“The fireworks show is tonight, and your mother won’t allow me to miss that,” his father said.
Derek mimed holding a leash this time so that no one would swat him. Everyone laughed, even though they knew it only encouraged him.
“I’ve got a ton of work to do, too.” Quinn thought of Shelley and wrestled again with the idea of putting off work to spend the day with her. But any way he turned it, he was already way too far behind to take off for more than a few hours at the fireworks tonight.
“I know all of us are loaded down by our current schedules, but we’ve committed, so we need to make it happen.” Trent consulted his watch. “How’s five this afternoon at Sierra’s?”
“Fine. Text me if anything changes.” Ethan took off through the lobby.
“I’ll be there at five,” Derek said. “But then I’ve got to leave the island as soon as we have this all settled.”
“You can’t leave until we come up with a schedule that will appease Chandler,” Trent reminded him. “We have some leeway with the ninety-five percent rule, but it’s not like you can just disappear.”
“One year, Trent,” Derek said, his voice grim. “That’s my commitment. I’ll figure out the rest.”
“Trent,” Quinn said, “I hate to break this to you, but I’m also out of here soon.” It was going to be like walking a tightrope between spending time on the island to appease his grandfather and running his own business. Just another heavy rock to add to the pile he was already carrying on his shoulders. And that was without even trying to factor in all the time he wanted to spend with Shelley.
“What the hell did you two think?” Trent shot at them. “That you could commit and then leave it to the rest of us to run? Hell, I have a ton of work to take care of with my law practice, but I’m not dashing out of here as soon as I can.”
“Maybe you should be,” Quinn shot back. “How are you going to manage that while you’re here for a year? Or”—he couldn’t help but add in the heat of the moment—“are you just planning to stick around the island, hoping that Reese will take you back?”
“This has nothing to do with Reese.” Trent planted his legs and crossed his arms, challenging him, but Quinn had seen something flicker behind his brother’s eyes when he’d said his ex-wife’s name. “This is about family. Standing behind our commitments.”
“We’re all as loyal to the family as you are,” Derek said. “So don’t go there. I’ve got to get some work done. We’ll talk more about the schedule at five.”
“I’m standing behind my commitment,” Quinn told his clearly frustrated older brother. “But I’m also overloaded at the moment with a merger to tend to and an employee who’s being sweet-talked away from my business as we speak.”
“A year’s a long time, Quinn, so you’d better figure out how to deal with that stuff pretty darn quick.”
“Boys, come on. This isn’t going to solve a thing.” Griff set a hand on each of his son’s shoulders. “Your grandfather has a way of getting everyone up in arms. We’re in this together, and no one expects you to give up your businesses. Like everything else, we’ll figure this out. Together.”
Knowing his father was right—just like always—Quinn blew out the breath it felt like he’d been holding for the past half hour. “Sorry, Trent. You’re right. I’d never leave the family hanging. I’m just stressed. I’ll see you both again at five.”
With a nod to his father, Quinn headed back into the elevator. It was time to go back to his suite and finally get some work off his plate. But even as he left, he knew it wasn’t going to be easy to hold his focus on reading through contracts when where he really wanted to be wasn’t hunkered down over paperwork and in meetings, but getting to know the woman who was stealing his heart even better. He had visions of spending time on the beach with Shelley, showing her all the places on the island he’d loved when he was growing up. He wanted to share stories of their pasts while getting to know more about her hopes and dreams for her future.
He shut the door of his suite and forced himself to sit down at the desk, but even as he worked to focus his attention on the contract in front of him, he knew damn well that working around thoughts of Shelley would be like trying to avoid a tidal wave.
Chapter Sixteen
SHELLEY SPENT THE morning walking through the streets of town, watching families as they took in the sights. She noticed that Annabelle came outside when her shop was slow, and the shop owner next door stepped out to chat with her. Even when there was a steady flow of customers, the two women greeted a few of them at the door. Back home, the customers talked with Shelley, but when she had downtime and went out front, passersby were usually in too much of a hurry to stop and chat. It was lovely to see the difference between living in a suburban area and a more laid-back resort town.