[Quantum 01.0 - 03.0] Boxed Set

by Marie Force

  I laugh at the fangirl question and because that’s how I’ve thought of him, too. “It’s… When I first started seeing Flynn, my roommate in New York asked if I thought I’d ever see him as anything other than Flynn Godfrey, biggest movie star in the universe. To me… He’s just Flynn, the sweetest, kindest, sexiest, most thoughtful man I’ve ever met, and I’m beyond blessed to be spending time with him, especially these last few days. He’s been incredibly supportive through all of this.”

  “That’s quite an endorsement,” Carolyn says. “What do you think, Flynn?”

  “I’m the lucky one.” He brings my hand to his lips, and I imagine every woman in America swooning at the way he looks at me as he brushes his lips over my knuckles.

  “Flynn, you’ve repeatedly said you’d never marry again. Have you changed your mind about that since you met Natalie?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Carolyn clearly wasn’t expecting him to be so definite. “Do I hear wedding bells ringing for you two?”

  He never takes his eyes off me when he says, “As soon as we possibly can.”

  “Is that a proposal we just heard?” Carolyn nearly levitates out of her seat with excitement. He’s handed her a huge scoop on a silver platter.

  “No, it wasn’t.” Flynn laughs at her reaction. “When I ask Natalie to be my wife, it’ll be a very private and personal moment between the two of us and no one else.”

  “And I’ll be the first to know afterward?” Carolyn asks with a hopeful smile.

  “Maybe after I tell my folks.”

  “Fair enough. Speaking of your parents, Natalie, have you met Max and Estelle?”

  “I have, and they’re every bit as wonderful as they seem, as are Flynn’s sisters, brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews. They’re an incredible family, and they’ve made me feel very welcome.”

  “One final question before I let you go. After all these years, if you could say anything to your family back home in Nebraska, what would it be?”

  Without hesitation, I say, “I would tell my sisters that I love and miss them so much. And I’d love to hear from them any time.”

  “They can contact Natalie through my company, Quantum Productions, in LA,” Flynn adds. “They’ll always be welcome anywhere we are.”

  Carolyn reaches across the space between our chairs and puts her hand on top of ours, which are joined. “Thank you so much for talking to me today. I hope you know how awed we are by your courage and strength. I’ll be pulling for the two of you and rooting for you, Flynn, as award season continues.”

  “Thanks, Carolyn,” he says.

  “Yes, thank you for having us.”

  “Entirely my pleasure.”

  “And we’re out,” the director announces.

  “That was great, you guys,” Carolyn says, rising to hug us both after we’re relieved of the microphones. She holds me for a second longer than expected. “I’m in awe of you, Natalie. Truly.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’ve got one of the good guys here.”

  “I’m well aware of that,” I say with a smile for Flynn.

  He puts his arm around me and kisses my temple. “Are we good to go, Carolyn?”

  “Yes, you are. This’ll air next week. We’ll let you know when. Thank you again, and good luck at the Oscars. Not that you’ll need it.”

  “Don’t jinx him,” I say. “He’s very superstitious.”

  “No jinx intended. Just stating the truth.”

  Flynn kisses Carolyn’s cheek. “You were spot-on today. I won’t forget that.” He guides me from the conference room. “You wanna see my office?”

  “Sure.”

  It’s located at the end of a long hallway and looks out over the sprawling city of Los Angeles. “Look,” he says, pointing to the Hollywood sign in the distance. Farther to the west, I can see the Pacific.

  His office is huge and modern, with three glass walls that make the most of his exceptional view. Like his home offices, the desk is stacked with piles on top of piles. “Let me guess, Addie isn’t allowed in here either.”

  “That’s right. A man’s office is sacred.”

  “And messy. I’d love to get my hands on all three of your so-called offices. I’d have you whipped into shape in no time.”

  The look he gives me is filled with horror. “Don’t you dare!”

  I’m relieved by the return of his playful side, which I’ve missed. “You’d better be nice to me, or I might be tempted.”

  His arms come around me from behind. “Baby, I’m always nice to you.”

  I relax into his embrace. “Yes, you are.”

  He nuzzles my neck, setting off a chain reaction that has all my most important parts standing up to take notice of his nearness. “What’re you thinking about, sweetheart?”

  “What you said in there… To Carolyn.”

  “I said a lot of things.”

  “You certainly did.”

  “Do you mean about us getting married?” he asks.

  “Um… yeah…”

  “That surprised you?”

  “Just a little.”

  With his hands on my shoulders, he turns me to face him. “Where do you think this is heading? I’d marry you today if I didn’t think it was too soon for you.”

  “Oh. You would?”

  He frames my face in his big hands and kisses me. “You bet your ass I would. I want you to be mine, forever and always. I want to know that we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together. I don’t think I’ll be able to truly relax where you’re concerned until my ring is on your finger.”

  “Flynn… You take my breath away.”

  “Is that a yes?”

  “So wait, that was a proposal?” My heart is beating so fast, I place my hand over it, hoping to calm it.

  “It was more of a fishing expedition. The actual proposal will be much more romantic than that and will include an absolutely stunning ring—a ring that will do justice to the woman I love and want to spend my life with. So no, that wasn’t an official proposal. But if it had been, hypothetically… What might your answer be?”

  I love him so much when he shows me his vulnerability and that he takes nothing for granted where I’m concerned. “My answer would be…”

  “Fuck, Nat! You’re killing me here.”

  “Yes. I would say yes a thousand times over.”

  He lifts me into a kiss. “Only a thousand?”

  “A hundred million.”

  After another kiss, he says, “That’s a good number, and it’s about what you’ll be worth once you say ‘I do.’”

  “I don’t care about that. I hope you know—”

  Another kiss. “I do, sweetheart. I know.” He returns me to terra firma and holds me close. “Did we just talk about what I think we talked about?”

  “I think we did. And despite what you think, I’d marry you today, too.”

  “I love you, Nat. I was so fucking proud of you during that interview. You amaze me every day, and all I can think about is keeping you forever, right here in my arms where you belong.”

  “There’s nowhere else in the world I’d rather be.”

  “Not even in New York with your class?”

  I think about that for a second, but it doesn’t take even that long for me to decide. “Not even there.”

  His arms tighten around me until I can barely breathe. But who needs air when Flynn Godfrey is professing his eternal love?

  A knock on the door interrupts the moment, but he only releases me partially, keeping an arm around my shoulders. “Come in.”

  Addie ducks her head in. “Sorry to interrupt.”

  “Were you able to get it?” Flynn asks.

  “Please… Of course I was.”

  “I apologize for doubting you.”

  I have no idea what they’re talking about.

  Addie comes in and hands a package and a piece of paper to Flynn.

  I do a double take when I see my photo
on the page. “What is that?”

  “That, my love, is your newly issued State of California driving permit. Today you’re learning how to drive.”

  Chapter 8

  She’s so nervous her hands are shaking as she takes the wheel in the silver Mercedes sedan she admired when we were here for the Globes. I told her it was hers to use whenever we were in LA, and that’s when she said she didn’t know how to drive.

  My poor sweet Natalie missed so many of the rites of passage the rest of us take for granted, and I want to make it all up to her, starting with teaching her how to drive.

  “What if I hit something or damage the car? You love your cars.”

  From the passenger seat, I take hold of her hand and wait for her to look at me. “I don’t love my cars anywhere near as much as I love you.”

  Raising a brow, she says, “Even the Bugatti?”

  She’s bringing out the big guns. I swallow hard. “Even the Bugatti.”

  She loses it laughing. “You lie. You love that car more than anything.”

  “No, sweetheart, I love you more than anything. The cars are things. They can all be replaced. And they’re insured. Fully insured.”

  “If you’re sure.”

  “I’m positive. I want you to know how much fun it is to drive and to be able to go anywhere you want whenever you want.”

  In a nearby SUV is the security detail that’s sticking close to us until the story about Natalie’s past gets knocked out of the headlines by someone else’s scandal. We’re in the Quantum parking lot, where there’s plenty of extra room to practice the basics.

  I go over all the features of the car and tell her where everything is. “Driving is all about being predictable. Whatever you do, it should be what the guy behind you expects you to do. Does that make sense? In other words, you don’t stop at a green light or in the middle of a turn or anything that’s going to get you hit from behind.”

  “Okay… What else?”

  “Go slow at first, until you get a feel for the car and what it’s capable of.”

  “I can’t believe the first car I’m ever going to drive is a Mercedes.”

  “Mine was a Jaguar. My dad was a freaking mess the whole time. I accused him of being far more concerned about the car than he was about me. He didn’t deny it.”

  The story makes her laugh, as I hoped it would.

  “Let’s give it a whirl.” I point to the key, and she turns it, starting the car. “Now put it in Drive.”

  “You’re sure about this?”

  “Positive. Take me for a ride, sweetheart.” I add a wink and a smile to remind her of the last time I said those words to her, and she blushes adorably.

  We do a hundred laps around the parking lot, and as expected, she’s a cautious, conscientious driver. I suppose that’s the benefit of learning at twenty-three rather than at sixteen when you’re too stupid to know how many ways this activity can get you killed. Natalie has been an adult since she was fifteen, and comes at driving with adult sensibilities.

  “What do you think?” I ask her after an hour of driving in circles. “Want to take to the road?”

  “Like the actual road with other cars? I don’t think I’m ready for that.”

  “Sure you are. You’ll do great.” I signal to the SUV to let the security guys know we’re leaving.

  “Flynn, seriously, this is not a good idea.”

  I lean over to kiss her cheek. “It’s a great idea. My parents are expecting us for a late lunch, and we need to get going.” I point to the parking lot exit.

  She grits her teeth and aims the car in the direction I’ve indicated. What should be a twenty-minute ride to Beverly Hills takes forty minutes as Natalie drives so slowly that it’s all I can do not to lose it laughing as one car after another goes by us with angry drivers flashing the bird at my girl.

  “People here are mean,” she says, breaking a long silence.

  “I think it’s more that they expect the other cars on the road to at least drive the speed limit.”

  “I can hear you mocking me, and don’t think I won’t remember that later when you’re wanting to get your hands on me.”

  “I would never mock you, sweetheart.”

  “Said the man who wants to get lucky later.”

  I love her madly. I love the way she bickers with me and puts me in my place and doesn’t care who I am or what I have. For the first time in my adult life, I’ve found a woman who genuinely cares about me rather than the crap that comes with me. She’s a miracle. My own living, breathing miracle, and watching her intense concentration as she follows my directions to Beverly Hills only makes me love her more than I already did.

  “Stop staring at me.”

  “I don’t want to. You’re cute when you concentrate.”

  “Don’t you mean I’m cute when I’m terrified?”

  “No need to be terrified, and you’re cute all the time.”

  “Right… Whatever you say.”

  “You’re doing great. What do you think of it so far?”

  “It’s scary.”

  “It’s fun. Wait till you get to drive a real car.”

  “This isn’t a real car?”

  “This, my love, is a sedan. We can do better.”

  “This is as real as I plan to get.”

  “We’ll see…” I look over at her, drinking in the sight of her beautiful face, her lips set in an adorable pucker. “Is it okay that I did this?”

  “Did what? Force me to drive through LA traffic when I’ve never driven a car in my life?”

  “That,” I say, laughing at her indignant retort, “the permit, all of it.”

  “I am wondering how you managed to enter me into a legally binding agreement with the State of California without my participation.”

  I scoff at that. “Anything is possible if you know who to ask.”

  “I suppose you must have a staff member devoted to the DMV since you own sixty cars.”

  “I do have my connections.”

  We’re stopped at a light waiting to take a left turn into Beverly Hills when she looks over at me with that sweet, loving smile that stops my heart every fucking time she directs it my way. “Thank you.”

  “For?”

  “Pulling strings to get me a permit, letting me drive this very expensive and beautiful car, taking me to lunch at your parents’ home and, most of all, sitting next to me during that interview when it was the last place in the world you wanted to be.”

  The light turns green, and she makes the turn, her face a study in concentration. I direct her through the neighborhood to my parents’ house. We pull up to the security gate, and I give her a code to punch in that will open the gates.

  “I can’t believe the way you just give me this kind of info.”

  “Why wouldn’t I? I trust you with my life.” The nagging voice in the back of my mind reminds me that while I may trust her with my life, I haven’t trusted her with my truth. When the big wrought-iron gates swing open, Natalie pulls into the driveway.

  “Where should I park?”

  “Right there is fine.”

  We come to a stop and Natalie turns off the car, releasing a huge sigh of relief as she leans her head on the steering wheel.

  I give her a second to recover. “Hey, Nat.”

  She raises her head and looks over at me.

  “What you said before about the interview…”

  “What about it?”

  I reach over to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear and take full advantage of the opportunity to run my fingertip over her cheek. “I didn’t want to do the interview, but that wasn’t the last place in the world I wanted to be. I want to be wherever you are, and if that means doing things I don’t want to do, so be it.”

  She stares at me, seeming to take inventory of my face. “Are you real? Is this real? You’re not going to suddenly turn into a raging bastard at some point, are you?”

  There it was again, that pang of g
uilt over what I’m keeping from her. “No plans for that.”

  “Promise?”

  “Yeah, baby, I promise.” I’m about to kiss her when someone knocks on the window behind me. I growl with frustration and turn to find my father grinning like a loon as he stares into the car. Amused, I push the button to lower the window. “Hello, Dad.”

  “Hello, son. Natalie.”

  “Hi, Max.”

  “Whatcha up to?” Max asks.

  “Well, I was about to kiss my girl before I was very rudely interrupted.”

  Natalie giggles like the girl she once was, before her innocence was stolen from her. The sound is music to my soul.

  “Don’t let me stop you,” Max says.

  “The moment is lost,” I say, winking at Natalie. “Rain check?”

  “You got it.”

  “So you’re letting your lady drive you around, son?” Dad asks when we’re out of the car and following him inside. “That’s not like you.”

  “Natalie is learning how to drive and doing a fine job of it.”

  I can see by the way my dad’s face softens that he immediately understands that learning to drive was something she missed out on. “That’s wonderful.” He hugs and kisses her and welcomes her into his home like she’s his long-lost best friend. I love him so much. He’s the best man I know, and my whole life I’ve strived to make him proud of me.

  Natalie is blown away by the house. She tries to be surreptitious about taking it all in as my dad whisks her through the big airy rooms to the back patio, where my mom and the housekeeper, Ada, are laying out a spread of food.

  “Look who’s here, Stel,” Max says.

  My mom stops what she’s doing and comes right over to hug Natalie. “Oh, my sweet girl. I’ve been so worried about you.” She pulls back so she can see Nat’s face but keeps her hands on Natalie’s shoulders. “How’re you doing?”

  “I’m okay.” Natalie glances at me. “Flynn has been taking good care of me.”

  “He’d better be.” Mom reaches out to me, and I kiss her cheek. “This whole thing is just beyond outrageous. I hope you’re going to sue the ass off that guy in Nebraska.”

  “We’re on it, Mom. Don’t worry.”

  “I’ve been sick with worry. I’m just… I’m beside myself over it. If I spend another fifty years in this business, I’ll never understand how any media outlet could pay money for a story like this.”