by Hailey North
Sami nodded.
“I’d like to kiss you good-night,” Chase said, his voice both rough and gentle.
Sami realized he was afraid of being rejected. She stood on tiptoe and brushed a kiss across his cheek. “Good-night, Chase,” she said softly.
“Thank you, Sami.”
She nodded, called the dogs and headed up the stairs. She heard his engine start for the second time that evening, but didn’t look back. Chase wanted to please her. But she knew in her heart that wasn’t enough to make things work out the way he wanted them to.
Inside the apartment, she switched off the living room lights and stood there, rubbing her arms, wondering if she should have offered to go to the E.R. with Flynn. His injuries were due to his saving her dog’s life. Surely, that made her responsible to check on his well-being. Even as her thoughts veered in that direction, she knew he wouldn’t want her to show up and hover. And what right did she have? She had no standing to claim a place at his bedside—in the hospital or out. Sami sighed and crossed to the kitchen island. She flipped the switch on the electric kettle and searched in the cupboard for tea. Ruby lifted her head then settled down. Poor baby had to be exhausted.
She prepared her cup of tea and carried it to the sofa.
The sofa where she’d sat with Flynn, reading her mother’s journal.
Sami leaned her head against the back and relived Flynn’s comforting touch. She sighed, sipped her tea, and burned her tongue. “Ouch!”
Ruby barked and stood up, clearly ready to protect whatever was hurting her person.
Sami put the cup on the coffee table and shushed Ruby. She had to quit thinking about Flynn.
She possessed a disciplined mind. She knew how to control time-wasting thoughts, knew how to focus on her chosen topic. Among all her girlfriends, she was the one who could study anywhere, anytime. Vonnie had once told her she was the only woman she knew who could study at the beach, at the lake, or at a ski resort.
Sami frowned. The last few days she’d barely glanced at her AI research notes. Her mind insisted on drifting to Flynn. His smile. His touch. His cheeky advice on how to best attract a man.
Silly Sami, she chided herself, who’d fallen for runaway Flynn, who might or might not overcome his fear of letting himself love and be loved.
The truth was there square in front of her eyes.
Flynn was the only man she wanted.
No one else would do.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Flynn was grumpier than a cat stuck in a tree by the time that bossy doctor with those fabulous legs released him from the E.R. Maybe he did have a serious concussion because any other time he would have passed the minutes attempting to flirt with her whenever she appeared in his cubicle.
He’d gritted his teeth while she stitched up the gash in his leg. He didn’t care about the pain. That pain was nothing to watching That Guy put his arm around Sami, acting as if he owned her, as if he was already effing married to her.
Over and over again he played those images in his head, until the bossy doctor said if his blood pressure didn’t come down, she planned to order him admitted to the hospital.
Flynn blanked his mind and started slow, deep breathing.
Two hours later, they set him free. Night had long since passed and the sky was glowing pink and light blue as they wheeled him out the door to the waiting cab. Flynn settled into the cab, gave the address of the estate, and stretched his leg out across the back seat. He pulled out his phone and saw he’d missed a call from his mother.
He frowned. Norah didn’t call often. She wasn’t one to fuss or ask for attention. Flynn had made a point to stay in touch more frequently since his brother’s funeral, but he’d been so fixated on Sami, he’d fallen down on that intention lately.
He tapped on her number and then glanced at his watch. When he realized how early it was on the West Coast he almost hung up.
“Yes?” Norah’s voice sounded as if he’d awakened her from a deep sleep.
“It’s Flynn,” he said. “Sorry I woke you.”
“Remind me to buy you one of those watches that shows time zones,” she said, but even as she finished the sentence she sounded much more like the wide-awake mother Flynn knew and adored.
“Thought you might need me to call,” Flynn said.
“I’m fine,” Norah said. “I phoned you last night because I had a feeling you were in trouble, but decided that would sound silly, so I just left a message on your voicemail.”
Flynn’s forehead wrinkled. His mother possessed an eerie second sense ability. She’d told him after Sean’s funeral that she’d been in the grocery store at the time Sean was killed and she’d felt as if an earthquake had jarred the store. She’d looked around, but no one else seemed to have experienced the jolt.
“Flynn?”
“I’m okay,” he said. What was the point in worrying her?
He heard her let out a long breath.
“Truth,” she said.
“Okay, okay,” he said. “I had a few stitches in my leg last night.”
“Nothing else broken?”
“Only my heart,” he said, adding a laugh.
“That might be a good thing,” Norah said. “Who is she?”
“Samantha Pepper. Doctor Samantha Pepper.” Flynn smiled. “She likes to make sure people hear the doctor part.”
“That could be annoying.”
“It’s adorable. She’s adorable.” Flynn sighed. “I’ve never felt about any woman the way I do about Sami. She’s bossy and beautiful and rescues dogs and teaches at the kind of university that wouldn’t let me in the door.”
“You’ve always been smarter than you’ve let on,” his mother said.
“That sounds like something Sami would say.”
Norah laughed. “I like her already. When do I get to meet her?”
Flynn stared out the cab window as the car turned into the drive and halted at the gates. “Uh, Mom, I’ll have to get back to you on that.” He eased his body out of the cab, paid, and waited till the taxi drove away to punch in the gate code. A walk would do him good.
“I’m still on the phone,” Norah said.
“Yeah, well, the truth is, I screwed things up with her. Besides, I’m not the sticking- around type. And the number one thing Sami wants is marriage. And babies.”
“And you still like her?”
Flynn ran a hand through his hair. “Crazy, isn’t it? But yes.”
“Sean and Mai were making a good life together,” Norah said, her voice wistful. “If your brother was still alive, you could talk to him, work out your fears.”
“What’s to be afraid of? That life just isn’t what I’ve chosen.”
“You still plan to be picking up one night stands when you’re fifty?”
Flynn kicked at a pebble at the edge of the drive. “Since I’ve met Sami, I haven’t wanted to pick up any woman. She’s ruined me for life.”
“I am only going to say this once during this discussion,” Norah said. “You are not your father. You want Sami in your life? Make it happen.”
Flynn walked a few steps in silence. Of course he understood his mother’s point. No matter what, he wouldn’t abandon a wife and kids. But he’d let the fear stop him from ever considering the option of a long-term relationship, let alone marriage. Sami, however, would settle for nothing less than her dream. And he wouldn’t want her to.
“You can’t have screwed things up beyond redemption, surely,” Norah said, a question in her words.
“There’s only one way to know,” Flynn said.
“That’s my son,” Norah said. “Now whatever you were doing to bang yourself up, please don’t do it again. I didn’t get much sleep last night worrying about the feeling that something had happened to you.”
“Yes ma’am,” Flynn said. “I know I don’t say this much, but I love you.”
“And I love you,” Norah said. “Let me know when you and Sami are coming to see me.”
Flynn gripped his phone. “What if I can’t make that happen?”
He heard a faint snort. “You know what to do.”
“I do?”
“Don’t be a dope,” his loving mother said. “Just be yourself, your lovable, honest self.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Flynn said, but saw she’d ended the call. He thrust the phone into the pocket of his tattered pants and whistling, made his way up the long drive. He might be limping, but he walked with purpose.
His heart increased its tempo. Damned but he had it bad for Sami. He couldn’t wait to see her adorable face. It wasn’t classically pretty or what would be called cute. She was earnest and intense, and despite her gorgeous blonde hair and her killer figure, she didn’t seem to believe she had everything it took to achieve her goal of True Love.
All those first dates with no follow-up meant nothing other than she’d never met the right man.
Until now.
Until Flynn Lawrence, playboy par excellence, now playboy reformed.
Flynn grinned and picked up his pace.
Behind him he heard a car, driving too fast, and then it kicked past him on the long drive. The bad boy owner of the estate must be back in town, Flynn thought, wondering if that meant he’d get kicked out of the pool house. Not that it mattered; if all went well, he and Sami would be sharing a bed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Monday morning, Sami took her first step to show Chase how ill-matched they were. She texted him early, telling him she needed to see him before he headed to the hospital. She’d found photos of three Corgis from the local Corgi rescue group and planned to ask him which of the three she should add to her menagerie. Or should she adopt all three? Waiting outside with her dogs, Sami grinned, thinking of the horrified expression Chase would not be able to conceal or his annoyance at having his doctor’s routine interrupted.
A car rounded the curve and halted. Chase hopped out and strode toward her. The Corgi leapt for his pants leg, despite being leashed. “Damn mutt,” Chase said. “Sami, what’s happened that can’t wait till after work?”
Sami put a hand on her hip. “Why, good morning to you, too, Chase,” she said.
“Good morning,” he said, sounding annoyed.
She pulled her phone out. “I’m thinking of getting another dog and I really need your advice.”
“Samantha, I have a very busy schedule today. You already have three dogs, which is at least one dog too many. You certainly do not need a fourth. There, see how simple that decision is.” He glanced at his watch. “Of all women, I thought you understood that a doctor’s day isn’t his own.”
“But these dogs might be put down today.” She flicked to the photo of the most raggedy- looking of the pooches. “Look, doesn’t this picture melt your heart?”
Chase didn’t even glance at the photo. “The children waiting for me at the hospital need my time a lot more than those dogs.”
“Of course your job is important,” Sami said. “But when something is important to one person in a relationship, it needs to matter to the other person. Chase, I’m trying to demonstrate to you that you and I are not perfect for each other. Look how annoyed you are with me asking for your time and attention just this once. I don’t want to be second string.” Sami clenched her hand holding the leashes. “I want to matter, more than any job or hobby or—anything, to the man I marry.”
“I think you’re getting worked up over nothing,” Chase said. “If this were something important, of course I wouldn’t be annoyed. But it’s a damn dog.”
“That’s not the point,” Sami said. “I told you last night we weren’t right for each other but you didn’t want to believe me. Here’s your scientific proof.”
He shook his head. “I know when I’m right. If you think I’m backing away from the most perfect woman I’ve ever met over one little tiff, think again.” He reached a hand toward her.
Ruby barked and pounced at his ankles.
Sami pulled the Corgi back. “You asked me last night if there was someone else and I said ‘no.’ But the truth is there is someone else in my heart, even though he’s oblivious. So it’s not fair—“
“I knew it. That’s the only possible reason you can’t see how perfect we are together.” He held up a hand. “No need to say another word. I don’t play second fiddle. Puck and Mam will be disappointed, but I’m sure we all wish you well.”
“Thank you,” Sami said. “I wish you all the best in your search.”
Chase kicked at a pebble. “I think I’ll just hire a matchmaker,” he said, sounding forlorn.
Ruby started barking and yanked her leash from Sami’s hand. She bounded down the driveway.
Toward Flynn, who was walking slowly in their direction.
Sami’s pulse raced. “Sometimes, Chase, you find what you’re looking for by not looking for it.”
He sketched a salute and strode toward his car as Flynn neared it.
Chase held out a hand to Flynn and the two men shook. Chase said something to Flynn, who answered, a grin on his face.
Sami wished she were close enough to eavesdrop, but with Ruby barking, overhearing what they said to each other was impossible.
“You’re dying to know what he said, aren’t you?” Flynn said as he walked up to her, Ruby’s leash safely in his hand.
“Oh, I don’t know that I would admit to that degree of intensity,” Sami said. “Curious, yes.”
“He advised me not to let you drive me crazy.”
“Oh.”
Flynn took a step closer to her. “And then I said, ‘It’s okay. It’s the right kind of crazy.’”
Her heart was beating even faster. Feeling almost shy, she glanced at him then down at the ground. “It is,” she whispered. If only the two of them wanted the same things.
He tipped her chin up. “I promise you I’ll never run away. Never slip off into the night ever again. I apologize from the bottom of my cowardly heart.”
“You’re not a coward.”
“Yes I am. I’m afraid of being like my dad. But I’m more afraid of losing the chance to be with you.”
Sami looked Flynn up and down. She needed to change the subject or she’d end up in tears. She wanted Flynn, but she wanted True Love and marriage and babies and wouldn’t settle for less. “You look as if you have received sufficient medical attention to allow you to attain mobility, but I’m concerned you have a more serious concussion that you may have been brought to realize.”
Flynn threw back his head and pumped a fist skyward. “How much I’ve missed those sentences of yours.”
Sami stiffened and then as suddenly relaxed. “You really mean that, don’t you?”
He nodded.
“You’re a funny man,” she said, rather wistfully.
He sketched a bow. “At your service. If I could put a smile on your face every day, I’d count my life well lived.”
Sami gave him a puzzled frown. “I’m not sure I comprehend your sentence.”
“Oh, hell,” he said. “Forget trying to be poetic. Marry me, Sami. Please?”
Sami realized she herself must have suffered a stronger concussion than she’d suspected from tripping over the tree root. And Flynn’s brain damage from last night’s accident must be severe. She reached a hand to her head and massaged one ear, then the other. “I don’t think I heard you correctly,” she said at last.
“I’d get down on my knees if I could,” Flynn said, “but these damn stitches are interfering. I mean it, Sami. I want to marry you and that means I want you to marry me.”
Words that should bring her joy only confused her. “When a football player suffers a concussion, doesn’t he have to sit out for a certain number of games?”
“There is a concussion protocol. Yes. What’s that got to do with ‘will you marry me’?”
“Wait two weeks and see if you still think you mean what you’re saying.”
“Two weeks!” Flynn practically shouted.
> Ruby started barking.
The other dogs joined in.
“Two weeks,” Sami said. “Perhaps if I were thinking more clearly I’d say two months, but two weeks will do.”
“You’re tough, Dr. Pepper.”
Sami nodded and reached for Ruby’s leash. It took all her will power to turn her back on Flynn, but that’s exactly what she did. As much as his words were magic to her heart, she had to believe that he truly meant what he said. “Bye for now,” she called over her shoulder.
Three days later, back in L.A., Flynn accepted the beer Cameron handed him and dropped onto one of the poolside chaises. “I don’t know what I’ll do if she doesn’t say ‘yes.’”
His friend nodded and smiled over at Jonni. She smiled back.
“That magic you two have. Now that I’ve got my head screwed on straight, that’s what I want,” Flynn said. “And don’t ask me why it happened, but I know Sami and I are like that. Not identical, but we hear inside each other’s heads.”
Jonni eased her legs off the chaise, stood up and crossed to Flynn. She sat beside him and gave him a hug. “If you knew how long I’ve waited for you to feel this way.” She brushed a tear off her cheek. “It makes me so happy!”
“Yeah, well, it’s nothing to cry about,” Flynn said. He patted her cheek. “I’m thankful you’re recovered.”
“Yes, and the doctor says we’ll be able to have another child.”
Cameron opened his beer. “If we can handle the excitement,” he said, as his two feisty kids barreled out onto the patio and dove into the pool.
“What I don’t know is how to prove to her that I mean what I say. That I’m a changed man.”
“Want me to text her and let her know all you do is mope around?” Cameron grinned and reached for his phone lying on a glass-topped table.
“I’m not sure words alone will do the job,” Jonni said. She looked over at Cameron. “Is there anything the two of you have talked about, maybe something you’re afraid of doing, but if you did it and showed her, she could see you’re braver than you think you are?”