AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I was still dazed as Teddy rushed by me to launch himself at both of them.
“We’re getting married!” he crowed. “I get a second dad now!”
Darren was a lot better than Ramona’s ex, but of course, I couldn’t say that where Teddy could hear. Instead, I gave up all pretense of not listening and went to give Darren a hand off the floor. “Congrats, man.”
“Oh my God. We’re getting married.” Ramona sounded all giddy. “Mom is gonna flip.”
“You don’t have to tell her right away,” I said quickly.
“Smart man.” Darren nodded.
“No, I do. I want to tell everyone.” Ramona beamed so wide that I had to hug her, try to absorb some of that happiness and certainty for myself before she left my embrace to wrap herself around Darren. “We should go surprise her with the news.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do.” Darren sounded resigned but happy.
“Uncle Adam, you coming?” Teddy asked.
“Not right now. Welcome to the family, Darren, but I’ve…there’s something I have to do. Right now.”
Ramona laughed knowingly. “Go get him.”
Thirty-Four
Adam
I found Quinn on the beach sifting through rocks with a backdrop of a spectacular sunset over the endless silvery-blue ocean. The beach was near deserted again, and sloshing through the sand slowed me down in reaching him.
“Hey,” I called out, heart crashing against my ribs in concert with the ocean waves. I needed this to go well. “Thought I might find you here.”
Darren the poet I was not. But as far as openings went, it was what I had.
“You did?” Quinn raised his eyebrows, but he didn’t run away, which was a start. “I was going to come to you. I drove by your place.”
Knowing he’d planned to come looking for me loosened some of the ball of tightness in my chest. “I was at Ramona’s. And I did the same thing. When I saw your car at home, but your condo dark, I figured beach was a good guess.”
I didn’t add that my brain had buzzed the whole way to the beach because I’d hoped he wasn’t locked in a dark condo, not answering the door, shutting me and the rest of the world out.
“I needed the walk.” Quinn gave me a half-smile that was hard to read.
“Can I walk with you?” I asked as he straightened back up.
“Of course.” He headed away from the path that led back to the condos, strolling farther down the narrow strip of sand. “You were right. We do need to talk more.”
“Yeah, we do.” I shoved my hands in my pockets to keep from reaching for him.
Stopping, he held out one of the rocks he’d been looking at when I found him. “Look what I discovered.”
“It’s pretty.” I turned the smooth stone over. It was almost perfectly heart-shaped, with no jagged parts or imperfections. Was the message here that Quinn’s heart had turned to stone? Uncertainty made my voice wary. “What are you going to do with it?”
“I’m going to keep it. I don’t know exactly what I’m going to do with it yet, but I don’t want to leave it here either. I like it too much.” His voice was heavy with layers of subtext.
“You should keep it,” I said firmly. His meaning might require some unraveling to figure out, but that much I knew for sure.
“You think?”
“I messed up.” There. I’d said it. I really should have asked Darren for apology tips.
“You didn’t.” Quinn folded my fingers over the rock, touch lingering. “I was the one who didn’t want to listen, and I’m the one who left.”
“You had work. I understood.” I hated the idea of him beating himself up over mistakes that I had been the one to make, and my fist tightened around the stone heart.
“Yes, but it’s not particularly fair of me to work long hours and then tell you that you need to manage your time better. I need to trust you more to handle your schedule.”
He had a point, but I still wasn’t going to let him shoulder so much of the blame.
“Your long hours are more in balance than mine. You find your way to the beach more often.” I made a sweeping gesture at the ocean in front of us. I meant it literally, but also how he was better at knowing when he needed a break, when he should take one of his long walks. I wasn’t so good at that. “You’re not wrong to be worried about my health. I know that a packed schedule brings on my migraines more than any other factor.”
“Then simplifying that schedule makes sense.” Looking away, Quinn resumed walking, feet scraping against the sand with long, heavy strides.
“But you were wrong about what needs cutting back.” I easily matched his speed. He wasn’t getting away that easily.
“Your family needs to come first.” Turning to face me, he counted on his fingers. “And then the business next. You’ve poured your heart and soul into the Rainbow Tavern.”
