Cape Cod Kisses (31 page)

The flight attendant motioned for him to turn his phone off as they taxied out on the runway.

“I’ll have a remote office set up next week. From here on out, all of my conferences will be virtual. I’ve got to hang up because we’re taxiing out on the runway, but I have faith that Joseph is the right man for the job. Oh, and I’m taking the weekend off, but we’ll talk Monday about the merger.”

Quinn ended the call feeling like the luckiest guy on earth—and also the biggest fool. He gazed out into the dark sky as they flew toward Rockwell Island and wondered how he could have been so blind, so stupid, to have left the woman he loved?

Anyone with half a brain would have grabbed at this type of true love with both hands and done everything within their power to nurture it and keep it strong. Which was exactly what he was going back to do.

To nurture Shelley’s love and keep it strong.
Forever.

AFTER GRABBING A bite to eat with Abby and Sierra, Shelley hadn’t wanted to go back to her empty cottage. Sierra’d had to go back to the restaurant, and Abby had gone home to Griffin, though, so she’d come back to the gristmill and worked until her arms felt like wet noodles. At least the windows on the first level were clean and she no longer kicked up dust with every step.

It was already after ten o’clock and she hoped Quinn was okay. But she was worried that the reason he hadn’t called yet was because he was so horribly overloaded with all the work and pressure waiting for him in Annapolis. She only wished she could be there with him at the end of his stressful day to hold him in her arms and help him relax.

She’d never been in love before, and she’d questioned the validity of people saying their hearts ached or they felt empty when they weren’t with the one they loved. She’d never imagined feeling any of those things because she’d been so sure that true love would never hurt. But now she realized that this complexity of emotions—feeling hollow and full at the same time, strong and weak, like she could make the world spin on its axis or just as easily fall into a well of tears—was the beauty of love.

How could she treasure the incredible highs if she didn’t accept the depths of missing Quinn when he was gone?

Shelley had begun mopping again with renewed vengeance, when she heard the sound of the bushes at the edge of the property rustling. Through the window she could see a figure illuminated by the faint moonlight emerging from between the two tallest bushes.

She was wondering who the heck could be out there at this time of night when Quinn’s face suddenly came into focus amid the dim light.

“Quinn!” Her breath caught in her throat as she dropped the mop and ran outside to leap into his arms. She kissed his lips, his forehead, his cheeks. Everywhere she could. “You’re here.” She could hardly believe it. “You’re really here.”

“Yes, I’m really here.” His smile shot straight to the center of her chest. “And I’ve never been happier to see anyone in my life.”

Their hearts hammered in time with the other’s, and they were both grinning like the lovesick fools that they were, when it finally occurred to her to ask, “
Why
are you here?”

“Because you’re here, Shell. While you were falling in love with the island, I was falling in love with you. I realized on the way back to Maryland that it wasn’t signing the takeover papers that had the power to change my life, Shell. It was
you
. The whole flight back, I was planning to stop to buy you a ring and get champagne, and then I was going to take you out on one of my boats filled with roses to profess my love for you and show you how much you mean to me. But, Shell...” He stroked her cheek and held her emotional gaze. “Once I touched down on the island, I couldn’t wait another second to be with you. And then I realized what you’ve known all along.
Things
can’t prove my love for you. There’s only one way to do that, by being with you. I’m here, Shell. And I have faith in us, too. Because when I’m with you, I’m home. It doesn’t matter where we are or what we’re doing as long as we’re together. This is where I belong. With you. Every day. And every single night.”

Shelley wanted to tell him how much she loved him and that he was right—the only thing she cared about was that they were together—but when she opened her mouth, emotions swallowed her voice. Which was just as well, because he had more he needed to say.

“I knew you’d be here working late to try to drown out the voices in your head that said we shouldn’t be apart, just like I was. But I don’t want you to ever have to work to drive away pain again. I want to give you more joy, more happiness than you’ve ever known before. More than you ever thought was possible.”

“You already have.” Each word was drenched with love. So much love she was bursting with it. “You already do.”

“No, sweetheart. This is only the beginning. You told me that I held your heart in my hands. What kind of a man would I be if I didn’t cherish your heart with everything I had? From the first night we met in the cove, you made everything brighter, everything better. You’re the light of my life, Shelley.”

Give me a guiding light,
had been her wish
. Lead me to my forever home.

Her wish—all of her wishes—had come true. But who would have ever thought that
she
would be
his
guiding light, too?

Shelley couldn’t stop smiling as she told the man she loved, “I’ve wished for true love my whole life. And now here you are. Giving me Cape Cod kisses in the moonlight.”

“I want to make all your wishes come true, Shell. Let me teach you how to skip rocks, and you can teach me how to keep making the most out of every precious moment, especially the ones when we sneak out to
our
cove and go skinny-dipping together.” She had to kiss him, had to let him know how happy he made her, even as he continued to say, “I want us to have rebellious children with minds of their own. We’ll teach them to enjoy all the little things in life, and they’ll grow up with more love than any children have ever known. I want to drink in every single gasp of pleasure as I make love to you each night...and then be the luckiest guy in the world when I get to love every inch of you again each morning.” He gazed deeply into her eyes. “Say you’ll marry me, Shell, and be mine forever.”

“Forever,” she echoed breathlessly, before laughing out loud in amazement at the realization that her solo honeymoon was going to end with her saying, “Once upon a time I thought dating was a bore and husbands were overrated”—both of them were laughing now—“but now there’s nothing I want more than to be yours.
Forever
.”

Six weeks later…

TRENT ROCKWELL HAMMERED in the last few nails on the shelves he and his brothers were building inside the old gristmill that Shelley had purchased for her new coffee shop.

The renovations were really coming together. Quinn, Shelley, and Derek had come up with impressive plans to maintain the integrity and character of the old building while using materials that would enhance the rustic charm of the historical structure.

Trent set the hammer down on the old millstone and took stock of what was left to do.
A little sanding, some painting, staining
. In a few weeks, the coffee shop would be up and running. He’d forgotten how much he enjoyed working with his hands and how great it was to come together with his family on a project that was separate from running the resort—which was also shaping up, though not quite as quickly or as simply as Shelley’s café.

It was after ten p.m. and his siblings had already called it a night. He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside, trying for the hundredth time since he’d gone outside an hour ago to retrieve tools from his truck to distract himself from thinking about the light he’d seen on at Reese’s gallery. He knew Reese was still away, helping her sister with her new baby, which meant her assistant, Jocelyn, was probably working late.

Working late had become the bane of Trent’s existence. He thought of how much Quinn had changed since meeting Shelley. His brother had finally begun to take some time off work and enjoy life. Trent had learned the hard way what being a workaholic earned a person—and other than the income and prestige, which in his view were highly overrated, he didn’t have much to gain by continuing on that path.

Which only sent his mind drifting back to Reese.

Was she ever far from his mind?

A little more than ten years ago, they’d shared both a wild passion for each other
and
big hopes and dreams of building a life together in New York. They had thought he’d establish his career as an attorney and she’d grow to love city life and would eventually open her own gallery. But she was an island girl at heart, and he…

Well, he’d taken after his grandfather—perhaps a little too much—and those seventy-hour work weeks had destroyed their relationship. He could hardly believe Reese had only been nineteen when they’d wed. He smiled, thinking about how young they’d both been, even though it hurt sometimes to remember how beautiful she’d looked standing on the beach beneath the moonlight in her wedding gown. So beautiful, and so sexy, that they hadn't slept one single moment of their wedding night.

Had it really been a decade since he’d found the
Dear Trent
note that had ended their marriage?

He rubbed the knot at the back of his neck, reminding himself that it was better to leave the past in the past.

But as he glanced at the front door again, he suddenly couldn’t keep from wondering about second chances with the woman he’d once promised to love forever…

—The End—

More about Bella and Melissa

BELLA ANDRE

Bella Andre
is the
New York Times,
USA Today
,
and
Publishers Weekly
bestselling author of
“The Sullivans”
and
“The Morrisons”
series.

Having sold more than 4 million books
,
Bella Andre’s novels have been #1 bestsellers around the world and have appeared on the
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestseller lists 23 times. She has been the #1 Ranked Author at Amazon (on a top 10 list that included Nora Roberts, J. K. Rowling, James Patterson, and Steven King), and
Publishers Weekly
named Oak Press (the publishing company she created to publish her own books) the Fastest-Growing Independent Publisher in the US. Known for “sensual, empowered stories enveloped in heady romance” (
Publishers Weekly
), her books have been
Cosmopolitan
Magazine
“Red Hot Reads” twice and have been translated into ten languages. Winner of the Award of Excellence,
The
Washington Post
called her “One of the top writers in America” and she has been featured 15 by NPR,
Entertainment Weekly
,
USA Today
,
Forbes
,
The
Wall Street Journal,
and
TIME
Magazine
. Bella also writes the
New York Times
bestselling “
Four Weddings and a Fiasco
” series as
Lucy Kevin
.

MELISSA FOSTER

Melissa Foster
is a
New York Times and USA Today bestselling and award-winning author
of the Love in Bloom series which includes the “
Snow Sisters
,”
“The Bradens
,”
“The Remingtons
,” and
the “Seaside Summers
” series.

Melissa writes sexy and heartwarming, award-winning contemporary romance novels with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Her books have been recommended by
USA Today’s
book blog,
Hagerstown
magazine
, The Patriot
, and
Mensa Bulletin
. Melissa is the founder of the
World Literary Café
and Fostering Success. When she’s not writing, Melissa helps authors navigate the publishing industry through her author training programs on
Fostering Success
. Melissa is also the author of the
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling, and award-winning historical fiction novel
Have No Shame
,
as well as several other award-winning suspense and women’s fiction titles. Melissa enjoys discussing her books with book clubs and reader groups and welcomes an invitation to your event.