For her personally, the honu represented the beginning of her story, as she’d finally worked through her dreams and shards of memory to realize how she’d survived being lost at sea as a young girl. It wasn’t luck. It was her guardian honu who had led her to safety, and it was a story she kept close to her heart, declining to share it with anyone.
Liam had done the turtle himself, showing his artistic side. He’d ended up doing much more than he’d signed on for as a contractor. After the turtle, he’d helped redesign the guest rooms so that each had its own beautifully situated private lanai and outdoor shower. It was his idea to outfit the rooms with rattan and teak furniture, bringing the feel of the island inside. Quinn immediately agreed, and they chose the furniture together.
Working with Liam wasn’t a chore either. They’d finally acknowledged the attraction they held for each other, and though they were intimate—and he was the most generous and sensual lover she’d ever known—she wasn’t yet ready to talk about making things permanent.
Quinn was wary of getting in too deep with anyone or letting someone else influence who she was trying to be. She’d been down that road with her ex-fiancé and had nearly lost herself becoming the woman he wanted to marry. She never wanted that to happen again.
Liam had a past too—one that he hadn’t yet shared with Quinn—making her wonder if he was as all in as he claimed to be. Only time would tell, but in this case, they weren’t rushing it. Quinn was enjoying being independent for the first time in her life. Never had she known how capable she was until she’d stopped letting others do everything for her.
She had to admit: Liam did a little something to her heart every time he smiled at her. But she remembered long ago, when she and her ex-fiancé had met, he had made her feel he was smitten with her too. Then he’d systematically, over time, modeled her into someone she wasn’t. Though she went along, after everything was said and done, she still wasn’t good enough because he cheated on her.
Then said it meant nothing.
Well, maybe not to him. But it did to her.
Quinn was logical enough to grasp that Liam was nothing like Ethan, and she shouldn’t hold someone else’s past transgressions against him.
She needed to work on sorting it all out in her head.
However, there were other things requiring her attention at the moment.
This week Quinn would hopefully receive the rest of the linens she’d chosen—a blend of earth tones and turquoise for a few of the rooms and a smooth coral color for others. She and Maggie planned to go shopping for the accents soon.
The major construction was finished. They’d been able to add two new outbuildings to serve as studio apartments, and her brother, Jonah, had taken up one of them, leaving the other open for renters who wanted that extra bit of privacy. Her sister Kira had the idea to make it a honeymoon suite, and she’d had a strong hand in the design. It had really turned out special.
On the other hand, Jonah wanted his quarters sparse, and they definitely were. She’d peeked in one day, and it still appeared as if nobody was staying there. He was a minimalist, to say the least, even denying himself the joy of art on the walls. No flowery bedding either. Just a plain army blanket and one pillow. At his kitchenette, she’d spotted one cup and one plate in the dish drainer and a jar of instant coffee. She’d offered him a coffee maker, but he’d declined.
If that’s what made him happy, so be it. She still couldn’t help but feel like he was punishing himself for something. Hopefully in time he’d accept that he deserved more than a blanket and a cup of instant coffee lacking even a granule of sweetener.
Quinn had to admit, in the beginning, her brother had been a little difficult. They were meeting one another as adults, so there were no childhood rivalries or affections instilled to help them get through the rough patches.
Jonah was complicated. After years of living on the beach, away from the rules of society, it wasn’t easy for him to move in and take on a full-time job with responsibilities. Hurdle one was her insistence that he cut his hair, shave regularly, and wear somewhat professional clothes. She needed all the staff to look the part.
Jonah was probably as shocked as she was at the good-looking fellow who’d emerged from the barbershop one morning. He’d even let her help him pick out some clothes that could double for work. All he really needed was pants, since the employees were going to get hotel shirts, but they’d clashed just a little when she’d asked him to wear khakis instead of his usual board shorts.
Just a few snafus, but so far they’d worked through them. He didn’t know exactly what he wanted to do in life, and Quinn was determined to help him figure it out.
The fact that they were working together to make the inn successful meant more to her than he could know. To say she was proud of all they’d accomplished in just ten months was an understatement. And he was really good with Charlie, coming alive as he explained different things to the curious boy. She wished he was that comfortable talking to her.
Speaking of curious, Charlie was squatting near a small stump. In his hand was a tiny stick, and he was using it to create a trail around a line of carpenter ants.
“Why don’t we go in and get a snack?” Quinn said.
Charlie stood instantly, a smile spreading across his face. He was always up for food, and the fact that their chef, Jean Paul, let him help in the kitchen made it even more special.
They followed the path up through the garden to the main house and onto the patio of the café garden. They were still working on getting just the right ambiance but already it was looking cozy and romantic—and would be even more so when the sun went down and the strings of lights twinkled overhead where she and Liam had hung them.
She opened the door that led to the dining room and held it for Charlie.
“Hello?” Charlie called out, hopping through first.
“Oh, I forgot. Chef’s not here right now. I think he’s gone shopping,” Quinn said.
“Awww . . . ,” Charlie groaned.
After Liam, Chef rivaled Jonah for Charlie’s favorite buddy on-site. His obvious yearning for male attention made Quinn sad about the separation from his father.
“I’m sorry, but we can still fix up a good PB&J, right?”
She’d learned quickly since she met Charlie that peanut butter and jelly could fix just about anything, and the magic words had him following her to the kitchen. It was ironic that sandwiches were the go-to in the small kitchen that was meant to create upscale food, but she liked them too.
“Do I hear Little Man in the house?” a voice bellowed from behind them.
Charlie squealed in delight as Liam came around the corner.
“High five, bud.” Liam held a hand over Charlie’s head, making him jump in the air to slap it.
Today Liam wore his usual board shorts—just in case the ocean called to him as he was passing by it—and his T-shirt stretched over his biceps in a very tempting way.
“Hi,” Quinn said with a smile, realizing that the day had suddenly turned brighter. She loved that he popped in to check on tasks or just to see how things were going.
“Hello, gorgeous,” Liam said, winking at her. “Need some help?”
Every time he looked at her these days, she felt like she would melt, thinking of being in his arms again behind closed doors. Who knew that feeling butterflies was a real thing?