Winter's Heart

by Warneke, A. C.

  “Not for this party,” Melissa demurred, her eyes lighting up as she looked past Flynn.

  Turning in her seat, Flynn saw the most adorable little boy running towards them. With a mop of black hair and a pair of bright blue eyes, he was the spitting image of Winter, which was not what she expected. Striding behind the little moppet was the man himself, with his hands in his pockets as he watched the little boy with deep affection in his own pair of beautiful blue eyes. In that moment, Winter Mitchell was at his most gorgeous and her heart did a stupid little leap in her chest. Of course she ignored it because Winter was way out of her class and belonged to Melissa.

  Storm paused when he saw her, never taking his eyes off her as he waited for Winter to catch up with him. The gorgeous man put a reassuring hand on the little boy’s head and murmured, “I’d like you to meet the lovely lady who is going to help plan your party.”

  Storm’s eyes lit up and he smiled shyly at Flynn and she knew that he was a little heartbreaker in training. His small voice was soft and pure as he murmured, “Hello, I’m Storm.”

  He had the sweetest little lisp and Flynn fell instantly in love. As the little boy left Winter’s side and flung himself onto the couch next to Melissa, Flynn couldn’t help but smile. “Hello, darling, I’m Flynn.”

  “Like Huckleberry Flynn?” he asked curiously, his question oddly mature.

  She grinned and shook her head, “Not Fynn… Flynn.”

  His eyes widened, “Like in the Rapunzel movie?”

  “Yep.”

  His brows drew together as he frowned, his eyes studying her in bafflement, “But you’re a girl.”

  “I am,” she murmured, biting her tongue to keep from laughing.

  The little boy’s lips curled up into a sweet smile before he giggled, “That’s so funny.”

  Joining in his laughter, Flynn nodded, “I wish I had an awesome name like Storm.”

  “My daddy named me that,” Storm said, his eyes going to Winter and looking at him with adoration. “He said it was storming like mad the day I came into the world and it was the best day of his life.”

  With a soft smile, she turned her head and looked at Winter. Her smile froze when she saw his expression, uncomfortable with a hint of panic, and she started to ask, “What’s wro….”

  “Tell us some of your ideas.” Winter suddenly blurted, his voice taut.

  “Um,” she stammered, trying to remember a single thing she had come up with the night before. Nothing like being put on the spot to make a girl’s mind go completely blank. Her eyes went to Storm and her heart melted because he was simply too adorable with those humongous eyes and that shy smile. Her lips automatically curled into a smile as she asked, “How do you feel about pirates?”

  Storm’s eyes lit up but he looked to Winter for approval before he spoke. At Winter’s nod, the light in his eyes transferred to the rest of his face when he smiled, “I love pirates. My daddy played a pirate in a movie but I’m not allowed to see it until I’m thirty-four.”

  An unexpected chuckle slipped past Flynn’s lips and she forgot all about Melissa’s fame and beauty and Winter’s magnetism. Sliding off the couch, she sat on the floor and motioned for Storm to join her, which he did with eagerness. Once again in familiar territory, ideas began exploding in her brain and since Melissa did say the sky was the limit…. “I was thinking we could recreate one of the sunken pirate ships from the movie, but maybe transform it into a jungle gym with slides and monkey bars.”

  Storm’s eyes grew wider and wider with each word she spoke, his grin splitting his face from ear to ear. “Will we have a hidden treasure?”

  “Absolutely,” she agreed, her rational mind trying to punch her to keep her from promising him the moon. “We’ll even have a special nook for your own little treasures. And the best part is that afterwards, you’ll have an awesome jungle gym in the backyard.”

  “Cool,” Storm breathed. “Do I get to wear a pirate costume?”

  “Of course,” she assured him. “What’s a pirate party without the costumes? We’ll make sure everyone knows that they are to wear their very best pirate clothes.”

  “And swords?”

  “Maybe wooden ones,” she allowed. “I can’t imagine arming a bunch of six year olds would be particularly wise. But wooden swords and plastic hooks should be okay.”

  The little boy pursed his lips in a manner very reminiscent of Winter in thought. Flynn waited for him to get his thoughts in order, knowing that he was figuring it all out in his head. After a few moments, he cocked his head to the side, “How many slides will the pirate ship have?”

  “At least five,” she said solemnly, matching the seriousness of his question. “There can be an easy one for the little kids and a great big, swirly one for the more experienced sliders.”

  Winter’s chuckle brought her back to the present and she looked up at him as he asked, “Are you sure you have no experience with planning parties?”

  “I’m sure,” she said as Storm leaned back in her lap and she wrapped her arms around his chest in a hug. Grinning, she added, “However, I have lots of experience dreaming up adventures with my nieces and nephews. I figure it’d be kind of cool to combine the two, a party and an incredible playground for future quests.”

  “Very practical,” he said with approval. “Do you have someone in mind who can build such a wonder?”

  Lowering her lashes, she blushed, “Um, my dad.”

  His lips slowly curved into a smile and then he was laughing. “And I’m sure you can back up your words with pictures?”

  “Well, not right now,” she admitted. “Since I didn’t exactly plan on a pirate ship slash jungle gym. Oh! I can! Can I get on your computer?”

  Sliding Storm off her lap, she stood up and took Storm’s hand in her own as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Winter’s eyes sparkled as he heaved a sigh and stood up as well, holding his arm out in front of him to show her where to go. As she started to walk with him, she looked over her shoulder and saw the peculiar smile on Melissa’s face as she watched the three of them. When the actress saw she was being observed, the expression immediately disappeared and she busied herself with picking up the manila envelope and reading through it.

  Giving Melissa her privacy, Flynn held Storm’s hand as Winter led them through the huge mansion. Every area was filled with light, either from the skylights overhead or the massive windows that dominated most of the walls. And every window that she passed offered an incredible view of the immaculately landscaped backyard. Where in the world would they build a massive pirate ship? “Um, how big is your backyard?”

  “You probably should have asked that before you started filling Storm’s head with talks of awesome pirate jungle gyms,” he said and she was about to die of mortification until she saw the laughter in his eyes. Shaking his head, he smiled, “Don’t worry, Miss Rogers, we can have the party at my place in the country where we have plenty of space. It'll actually work out better this way.”

  “Whew,” she exhaled, relieved because she had been the one to promise the moon to the little boy.

  “Here we go,” he said, going into an office and walking behind the desk. He held out the chair for her and when she sat, he leaned over her and typed in his password. Once again, his warm, clean scent filled her head and she had to stop herself from inhaling too deeply.

  “Thank you,” she managed, pulling up the internet and typing in the social website. She had to smile when it came up and Winter was logged on, only he was using the name Mitch Winters. “Clever.”

  “I can’t have my adoring public know I actually use this site, can I?” he joked.

  “I am so sending you a friend request when I get home,” she teased, logging him off before logging on herself. Pretending to be unaffected by his warm chuckle, she went to her albums and clicked on the one that had all of the pictures of her dad's projects to show Winter and Storm her dad's incredible work. The first couple of pictures we
re of a jungle gym that he built with all of his grandchildren in mind. And, if Flynn was honest, his children as well, since they were all a bunch of kids when they were home.

  The gym set was amazing, with hidden rooms and rope bridges and a climbing wall and swings, of course, and a million other features that made it a functional work of art. Standing up, she offered Winter her seat so he could scroll through the pictures and get an idea of the type of work her father and his crew could do. Never taking his eyes off the pictures, he sat down and pulled Storm up onto his lap and the two of them were suitably impressed.

  He stopped at a picture of the upper room with the telescope set up and let out a low whistle. Flynn pointed at it and said with pride, “My father takes each grandchild up there one at a time and the two of them look at the stars together. There are two ways of getting up there, one for the kids and an easier one for the adults.”

  “Wow,” Winter said softly. “I’m very impressed. How soon can we get him out here to break ground on this little one’s pirate ship?”

  “Well, we’ll have to figure out sleeping arrangements but I’m sure he can come out as early as next week and as soon as everything is finalized, we’ll get the rest of the crew out here.” Flynn frowned when she saw Winter’s grin but she ignored it as she continued, “I can call him tonight so he can start coming up with a few ideas…. Okay, what’s so funny?”

  “Do you really think we wouldn’t put up your father and his crew for the entire time they’re here?” he asked, clicking on the next picture. Since he wasn’t looking at the screen, Flynn quickly reached over and clicked to the next image. He put his hand over hers and she froze, her heart fluttering madly in her chest as she turned her head and met his eyes, the blue depths sucking her in. In a low, velvety voice, he asked, “What don’t you want me to see?”

  “Nothing,” she stammered, drowning in the blue of his eyes and trying to keep her wits about her.

  “It was a girl in a bikini,” Storm offered innocently.

  “Really?” he said, arching that eyebrow and making Flynn want things she had no right to want.

  “It’s nothing you need to see,” Flynn told him, trying to remain as calm and unaffected as Winter.

  “I think I do,” he countered, nudging her hand away and clicking on the previous picture, a shot her brother took when Flynn was making fun of her sisters, both Murphy and Fallon. Her hands were on her hips, her breasts were thrust out and she was making a wildly dramatic face, with heavy eyes and pursed lips. If that wasn’t bad enough, she was wearing one of Fallon’s tiny bikinis. His eyes widened before he seemed to catch himself and he smirked, “Nice.”

  If she was smart, she would tell him that it was her sister but she enjoyed the thrill of being admired by him too much to let it go. Privately holding the admiration close to her heart, she clicked onto the next picture, “Yeah, that’s not my usual swimsuit.”

  “Let me guess,” he said in a light voice, though she noticed the heightened color along his cut cheekbones. “You’re really an actress who is only working as a party planner until you get a lucky break.”

  “God no, actresses are neurotic,” she vowed quickly, adamantly. “And like I keep telling you, I’m not really a party planner, either.”

  “Neurotic?” he asked with a grin.

  With a frown, she thought about her words and realized she managed to stick her foot in her mouth yet again. “Well, not all actresses, of course, but I think you have to be a little insane to want to be in this business, you know?”

  He chuckled but didn’t say anything as he returned his attention back to the pictures. Uncomfortable with the following silence, she continued, “Actually, my sister is the actress. That’s why I’m living out here working for my mom’s best friend.”

  “Is she any good?” he asked without taking his eyes from the computer.

  “My sister or my mom’s friend?” she asked, surprised he was even following her ramblings.

  He smiled, glancing at her briefly before going back to the pictures. “Your sister.”

  “She likes to think so,” Flynn snorted, a smile curving her lips as she thought about Fallon. Chuckling to herself, she added, “Actually, yeah, she’s pretty good. Of course, there are a lot of really good actresses trying to make it but Fallon has that spark. I think she could be really great.”

  “Is she as pretty as you?” he asked, never taking his eyes from the computer so it took her a moment to realize he had just called her pretty.

  A ridiculously pleased smile curved her lips, “Well, no, she’s far prettier, though everyone says we could be twins.”

  Slowly, he turned his head and looked at her, “Really.”

  “And don’t get any ideas about us,” she scolded, narrowing her eyes at him.

  He stared at her for a moment, an expression of bafflement quickly replaced by amusement, “I’m not the one who went there. I was just surprised because I can’t imagine two such exquisite beauties walking the earth at the same time.”

  “Oh, please,” she scoffed, realizing he had been humoring her the entire time. She tried to ignore the pangs of disappointment, reminding herself that he was absurdly charming and every word that oozed from his lips was probably rehearsed. No, he probably didn’t have to rehearse cheesy pickup lines. He was probably born with honeyed words coming out of his adorable little mouth.

  If nothing else, realizing that flirting just came naturally to him made it easier to remember that she was hired to do a job, not mentally undress a practically married man.

  “I was thinking a rope bridge between different parts of the ship would be a lot of fun,” she said, getting back on track. “Like, the ship broke apart when it sank and each area can have different features.”

  “Cool,” Storm breathed, looking at her with a rapturous expression.

  “So you’re just going to ignore what I said?” Winter asked lightly but when she looked at him, he looked almost hurt, which was ridiculous. He was Winter Mitchell, a man who could have anyone, a man who had Melissa Irish. Surely he didn't need her approval, did he?

  “As if you weren’t teasing,” she managed, adding a brief chuckle to show him she didn’t take his flirting seriously. Leaning over, she pointed at the climbing wall on the picture, focusing on the job and not the man who exuded charm. “What do you think about something like this?”

  “I love it,” Storm gushed.

  They made their way through the rest of the pictures but Flynn couldn’t help but notice how Winter spent more time studying her than her father’s work. Pasting a smile on her face, she finally faced him and asked, “Well? What do you think?”

  “I think you are prettier than you could possibly imagine,” he said, leaning back in his chair and looking at her with a solemn expression. He wrapped his arms around Storm and hugged the little boy as if it was the most natural thing in the world and seeing the two of them side by side, she was struck once again by how much they looked alike.

  “I’m talking about my dad’s work,” she said, hoping he would focus on planning the party and stop trying to fluster her with his outrageous flirting. She wasn’t like her sister, able to return flirtations with a wink and a smile. She was more apt to blurt out something better left unsaid and scaring the guy away. “I mean, I think it’s incredible but I’m biased because he is my dad and I think he’s awesome.”

  “He is awesome,” Winter agreed, his eyes dancing with laughter that he was careful to keep at bay. “But let us discuss your inability to take a compliment.”

  “Thank you for the compliment,” she deadpanned, feeling the smile in her eyes. When he huffed, she sighed, “Fine. Thank you.”

  “Was that so hard?”

  “Absolutely,” she grinned.

  “Oh, wow,” Storm breathed, his timing perfect as he saved Flynn from making an even bigger fool of herself. “Look at that, daddy.”

  Winter’s smile faltered as he looked at the image on the screen, a pictur
e of a faux tree house that was a part of the jungle gym at her oldest brother’s house. It was crafted to create the illusion of a tropical rain forest and was really quite spectacular, with rope vines and a hammock and all sorts of nooks and crannies. “That’s really impressive.”

  “My brother Jeff designed it,” she said, looking back and forth between Storm and Winter, seeing the resemblance that was impossible to deny. She shook her head, her forehead creasing as her eyes dropped to Storm and the solemn blue eyes that stared out of his cherubic face, the same eyes as his father no matter how impossible. Swallowing, she ignored her suspicions and tried to discuss the party. “We could probably get him out here, too, to design an even more impressive pirate ship for your son’s birthday.”

  Winter’s eyes flew to hers and she saw the panic and the entreaty that he couldn’t quite hide. His smile was tight as he set Storm down and ruffled the boy’s hair, murmuring, “Why don’t you go find Missy and figure out what we should have for lunch.”

  “Okay,” Storm said with the sweetest smile, giving Winter a kiss on the cheek before racing out of the room, yelling at the top of his lungs, “Missy!”

  “Is it difficult?” she asked softly as he stayed in that position for a few moments, watching the space where Storm disappeared for a while longer before turning back to face her.

  The warm smile on his face disappeared as he frowned. He tilted his head back and his gaze slammed into hers, holding her still as he rose to his feet. “Would you care to explain what you mean?”

  Uncomfortable beneath his intense scrutiny, she shifted on her feet and tried to explain what she meant when she wasn’t really sure. “Well, everyone knows that you and Missy met after Storm was born and yet he looks exactly like you. I can’t imagine the amount of lies necessary to convince the world that your son isn’t your son at all, how difficult it must be to keep your relationship a secret.”

  “Why do you think I’m keeping anything a secret?”

  “I don’t,” she stammered, regretting her comment and wishing she could take it back. She hadn’t meant to upset him, she just wanted to understand. “You’ll have to forgive me. My mouth sometimes runs away before my brain tells it to stop.”