Page 82 of The Cottage on Blueberry Bay

“You’re kidding.” Quinn rushed to look out and stood right next to her.

Meredith could feel him next to her, sending an electric wave throughout her body. The smell of his aftershave made her forget about the whale and notice how handsome Quinn Michaud was.

“Would you look at that,” he said, gazing at the water shooting up into the air. “You never get used to seeing that.”

He smiled at her as she realized she had been staring at him and not the whale. “I bet not.”

Quinn stayed next to her, looking at her a second longer than expected, but then he gave her a nod and backed away, returning to his stool.

“I’ll let you know if Kyle needs a ride,” he said, grabbing another blueberry.

Meredith stared at his lips as he chewed. That’s when she remembered to take a breath. “Yes, let me know.”

He put his hands on the counter and stood back up. “Right, well, I should go.”

And with that, he walked out the door, leaving her standing by the sink, having a hot flash, wondering what the heck just happened.

“Hey,” Remy said, coming into the kitchen. “What’s up with you?”

Meredith didn’t even know how to answer. “What do you mean?”

“Why are you all sweaty?” Remy’s face twisted in disgust. “Why don’t you open a window?”

Meredith walked to the back door and flung it open, letting the cool breeze from the ocean come into the house. She inhaled the sweet scent and gathered herself.

As Meredith stood there, she saw Kyle walking through the beach plum path headed toward the water, holding his girlfriend’s hand. Technically, it was her path, her piece of land, but the name on the deed didn’t matter. She watched as he expertly navigated through the bushes and rocks, stepping on the edges of the granite boulders like a tight rope and gracefully climbing over.

His girlfriend took hold of his hand, using her other hand to help her balance. She wasn’t as coordinated but still easily climbed with Kyle down to the beach.

“Should we just let them swim?” Meredith asked. She enjoyed having the beach to herself but also knew how much the place must mean to Kyle.

Remy shrugged. “Why not?”

“I don’t know, legalities?”

“You think Quinn will sue you?” Remy didn’t seem to be concerned.

“No, but you never know what could happen,” Meredith said.

Remy sighed. “I think it’s safe to say Quinn is someone you can trust.”

Meredith thought about it. She did trust Quinn. Everything he said and did was trustworthy. He did what was best for Jacob and her, not for him and his family. Would Phillip have been the same to his client? Or to her?

After a little bit, Remy said, “I’m going to call Joe tonight.”

This made Meredith do a double take. Remy was wearing her wedding ring again.

“That’s good,” Meredith said encouragingly. “You should talk.”

Remy bit her bottom lip before saying, “I just hope he will.”

“You need to be honest about your feelings.” Meredith thought back to when Phillip told her he wanted a divorce.

He had told her over dinner. She should’ve known something was up. He had never arranged to go out to dinner. They had usually just decided to go out without a plan. But this time had been different. This time, he’d arranged to meet at a restaurant.

Now, she understood he hadn’t wanted to leave the restaurant with her, but at the time, she had been so fixated on how ridiculous it all was that she had called to cancel.

“Let’s just have dinner at home,” she’d said, annoyed he had wanted her to drive into the city.

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