Yours, With Love: A Sweet Contemporary Romance (Finding Love Book 5)

by Delaney Cameron

  “You paid for your mistake. Everyone deserves a second chance.”

  “But you didn’t know I wouldn’t steal from you, too.”

  “I knew you wouldn’t let me down, and you haven’t. Now, no more arguing. You’re getting a raise, and you’re going to be in the article. I’ll see you later.”

  Ellen ran into Faith in the parking lot, and they walked into the restaurant together.

  “That’s what I call perfect timing,” Faith said as they sat down at a booth near the window. After they gave their orders to the waiter, she looked at Ellen and grinned. “You must have spent time outside yesterday. You’ve got a sun burn.”

  “I went to an art festival in Brunswick with Quinn.”

  “Have I missed something? I thought things had cooled off between you.”

  “A lot has happened since I last talked to you. The short version is that Quinn apologized and asked if we could try again. I was stunned. I’d begun to think I couldn’t reach him.”

  “By the look on your face, I’d say things are going better this time.”

  Ellen smiled. “He’s the sweetest, nicest, most charming man I’ve ever met.”

  “He sounds like a keeper.”

  “We still have some challenges ahead, but I’m confident we can meet them.”

  “Every relationship has some kind of challenge, but love is always worth fighting for.”

  Their salads arrived and with it came a return to less serious subjects. Faith brought Ellen up to date with her family.

  “Landris is in Columbus this week on a scouting trip. He’s actually staying with Julie Gibson’s brother Devon and his son Jordan. He’ll be back on Thursday afternoon in time for Olivia’s softball game. She got her first hit on Saturday. She was so excited, and Landris was almost beside himself.”

  “What time is her game on Thursday? I should be able to come, and if Quinn’s free, he might want to come, too.”

  “It’s at seven. Remind me to give you Jase’s book. I’ve got it in the car.”

  “You finished it already?”

  Faith laughed. “I felt bad that it took me this long. There were a few minor grammatical things here and there, but for the most part, it was well-written. The plot moved along, the characters were well-developed, and he knows how to pull the reader into the story. I really enjoyed reading it.”

  “I appreciate you doing that for him.”

  “Tell him I’ll be waiting for my autographed copy. By the way, Matt is pulling out all the stops to get me to this reunion. He had Darcy ask me.”

  “What did you tell her?”

  “That I’d think about it. I mentioned it to Landris, and he said he’d go with me. Do you think Quinn would come with you? He went to St. Marys High so he’ll know a few people.”

  “I don’t know how he’d feel about it.” Quinn would be in a roomful of people who wouldn’t just stare at him; they’d be asking him what happened. It would be the art festival multiplied by a hundred.

  “I’ll probably end up saying yes. Matt doesn’t give up easily.”

  Ellen glanced at her watch. “Wow, it’s already one-twenty, and I’ve got a bride coming in at two. I better get going.”

  As they walked to their cars, Faith said, “This was fun. Let’s not wait so long to do this again.”

  The rest of the afternoon was unusually busy. In addition to the appointment she already had, Ellen had visits from two other brides looking for floral services. June and July were setting up to be very busy. She and Frank weren’t going to have a weekend free until August.

  * * * * *

  Quinn’s mother showed no surprise at finding him standing on her portico at a time when he would normally be working.

  “I just made coffee. Would you like some?” she asked as he stepped inside the house.

  “I’d love some.” He noticed Freya eyeing him suspiciously from her position at the top of the stairs. The dog still hadn’t forgiven him for keeping her locked in the laundry room.

  He followed his mother down the wide hall into the sunny room with its bright yellow walls. On the stove was an apple streusel coffee cake. A smile touched his lips. It was almost as if she’d known he was coming. He took the cup she handed him and watched while she sliced a generous slice of cake and slid it across the counter.

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  “I ran into Phyllis at the grocery store this morning. She told me the most amazing story.”

  Quinn finished the cake in his mouth and swallowed. He’d never been able to get away with anything. “I thought I recognized the woman selling pottery.”

  “So it was you in Brunswick yesterday?”

  “You know it was. I’m easy to spot in a crowd.”

  “When she mentioned seeing you feed ice cream to a young woman, I thought she’d forgotten to take her blood pressure medication again.”

  Quinn scratched the side of his head. “No, that was me.”

  His mother smiled. “Who were you with?”

  “Why are you asking? I’m sure Phyllis was able to describe Ellen accurately enough for you to identify her.”

  “Was this another of those non-dates you promised to tell me about?”

  “No, this was a real date I should have told you about. I don’t have any excuse other than I’m still getting used to it myself.”

  “Is that why you’re here now?”

  “I suppose it is. I needed someone to talk to and there’s no one better for that than you. Something happened; something I wasn’t expecting. I didn’t even think I believed in love anymore, and it still happened.”

  She came around the counter and put her arms around him. “That’s because love doesn’t happen in your head, Quinn; it happens in your heart. Attraction is a physical connection; love is a spiritual one. Most people settle for the first because it’s easier to find, but it seldom lasts.”

  “This is nothing like what I felt for Avery.”

  “You’re a different person now. You went through a life-changing experience. It altered your priorities.”

  “So you don’t think I’m crazy.”

  “I fell in love with your father the first night I met him, so I don’t think you’re crazy.”

  “I can’t tell her yet. There’s something I have to do first.”

  “You’ll face that hurdle just like you’ve done everything else.”

  “It’s silly when you think about it. This scares me more than anything I’ve ever had to do.”

  “That’s because the stakes are higher now, but so is the prize. True love is a lot rarer than people like to believe, but it’s worth everything you have to go through to attain it.”

  He stood up and kissed her cheek. “I’m beginning to believe you’re right, Mom. I need to get back to work. I had Kelly move around a few appointments so I could talk to you before Dad gets home from the golf course.”

  As he drove back to the clinic, he thought about how easily his mother had reduced a situation he’d wrestled with all night into one sentence. It’s worth everything you have to go through to attain it. True love isn’t rare because people are incapable of it; rather it’s rare because most people don’t want to love like that. It requires sacrifice and commitment and resolve as well as a willingness to deny one’s own desires in order to invest fully in someone else.

  * * * * *

  After Ellen arrived home, she walked over to Quinn’s house to deliver the manuscript to Jase. When he opened the door, he looked like he had the first time she met him: rumpled clothes, no shoes and hair sticking up at all angles.

  “Have you started another book?”

  “Yes, I have. I’m about fifty pages in.”

  She held out the folder. “This should give you some motivation.”

  He took it from her. “Just give it to me straight: did she like it or hate it?”

  “She definitely liked it. She said all kinds of nice things, but if I tell you, you’ll get a big head.”

  �
�According to Quinn, I already have one. I’ve got Chinese take-out in the kitchen if you want to eat with me.”

  “Thanks, but I don’t care for Chinese food. I also had a big lunch. I’m going to grab a book and go read in the garden.”

  Ellen ended up going into the maze. There was an open area in the middle that had two wicker chairs and a table. She was in the last chapter of the medieval knights story she’d started a few weeks ago when she got a text from Quinn.

  “The meeting finished earlier than I expected. Instead of just knocking on your door as I go by, can I see you?”

  “Yes! I’d like that very much.”

  “I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes.”

  She jumped off the bench so fast her momentum sent the book flying through the air. Grabbing it off the ground where it landed, she hurried out of the maze and back to the cottage. There wasn’t time to take a shower, so she settled for changing clothes, trying to do something with her hair, and putting on some makeup.

  When she heard the knock on the door, she could hardly contain the butterflies swirling around in her stomach. On legs that suddenly didn’t feel quite so steady, she walked over to let him in.

  “You were quick,” she said, moving back so he could come inside.

  He took her in his arms. “It didn’t feel quick to me.” Quinn didn’t stop with one kiss. He kissed her until she was out of breath and uncertain if she’d be able to stand without his support. “I’ve been waiting all day to do that.”

  “Was it worth the wait?” she asked, teasing him a little.

  He chuckled as he released her. “You know the answer to that already.”

  “Can I get you something to eat or drink?”

  “Not now, maybe later,” he replied, his expression turning serious. He ran his fingers down the length of his tie. “I can’t put this off any longer, Ellen. I need closure; one way or the other.”

  She reached for his hand. “Then let’s get closure.”

  He led her into the living room. “The plastic surgeon did what he could, but there was only so much that could be done with burns this extensive.” He took off his coat and laid it over the back of the couch. A muscle twitched in his cheek as he removed his tie and pulled his shirttail free. Then he began unbuttoning his shirt, avoiding her glance and instead focusing on a point above her head. She didn’t need the film of moisture on his forehead and the jerkiness of his movements to know how hard this was for him. His anxiety was almost a physical thing.

  Only after he shrugged out of his shirt did she lower her eyes. The tops of his shoulders and upper arms were virtually untouched. Just above his belly button and stretching across his rib cage was a large section of raised, discolored skin in varying shades of angry red to dark brown. Some parts were smooth and resembled shiny plastic. Others were rough with jagged, uneven edges. The scar tissue extended up one side of his torso almost to his neck and wrapped around his side under his left arm. Where it wasn’t scarred, his skin was starkly pale, punctuated with shallow depressions.

  Into the silence came his voice. “It’s more of the same on my back.”

  All Ellen could think about was how much Quinn had suffered. The physical pain he endured both during and after the accident was unimaginable. On top of that was the emotional toll created by the nature of his injuries and the subsequent loss of the woman he hoped to marry. Tears pooled in her eyes and dripped down her cheeks. Without saying anything, she leaned forward and pressed kisses on the puckered skin.

  * * * * *

  Quinn’s body jerked as if he’d been shot. “Ellen!” he croaked hoarsely, unable to believe what was happening. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m proving to you that it doesn’t matter,” she said quietly.

  “How…how can you bear to touch me?”

  She ran her fingers slowly down the length of his chest. He shuddered, knowing he was exposed but unable to hide how she made him feel; how she moved him.

  “These scars don’t make me think less of you. Each one of them is another reason for me to love you.”

  He could feel the color draining from his face. “What did you say?”

  “I said I love you,” she repeated slowly. “You touched my heart long before I even knew what it meant. I’ve been yours for a long time, Quinn. I just didn’t know it.”

  His head was spinning. Was this really happening? Or was this a cruel dream from which he would eventually wake? He closed his eyes; he could still hear the wild beating of his heart, the warmth of the blood rushing through his veins. Would that be possible if he was dreaming? He opened his eyes again. Ellen was still there, looking at him, her eyes filled not with horror, shock or pity, but with tenderness. With love.

  An incredulous, surreal feeling began to make its way through his body. The demons that had long lived inside him, the ones that had driven him into the darkness, were strangely and wonderfully silent. “I love you, too.” He lifted her hand to his lips, kissing the back and then turning it over so he could kiss the pulse on the inside of her wrist. Then his mouth covered hers, and he forgot everything else. The world could have come crashing down around them, and he wouldn’t have noticed or cared.

  It was a need for air that forced him to lift his head. Her eyes slowly opened, their blueness intensified by what had passed between them.

  “Thank you,” he said softly.

  She smiled at him. “For what?”

  He ran his fingers through her hair, a sense of peace enveloping him. “For turning something that has given me nightmares into something beautiful.”

  * * * * *

  As Ellen and Quinn drifted slowly along the almost deserted shoreline, she breathed in sea breezes tangy with salt and enjoyed the feel of the powdery sand beneath her feet. This second trip to Cumberland Island had become necessary when the hard drive on Quinn’s laptop crashed two nights before. Along with everything else, he lost the pictures he’d taken. With the due date approaching for his photography class project, he needed to replace them as soon as possible.

  Almost four weeks had passed since the evening when the final obstacle between them had been removed. They had been virtually inseparable since. During that time, Quinn made sure he completed her wish list. She wondered how many men would have gone to the trouble of finding a tandem bicycle so they could take their girlfriend for a ride in the park.

  A smile touched her lips as she thought back to last night. Quinn had appeared just as the much-talked-about and frequently-postponed picnic in the maze with Winnie and Isobel was ending.

  Once they were alone, he touched the freckles on her cheeks. “They’re the only thing left of the teenager I remember. She was replaced by a fascinating and beautiful woman.”

  “I’ve never been called fascinating before. It sounds sort of exotic. I like it.”

  He glanced up at the darkening sky. “The stars are coming out. This would be a great time for your first dance lesson.”

  “I was hoping you’d forget about that.”

  He laughed softly. “Slow dancing is like kissing. You just follow your instincts.”

  “It’s nothing like kissing, Quinn.”

  “We’ll see. Put your arms around my neck and stand on my feet.”

  After she did as he said, he began to move slowly back and forth. Pressed against him, she could feel the muscular lines of his body, the latent strength in the arms that held her and the reassuring sound of his heartbeats.

  “See how easy it is?” he asked after a few minutes.

  She drew back to look at him. “It’s easy for me because you’re doing all the work.”

  “This isn’t work, Ellen. This is heaven on earth.” Then he lowered his head and kissed her as if he hadn’t seen her in weeks instead of hours.

  His voice close by brought her back to the present.

  “Does this spot look okay?”

  She glanced around. “It’s perfect.”

  As she helped him spread the blanket
on the ground, she felt as if she was watching a rerun of a favorite movie; one she already knew the ending to. After they sat down, he reached for her hand and began to play with her fingers.

  “I have a confession to make. My hard drive didn’t crash. I told you that to hide the real reason I wanted to come here.” He looked out at the water and then back at her. “This is a special place to me. We shared our first kiss here, and this is where I knew that I’d never be able to think of you the same way again. Since that day you’ve only become more precious to me. You taught me what love is. You made the word mean something.” He reached into the backpack and removed a black velvet box. When he opened it, she saw a square cut sapphire surrounded by diamonds. “I love you, Ellen, and I can’t imagine my life without you. Will you marry me? I’ll do my best to make you happy.”

  Tears spilled out of her eyes as she flung her arms around his neck, unable to believe that the dearest wish of her heart was coming true. Then she moved back to look at him, wanting to see his face when she answered. “Yes, I’ll marry you. There’s nothing I want more.”

  His eyes shone with a love that stole her breath. He took the ring out of the box and reached for her hand. “I wanted something that would match your eyes. This is as close as I could get.”

  As she watched him slide the ring on her finger, she said, “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

  He drew her into his arms and kissed her with an intensity that was neither tentative nor hesitant. It was as if everything else was a dream and the only thing keeping her in the real world was Quinn. Delight swirled inside her, tingling along every inch of contact between them. Her heart began to beat frantically, expanding, aching in her chest. With a soft moan deep in her throat, she tightened her arms around his neck, wanting nothing between them. When he finally released her, they were both trembling. He feathered his fingers across her lips, cheek and into her hair.

  “You’re probably going to need another assistant for the shop.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because you’re going to be busy planning a wedding.”

  Epilogue

  Quinn heard the click of the back door and turned his head. From his position under the car, he watched as a pair of sandaled feet came into view. There were times when he felt as if he hadn’t really begun to live until he met Ellen; that the previous thirty-three years were insignificant when compared to the year and a half she’d been in his life. Her touch never failed to move him, never failed to make him aware of how fortunate he was. He might have doubts about other things, but not about her.