by Marie Force
His words touch me profoundly. “Flynn… I care just as much for you. I hope you know how badly I want what you want.”
An odd look crosses his face, but it’s gone as quickly as it came. “We should get cleaned up for dinner.” He helps me back into my suit, his fingers skimming over my skin repeatedly until I’m covered with goose bumps.
We walk inside together, and he starts the shower for me, but he doesn’t join me this time. While I wash and condition my hair, I think about what happened just now and how it felt to be held and touched by him. There were no demons, no fears or worries. There had only been pleasure unlike anything I could’ve imagined before him.
I’m officially wavering. My plan to avoid men and sex has been shattered by one incredibly handsome, sexy, kind, sweet man, but I can’t get past the fact that I’ve known him only a week. How could years of resolute determination be undone so quickly?
I need Leah, but she’s working a day shift at the bar. When I get out of the shower, I go directly to my phone to text her. Can you talk?
Yeah, it’s dead here. Call me.
“Hey,” I say when she answers.
“How’s LA? Tell me everything.”
“I’ll tell you everything as soon as you tell me how my baby Fluff is doing.”
“She’s been a raging bitch all day because her mama went away and left her.”
“Don’t say that about her!”
“She’s in her usual cranky mood, but we’re hanging in there. Now tell me about LA!”
“It’s awesome. I met Marlowe Sloane today.”
I have to hold the phone away from my ear when she screams. “Shut the fuck up! What was she like?”
“Imagine the coolest person you’ve ever met.”
“Oh my God, I’m so jealous, I’m seething. First Flynn and now Marlowe. This is too crazy. Are you having so much fun?”
“We are. It’s been… Leah, I’m so confused.”
“How come?”
“I want to have sex with him.”
“Halle-freaking-lujah! It’s about fucking time!”
“It’s been a week, Leah.”
“He’s Flynn Godfrey, Natalie.”
“That’s got nothing to do with this. I don’t care what he does for a living. I care about him.”
“If you care about him, Nat, there’s nothing wrong with sleeping with him.”
I don’t bother to mention that I’ve already slept with him, because I know that’s not what she means.
“Nat?”
“I’m here.”
“Look, I don’t know your whole story, but I’ve managed to put two and two together to get that you went through some sort of trauma. I’m sorry for whatever happened to you. But if you care about this guy, really care for him and he cares for you, there’s nothing at all wrong with being with him. You know that, right?”
“I do. I know.” For some reason, tears are rolling down my face. Frustrated by them, I brush them away.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I think I am.”
“I’m here if you need a friend.”
“Thank you. You said exactly what I needed to hear.”
“That poor guy won’t know what hit him when he gets pent-up Natalie in his bed.”
“On that note…”
Her laughter rings through the phone and makes me smile.
“We’re going to dinner with his family.”
“Jesus H. Christ! You’re going to meet Max and Estelle?”
“Yep,” I say, laughing at her reaction. “It’s their anniversary.”
“I think I just passed out over here. Have a fantastic time and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, which gives you permission to do anything and everything.”
I’m still laughing as we say our good-byes. She promises to give Fluff lots of kisses from me. I dry my hair and take the time to apply eyeliner, shadow and mascara before finishing up with lip gloss. I put on the same black dress I wore a week ago tonight for my first date with Flynn. As I take a final look in the mirror, I think about how I asked him to take me home after we left Leah’s bar.
I’m thankful he talked me out of that, because I would’ve hated to miss out on what’s happened since.
A soft knock on the door has me taking a deep breath to prepare for the evening ahead. “Come in.”
He steps into the room wearing a gorgeous gray suit with a black button-down shirt and no tie. He’s so beautiful.
“Natalie… You look lovely.”
“Funny, I was just thinking the same thing about you.”
He holds out his hand to me. “Shall we go?”
I take his hand. “Flynn.”
“What, honey?”
“Later, after we get back, I think I might want to try.”
His body goes rigid with tension. “By try, you mean…”
“I want to have sex. With you. Tonight.”
Flynn releases a deep breath. “And you expect me to be able to function tonight after you’ve told me that?” He puts his arms around me and brings me in close to him, so close I can feel how aroused he is.
“I don’t know if I can.”
“Sweetheart.” He drops his head to my shoulder. “Please don’t do this because you feel you have to. You don’t. I meant it when I said I’m in no rush. In fact, I think we should wait. More than anything, I want you to be sure.”
“I am sure.”
“Can I call in sick to my own dinner party?”
“Absolutely not. Let’s go.”
Chapter 18
I take him by the hand and pull him behind me as I leave the bedroom.
Outside, I discover tonight’s vehicle is a silver Mercedes sedan.
“Is there a car for every occasion?” I ask after we’re on our way.
“Just about.”
“Where do they come from?”
“I have a garage nearby and another in town. Plus the cars in New York.”
I run my hand over the black leather on the passenger door. “I like this one.”
“Consider it yours whenever you’re in LA.”
“I don’t have a driver’s license.”
“What?” He nearly drives off the road.
“Flynn! Watch where you’re going!”
“You really don’t know how to drive?”
“I’m sure I could if I had to, but I don’t have a license. I never have.” I don’t tell him that I left home before I got a license, that I was too busy trying to feed myself and get through school to be bothered with something like driving.
“Do you want a license?”
“I suppose I’ll get around to it at some point, but right now I don’t need it. I can walk everywhere or take the subway.”
“I’m going to need to teach you to drive. You know that, don’t you?”
“You need to, huh?”
“I do.”
“I might let you, but only if I can drive the Bugatti.”
“Oh, um, well…”
I bust up laughing at his stammering reply. “Relax. I’m just kidding. I’d probably wet my pants from fear of wrecking that gorgeous car.”
“Oh thank God. I was trying to figure out how to tell you no freaking way.”
“Anything you want, Natalie,” I say in a mocking tone. “Anything except my precious Bugatti.”
“You’re a brat,” he says on a rumble of laughter.
“At least you’re not thinking about what I said earlier.”
He blows out a deep breath. “How did I end up so outmatched by you, Natalie Bryant?”
Pleased to have gained the upper hand, for a minute or two anyway, I try to prepare myself to meet his family.
Tuned in to me as always, he reaches for my hand. “Don’t be nervous. They’re going to love you.”
I’m not sure what I was expecting when Flynn asked Addie to set up a dinner for his family, but it definitely wasn’t Frankie’s Steakhouse.
“Welcome back, Mr. Godf
rey,” the valet says. “Nice to see you again.”
Flynn shakes his hand. “You, too, Anton.” I watch him slip the young man a bill. “Take good care of my baby.”
“Always do. How’s the Bugatti?”
“It’s loving life in New York.”
“Aww, man. That’s too far away. Have a nice dinner.”
“Thanks again.” Flynn rests a hand on my lower back and ushers me into the restaurant.
There’s nothing particularly posh about it, but the atmosphere is warm and welcoming. An older man with wispy white hair and a cane hobbles over to greet us. “Flynn, so nice to see you, son.”
Flynn hugs him. “You, too, Frankie. Thanks for putting this together for us tonight.”
“Always our pleasure to have the family here.”
“This is my friend, Natalie. Nat, this is Frankie, a Hollywood legend.”
He bows gallantly over my hand. “I don’t know about the legend part, but I do cook a mean steak.”
“That you do,” Flynn says. “Is everyone else here?”
“They’re all in the back room waiting for you.”
“Join us for dinner?”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world. I’ll be right in.”
Keeping his hand on my back, Flynn doesn’t appear to notice all the people who notice him as we make our way through the dining room. “My parents had their first date here. It’s been their place ever since. Every important event in the Godfrey family is celebrated at Frankie’s.”
That they are faithful to their traditions and their friends endears his parents to me before I even meet them.
“Frankie is one of my dad’s best friends. They’ve had a running poker game with a bunch of other guys for fifty years. His wife died a year or so ago, and he hasn’t been doing very well. Dad’s been worried about him.”
“It’ll lift Frankie’s spirits to be with friends.”
“Hope so.” He opens a door to a room full of people, who turn to greet him en masse. A bevy of kids surrounds him, forcing him to let go of my hand. “Whoa! Easy, savages. You’re going to scare off my friend.”
“Unca Flynn, pick me up,” a towheaded blond boy demands.
Unca Flynn does what he’s told, seating the boy on his shoulders. “Natalie, this is Mason. He’s four.”
The little boy holds up four fingers, and I fall in love with his adorable little face. The sight of Flynn holding him on his shoulders does crazy things to my insides. He’ll make a wonderful father someday. Yikes! Where did that thought come from?
Before I can process the odd direction my brain has taken, we’re surrounded by gorgeous women, all of whom are tall, fair and athletic looking. None of them looks like their brother.
“Natalie, these savages are my sisters—Aimee, Ellie and Annie. Ladies, this is Natalie. Try not to be yourselves and scare her off.”
“Shut up, Flynn, and get out of our way,” Annie says.
Each of them hugs me and welcomes me, and one of them—it might be Ellie—asks what a nice girl like me is doing with an asshole like Flynn.
“Nice, El,” Flynn says with a laugh. “Thanks a lot.”
They all talk at once, overwhelming me with questions and excitement and a sense of belonging I hadn’t expected to feel with them.
“Ladies,” a stern female voice says from behind them. “Back off and let me say hello to Natalie.”
They step aside, and there is Estelle Flynn, and my brain goes completely blank as she approaches me.
“Mom, this is Natalie. Nat, my mom, Estelle.”
She embraces me in a cloud of delicious-smelling perfume. “It’s lovely to meet you, Natalie. We’re so glad you could join us tonight.”
I know I should say something, anything, but I’m completely starstruck.
Flynn’s hand on my back steadies me, and I find my voice. “It’s so nice to meet you, Ms. Flynn. Thank you for having me.”
“It’s our pleasure, and, please, call me Stella.”
I’m going to faint. Surely I can’t remain standing in the presence of such an amazingly accomplished woman. She’s stunningly gorgeous with pale blonde hair that’s beautifully styled into a coif that highlights her pretty face. I try not to stare at her, but it’s hard not to. She’s magnetic and warm and smiling widely as she hugs her only son.
“So nice to see you, my love.”
“You, too, Mom. Happy anniversary.”
“Thank you for that and for throwing this together.”
“Addie gets all the credit.”
“Yes, I do,” Addie says from where she’s standing with Marlowe.
“Let me see my boy.” His booming voice precedes Max Godfrey as he approaches Flynn and greets him with a bone-crushing hug that Flynn enthusiastically returns. Max is about the same height as Flynn and has a mane of salt-and-pepper hair and Flynn’s gorgeous brown eyes. He’s every bit as good-looking as his son, who closely resembles him. Looking at him is like seeing Flynn in thirty years.
“Hi, Dad.”
Max releases Flynn and places both hands on his face. “You’re looking sort of ugly, boy. What’re they feeding you in New York?”
Since there’s not one single thing about Flynn that’s ugly, I can’t help but laugh at his father’s comment.
“Dad, this is Natalie. Nat, my dad, Max, who never minces words.”
I’m treated to the same sort of hug he gave his son, but not quite as bone crushing. I quickly discover it’s one thing to see pictures of Max Godfrey in magazines. It’s another thing altogether to experience him. I’ve never met anyone more instantly magnetic in my life, except for maybe his son.
“Natalie,” he says, his hands on my shoulders, “welcome to our family.”
“Dad—”
“Hush, son. Let me talk to your girl.” He slides his arm around me and deftly wrests me away from Flynn.
Despite my usual wariness around strangers, there’s no way to be anything other than charmed by Max Godfrey, who takes me to the bar. “What can I get you, honey?”
“White wine would be great.”
He orders Scotch, and with our drinks in hand, he says, “Tell me all about yourself.”
“Not much to tell other than I’m from Nebraska originally and teach third grade in New York now.”
“And how did you meet Flynn?”
I tell him the story of our encounter in the park last weekend, and he howls with laughter at the part where Fluff bit his son.
“It really wasn’t funny.”
“Oh yes, it is.” He wipes his eyes. “You’ve probably seen the way people fawn over him, so the thought of a twenty-pound dog getting the better of him is definitely funny.”
“Well, as Fluff’s mother, I wasn’t amused by her bad behavior. Luckily, Flynn wasn’t hurt too badly.”
“Dad, quit hogging my date,” Flynn says as he joins us.
“We’re just getting to know each other. Leave us alone.”
Flynn puts his arm around me. “No chance of that.”
“He ruins all my fun.”
I’m absolutely in love with Max Godfrey, and I can see where his son gets his considerable charm and good humor.
I meet Flynn’s brothers-in-law—Trent, who is married to Aimee, and Hugh, who is married to Annie. I learn that Ellie, who is single, works as an executive for Quantum, Flynn’s production company. Annie is an attorney. And Aimee owns a dance studio. I’m introduced to Flynn’s nephew Ian, who is eleven and does bear a striking resemblance to his famous uncle, as well as his nieces India and Ivy, ages seven and nine, all of whom are Aimee’s children. Unlike their cousins, they have dark hair and eyes.
We’re seated for dinner, and Hugh ends up on my left and Flynn is on my right, locked in conversation with his parents. Across from me are Addie and Marlowe, and I’m thankful to have familiar faces nearby.
“Don’t let the Godfreys overwhelm you,” Hugh says in a conspiratorial whisper. “They’re harmless underneath it all.”
“Good to know, thanks.”
Without missing a beat in his conversation, Flynn finds my hand under the table and gives it a squeeze. The gesture fills me with warmth and a sense of security I haven’t experienced since I left home. It’s beginning to feel like I belong to him and he belongs to me, and I like that feeling. I like it a lot.
A sense of serenity overtakes me as I sit back and watch this amazing family interact with each other. There’s lots of laughter and teasing and talk about Flynn’s foundation. Each of his sisters apparently plans to play a role, as do his parents, which seems to please him greatly.
As we’re served a delicious Caesar salad that is made tableside, talk turns to the Globes.
“You’re going to win,” Ellie says bluntly, earning a scowl from her brother. “What? I’m just stating the facts. No one else came close to what you did in Camo, and everyone knows it.”
“I agree,” Max says.
“As do I,” Frankie adds as he joins the party.
“Me, three,” Marlowe says, smiling as she raises her glass in tribute to Flynn.
He covers his ears and pretends he can’t hear them. I adore this superstitious side of him.
Dinner consists of prime rib, huge baked potatoes and asparagus that melts in my mouth. It’s the most delicious meal I’ve ever had, a thought I share with Frankie, who beams with pleasure.
“Thank you, honey.” To Flynn, he adds, “You need to keep this one. She’s top shelf.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” he says with a warm smile for me that makes my insides quiver with awareness.
“He never brings anyone to family things,” Hugh says for my ears only. “Ever.”
As I smile at him, I decide Hugh is my new best friend.
After Frankie’s attentive staff clears the dinner dishes, Flynn releases my hand and stands, glass in hand.
His sisters groan in unison.
“Here we go,” Annie says.
Ignoring them, Flynn focuses on his parents. “I just want to say happy anniversary to Max and Stella. You guys have made marriage look easy for forty-four years, and we should all be so lucky to have what you have. We love you both very much.”