Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 116455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
“Oh. Well, that’s…”
Shocking.
Thrilling.
Both.
As I stood there, stunned, he grinned and reached around to slap my ass. “Now, back off and let me finish cleaning this place up. Having a summer fling with you is one thing; fucking up my business is another. And throw that condom away when we get back to my place, ’cause if Dan spots it in the trash here, I’ll never hear the damn end of it.”
I blinked and moved aside. “Yeah. Okay.” So… we were having a summer fling? I was invited back to his place? Just like that? No convincing needed?
Part of me didn’t want to question my good fortune, but the other part wanted my attorney to look over the fine print so I didn’t mess this up.
Flynn hauled up his jeans and looked at me curiously as he did up the button. “What’s up with you?”
You surprise the hell out of me constantly. I crave you the way plants crave sunshine. I already know the summer isn’t going to be enough. I’m afraid I’m gonna fuck this up if I push too hard.
“I, uh, got a call from my assistant, Alice, after you left the Retreat,” I said instead, searching out my own clothes. “Her aunt took a bad fall and dislocated her shoulder.”
“Ah, damn.” Flynn’s forehead crinkled. “She gonna be okay?”
“Yeah, no, she’ll be fine. But Alice needs to take a couple days off to take care of her, and she won’t be able to help me much on the, um… time-sensitive project I’m trying to bring together, so I’ll have to do it myself.”
I stared at Flynn, thinking about three years ago and a similar conversation I’d tried to have and praying this one had a different ending.
I swallowed and lowered the boom. “I have to go back to the city in the morning. Just temporarily. I’ll be there until…” I winced. “Probably Thursday. And then I’ll be back.”
Flynn nodded slowly. “I see.”
“I wouldn’t leave if I didn’t have to,” I blurted, tugging up my pants and leaving my shirt off.
When the words were out, I was surprised to find they were true.
For more time with Flynn, I would gladly stay in town, even if it meant postponing my important meetings and spending my days avoiding my mother’s social events. Especially because it meant more softball games (which meant more softball victories) and a chance to make Willow’s family recipe for wheatberry salad to bring to Jace’s potluck.
This thing between us was temporary, so I wanted to hoard every minute that I could spend teasing and laughing and fighting and fucking with him.
“Believe me,” I added.
Flynn nodded again but didn’t seem entirely convinced. He turned away to grab a bottle of cleaner and a rag, then busied himself washing the countertop. The muscles of his naked back bunched and flexed in a really compelling way.
“You could come if you wanted.” Once the offer was out of my mouth, I realized exactly how much I wanted him to accept it.
Flynn paused but didn’t turn around. “Leave the Tavern during the summer rush so I can flit off to New York? Please. I haven’t even been able to get to Ogunquit in years, much less out of state.”
Damn. He sounded so resigned when he said that. I thought back to the map in his office and the dreams he’d stowed away. It made me doubly determined to make the Fortress deal happen for him… which meant I really fucking needed to get to New York.
The irony was thick.
Flynn finished his job. He moved around me to the kitchen door and reached out a hand to turn off the fairy lights around the chalkboard menus. The tiny lights gave the space a romantic golden glow bright enough to have gotten us arrested for indecency by any passing police officer, if Flynn hadn’t already prepared by closing the blinds before I arrived.
He paused with his hand on the switch, then turned to face me, his earlier satisfaction replaced with defiance.
“Listen. I don’t know what your rules are for… for summer flings, Wellbridge, but I am a person who only flings with one person at a time.”
Wellbridge. Not JT. Not Frog. Definitely not Jon.
I sighed and lifted one eyebrow. “One person at a time, as opposed to… having orgies?”
His jaw hardened. “As opposed to me fucking around with anyone else while you’re in New York.”
I inhaled sharply. “Good.” The very thought made my stomach burn and my fists clench. Mine. Mine, mine, mine.
Flynn stared at me expectantly for a moment, like maybe he wanted more than a one-word answer, but I had nothing else to give him unless I wanted to admit just how territorial I was suddenly feeling. And I didn’t.
“What?” I finally demanded.
Flynn huffed out a breath and stared at a spot just over my shoulder. “What I’m trying to say is, are you’re gonna see your… Massimo while you’re down in the city?”