asked, unruffled by the teen ’tude.

Coop’s ears perked up at the word popcorn.

“Yeah,” Tilly said, her ears perking up too. “We’ve got popcorn.”

And then to Quinn’s shock—they’d all eaten dinner, even had seconds, and then ice cream—Mick and Tilly inhaled popcorn while watching one of the DVDs—that they agreed on without argument.

When a kissing scene came on at the very end of the movie, Mick playfully reached out and covered Tilly’s “tender” eyes.

“Fine by me,” Tilly said. “Old people kissing is gross.”