Quinn remembered Jase’s comment about a pocket Venus and started to laugh. It appeared he and Ellen would have ample opportunities to renew their acquaintance. “Is it on Sea Grape Lane?”
Her blue eyes got big. “Yes. How in the world did you know?”
“I’m your landlord. Jase told me he rented the cottage, but didn’t mention the name of my tenant.”
“Jase is your brother? Now I know why his smile seemed familiar. I wasn’t sure what to make of him at first.”
“He lives in the pages of his books and seldom comes up for air, but he’s harmless. Don’t let the dreamy expression and off-the-wall remarks fool you. Jase graduated from the University of Georgia in three years with a degree in physics. He also sold real estate for two years and made it into the millionaire club. In other words, he’s not what he seems.”
She sent him a teasing smile. “That’s an awfully big house you’ve got. You must be planning on a large family to fill up all those bedrooms.”
For children, he needed a wife. Those plans had walked out the door with Avery. “The bedrooms will likely remain empty.”
“Why? Do you have something against marriage?”
“I have nothing against it, but I’m not most women’s idea of a handsome prince.”
“Most of us aren’t looking for a handsome prince. We want someone who will love and respect us, someone to whom we’re the most important person in the world.”
“Unfortunately we don’t always have a say in who we love.”
Her lips curved into a wistful smile. “I’m not sure I’ve ever been in love. It’s more that I was in love with the idea of being in love. Does that make sense?”
“Of course. There’s something irresistible in the thought of one’s happiness being bound with someone else. Would you like dessert? The bread pudding here is excellent.”
“No, thanks. I’ve had more than enough for tonight.”
As he followed the maroon Toyota from Rafferty’s to his house, Quinn was still getting used to the idea of Ellen living in the cottage. Fifteen minutes later he was walking her to the blue door with its old fashioned brass knocker. When she turned to him in the semi-darkness, her head barely reaching the level of his chin, something tightened in his chest. But that was nothing to what went through him when she stood on tiptoe, put her hands on his shoulders and kissed his cheek.
“Thanks for the meal and the company, Quinn.”
She smelled like flowers, not surprising given her profession. A rush of warmth flooded his body at the same time that a chill made its way down his spine. His brain could only conjure one coherent thought: Ellen wasn’t a little girl anymore. Those six words were both obvious and ridiculously inadequate to explain his reaction.
“I should be saying that,” he managed to get out. “You’re much more entertaining than Jase.”
She chuckled. “I hope so. Goodnight.”
As he turned away, his fingers found the spot where she kissed him. Only then did he realize that she’d kissed the scarred side of his face. How could she bear to touch her lips to something so ugly?
* * * * *
It wasn’t until the following morning when Ellen stood at her bedroom window looking out at the garden that she remembered Jase’s words: my brother had it put in for the woman he was going to marry. Ellen hadn’t known then who his brother was. Now she knew it was Quinn who lost his fiancé. Did that happen before or after his accident? She hoped it was the former. Surely no woman could be so cruel as to walk out on a man at such a time.
Curiosity took her across grass still damp with dew to the gate leading to the garden. She half expected it to show some sign of neglect given that the reason for its creation no longer existed, but the opposite was true. From the trimmed hedges to the boxed flower beds, there wasn’t a weed to be seen or an errant leaf out of place.
An archway covered in English ivy led to the maze. Ellen hadn’t been in one since her family’s visit to Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia when she was ten years old. She and Bethany had spent over an hour going back and forth until they eventually found their way out. This maze was much smaller, of course, but Ellen couldn’t resist trying it.
She’d just reached the sidewalk outside the cottage when she heard a door close behind her. Ellen glanced over her shoulder expecting to see Jase and saw Quinn in a black t-shirt and shorts. He obviously took staying in shape much more seriously than she did. His body looked like pure muscle. Running down his right forearm was a tattoo. She hadn’t noticed it before because he’d been wearing a long sleeve dress shirt.
“Good morning,” she called to him.
“Same to you.”
The Saint Bernard she’d seen previously appeared around the corner of the house. “Is that your running partner?”
“Sure is. His name is Max, and he belongs to my neighbor across the street. He’s sort of adopted me. You’re up early today.”
“I was checking out your garden.”
“As a florist or a less discerning audience?”
“Both, I guess. Either way, it’s beautiful.”
Quinn sat down on the bottom step to tie his shoes. “Thank you. I did some research on English gardens and patterned this one after a few I liked.”
“Do you maintain it?”
“When I have time, but I also have a landscape guy that takes care of it when he does the rest of the yard.”
“Would that be Matt Gibson?”
“It would.”
Ellen laughed. “I went to school with Matt.”
“That makes sense. I was in the same graduating class as Eric. His daughter Nerina is one of my patients. If you’d like some breakfast, I made zucchini bread.”
“You made it?”
“My mother was adamant that her sons would be able to take care of themselves. This was due in large part to the fact that my father was raised in a home where his mother did everything for him. He expected his wife to pick up where his mother left off. She made the mistake of going along with it for the first few years of their marriage which didn’t help matters, but eventually she managed to change his mind. I’m not saying that you’ll ever see him volunteering to do the dishes or the laundry, but if she asks him, he’ll do it.”
“Sounds like my dad.”
“I better get going before Max gives up on me.”
Ellen found Jase in the kitchen reading a comic book. “Quinn invited me to breakfast.”
He grinned widely as he put down the book. “So I heard. I didn’t realize you were related to Bethany. I remember Quinn bringing her to our house a few times.”
“I guess we’re even then. I didn’t know Quinn had a younger brother.”
“There’s almost ten years between us. I was one of those surprises that come along from time to time.”
Ellen cut off a slice of bread and took a bite. “This is delicious.”
“Quinn is a pretty good cook. He enjoys it, too, which is nice for me. What did you think of the garden?”
“I loved it.”
“Personally, I wouldn’t want a reminder of the woman who ripped out my heart staring me in the face every time I look out the window.”
“Everyone handles these things differently.”
“It’s ironic when you think about it. Quinn’s relationship with Avery started and ended in a hospital. They met when he treated her niece in the emergency room. They were supposed to get married as soon as he returned from his trip with Doctors without Borders. That didn’t happen, of course.” He stopped for a minute, shaking his head. “I was there when she came to see him. She just stood by the door looking at him as if he was some kind of monster. This was the man she supposedly loved, the man she hadn’t seen in months, and she couldn’t bring herself to touch him. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she didn’t even have the decency to tell him in person that she’d changed her mind about marrying him.”
By the time he finished, tears were running down Ellen’s face, and her
appetite was gone. “I wish you hadn’t told me.”
“It makes you angry, doesn’t it? But you have to know the whole story in order to understand Quinn.” He came over to where she stood. “Avery did more than break his heart. She convinced him that he’s unlovable; that no woman would ever want him.”
No wonder he referred to himself as a beast. “How long ago did this happen?”
“It’s been over a year, but Quinn doesn’t need more time, Ellen. He needs a woman, and I don’t mean that in a crude way.”
“I know what you mean,” she said softly. “He needs to feel valued and loved.”
Jase jammed his hands in his pockets, his expression a mixture of anger and sadness. “I’ve looked up to him all my life. When I was younger, my father was busy with his practice and then later with building his clinic. He didn’t have time for me. Quinn was the one who helped me with my homework, took me to ballgames, taught me how to talk to girls, and encouraged me to follow my dream of writing. It kills me to see him so determined to live the rest of his life alone.”
“You don’t have to convince me of your brother’s character or kindness, but whether or not he’ll let someone get close to him is something only he can decide.”
“He’s built an impregnable fortress around himself. I didn’t think there was a person who could get through it until yesterday.”
“What happened yesterday?”
He pointed at her. “He went out to dinner with you. That might not seem like a big deal, but it’s the first time he’s been anywhere with a woman since he boarded the plane for Africa. I can’t help but think it’s significant.”
“I wouldn’t read too much into it. Quinn and I are old friends.”
“I’ll take whatever I can get. You’re good for him, Ellen. Already I’ve seen a change in him.”
“Aren’t you afraid I might inadvertently hurt him? After all, what do you really know about me?”
“The eyes are the mirror to the soul. Yours are about as pure as they come.”
What she might have replied to this was never spoken because the subject of their conversation strolled through the door.
“That was a quick run,” Jase pointed out.
“I have a meeting at the hospital this morning before I start my patients.” Quinn looked at Ellen. “I meant to tell you that you’re welcome to any of the flowers or plants in the garden.”
“You may regret that offer.”
“I’d rather them be enjoyed than stay hidden. I’ll see you two later.”
Ellen wrapped a napkin around her unfinished bread. “I need to go, too. My assistant has to leave early today.”
“And I’ve got a book to edit.”
“I thought you were done.”
Jase laughed. “Writing the book is just the beginning. Now I have to go back and make sure I tied up all the loose ends and fixed all the grammatical errors.”
“I’ve got a friend who’s an English professor. Would you like me to ask her if she’d be willing to look it over for you?”
“That would be great. I’ll gladly pay her for her time.”
Ellen walked toward the door. “I’ll call Faith later on today and let you know what she says.”
“Thanks, Ellen.”
* * * * *
As Quinn showered and dressed, his mind wasn’t on his upcoming meeting. It was where it had been for the last ten hours. What should have been forgotten had kept him up most of the night. The touch of Ellen’s lips had lasted barely a second and yet he could remember everything about it from the warmth of her breath on his skin to the softness of her hair tickling his chin.
Instead of working on an article he’d been asked to write for a pediatric medical journal, he’d alternated between feeling guilty for taking pleasure from something so innocent and wondering what her lips would feel like pressed against his own. Even in his sleep, he hadn’t been able to escape. His subconscious picked up where his conscious thoughts left off.
How had one kiss on the cheek unhinged him to this degree? A disgusted groan escaped him as he impatiently adjusted the length of his tie and reached for his suitcoat. He knew why his efforts to forget had failed so miserably. Ellen’s touch had awakened not a sleeping giant bent on destruction, but a tormented soul desperate for affection.
Quinn did his rounds of the newborn nursery before going to the seventh floor where the administrative offices of the hospital were housed. He wouldn’t have volunteered to be on a task force in the normal way because he felt his talents could be better used elsewhere. His opinion of committees was that they spent too much time talking and never doing anything. In this particular instance, his participation had been requested by the head of pediatrics which meant he didn’t have the option of refusing.
So far the experience had lived up to his very low expectations. In spite of meeting four times, the ten-member team had accomplished very little. This had prompted the committee chair to bring in an outside consultant, an attorney of all things. Like this guy would know anything about the inner workings of a hospital. To Quinn, this was as good as an admission of defeat.
When he entered the paneled conference room, there were only two other people present. One was the hospital administrator’s secretary and the other was a man with slicked-back hair wearing an expensive suit and a Rolex watch. This was undoubtedly the new member of the group who would miraculously undo the stalemate and bring everyone into agreement on how to deal with overcrowded emergency rooms, overworked staff, and dwindling resources.
Quinn took a seat near the back and reached for his phone to check his messages. There was a text from his mother. He smiled as he read it.
“You don’t have to worry about wallpapering the bathroom tomorrow night. Your father has someone doing it right now. Come for dinner. I’ll make ribs.”
As he sent back a reply, he couldn’t help but hear the conversation taking place at the other end of the room. The attorney’s comments consisted of name-dropping and bragging about all the cases he’d won. Who was he trying to impress?
“It sounds like you’re doing well career wise, Mark,” the secretary was saying. “How’s the wedding planning going?”
“Okay, I guess,” the man named Mark replied, laughing loudly. “The florist my fiancé wants to use is one of my former girlfriends. We met with her yesterday.”
Was this the guy Ellen had mentioned at dinner last night? Quinn lifted his head to look at him again. He tried to picture the two of them together and couldn’t.
“That must have been awkward.”
“It actually wasn’t that bad. Ellen was very nice about it.”
“If I were you, I’d find another florist. What if this woman orders the wrong flowers or ‘accidently’ loses your order.”
“She wouldn’t do that.”
Okay, the man wasn’t a total loss. He was smart enough to know Ellen wouldn’t stoop to such tactics.
“You never can tell what someone will do.”
Quinn couldn’t help but be glad things hadn’t worked out between Ellen and Mark. She deserved someone better than this man with his exaggerated sense of worth and thinly veiled arrogance. She had something that was rare: an unselfish, loving nature. A man’s heart would be safe with her. He ignored the tiny voice in his head that said his heart would be safe with her. Where were these ridiculous ideas coming from? Ellen was a friend, and that’s all she could ever be.
* * * * *
In spite of a busy morning making deliveries, Ellen couldn’t get Jase’s words out of her mind. Avery did more than break his heart. She convinced him that he’s unlovable, that no woman would ever want him. Avery’s actions weren’t just cold and unfeeling; they were inhuman. Just thinking about it had her tearing up again. The usually oblivious Frank noticed her red-rimmed eyes within minutes of her arrival back at the shop.
“Anything wrong, boss?”
“Nothing to worry about.”
“I can cancel my dentist
appointment if you need me to stay this afternoon.”
Ellen sent him a grateful smile. “That’s sweet of you, but I’ll be fine.”
“The advertisement we put in the paper seems to have helped. I had about ten calls from prospective brides while you were gone.”
If only she could get rid of one particular bride. “If this keeps up, we’re going to have a busy summer.”
The afternoon was relatively quiet which enabled Ellen to get a head start on the orders for the following day. It also gave her the chance to call Faith.
“Hey, Ellen. Have your ears been burning? Matt and I were talking about you earlier.”
“It must be grass cutting day at your house.”
“It is. He finished about twenty minutes ago. Now he’s in the backyard playing croquet with Olivia. He’s been bugging me about our high school reunion. I told him that you and I have better things to do.”
Ellen laughed. “I refuse to show up at my ten year reunion without a husband or at the very least a boyfriend.”
“I’ve kept up with the friends I care about. Why spend the evening with a bunch of people I’ll probably never see again?”
“I take it that Matt’s going.”
“You know Matt. He wants to show off Darcy.”
“That figures. I’ve got something to ask you, but don’t feel like you have to say yes. I know you’re busy with Olivia and your online classes. Someone I met recently is an author. He’s looking for help proofreading his book. Would you be interested in doing it?”
“I’d love to.”
“I forgot to ask him what kind of book it is, but he said he’d be glad to pay.”
“I have a wide range of tastes. As to payment, tell him my price is an autographed copy after he publishes it.”
“Jase will like that idea.”
“Is he a new boyfriend?”
Ellen laughed. “No. He’s the brother of my landlord, Dr. Phillips.”
“I know Dr. Phillips. He’s Olivia’s doctor. Isn’t it awful what happened to him?”
A lump formed in Ellen’s throat. She couldn’t talk about this now; not even to a close friend. “Yes, it is. I hate to go, but I’ve got some boring bookkeeping to do.”
Yours, With Love: A Sweet Contemporary Romance (Finding Love Book 5) Page 5