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He would become the man who caused her eyes to light up, not fill with regret. If there was any way she’d give him another chance, he’d make sure to get it right this time.
Somehow, some way, he’d make everything in his life fit together. It might take a hell of a lot of work, but he already knew in his heart that Shelley was worth whatever it took to have her by his side.
But when her cottage came into view, reality sliced him wide-open. The bonfire had been extinguished, and the lights were out in her cottage, too.
He was too late.
He stared at the fire pit feeling as if his hope had been extinguished by a few buckets of seawater. But he knew that wasn’t the case. There was no one to blame but himself. He’d killed his chances with Shelley the minute he’d turned his back on her to focus on the phone call.
Quinn looked down at the flowers in his hand, a poor substitution for the apology he needed to say to her face-to-face, so that he could look into her eyes as he told her he was sorry and would never make a mistake like that again.
He walked quietly up the steps to the front porch of her cottage and laid them on the welcome mat, knowing he’d just lost the best thing that had ever happened to him.
Chapter Ten
QUINN WENT BY Shelley’s cottage again first thing the next morning, but her curtains were still drawn and he didn’t want to make things even worse by waking her up. The remnants of her bonfire reminded him of how strong she was and magnified the fact that Shelley didn’t need any man.
A long night with little sleep and a lot of heavy thinking had only reinforced his decision—if by some miracle she was willing to give him a second chance, he’d do whatever it took to make it up to her.
Quinn had never needed anyone to make him feel complete. Now, not only did he want Shelley in his life, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he needed her there, too. And maybe, if he were really lucky, she would realize she needed him, too. Not just because they didn't have a prayer of controlling their attraction to one another, but also because after seeing how much she enjoyed clamming yesterday, he knew she’d enjoy the rest of the unique things the island had to offer: midnight sails, walks in the woods, fishing, the lighthouse—all the things he hadn’t even thought of in forever, and only a few of the things he’d let himself give up in order to achieve his success.
After going for a hard and fast run to try to burn through some of his frustration, Quinn showered and dressed, then headed back out to go by Shelley’s again, nearly plowing into Trent in the hallway.
“Did you get my message?” Trent wore a pair of trousers and a dress shirt again, which meant he must be planning on going back to New York today.
“No. I didn’t check my phone after my run.”
“We have a meeting with Grandfather in less than ten minutes. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can all get back to our lives.”
Quinn shot a look at the door at the end of the hallway, which led outside. Damn it. There was no way he’d make it down to Shelley’s again and be back in time.
“What’s wrong?” Trent asked.
Quinn didn’t like lying to his siblings. So instead of saying, Nothing, he opted not to answer the question. “Let’s go.”
SHELLEY WAS DETERMINED to have a good time on the rest of her trip despite having her feelings hurt by Quinn last night.
Deciding to greet the morning with a walk along the beach, she slipped on a pair of cute flip-flops and pulled the front door of her cottage open. The woody, ashen scent of her solo bonfire lingered in the air. Renewed disappointment settled around her, threatening her intent to have a great day despite the fact that this was supposed to be a solo honeymoon anyway. At least until she looked down and realized she’d almost stepped on a handful of pretty flowers lying on the welcome mat.
She crouched beside them, trapping her lower lip between her teeth.
Quinn.
Picking up the bouquet, she saw that the flowers had wilted a little around the edges and their stems were bone dry. Her heart beat a little harder knowing he must have come by last night after she’d gone to bed, after all.
She stared at the flowers for a long moment before deciding to put them in a vase and set it in the bay window beside the champagne bottle with the candle in it as she tried to push past the conflicting emotions stirring inside her.
