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“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 drag 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.”
