Cape Cod Kisses (Love on Rockwell Island 1)

“Oh, Quinn. Don’t you know you’re already showing me you aren’t that guy? Right here, right now, sharing this moment on the beach with me when we both know you could be holed up in your room poring over contracts and getting ready for meetings. Honestly, I respect how hard you work and how successful you’ve become. I just—” She drew her brows together, as if she were searching for the right words. “I just want whatever man I end up with to put me on par with work. Not above it, not below, just on an equal level.”

“I know I might not be the guy to be saying this when I’ve never been able to find any sort of balance in my life, but you deserve so much more than to be on par with anyone’s work.”

As if on cue, Quinn’s phone vibrated. “How’s that for bad timing?” he mumbled in an irritated voice.

She laughed. “Go ahead and answer it. You just spent an hour watching the sunrise with me, and it was like a dream come true. Only better.”

He kissed her again, wanting to take his time to drink her in as the light from the sunrise poured over them both, but when his phone buzzed again, he made himself draw back to read the group text from Trent.

“Speak of the devil who looks like my grandfather.” He looked up into Shelley’s clear green eyes and told her, “Looks like Chandler’s summoned us all to his office. He’s made his decision.”

Chapter Fifteen

HOW COULD ONE text lead to such conflicting feelings?

When Quinn walked Shelley back to her cottage and kissed her goodbye after confirming their plans to meet at the cove that evening to watch the fireworks, he didn’t want to leave. More than anything, he wanted to spend the rest of the day with her, exploring the island and pointing out all of the places he knew she’d love. But between his grandfather’s nonsense and the four e-mails he’d already received this morning from Rich about the merger, he knew he was lucky to even be able to squeeze in another few hours with her tonight.

He ran his hand roughly through his hair, trying to fit the warring elements of his mind into some semblance of normalcy. He wanted Shelley. Boy did he ever want her. But he had a business to run, and in a few minutes he’d find out if he was going to be set free to run that business—in which case he should be leaving on the next flight out of town rather than going to see the fireworks with Shelley—or if he was going to be saddled with rearranging his entire life to save the resort.

The thought of disappointing Shelley by having to cancel their date tonight slayed him. Her voice sailed through his mind. You just spent an hour watching the sunrise with me, and it was like a dream come true. Only better.

But she was the one who was better than any dream could ever be.

So he wouldn’t disappoint her—or himself, damn it. No matter what happened with his grandfather, Annapolis would wait until morning.

And then after that...well, he really hoped that he and Shelley could figure out how to make a long-distance relationship work. They could see each other when he was in town, leaving her plenty of time to get her work done when he was in Annapolis.

But he already knew it wouldn’t be the same as just being able to spontaneously drop by her cottage in the morning to watch the sunrise together, or to be able to make love to her every night after it had set.

Quinn’s phone vibrated with a text from Rich as the elevator doors to his grandfather’s suite opened. Just got confirmation about Joseph. It’s no longer a rumor. Our competition is definitely pursuing him. Big-time.

Great. Just what he needed right now on top of everything else, to worry about losing one of their best executives to their biggest competitor.

He texted Rich back before heading toward his grandfather’s office. Find out the stakes. We’ll match/beat. Whatever we have to do. Off to talk to Chandler.

Rich texted right back. Put your balls in a paper bag and hand them to him—it’s quicker.

Rich was right. Chandler Rockwell had them all in a very precarious position. One Quinn never imagined he’d be in.

Shelley hadn’t offered him any advice on the situation. She’d simply been there to listen this morning, which he’d really appreciated. But he knew she would never put up with a situation like this. No, she’d simply change it into a situation she did want.

He was still floored at the idea that in just a few days she’d pretty much decided to rent a cottage and move her business. It took huge guts to risk everything by picking up and moving your company and your life. I’ve never been afraid of failure. I don’t entertain the idea of failure, either. I’d much rather focus on being hopeful and having fun making sure things work out the way I want them to. Clearly, he could learn a thing or two from her playbook. Seeing his siblings hovering outside Chandler’s door, Quinn knew all of them could.