"This has nothing to do with Reese." Trent planted his legs and crossed his arms, challenging him, but Quinn had seen something flicker behind his brother's eyes when he'd said his ex-wife's name. "This is about family. Standing behind our commitments."
"We're all as loyal to the family as you are," Derek said. "So don't go there. I've got to get some work done. We'll talk more about the schedule at five."
"I'm standing behind my commitment," Quinn told his clearly frustrated older brother. "But I'm also overloaded at the moment with a merger to tend to and an employee who's being sweet-talked away from my business as we speak."
"A year's a long time, Quinn, so you'd better figure out how to deal with that stuff pretty darn quick."
"Boys, come on. This isn't going to solve a thing." Griff set a hand on each of his son's shoulders. "Your grandfather has a way of getting everyone up in arms. We're in this together, and no one expects you to give up your businesses. Like everything else, we'll figure this out. Together."
Knowing his father was right--just like always--Quinn blew out the breath it felt like he'd been holding for the past half hour. "Sorry, Trent. You're right. I'd never leave the family hanging. I'm just stressed. I'll see you both again at five."
With a nod to his father, Quinn headed back into the elevator. It was time to go back to his suite and finally get some work off his plate. But even as he left, he knew it wasn't going to be easy to hold his focus on reading through contracts when where he really wanted to be wasn't hunkered down over paperwork and in meetings, but getting to know the woman who was stealing his heart even better. He had visions of spending time on the beach with Shelley, showing her all the places on the island he'd loved when he was growing up. He wanted to share stories of their pasts while getting to know more about her hopes and dreams for her future.
He shut the door of his suite and forced himself to sit down at the desk, but even as he worked to focus his attention on the contract in front of him, he knew damn well that working around thoughts of Shelley would be like trying to avoid a tidal wave.
Chapter Sixteen
SHELLEY SPENT THE morning walking through the streets of town, watching families as they took in the sights. She noticed that Annabelle came outside when her shop was slow, and the shop owner next door stepped out to chat with her. Even when there was a steady flow of customers, the two women greeted a few of them at the door. Back home, the customers talked with Shelley, but when she had downtime and went out front, passersby were usually in too much of a hurry to stop and chat. It was lovely to see the difference between living in a suburban area and a more laid-back resort town.
After wandering through a few of the commercial streets and shops she'd missed the other day, Shelley took a walk through the residential neighborhoods. She stopped to talk to a woman who was tending to her garden and struck up a conversation with a group of teenagers heading down to the beach, who told her all about how cool the upcoming fireworks display would be.
Shelley didn't know how anyone could feel like Rockwell Island wasn't the best place on earth.
When she first set out to explore this morning, she'd wanted to see if what she was falling in love with had more to do with a certain tall, dark, and super sexy man--or the island itself. Taryn had always been great at playing devil's advocate, and when Shelley had called her this morning after having breakfast with Quinn, her cousin had suggested that she be sure of her motivations before she rented the cottage.
Now Shelley felt completely certain about what was truly drawing her to Rockwell Island: how warm and welcoming everyone was, along with the stunning location. Quinn was a nice bonus, but he'd been clear about going back to Maryland, and Shelley still wanted to be on the island.
She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk as it finally hit her in a big way. I'm moving to Rockwell Island! She couldn't stop smiling about her big life-changing decision.
And now that she'd made her decision, one hundred percent, she needed to know the name of the bakery where Quinn had bought the delicious croissants they'd had that morning, so that she could talk to the owner about possibly providing baked goods for the cafe when she moved there.
Realizing she was around the corner from Sierra's restaurant, she headed inside to see if she was there. Shelley spotted Sierra talking to two guys at the bar. They turned as she approached and she recognized them as Quinn's father and one of his brothers, although she couldn't remember which one.
"Hey, Shelley." Sierra pointed to a stool next to her father. "Have a seat. Quinn swept you away the other day before you had a chance to meet my father, Griffin, and my oldest brother, Trent. This is Shelley Walters, Quinn's friend."
"Hi." Shelley couldn't get over how attractive Quinn's entire family was, like they'd walked out of a Beautiful Human factory.
Griffin shook her hand, his smile warm and welcoming. "Hello, Shelley. So nice to meet you."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, too."
Trent's handshake was strong and just as warm. "Great to meet you, Shelley. Sierra was just telling us that you're thinking about bringing your coffee business to the island."
"I might have gotten a little excited about the idea," Sierra said with a grin. "I didn't say you were definitely doing it, though, just thinking about it."
"Actually," Shelley said, "I'm really excited about it, too. In fact, I wanted to ask if you might know where Quinn bought me the most delicious chocolate croissants. I'd like to talk to them about possibly providing baked goods for my cafe here on the island."
"Wait... Does this mean you're really doing it?" Sierra's eyes widened.
"Yes!" Shelley knew she must be beaming, but she couldn't help it. She was overjoyed with her decision, and Sierra's excitement made it that much better. "I am."
"Wow, you have guts. But, of course, I totally get why you've fallen in love with this place. I left the island for college, and I couldn't wait to get back here full-time. I honestly can't imagine ever living anywhere else." Sierra touched her father's hand. "Right, Dad?"
"You are my island girl." Griffin smiled at his daughter, then turned his attention back to Shelley. "My wife, Abby, mentioned that she'd met you and that she thought you'd looked familiar. Is your given name Rochelle, by any chance?"
Shelley felt her smile fade and her stomach lurch. She didn't use the name Rochelle except around her parents, who flatly refused to call her Shelley. Just hearing the name made her skin feel like it fit too tightly.
"Yes, it is," she admitted hesitantly.
She didn't want to be judged by her family's wealth--in a good way or a bad way. As an adult, Shelley had made her life what she wanted it to be. She didn't want to defend it, and she certainly didn't want to discuss her parents' diamond business.
Griffin glanced at Trent and Sierra. "Your mother has quite a memory." He turned back to Shelley. "Abby knew your aunt who lived in Eastham. I'm afraid I don't recall her name..."
"Marla. Aunt Marla." She felt the tension ease from her shoulders and hoped that if the Rockwells were going to judge her at all, they'd do it by her aunt and not her parents.
"Yes, that was it. Abby knew her years ago, and she said she remembered you visiting one summer when she and Marla were taking part in a charity auction together. She said it took her a few hours to put your face and name together with the feisty young girl she remembered."
"I'm sure I was a handful."
"Aren't all kids?" Griffin said. "Oh, and that bakery is called Savory Delights. It's located one block south from the town center and run by Brandi Marshall. Tell her I said hello."
"I can walk you over if you'd like," Trent offered.
Quinn's family was so kind. Had her parents been interrupted during a family discussion or asked about the name of something as small potatoes as a bakery in town, they would have snubbed their noses in the air and directed her to see their driver for directions. Griffin and Abby had obviously raised their children well, but she didn't want to d
rag Trent away from his family.
"Thank you, but I don't want to pull you away from everyone. I'm sure I'll be able to find it with no problem."
A few days ago she was setting out on a solo honeymoon just for the heck of it and now she was ready to change her life, and yet none of the Rockwells seemed to blink an eye at her spontaneity. They truly were a wonderful family.
Sierra came around the bar and hugged her. "I'm so happy that you're really doing this. If you need help with anything, just let me know. If I don't know the answer, I'm sure my father or brothers will."
"Thanks so much, Sierra. It was a pleasure meeting you both," she said to Trent and Griffin. "Please tell Abby I said hello."
As she left the restaurant and headed up the road toward the town center, she saw Eleanor standing outside the tourist information building talking with a woman around Shelley's age.
"Shelley, how's your vacation going?"
"Just lovely, thank you." She couldn't believe Eleanor remembered her name.
"Are you going to the fireworks tonight?"
"Yes, and I can't wait."
After Eleanor gave her a thumbs-up, Shelley headed south one block, passing the bank and Bayside Market, which had baskets of fresh fruits and vegetables out front. She could easily imagine herself stopping there in the afternoons to pick up fresh vegetables for dinner.
She found Savory Delights on the corner, one block south of the town center, just as Griffin had said she would. She walked up a slate path between two colorful gardens toward the front door. The sweet aroma of cinnamon and chocolate assaulted her senses before she even reached the porch of the yellow cottage-style bakery. She was practically salivating by the time she pulled open the screen door and took a step inside.
"Hello there!" A twentysomething brunette peeked up from where she was bent over, putting a tray of muffins into the display cabinet. She wore a pair of purple overalls, which were covered in flour. Her hair was thick and wavy, like Shelley's, and her smile was contagious. "It's a beauty out there today, isn't it?"
"It sure is, and it smells heavenly in here." Shelley marveled at the plethora of baked goods. There were cherry tarts, chocolate croissants, several types of muffins, scones, and cookies in one glass display counter, but it was the colorful arrangements of tarts and miniature pies called pie bites in the other display that caught Shelley's eyes. She'd never seen a bakery display with so many wonderful colors.
"Thank you. The aroma is my best marketing tool. Who can resist the smell of fresh baked goods, right? I'm Brandi, by the way."
"Hi, I'm Shelley...Walters." She silently chided herself for hesitating to reveal her last name. She refused to let worries about people connecting her with her family affect her excitement. "I'm working on bringing my specialty coffee shop here to the island, and I'd like to locally source baked goods, if possible. I had one of your chocolate croissants this morning, and it was delicious."
Brandi leaned her hip against the counter and smiled. "Ah, you're the reason Quinn Rockwell was nosing around at five this morning. When he's in town, if you don't get up at the crack of dawn and catch him jogging, you usually don't see him at all. The man works like a dog. But he was here this morning, begging me to sell him croissants before I was even officially open for the day."
Shelley nibbled on her lower lip, thinking about Quinn. Clearly, it was even a big deal to Brandi that he'd skipped his morning run to be with Shelley.
"I've only known him a few days, but he seems..." Wonderful, caring, attentive, intelligent, sweet...and sexy. So sexy her heart beat faster just talking about him. "Really nice, and fun."
"Fun?" Brandi shook her head as she turned to wash her hands and spoke over her shoulder. "Maybe when he was a kid he was fun, but I think you'd be in the minority with that classification. Don't get me wrong. He's a great guy. A really great guy. He's loyal, he's honest, he's hardworking, not to mention easy on the eyes. But fun?" She dried her hands on a towel and shrugged. "Then again, maybe you've brought out a side in him that the rest of us haven't gotten to see in a really long time. If so," Brandi said with a grin, "my hat is off to you in a big way."
Shelley had certainly seen the struggle in Quinn to find that balance between workaholic and letting himself have a good time just enjoying being on the island--and with her, too. At first it had been almost as if he was afraid of giving in to his emotions. He had seemed to let go, at least somewhat, when they were clamming and watching the sunrise, but at other times it had been as if he'd catch himself having too much fun and felt like he needed to reel himself back. Either that, or his phone would ring and remind him of all the work he should be doing.
Everything seemed to have changed, though, since he'd apologized about the phone call. Now he didn't seem to be holding back his emotions with her at all. If anything, he was even more attentive than before. Shelley didn't need anyone to take their hat off to her. It would be more than enough to know that Quinn was happier now than he'd been in a very long time.
"So, you said you're going to open a coffee shop on the island?" Brandi asked. "I'm sure it's going to do really well--we definitely need a good one here--and I'd love to see if we can work something out. All of my products are organic, and I do all the baking, so we'd have to coordinate a schedule that fits both of our needs, but I think we could make it work. Once you have the details figured out, why don't you give me a call or just come by again so that we can figure everything out?" Brandi grabbed a business card from a holder by the register. "I could even make special items just for your shop that aren't sold here."
"That would be wonderful. I would love to have an exclusive menu. I'm really taken with your tarts. They're so colorful."
Brandi sighed dreamily and looked out the window, as if she were recalling a fond memory. "I took over this business from my grandmother, and she believed that colorful foods were as important as giving your child the right name or being kind to others. That's what she used to tell me, as if the three things were related."
"She sounds very special." A wave of longing passed through Shelley as memories of Aunt Marla rolled in again.
"She was. She passed away last year, but she left a legacy for me to live up to. From peach tarts to summer-berry cream pie and strawberry-lemon pastries. Thanks to my grandmother, I can't bake anything without wondering what color it should be." She reached into the display and handed Shelley a peach and blueberry tart. "Here, try this. It was her favorite."
Shelley took a bite and closed her eyes, savoring the taste of the sweet fruit, a delicious contrast to the smooth, buttery taste of shortbread. "Your grandmother would be very proud of your baking. I've never tasted anything so magical."
"Magical? That's exactly what my grandmother used to say, that because baking came from the heart, it added flavors of magic to our lives. I think you would have liked her, and she would have liked you, too. As much as Quinn Rockwell obviously does."
By the time Shelley left half an hour later, she had gotten the scoop on what to expect with on-and off-season customer traffic. Apparently the resort was a major income producer for the whole town. They held a winter ball, and hosted a fall festival and a spring carnival, bringing enough tourists in year-round to sustain the other island businesses. Shelley was confident that she could make this work, and not only that, but from what Brandi had told her, most of the tourists came back year after year, and they loved talking with the local shop owners. It sounded as if Shelley's love of getting to know people would be well received.
She walked down the road toward her cottage as she called her cousin.
"You're doing it," Taryn said when she answered the phone.
Shelley laughed. "How'd you know?"
"Because your energy comes through in your ringtone."
"You're such a goof."
"A goofy genius, you mean! So you decided that you love the island, and you're definitely not moving there just to hook up with Mr. Orgasm, right?"
"Taryn!"
Shelley felt her cheeks heat up and looked around, as if anyone walking by could know what her cousin had said...or could know just how blissfully good Quinn made Shelley feel every time he kissed her, every time he touched her, every time he made her come apart for him.
"Hey, it's been a long time for you. You deserve every orgasm you can get."
"I really do, don't I?" Taryn was like the sister she'd never had, and Shelley loved her dearly. "I can't wait to get settled and have you down to show you the island."
"I want to make you a proper island dress first. I'm thinking coconut shells over your boobs and a grass skirt."
"For Halloween maybe!" Shelley said as they both laughed. "Although...I was wearing the honeymoon dress you made me when I met Quinn."
"No, you weren't. You were buck naked."
"Oh God, yes. You're right. I was completely naked when he first saw me." Heat flooded her cheeks again, even though just last night he'd stripped away her clothes and given her unbelievable pleasure. Tonight, thankfully, held promises of even more. So much more that, for a moment, she lost her breath just imagining the hard, heavy thrill of Quinn moving over her. Into her.
"I'm so excited that you're doing this, Shell. You're the only friend I have who's brave enough to create her own destiny. I love getting to live vicariously through you."
They continued to chat as she walked back to her cottage, where Shelley was surprised to find a note taped to her door. She untaped the folded paper and a business card fell to the ground. She picked it up as she read the handwritten note that accompanied it.
Shell,
I was thinking of you this morning and stopped by the Realtor's office to check on the house on the dunes. I checked with her and the house is still for rent. I went to school with her, so you can mention my name if you want, although it may not carry any weight. I was also really hoping to see you and sneak in a kiss before I get back to slogging through contracts. But now I have no idea how I'll focus on a damn thing when what I really want is to have you in my arms. I can't wait to see you tonight.
--Quinn
She sank down to the porch step, thinking, not for the first time, about how thoughtful Quinn was. The idea that he'd reached out to the Realtor to help her make the transition to the island easier was beyond anything she'd ever expect anyone to do, much less someone as busy as him.