As if he could read her mind, Quinn slid his hand up her calf and smiled. "Your planning going well over there?"
"I'm a little excited," she said, for more than one reason now as he set his document down on the coffee table and pulled her onto his lap. "Can you tell?"
"You've been writing ideas down like crazy in that notebook in your lap." He lowered his mouth to the curve of her neck and nipped at the sensitive skin there. "There's nothing sexier than seeing you so happy."
And there was nothing sexier to Shelley than this moment right here, right now, with Quinn. Wrapped in his arms, filled with the heady anticipation of pleasure soon to come. "I could get used to this."
She thought she saw a flash of worry in his eyes, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come.
"Making out with me on the couch...or us?"
"Both."
He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her again. "Good answer. Now, about all these pretty clothes you've got on..."
Each of them already had a fistful of fabric in their hands, hurrying to strip her dress away, when her phone vibrated on the coffee table. From the corner of her eye, Shelley saw Mother on the screen, and her stomach clenched. She purposely didn't put the word Mom on her mother's contact information because the word Mom felt soft to Shelley, and her mother was anything but soft.
Quinn stopped undressing her to ask, "Do you want to get that?"
She grimaced. "Not really."
But both of them obviously knew she wasn't going to ignore it. He gathered her hair over one shoulder and kissed her cheek as the phone vibrated again. "Maybe she'll surprise you this time and be supportive."
"I wish that were the case, but since it isn't going to be, I'm not sure I want her to burst my bubble yet."
"Don't you think old dogs can sometimes learn new tricks? Take me, for instance, blowing off work to clam and sail and help my girl rent a cottage."
My girl. His words were so sweet it melted her enough that she foolishly reached for the phone and reluctantly moved off of his lap.
"I'll take it on the porch so just in case there aren't any new dogs on the line, you won't be tortured with the conversation."
She answered the call on her way outside.
"Rochelle, it's Mother. I spoke to Taryn's mother today, who said you are entertaining some silly notion of moving to Rockwell Island?"
Damn it, Taryn. Her cousin knew better than to say anything to her mother, but must have been caught off guard. Just like that, Shelley's happy, blissfully contented mood started to go down the tubes.
"Yes," she said with a stubborn tilt of her chin that her mother couldn't see. "I'm moving to Rockwell Island."
"Rochelle." Her mother exhaled loudly. "You're twenty-seven years old and getting a little long in the tooth for finding a suitable man. It's time you gave up your childish whims and focused on the important things in life."
Shelley lowered the phone from her ear and looked out over the bay. She didn't need to hear another diatribe about finding a suitable man or a life filled with snooty social gatherings and bragging about meaningless material luxuries. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, extremely thankful that she was here on the island and not anywhere near Greenwich. When she lifted the phone back up to her ear, she caught the tail end of her mother rambling about the Lavingtons. When her mother finally paused to inhale, Shelley cut her off.
"Thanks for your call," she made herself say. "But I really have to go. I have a lot of planning to do."
"Planning? You're not taking my advice, then?"
The disappointment in her mother's voice hurt, not only because she knew she had let her mother down, but because she couldn't believe her mother still refused to accept her for who she was and support the things she wanted in her life.
Another call beeped through. Immensely glad for the interruption, Shelley said, "Hold on one sec. I need to answer this call." She quickly clicked to the other call. "Hello?"
"Shelley? This is Cara. Good news. We were able to reach the bank and expedite your paperwork and credit check. The cottage on the dunes is yours as soon as you'd like to move in. We just need to agree on a date and sign the final lease."
Shelley's eyes filled with tears of joy. "Thank you. Your call couldn't have come at a better time. Can I move in tomorrow?"
"That's when they have a cleaning crew coming in. How about the following day?"
After they agreed to meet, Shelley switched back over to her mother's call.
"Finally," her mother said in a voice threaded with deep irritation. "I was beginning to think you had hung up on me."
"No. I was just confirming the details of my rental cottage."
"Rental cottage? Rochelle, truly, all of this nonsense has got to stop. When will you learn that you're wasting your time? You've been this way your whole life, belligerent and bullheaded. Frankly, it's an embarrassment to me and your father."
Her mother's words should have cut right through Shelley. But she refused to let anyone or anything ruin what had been one of the best days of her life. "If you can find a way to be happy for me one day, I'd love to hear from you again. But until then, I think it's best if we say goodbye, Mother."
Quinn's arms came around her from behind a moment after she hung up the phone. She turned to him, and even though she was intent on staying strong, she buried her face in his chest.
"Shell, what happened?"
She hated that her mother still affected her this way. "My parents will never understand me. It doesn't matter what I do, or how hard I try..." She knew she sounded petulant and angry, and that upset her even more.
"You don't deserve to be discounted by them or anyone else. You know I'm all for family, but honestly, if they can't adore you for the incredibly talented and giving person you are, then they don't deserve the energy you expend on them. They're fools. Fools that I wish I could lay into right now for ever hurting you." His voice was full of empathy, but in his embrace she felt tethered anger.
She gazed up at him, blinking away tears. "You're angry."
"You bet I'm angry. It breaks my heart to see anyone hurt you this way. I've never met anyone like you, who could look at something and immediately see beyond the masks and facades that the rest of the world sees. Whether it's a dusty old building or..." His gaze softened and the tension around his mouth eased. "Or a workaholic like me."
He sealed his lips over hers and lifted her into his arms. Her legs naturally circled his waist, and her arms wrapped around his neck as he kissed her salty tears away.
"You're perfect, Shell, just the way you are. Don't change a damn thing about yourself."
And then he carried her into the bedroom and loved away the pain and sadness until her heart was so full of him that she didn't have room for anything else.
Chapter Twenty-one
WEDNESDAY MORNING, QUINN and Shelley had breakfast on the terrace of the resort. Shelley had been quiet most of the morning, and Quinn wondered if she was still upset about the things her mother had said to her.
Last night, when he'd found her trying to hold back tears on the front porch, his protective urges had barreled forward, urging him to pick up the phone and give her parents hell. All along he'd held out hope that her parents would relent in their pursuit to make Shelley into the woman they wanted her to be, but last night had wiped that wish clean. It broke his heart to know how much she'd struggled to be loved by the people who should love her most.
He was so glad his family seemed eager to embrace Shelley being a part of both his life and theirs.
"Are you excited about moving into the cottage tomorrow?"
She'd been looking out at the water with her chin resting on her palm and a thoughtful look in her eyes. "Super excited."
She reached for his hand just as his phone vibrated in his pocket. He knew it had to be Rich but debated letting his partner's call go to voicemail.
"It's okay, Quinn. Take it."
She must have seen th
e struggle on his face. "Are you sure?" The phone vibrated again.
"It's fine. We both have to live our lives, and you'll be going back soon, so I need to get used to it. We both do."
He hated having her get used to anything other than waking up in his arms, but she was right. "I'll make it quick." He answered the call on his way across the terrace.
"Quinn," Rich said in a harried voice, "things are getting out of hand. I've met everything they're offering Joseph, but he hasn't accepted yet. He wants more responsibility, a higher position. Short of giving him one of our jobs, we're stuck."
"Isn't there anything else we can offer him? He's been with us since the inception of the business. He's the best at what he does. He deserves more. What are they offering him that's more than what we are?"
While Rich explained what Joseph was being offered, Quinn walked back to Shelley and settled a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. He wanted her to know he hadn't forgotten about her.
It's okay, she mouthed.
He blew her a kiss, then walked a few feet away to finish his call.
"I've got this covered for now," Rich said, "but your presence is key here. Joseph trusts you more than he trusts anyone else."
"Do what you can there and I'll try to get things wrapped up here. And let me know if it looks like the lid is going to blow with either Joseph or the merger."
By the time Quinn hung up, his mind was going a hundred miles an hour. He had faith in Rich's ability to handle whatever came up with the business, but Rich was right when he said that Joseph's trust and respect for Quinn was greater than his trust in anyone else. He rubbed the knot that was quickly forming in the back of his neck.
Shelley walked toward him and wrapped her arms around him. "Everything okay?"
"Some parts yes, some parts no." But he didn't like grumbling to her, especially when their time together was counting down way too fast. "Tell me something, Shell. When you're away from work and you let yourself relax, if you're not being productive, what are you doing? Do you ever feel like you're just wasting time when you could be making more, doing more, working toward a bigger goal?"
She gave him a look so full of understanding that it made his heart turn over in his chest.
"No," she said softly, "I don't feel like that. But that's because when I'm not working, when I'm not being productive or working toward a goal, I'm living. Enjoying. Exploring. Laughing. Hopefully I can do all of that when I'm working, too, but it's so nice just to let go sometimes and be totally free to take in the joy and the beauty that's all around us."
He pulled her even closer, wondering how she made things seem so reasonable and easy when something as simple as taking in joy and beauty seemed easy to him only when he was with her.
"I wish I could harness your spirit and carry it with me all the time."
She rested her head on his shoulder as they made their way down to the beach. "That'll be hard to do from Annapolis."
Therein lay the problem.
"Once I'm gone," he said in a raw voice, "you might decide there are better, easier fish in the sea."
"Yeah, you know me. Always looking for easy. Oh, and dumb, too, because a man who thinks for himself is such a bore. And..." She flashed a playful grin. "While we're at it, how about a guy who doesn't get me. That would make me feel right at home."
Quinn was amazed at how she was always able to get him to laugh. "You have no idea what you're getting into with me. I'm moody."
"Yes," she said with a nod. "I know that already."
"I'm intense."
Her eyes darkened with desire. "And I love it."
He had to kiss her deep and long before saying, "I've also developed a really bad habit over the years of being married to my work. But I'm working on that."
"What successful person isn't married to their work to some degree? Especially if they love what they do. It seems to me that you've been able to fit in work and time for us over this past week. Or does that not count?"
He pulled her closer as they walked through the dense sand. "It counts. But," he added as a kind of warning, "it's also a first for me. A good first. A great first. And like I know I keep saying, I'm working on changing."
"Change can be good sometimes," she said slowly, "but I'm not sure why you are so convinced that you can't have a wonderful, happy life just being the person you already are. I like who you are. Why can't you like him a little more, too?"
When he didn't answer right away, she pulled them to a stop on the sand and pressed her palms to his chest. He loved when she did that. Those two spots, one over his heart, the other over his muscles, were hers. She totally owned him.
"Let me ask you this," she said. "What if I decide to go back to Maryland instead of moving my business here to the island?"
"Then I'll find a way to spend most of my time there."
"Okay, bad example. What if I go to dinner tonight at your parents' house and fall madly in love with your brother Ethan and decide to sail away to live on his boat with him?"
His gut churned and a scowl replaced his grin.
"See?" She smiled up at him. "You know it's a silly thought, something that would never happen in a million years, but you still can't help reacting to it. Your face is all frowny, and you look dejected. It's really quite cute. Like an angry toddler."
"Toddler?" He grabbed her ribs, and she squealed.
"Don't tickle me. I'm making a point."
"Then make it already, and let's leave Ethan out of it." Especially since jealousy was still clawing at his nerves at even the mere thought of his brother touching Shelley.
"Okay, but you're so cute when you're jealous." But then she stopped laughing and grew serious again. "All I'm saying is that if you allow yourself to be seeded with doubt, it weighs you down. Shoulda, coulda, woulda does no good. The only thing that ever works is to believe in yourself. And if that feels too difficult sometimes, then you can believe in me, because I have total faith in you. I have never lived my life afraid of what-ifs, and I'm not going to start now."
Shelley's faith in him moved Quinn in a way nothing else ever had. No big deal, no big payout, no big award had ever brought him such pleasure.
Or such happiness.
"I love you, Shelley."
The words came directly from his heart. It didn't matter that they'd met less than a week ago or that the logistics of having a relationship both on and off the island were messy.
All that mattered was what he felt for the beautiful woman standing in front of him.
And when she looked at him with her entire heart and soul open to him on her beautiful face and said, "I love you, too," then kissed him without holding any of her passion--or joy--back, it was difficult to remember why he'd ever had any doubts at all.
Chapter Twenty-two
QUINN AND SHELLEY spent the afternoon exploring the island. Quinn took her to see the lighthouse, and they had lunch at a little cafe overlooking the water. They drove by the aquarium, and he showed her the rocky cliff where he, his brothers, and their friends used to hang out as teenagers. And the whole time, there were kisses, caresses, and whispered promises of all the wonderful ways he was planning to give her pleasure tonight.
After the call from Rich, she'd expected him to tell her that he was going to head back to Maryland early, but what he had said was a million times better.
He loves me.
And she loved him, too. With all her heart.
While Quinn was with his family, signing papers for the resort, Shelley took a walk to see the cottage she'd rented one more time before finalizing the rental agreement and moving in the next day. It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon, and there was a gentle breeze coming off the water. Up on the dunes, the breeze was stronger. She couldn't wait to move in, open all the windows, and feel that breeze in every room.
As she headed back down the beach with her heart beating a little faster, she thought about how angry Quinn had been over the things her mother h
ad said. He cared so much, so fast, and it meant everything to her that he did. Especially because she cared just as much about him and his happiness.
On the beach there were a bevy of flat rocks by her feet. Aunt Marla had tried to teach her to skip rocks every summer, but she'd never been able to master the flick of her wrist. Shelley picked up a flat rock, turned her hand sideways and tried to skip it. It splashed into the water a few feet away and sank.
Picking up a handful of pebbles, she simply tossed them into the water, smiling as they plunked like raindrops.
"Now, that's more like it," Shelley said, laughing as she did it again.
A short while later, she was surprised to turn and find she wasn't alone on the beach anymore. Didi crouched beside Chandler Rockwell's wheelchair, and he was leaning over the side, watching his nurse clear the sand around the wheel. He was grumbling something Shelley couldn't hear.
"Is everything okay?"
Didi shaded her eyes from the sun and squinted up at her. "Shelley, hi. Nice to see you again. I seem to have hit a rock beneath the sand." Didi clapped her hands together and shook off the sand. "There, that should do it."
Shelley smiled at Chandler. "Hello, Mr. Rockwell. How are you today?"
He squinted against the sun. "You're that Walters girl. You've been spending time with my grandson Quinn, haven't you?"
Shelley wondered if he knew her parents or had heard about her from Quinn's family. She decided to err on the side of caution.
"Yes, I am, and yes, I have. But please don't judge me by my family."
His long fingers curled around the arms of the wheelchair. Shelley imagined his large bony hands had once been as strong and agile as Quinn's. He set a steady dark gaze on Shelley. She shifted her footing under his scrutiny.
"Then how should I judge you?"
His words were slightly cutting, and Shelley got the impression that they were supposed to sound like that. Shelley felt sorry for Didi, having to stand by while he made such sharp comments. But the look in Didi's eyes wasn't one of cowering to the old man's harshness. It was one of obvious support aimed at Shelley.
Shelley met his steely gaze again. "By my actions. And by how much I care for your amazing grandson."
Shelley held her breath for a beat, unsure of what to expect. But in the space of a breath, the muscles in Chandler's jaw softened and his grip on the wheelchair eased slightly. He harrumphed and motioned for Didi to wheel him away...but for a split second, Shelley swore she saw appreciation in his eyes.