Cape Cod Kisses (27 page)

Smitten.

Shelley could feel her cheeks flush at the lovely comment. Even lovelier because it had come from Quinn’s mother, who would only want the very best for her children.

Abby turned as Griffin draped an arm over her shoulder and kissed her cheek, magnifying another difference between her parents and Quinn’s. Shelley’s parents’ idea of open affection was
air
kissing each other’s cheeks.

“Shelley,” Griff said, “we’re all so glad you could join us tonight.”

“Thank you. You have a lovely home”—Quinn’s laughter at something his brothers were saying on the other side of the patio turned her head—“with a spectacular view.”

Sierra chuckled. “I know you think Quinn is the best view on the island, but this one is way better.” She pointed behind them to the bay.

Shelley laughed to try to hide her embarrassment. “I didn’t mean…”

“It’s okay if you did.” Griff leaned in close and lowered his voice. “Quinn’s a good-looking guy. He gets it from his old man.”

“Yes, he does. Now, leave the poor girl alone before you make her blush.” Abby dragged Griff away.

“Are you uncomfortable yet?” Sierra teased.

“Oh my gosh.” Shelley lowered her voice and said, “You and your parents just caught me drooling over your brother.”

Sierra shrugged. “We didn’t mean to embarrass you. Especially since we’re all really excited that Quinn brought you along. My dad was just telling me how he’d never seen Quinn look happier than he’s been this past week.”

“Really? I mean, he seems happy, and I know how happy
I
am.”

“Really,” Sierra said. “Look at him.”

Quinn stood between Trent and Ethan, across from Derek. The others were intent on hearing whatever Derek was saying, but Quinn’s attention was locked on Shelley. The heat and adoration in his eyes were both impossible to miss.

To her he stood out from his brothers. Though they were all tall and broad, none of the others made her insides flutter like Quinn did. Even the look he gave her now was as caring and thoughtful as it was longing and possessive.

“I better take you over there or he might pounce.” Sierra guided her across the lawn while Shelley secretly thought just how much she loved it whenever Quinn
did
pounce.

“There’s my girl.” Quinn tucked Shelley beneath his arm, and her stomach did that fluttery thing again.

My girl.
She loved that.

“Derek, this is Shelley.”

“It’s great to meet you.” Derek’s voice was as deep as Quinn’s, but he had the look of a troublemaker about him. Shelley liked Derek instantly for that alone.

“You’re the custom builder and stonemason, right? Quinn said you made this gorgeous patio.” He had filled her in on each of his siblings on the way over.

Derek flashed a crooked smile. “Yup, that’s me. The stone guy.” Without missing a beat, he said, “I hear you’re interested in the gristmill.”

Word really did travel fast, at least between the Rockwells. “It would be perfect for my café. If I’m lucky enough to get the property, I want to keep its rustic charm. I’m thinking about lowering the height of the bushes out front so customers can sit on the deck and enjoy the view of the town—and the bay, of course.” She simply couldn’t temper her enthusiasm, even if she knew she was rambling. “The brook is just so beautiful that Quinn and I thought it would be nice to put a patio out back. Derek, if I get the property, would you consider designing and building a stone patio?”

“See?” Sierra said before Derek could respond. “Shelley is the perfect café owner for the island. She already loves it as much as I do, and she’s been here less than a week.”

“I’d be happy to consider the stonework,” Derek said. “As long as it’s done within the next year.”

Sierra groaned. “Derek’s planning on hightailing it out of here just as soon as his one-year contract is up with the resort. But my money’s on him staying on the island. I’ve seen how he looks at Chandler’s nurse.”

“I’m not saying she’s not gorgeous,” he said, “but my biggest question right now is whether she’s qualified to take out my latest round of stitches so that I can skip a trip to the island’s clinic.”

Quinn pulled Shelley against him. “Derek is the adventurer in the family. An adventurer who is always getting hurt. Although,” he added with a sly look at his brother, “I’m not buying that your stitches are the reason you couldn’t stop looking at her the other day...or that she couldn’t stop looking right back.”

“Are you talking about Didi, your grandfather’s nurse?” Shelley asked.

“That’s her,” Ethan confirmed as he reached down to pet Chugger. “Now that I think about it, since she’s gorgeous
and
has a thing for Chugger, maybe
I
should ask her out.”

Derek gave him a shove. “Stitches outplay dogs.” But for all his playfulness, there was a hint of possession in both his words and in his expression.

Abby held up a long wooden stick. “Hey, boys, how about we get out some of your aggression while dinner finishes cooking?”

“Stickball! I’m in.” Sierra took the stick from Abby and grabbed Shelley’s hand, dragging her across the yard.

“What’s that building?” Shelley pointed to a small cottage near the woods.

“My mom’s studio. She blows glass.”

“Wow. I’d love to see her stuff sometime.”

Sierra glanced at her mother with a thoughtful look in her eyes. “She’d love that. She’s really talented. I hope she can keep blowing glass for a very long time.”

Ethan dashed around the yard, pointing out trees and bushes. Chugger stole the rubber ball from where Abby had set it on the ground, and everyone laughed while watching Ethan chase the pup. Quinn, Shelley, Griff, and Ethan were on one team, while Trent, Derek, Sierra, and Abby were on the opposing team.

“My mom would never play anything like this,” Shelley said to Abby. “Your kids are so lucky to have you.”

“Oh, honey. It’s the other way around. I’m lucky to have them. Besides,” Abby added with a grin, “you can’t let these boys get one up on you. I learned that really quickly as a young mother surrounded by testosterone.” Abby walked up to the plate, and Griff, as the pitcher, took aim.

“Looking good up there, Mama,” Quinn’s dad called out.

“Sweet-talking will get you nowhere in this game of stickball, Griffin Rockwell.” Abby choked up on the stick. “Pitch the ball.”

He lobbed the first pitch over the plate and Abby swung—and missed. The boys all clapped and cheered her on.

“You can do it, Mom,” Quinn yelled.

“Keep your eye on the ball,” Trent directed.

“You’ve got this, Mom.” Ethan stood on first base and clapped his hands. “Hit it right here.”

Abby leaned in to reach the next pitch and hit a grounder that slid past Griffin and was intercepted by Chugger, causing chaos and laughter to ensue as Abby jogged around the bases while Ethan chased his wildly happy puppy some more.

Trent ran alongside Abby, cheering her on the whole way. “Great job, Mom. You’re almost there.”

Shelley felt as though she’d been plunked down in the middle of the best family in the world. They laughed hard and played hard, but the thing that really stood out was how supportive they were of one another. Shelley had once thought there were no couples where the husband and wife loved each other more than they loved material things and appearances. But now that she’d met Quinn’s parents, Shelley knew differently. Abby and Griff clearly loved each other—and their kids—more than anything else on the planet.

During the game, she overheard Quinn and Trent talking about the resort. Trent said he would cover for Quinn when needed, and Quinn agreed to reciprocate. At one point, Sierra twisted her ankle and Derek ran to get her a chair, but she promptly limped back into the game, unwilling to be left out.

When it was Shelley’s turn, Quinn came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, showing her how to hold the stick. During the summers when she’d visited her aunt, Shelley had often played Wiffle ball with the other kids on the beach. But she wasn't about to give up the feel of Quinn's big, hard body wrapped around her to clue him in to her experience.

“When you hold the stick, choke up a little higher. It’ll give you more control.” He threaded one hand into her hair and turned her face to his for a kiss.

“Come on, lovebirds,” Ethan hollered.

But Quinn wasn't about to be rushed as he finished what he'd started. Finally, after he drew back from her mouth, he said, “You good to go?”

She had to work really hard to form words after that kiss. “I think so.”

A few moments later, Trent pitched the ball, and Shelley whacked it into the side yard. Quinn’s jaw dropped open, and everyone cheered as she ran the bases with Chugger at her side. When she crossed the plate, Quinn swept her into his arms and spun her around.

“I’m going to have to call you
slugger
now.” Quinn kissed her again, fast and hot enough to make the night feel far warmer than it actually was. “I never knew you could play ball.”

“Much to my parents’ chagrin, I’ve got a pretty good arm, too. It’s not exactly feminine to be athletic in the Walters family.”

She thought about the summer she’d come home from visiting her aunt after learning to play baseball. She’d been bubbling over with excitement, and when she told her parents, her father had said,
Walters women do not play ball.
No one had celebrated her athletic achievements, that was for certain.

As Quinn set her feet back on the ground, she could see that hint of anger lighting his eyes, the same way it had when she’d gotten off the phone with her mother.

“It kills me that they’d make you feel bad about anything, but playing ball? All kids should learn how to play ball.”

Shelley wasn’t about to let thoughts of her parents ruin her night—or Quinn’s. She forced the memories away and said, “Don’t worry.
My
children will learn to play ball, get muddy and sticky clamming in the bay, and maybe even have to contend with puppy fur. I’ll do everything I can to help them follow their dreams, find true love, and be happy, because in the end, those are the things that matter.”

Quinn opened his mouth to say something, but they were interrupted by Abby calling them in for dinner. Quinn lagged behind, talking privately with his mother as the rest of them headed for the table.

Shelley wondered what was being said and why Quinn looked so serious again. The two of them hadn’t talked about kids before now, and Shelley was left wondering—was he scared off by the thought? Or did he want children of his own someday, the way she did?

Griffin settled a hand on her shoulder as she helped bring food to the table and said, “Nice arm. We need you on our team next time,” which made her feel warm and fuzzy all over again despite her questions about what had turned Quinn so suddenly pensive.

Quinn kept one hand on Shelley’s leg throughout the meal. She loved that his parents didn’t sit at opposite ends of the table, as many parents would. They sat beside each other on one side of the table with Sierra and Ethan, while she, Quinn, Derek, and Trent sat across from them.

“I’d like to make a toast.” Griffin rose, holding up his wineglass. “To the Rockwell family coming together tonight without a single cell phone interruption!” Griffin winked at Quinn, then turned his attention to Shelley. “And to Shelley moving to the island. May you love it here as much as we do.”

Her heart overflowing, she dug into the delicious dinner. Ethan told her about his fishing business, which he’d started right after college, and Sierra talked about what it had been like to open a restaurant on the island. But it seemed to Shelley that Ethan’s and Sierra’s love of the island was only part of what kept them there. Their love for their family was clearly the overriding factor.

While Derek and Trent talked with Griffin about the resort, Shelley imagined what it would be like to sit at the Rockwells’ dinner table every week, catching up with people who cared.

But she already knew what it would be like: simply
amazing.

All of them were so excited about her move, and with Griffin’s lovely toast, Shelley felt like she was already part of the family. She had a pang of longing over the difference between Quinn’s warm and inclusive family and her cold, distant parents. But instead of wallowing in what she didn’t have, she silently reveled in the way it felt to be with the Rockwells.

And, best of all, with the man she loved.

IT HAD BEEN a long time since Quinn had spent such a relaxing and fun evening with his family. While he always enjoyed their time together, he was usually rushing to get back to work, or taking business calls and juggling the two. He was glad Shelley had asked him about his phone before they joined the others, because for the first time in his adult life he’d felt completely untethered and was able to enjoy his family without the distraction of work.

As they drove away from his parents’ house, he thought about what his mother had said when she’d pulled him aside before dinner.

Remember why Eloise walked away from your grandfather’s marriage proposal?

He’d heard the story enough times to remember it clearly. Chandler had always been a workaholic, even as a young man, and Eloise had refused to play second fiddle to any man’s business.

His mother had gently reminded him how much Quinn had hated seeing Grandma Caroline treated like she was third best to both Chandler’s workload and Eloise, the woman who had turned down his grandfather’s proposal. But it was what his mother added next that had his gut twisting into knots.

Work isn’t everything, honey. You’ve made it, and we’re all very proud of you. Maybe now it’s time to let your heart have a turn at living.

And even though he’d been worried that he was too much like his grandfather, wasn’t it true that his parents had been the ones who’d taught him how to love—not Chandler? He could definitely make this work. It might not be easy to balance all the different parts of his life, but he’d never backed down from a challenge and he wouldn’t back down now.

Especially not when a future with Shelley was on the line.