Page 105 of The Cottage on Blueberry Bay

“It’s all Remy,” Meredith said, smelling his aftershave and feeling the slight roughness of his morning-old stubble.

He smiled. “It’s good to see you.”

She played with her hands, not sure what to do with them. Should she fold them in front of her, or hold them across her stomach? Did she just look completely stupid no matter what she did? She decided to clasp them together and rest them against her dress.

“Did you find the information about the conservation helpful?” he asked, getting right to business.

A heavy feeling washed over her, disappointment along with the same cut of sadness she felt the night he canceled their dinner.

“Quinn,” she said, not caring if it was the right moment or not. “Are you here just as my attorney? Or did you come to see me too?”

He stared at her, and the silence was deafening.

“Because I don’t think I can keep being your client if we can’t be friends,” she said. She felt horrible, but it was too hard seeing him and feeling something for him, with him being the old, cold Quinn.

She didn’t want to spill her feelings, but Meredith was fifty. She didn’t want to waste any time being uncomfortable around people in her life.

“Meredith,” he said.

She waited for him to say something, to explain, but he just stood there staring at her.

“Right, well, I have an auction to sit through,” she said, as people mulled around the barn. She began to walk away.

“Meredith,” he said, grabbing her clasped hands and stopping her from walking away. “I can’t stop thinking about you.”

“What?” she said, her heart stopping in its tracks.

“I think about you all the time,” he said, not letting go of her hand. “And I wish I hadn’t freaked out, but I did. I didn’t want to start something and get attached and then have everything fall apart because I’m stuck in some law office working all the time.”

“You didn’t even want to see if it would work,” she said. “You just decided it couldn’t.”

“I know I’m going to be a miserable human being working for my father-in-law.”

“Then don’t,” she said. “Don’t work for him.”

“I can’t afford college, even if Kyle doesn’t use his money to buy the boat.” Quinn huffed. “I took a job from my father-in-law under the promise that he’d pay for Kyle.”

So that’s what it felt like to have her heart crushed. She looked down at their hands.

Quinn entwined his fingers into hers. “But what if we did try being more than just attorney and client? I mean, maybe, if you’re up for it, we could try seeing each other on the weekends.”

Her heart skipped a beat as she looked up at him. “I’d really like that.”

He nodded. She could feel his heart pounding inside his chest when he said, “Meredith?”

“Yes?” She looked up at him, waiting for him to say something.

And with a small tug into his arms, he dipped her down and kissed her. He held her against him as the whole barn spun underneath Meredith’s feet.

When he brought her back to her feet, he said, “I’ve wanted nothing more than to do that for ages.”

She smiled. “I’ve been waiting for you to kiss me for ages.”

And with that, he kissed her again.

CHAPTER37

Cora showed up first, then Ryan and Muriel drove up together without her boyfriend, which couldn’t have been better in Meredith’s opinion. All three had showed up before the auction started, and it felt like old times with all of them together right away.

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