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“You have sand…”
Unable to wait another second, she leaned up to kiss him. Quinn immediately drew her closer, deepening the kiss and filling all of the places inside her that had been empty for far too long. His hand slid beneath her hair and he angled her head back, allowing his mouth to claim hers even more powerfully.
Coming together with Quinn felt like an awakening, releasing her preconceived notions about power and wealth and all the hurt they’d caused her over the years, and replacing those memories with hope for something more.
“I think I’m becoming addicted to your mouth.” Quinn pressed his lips to hers again before saying, “I’m sorry I got sand in your hair.”
“Sand?” Her brain was too foggy to respond coherently. But, still vibrating from the kiss, she was in no rush to remember how to think.
No rush at all, she thought as she pulled him back down to her for another mind-blowing kiss.
Chapter Nine
FOR THE SECOND time in as many days, Shelley had made Quinn completely forget about work and his grandfather’s demands about the resort. All he could think about, all he wanted, was her. Her kisses, her laughter, the bright light she shined down on everything around her.
As the tide rolled back in, swirling around their feet, they washed the sand from their limbs and faces. As they dried off their arms and legs with the towel, they couldn’t resist the urge to kiss each other again, and then again and again. The sun was starting to set behind them by the time they finally managed to stop kissing each other for long enough to head back to return the rakes and bucket.
The marina came into view, and for the first time in years, Quinn thought about how much he’d loved tinkering with the engines of the power boats and working the masts and riggings on the sailboats. The more he thought about the time he’d spent on the boats, the more he realized he missed those lazy afternoons. He’d come to accept that they were long gone.
But now he found himself wondering: Do they have to be?
“Look how pretty the sunset is.” Shelley pointed over the bay at the darkening sky, rivers of blue and violet running across the horizon.
“Sometimes I forget how beautiful it is here,” he said.
She put her arms around him, and it was pure instinct to gather her in even closer as they watched the sun setting together. Quinn’s chest swelled with an unfamiliar fullness. It was easy to imagine Shelley getting to know customers in her café, warmly welcoming them, listening to their problems, consoling them, doling out advice and smiles with complete sincerity. He felt incredibly drawn to her—and he liked the way he felt when they were together.
But at the same time, even as his emotions were flooding in fast, he knew he couldn’t let himself pretend that his overwhelming workload—and his drive to be the very best and biggest in his field—weren’t there waiting like a viper for him to relax or drop his guard.
“I don’t think I’ll ever forget how beautiful it is here,” Shelley said.
As she gazed up at him, he got lost in her emerald eyes, and his thoughts of work fell away again. In that moment, Quinn knew that he’d never be able to forget how beautiful she was. No matter how much work he had to do, this afternoon with Shelley would always be special. So special that he didn’t want it to end.
“How about we go get some ice cream and then build a bonfire on the beach?”
Ice cream and a bonfire when there was an endless amount of work to be done? What are you doing to me, Shelley Walters?
SHELLEY COULDN’T IMAGINE a better way to spend her solo honeymoon than forgoing the solo part, for a little while at least, and spending it with Quinn.
She felt badly now for initially judging him by his family name at the bar when he’d just shown her how different he was from business-only men like her father. And as they walked hand in hand toward her cottage, where they planned to build a bonfire, carrying their shoes and eating their sweet treats, she didn’t want the night to end. Every time he kissed her, her body went up in flames. She wanted to ask him to come back to her cottage, wanted so badly to make love with him—wanted a night with Quinn more than she'd ever wanted anything before. But she'd never gone to bed with a man she'd only met twenty-four hours ago, so even though everything about Quinn felt so right, she couldn't quite find the words to ask him for more.
“How much longer will you be on the island, Shelley?”
“The original plan was for five more days after today, but like I said earlier, there’s something about this place that’s calling to me.” Quinn attracted her like crazy, of course. But even before she'd met him, she'd thought Rockwell Island was the prettiest place she'd ever seen. “I’m going to ask Sierra tomorrow what she thinks about the idea of bringing my coffee shop to the island.” She breathed in the sweet sea air. “It would be amazing to spend more time here.”
