"Hey," he said. "Wasn't sure if you'd changed your mind."

She shook her head. "Just...last minute things."

"Let me take that," he said. He reached for the box and the weight lifted from her arms. "Come on in."

She followed him inside. Streamers and hearts dangled from the ceiling. A long buffet table had been set up along one side of the room. Quinn headed for it and she followed him, unsure where she fit in with this full room of people she didn't know. He set the box on the table and pried the lid open.

"That smells amazing," he said.

A hand snaked over Quinn's shoulder and came within an inch of snatching a pastry before Quinn slapped it.

"Pete, don't even think about it," he said.

"It's just one," Pete grinned. He nodded at Crissy. "Glad you could make it. Quinn here has been waiting by the door for the past hour."

Quinn shot Pete a dark look but Pete just shrugged.

"Just stating the facts, buddy," Pete said. He dove for the pastry then darted behind Crissy before Quinn could stop him.

"If you watch really closely," Pete whispered to Crissy. "You might see him blush."

"Pete," Quinn warned.

"I think he might kill you after the party's over," Crissy said to Pete over her shoulder.

Pete shrugged. "Not afraid of the big guy. He hasn't managed to kill me yet. And I always give him a hard time around the ladies he likes."

Now it was Crissy's turn to blush. Quinn took a threatening step towards Pete. Pete chortled and took off.

"Don't pay any attention to him," Quinn said. He reached out to place a reassuring hand on her arm but he stopped just short of touching her. She almost leaned into him, to make him touch her, to make his hand come in contact with the exposed skin of her arm...

But his hand fell away and he returned his attention to the box of food.

"I don't mind," she said. "Have you known each other long? He seems to have you pegged."

Quinn nodded. "Ever since kindergarten. He was the one who would pester all the girls with creepy crawlies. I was the one who apologized to the principle and got us out of it. Come to think of it, he still does that sometimes..."

Crissy laughed and shook her head. "And you tolerate him still."

"Heaven knows why," he said, smiling back at her.

She nodded at the box. "Mind if I help you unpack that?"

"You did all the hard work already. You should kick back, enjoy yourself."

She inched closer, her body practically vibrating when she felt his body heat and realized how close she was to him.

"Yeah, but I'm not the greatest at parties and it'll give me something to do."

"Ah," he nodded. "I can totally understand that." He moved over to make room for her and together they unpacked the pastries and set them out on the table. When they finished, Quinn snuck a sideways look at Crissy and slipped a white chocolate truffle into his palm.

"I saw that," she said in a low voice and a teasing glint in her eye. To think she'd been so nervous on her way here seemed impossible now. It felt as if they were old friends, bantering back and forth.

Quinn plucked up a truffle for her and held it out to her. She raised an eyebrow, considered for a moment, then took it and popped it into her mouth.

"Dessert before dinner, Quinn Spencer? You should be ashamed of yourself."

A woman stood behind Quinn, bouncing a baby in her arms. She shot him a mock stern look as he kissed her on the cheek.

"Crissy, this is my sister, Megan," Quinn said. "Melody, Crissy Atwood."

Megan's eyes lit up and she smiled at Crissy. "Quinn as told me so much about you!" she said. "I couldn't wait to meet you, especially when Quinn praised your baking abilities. He never praises mine."

Quinn rolled his eyes. "This is dangerous territory. Play nice, Megan."

"I'm just teasing, big brother."

Crissy nodded at the bundle inn Megan's arms. "Is the little one yours?"

Megan beamed. "She is. My fourth."

"If you don't mind my saying so, you don't look at all like you've had four children."

Megan cast an appraising look at Quinn. "I love her already." She stepped towards Crissy and pulled aside a corner of the blanket to reveal a tiny pink face with big brown eyes peering out at her. "This is Rebecca. She's six months old."

"She's so small," Crissy said. She inched one finger into the blankets. Rebecca's hand caught Crissy's finger and held on.

"She likes you too," Megan said. "The whole family approves already."

A small, pleased smile crept to Crissy's lips.

After that, it didn't take long for Crissy to get swept into the party. It was like one big family and she had been enveloped into their warm embrace as if she'd been one of them all along. She quickly found herself playing games, trading jokes, and generally feeling relaxed in the group, despite her earlier misgivings. And everyone praised her cooking, making her blush harder every time.

She didn't know when Quinn suddenly disappeared. Throughout the party, he hadn't left her side, providing introductions, keeping her champagne glass full, and generally making sure she was always comfortable and never felt out of place or alone in this group of strangers. But now she couldn't find him in the crowd. Then Pete invited her to a game of cards and she was swallowed into the festivities again.

Sometime later, Crissy's head started to spin. She had long since lost track of how much champagne she'd had which probably wasn't helping matters. A little shaky on her feet, she headed to the door but Megan stopped her with a hand to her arm.

"You doing okay, Crissy?" she asked. "You look a little pale."

"Just need some air I think," she said. "I'll be fine. A bit too much champagne."

Megan nodded with a smile of understanding. "Oh, you poor thing. I'll get Pete to ease up on the champagne, maybe switch out some non-alcoholic punch."

"That would probably be a good idea."

Crissy slipped outside and shut the door on the noise inside. She stepped out on the sidewalk, staring up at the inky dark sky and twinkling stars above.

"Hey."

Crissy startled and nearly slipped in the snow. Quinn sat on the hood of a red pick-up truck, his hands tucked in his pockets, his coat collar pulled up around his ears.

"Quinn," she breathed. "You scared me."

"Sorry," he said. "Didn't mean to, I swear. Just thought you'd want to know I was out here in case you wanted to be alone."

"No, no, I don't mind." Then she paused as a thought popped into her mind. "Do you want to be alone?"

He shook his head and slid off the truck's hood. "I don't mind. I needed a break from the party. Not you."

"Oh," was all Crissy could think to say to that. She rubbed her arms at the icy cold night. She hadn't brought a coat, thinking she was only going to be outside for a minute or two and she wouldn't need it. The cold had cleared her head from the fuzzy champagne though.

"Why aren't you wearing a coat?" Quinn asked.

"I left it inside. Too much champagne was making me tipsy."

"You'll catch your death out here if you're not careful," he replied. He peeled off his coat and draped it over her shoulders.

"But what about you?"

He shrugged. "I'll be fine."

Crissy wanted to protest and insist that he keep his coat but it was still warm from his body heat and it smelled like apples and cinnamon. She tucked her nose into the collar and took in a deep breath.

Quinn chuckled. "You look like you're enjoying yourself."

"It's warm," she said, a little bashful.

She leaned against the bumper of the truck next to Quinn. They both looked up at the stars together, silent.

"Thank you for tonight," she said. "I had a really good time."

Quinn looked down at her. "I had a good time too."

"Your family was so nice. Megan is incredible and..."

As she was talking, Quinn's hand came up to brush a strand of hair behind her ear. Crissy's breath caught in her throat and her words died away. His hand lingered at the edge of the coat collar, his thumb trailing over her cheek bone. Crissy was trembling now, and not from the cold.

"Can I kiss you?" he asked, so quiet she almost missed it.

She nodded. His other hand came to settle on her waist and pulled her gently closer as he kissed her, his mouth soft and warm and very, very lightly touching hers. Tentative yet pleading for more. She opened her mouth to him and he slipped his tongue inside. Crissy's heart hammered against her ribs at the same time that every nerve in her body sang with joy. She clutched at his t-shirt, insistent, pressing him for more, but his tongue, his lips, his kisses, stayed gentle as butterfly wings.

A whoop from behind them made Crissy jerk away, her lips now cold where Quinn had been a moment before.

"I knew it!" Pete called. "I found them!"

"I'm going to kill him," Quinn growled.

Crissy placed a hand on his arm, more out of the need to touch him again, to make sure he was really there and not just a dream rather than the need to restrain him.

"It's okay, he doesn't mean any harm," she said.

"Still gonna kill him," Quinn said, though his voice was softer now as he looked down at her again.

"Quinn!" Pete called. "Megan's about to leave. She needs help rounding up the mini-me's."

"I'll be there in a minute," Quinn called back.

"I should probably go too," Crissy said. She didn't know if she could face Quinn's sister right now, not after what they'd been doing two seconds ago.

Quinn caught her hand and placed a kiss to her knuckles. "Are you sure? Megan will be disappointed she didn't see you off."

She shook her head. "I think it's best this way. It's...been a long night. Would you give her my apologies?"

He nodded. "Of course." He brushed his thumb over her lips then slid his hand against her cheek and kissed her forehead.

"Can I come by to see you tomorrow?" he asked.

She smiled. "Absolutely."

She didn't want to leave him, not with the way he was touching her and making every square inch of her body shiver with an excitement she hadn't felt in a long time. She wanted to kiss him again, over and over, until they were both too cold to stay outside.

Instead, she forced herself to pull away. She pulled off his coat, pressed it into his hands, and backed away, leaving him standing in front of the truck, watching her leave. She pressed her fingertips to her lips and smiled to herself all the way back to the coffee shop.

She couldn't wait to tell Amy everything.