by Marie Force
“And that,” Mallory said two hours later as they walked back to the Lobster House parking lot, “is my family.”
“What a great time,” Quinn said. “I haven’t laughed that much in years.”
“They’re so fun. Sometimes I still can’t believe I get to keep them. I’m glad you enjoyed meeting them.”
“Every one of them is funnier than the last one.”
“I know! I can’t keep up with them when they start going at it.”
“They’ve had years of experience goading each other. You’ll catch up.”
“Even if I never do, I get to be entertained by them on a regular basis.”
“It’s nice to see that truly functional families still exist.”
“I agree. Yours isn’t like that?”
“Not like they are. When the James siblings go at it, usually people cry rather than laugh.”
“Ouch.”
“Exactly. Not so much anymore, but when we were younger, it was pretty brutal. My parents used to wonder if we’d speak to each other as adults. And then when Jared struck it rich, he shared the wealth with the rest of us, which brought out the best in some and the worst in others.”
“Money does strange things to people.”
“Yes, it does.”
“Did it do strange things to you?”
“Nah. I invested it and forgot about it while I was in the military.”
“Which means you’ve probably made a killing on it.”
“It’s done all right. Jared keeps an eye on it for me, and he’s a wizard. But it’s never felt like my money, you know?”
“I can understand that, but it was nice of him to make his family comfortable when he hit it big.”
“Yes, it was. He was extremely generous with all of us. The best part was that my dad, who drove a New Jersey transit bus his entire adult life, was able to retire, and my parents spend six months a year in Florida. Now he plays golf seven days a week and is tanned year-round.”
“That’s wonderful.” Mallory paused and then glanced over at him. “That’s why you didn’t tell them about your leg, right? Because they were enjoying their retirement so much.”
“Yeah. They’d worked so hard to support us. My mom worked in a high school cafeteria. Money was always in short supply when we were kids. They need to relax and enjoy themselves now. They’ve certainly earned it.”
Once again, it pained her to think of him enduring such a difficult ordeal completely alone, but it told her a lot about who he really was that he’d put his parents and their best interests ahead of his own.
They arrived at his truck, and he held the door for her. Mallory’s heart began to beat a little faster the closer they got to her house and the end of their evening. Usually by this point in a date, she was working out a strategy to get rid of the guy as fast as she could. But tonight… Tonight she wanted him to stay awhile longer but had no idea what he was thinking.
He pulled into her driveway, killed the engine and turned to face her, his arm propped on the back of the seat. “Thank you for a great night.”
“Thank you for dinner and for putting up with my family.”
“It was fun.”
“Yes, it was.”
He raised his hand ever so slightly to touch her hair.
Mallory held her breath, waiting to see what would happen next. At that moment, she wasn’t thinking about the job he’d offered her or the possibility that he could be her boss. No, she was too focused on his lips and the possibility that he might kiss her.
He didn’t disappoint. Leaning in, he whispered, “You’re going to have to meet me halfway.”
“I can do that.” Mallory moved closer to meet him and noted the slight curve in his lips right before they connected with hers. And holy wow, the man could kiss. She edged ever closer to him, and he drew her in with his fingers buried in her hair for one hell of a kiss—tender and sweet, but also hot and needy at the same time.
When he ran his tongue over her bottom lip, Mallory gasped from the sensations that spiraled through her. It had been, she realized, a very long time since she’d experienced true desire.
He withdrew from her slowly but kept his firm grip on her hair so she couldn’t get away. “Whoa,” he whispered as his lips slid over hers.
“What you said.”
She felt him smile against her lips. “You want to come in?”
“Uh-huh.”
“You have to let me go so we can get out of the car.”
“In a minute.”
Chapter 10
Quinn kissed her again, much more passionately this time, with his tongue rubbing up against hers in a sensuous dance that had her gripping a handful of his coat to keep him from retreating too soon.
By the time they came up for air, the windows were fogged and both of them were breathing hard.
He reached down to release her seat belt and then unfastened his own.
They got out of the truck and met at the front. She noticed that he looked as bewildered as she felt from the heat of their kisses as he put his hand on her lower back to guide her up the stairs to the small front porch.
Mallory used her key in the door. Even though her family told her no one locked their doors on Gansett Island, she was too much of a city girl to ever break that habit entirely.
The fragrance from a cinnamon-scented candle greeted them, giving the tiny cottage a warm, welcoming feeling. She turned on a light that bathed the living room in a cozy glow. It had taken years for her place in the city to feel like home to her, but already, this house owned by her sister spoke to her in a way the city place never had.
Quinn unzipped his coat and helped her remove hers.
“Can I get you anything to drink?” she asked.
He shook his head and raised his hands to frame her face, tipping it up to receive another kiss.
Mallory rested her hands on his hips and tilted her head to improve the angle.
Before she knew it, his arms were wrapped around her as he devoured her with his lips and tongue.
This was… unexpected. Yes, she found him attractive and interesting and slightly mysterious. She’d enjoyed the time they’d spent together, but she hadn’t pictured the night ending on such a hot-and-bothered note. And where exactly was this headed from here?
The press of his arousal against her belly made it rather obvious what he wanted, but was she prepared to go there right now? No. Not quite yet.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, shifting his focus to her neck, which made her legs go weak under her.
“I was thinking we should save something for next time.”
He continued to kiss and nibble on her neck until Mallory was on the verge of saying to hell with next time.
“I have to tell you,” he said gruffly, his breath warm against her tingling skin, “this was the best night I’ve had in a really, really long time.”
Moved by his sweet words, she wrapped her arms around his waist and held on tight. “Me, too.”
“Tell me we can do it again very soon. Like tomorrow night. Or is it tonight? What the hell time is it anyway?”
Mallory laughed at the way he asked that question, as if he’d lost all concept of time while they were together. “Almost midnight.”
“Tonight, then. Yes?” He looked down at her, his expression fierce and tender at the same time.
“Yes.”
“Good answer.” He touched his lips to hers again. “I’ll call you.”
“Okay.”
She watched him put his coat back on and walked him to the door. “Quinn.”
He turned to face her.
“I didn’t really want to put a stop to that just now.”
Gazing into her eyes, he stole another kiss. “That’s good to know. Sleep tight.”
She closed the door behind him and locked it, but waited until he’d pulled out of the driveway to turn off the outside lights. For a long time after he left, she leaned her head against the wood do
or and relived the delightful evening that had ended with the kind of passion she’d experienced only one other time in her life.
Her reaction to Quinn had taken her by surprise. She’d become accustomed to dates that ended with a pleasant kiss or two, occasionally some nice, sweet sex that rarely led to anything more substantial. But this… This had the potential to be more than substantial. It could be life-changing.
Did she want that at a time when so many other things in her life were changing? She had no idea, but that was the beauty of the Summer of Mallory. Anything was possible.
She turned off the rest of the lights and went into her bedroom to change into pajama pants and a T-shirt. In the bathroom, she washed her face and brushed her teeth and took a close look at her face in the mirror, noticing a hint of razor burn on her jaw as well as swollen, well-kissed lips.
Releasing a deep breath, she headed for bed, where she lay awake for a long time, reliving the best date she’d been on in years and wondering what would happen next.
She couldn’t wait to find out.
After leaving Mallory’s house, Quinn drove toward New Harbor and found a parking place along the seawall that led to McCarthy’s Marina. He locked his truck and went down to the town dock, where he’d left his dinghy earlier.
When Quinn accepted the job at the healthcare facility, Jared had offered him the caretaker’s suite at the Chesterfield, another property his brother and Lizzie owned on the island. The suite had worked out well for the winter and early spring months, but he’d wanted something different for the summer.
He’d perused for-sale ads for months before finding a thirty-six-foot sailboat for sale that met all his requirements. Not only was it in great condition, but the interior made for a comfortable place to call home for the summer.
He started the outboard motor and directed the rubber boat toward the mooring field where his boat was located. He’d been lucky to secure a mooring for the summer and loved living on the boat. It took about ten minutes to motor from the shore to the boat. Taking the bowline with him, he climbed aboard the sailboat and secured the dinghy with a loose knot.
Onboard, he unlocked the padlock on the cabin door, and Brutus came barreling out to meet him, licking his face with unbridled love and enthusiasm. Getting the dog was the best thing he’d done for himself since he got hurt. The “puppy” was now fifty pounds of true love, and Quinn adored him. “Let’s go for a walk, bud.”
Used to their routine by now, Brutus leaped into the dinghy and waited for Quinn to join him. Getting into the smaller boat could still be a challenge for him with the prosthetic, so he moved cautiously, aware that if he had any sort of accident out here in the dark, he’d be in a world of trouble by himself.
Once settled in the boat with Brutus propped up on the bow like a hood ornament, Quinn restarted the engine and motored back to the shore, where he and Brutus took a short walk so the dog could take care of business. He loved that Brutus stayed right with him and didn’t have to be on a leash for these outings. Quinn picked up the poop and dropped it in a trashcan at the beach before they set off to return to the boat.
When they arrived, Brutus scampered off the dinghy back onto the bigger boat like he’d been doing it for years rather than weeks. Quinn was relieved that Brutus had taken to life on the boat so effortlessly. He went below to grab a bottle of water that he brought back onto the deck with him, stretching out on one of the padded seats to look up at the stars. In all his life, he’d never seen stars quite like those that appeared each night over Gansett’s remote Salt Pond.
Brutus stretched out next to him on the deck, close enough that Quinn could scratch behind his ears while he looked at the stars.
He wondered if Mallory liked to sail and what she’d think of the boat he called home or whether she’d like to see his view of the stars. He’d meant what he told her about this being one of the best nights he’d had in longer than he could remember.
Even though he’d fully expected to enjoy himself, he hadn’t anticipated the sort of connection he’d had with her. He hadn’t told anyone about losing his leg, but somehow the story had spilled out to her without any hesitation whatsoever. He knew instinctively that he could trust her to keep his secrets private, especially because she too was a trained medical professional accustomed to maintaining patient privacy. Similarly, he suspected she didn’t easily share the story of how she’d lost her husband so tragically, yet she’d told him.
And when he’d kissed her… He’d been attracted to her intelligence and competence the first time they met at the accident scene. He’d been impressed by her compassion toward other members at their AA meetings, and he thought she was flat-out gorgeous. In fact, he’d had to remind himself more than once that it was creepy to stare when he sat across from her at meetings.
Now that he knew what it was like to kiss her, he couldn’t wait to do it again.
Neither of them were kids. They’d both taken their share of knocks in life and were a long way from wide-eyed innocence. Yet the time he’d spent with her filled him with the kind of optimism he hadn’t felt since long before he was injured. Back then, he’d been invincible. Nothing could touch him. He could handle anything that came his way and had saved countless lives under terrible conditions.
Everything changed for him in a single second. A flash of light, a blast of heat and pain so unbearable he’d lost consciousness. When he came to and discovered the extent of his injury, he knew right then and there that nothing would ever be the same. He’d been knocked off his king-of-the-world throne and had descended into depths of despair he’d never known possible as he fought to save what was left of his leg.
The infection had won the war, forcing him to decide between his leg and his life. In a way, it had worked out for the best, because he never would’ve conceded to amputation if it hadn’t come down to such a dire choice. His stubbornness would’ve led to permanent disability rather than the slight limp he lived with now that he had the prosthetic.
After the surgery, the worst part of the recovery had been the phantom pain he’d experienced in the missing limb. When patients had complained of that in the past, he’d wondered if it was psychosomatic, but now he knew better. He was a better doctor for having survived his ordeal, but he’d lost his taste for trauma surgery and the never-ending life-and-death battles that went along with it.
Jared and Lizzie’s offer had come at the right time, two years after his own surgery and grueling rehab in which he’d learned how to walk with the prosthetic. He’d begun to think about his next move when Jared called with Lizzie’s big idea for him to run their healthcare facility on Gansett Island.
He couldn’t say yet if this was a permanent move or even a “career” he wished to pursue long-term. For now, he’d committed to staying long enough to get the facility up and running. He’d wanted to keep his options open, and Lizzie had wanted him badly enough for the job that she’d been willing to agree to conditional employment.
So for now, he was happily settled on his spacious, comfortable boat with his beloved dog, the incredible views of the pond and the stars and the bustling activity on the waterfront. The day he met Mallory had been one of his first attempts at running on the prosthetic, and he’d since become much more comfortable and was adding to his mileage with each passing week. He was giving himself another month or so before he started taking Brutus with him.
His life was back under control, for the most part, which made tonight’s events that much more intriguing. Now that he had the rest of his crap sorted, for the time being anyway, perhaps there was room for something more. With he and Mallory both in this weird state of transition, maybe this was the worst possible time to be thinking such thoughts. But after the delightful evening they’d spent together, she seemed to be all he could think about.
“I don’t know about that guy,” Mac said to Maddie as he pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it toward the hamper, missing by a foot.
She b
ent to retrieve it and threw it back to him. “Try again, Ace.”
Mac balled up the shirt and made a perfect shot. “Swish.”
“What guy are you talking about?”
“The one Mallory was with.”
“Quinn James?”
“Yeah, him. What do we know about him anyway?”
“We know he’s Jared’s brother, and that Jared is a good guy who’s done a lot for our community since he moved here.”
“That doesn’t mean his brother is a good guy.”
“He’s a veteran.”
“And I appreciate his service, but even that doesn’t mean he’s good for my sister.”
“You’ve worked with him for months. You know him by now.”
“That’s the thing. I don’t feel like I know him any better now than I did at the beginning.”
“Mallory seems to like him. That ought to count for something.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Maddie washed the makeup off her face and put toothpaste on her toothbrush. “Mac… What’re you not saying?”
“Nothing.” He couldn’t say why, exactly, he wasn’t sure about Mallory seeing Quinn, but he vowed to keep a closer eye on the guy now that he knew his sister was interested. “I’m going to check on the kids.”
“Do not, under any circumstances, do anything to wake them up, or I will kill you, and I’ll make it hurt.”
“Yes, dear,” he said with a chuckle. God, he loved her even when she was threatening to kill him. After even a couple of hours away from them, he needed to lay eyes on his babies, even though Maddie had already checked on them.
He went first into Thomas’s room where his soon-to-be-five-year-old son was sleeping with his arms thrown over his head and his covers kicked off. Mac covered him and kissed his forehead. “Love you, buddy,” he whispered. The sleeping child never stirred.
In Hailey’s room, he found his daughter sleeping with her bum in the air, per usual, and fixed the blanket that had become tangled around her tiny body. He kissed his fingertips and reached over the crib rails to sweep sweaty blonde hair off her forehead.
