Your Love Is Mine

by Bella Andre

  “No!” She flat-out yelled the word. “But that’s irrelevant. Flynn and Ruby are guests in my cabin—and friends of Smith—and I would hope my family would go out of their way to make them feel welcome, not treat them like criminals.”

  “Of course Ruby isn’t a criminal. She’s only a baby. Flynn, on the other hand—Rafe said there are things in his file that don’t add up.”

  Cassie put her hands over her ears. “I already told you I don’t want to hear it.”

  “Who wouldn’t want to know the dirt on a guy before they make the mistake of hooking up with him?”

  “Seriously,” Cassie muttered, “it’s like talking to a brick wall. No wonder Zara wants to throttle you.”

  “She said that?”

  “No, she didn’t say that. I’m just guessing that’s what she must feel given how annoying and insufferable and provoking you always are.” She picked up her bag. “If I were petty, I would take back the candy and cupcakes I brought you.”

  His face lit up. “You brought me treats?”

  “Here.” Cassie gave him the goodies. “But you’d better promise to keep your nose out of Flynn’s business from now on. Whatever he wants me to know, he’ll tell me if and when he’s ready.”

  His phone rang before he could reply. “I’ve been waiting for this call. Thanks for the help, sis.” He gave her a kiss on the forehead, then walked away before she could press him for his promise to back off.

  * * *

  Flynn tucked the baby monitor into the back pocket of his jeans, then headed outside to gather the hand saw, hammer, and nails that he and Ruby had picked up earlier at the hardware store. The monitor’s signal reached a good ten yards around the cabin, and he could hear her soft snuffles as she settled down for her afternoon nap.

  She’d had a great time with Beth that morning and hadn’t fought going down for a nap a few hours later. Flynn knew he should probably get a couple of hours of writing in. But not only were his new story ideas still completely murky, there was something else he wanted to do first.

  The flower boxes on the front of Cassie’s cottage were rotting. Given how thrilled she’d been by the bouquet he’d brought her that morning, he figured it had to bother her that her flower boxes were the only thing on her property not in top shape.

  Normally, he would have used a power saw and screw gun to do the work, but he didn’t want to risk waking Ruby during her nap. It was one of the first things he’d learned immediately upon bringing Ruby home: Waking a sleeping baby was a seriously bad idea.

  Fortunately, there were two sawhorses and a sheet of plywood in the shed, which Flynn set up near the front door. After lifting out the flower pots, he carefully removed the boxes from beneath the window, confirming that they were ready for the fire when the wood crumbled in his hands.

  With his new tape measure, he took the measurements, then picked up one of the cedar boards he’d purchased at the hardware store. Though he hadn’t done much woodworking over the past twenty years, the skills came back pretty quickly. After making a few early mistakes—measure twice, cut once—he hit his stride, and soon he’d made the first new flower box of the four he needed to replace.

  He was hanging it beneath the left-most window when he heard a car coming up the long driveway. Though he’d left her workshop only this morning, did Cassie long to see him again as much as he’d been longing to see her?

  But she didn’t drive a big black SUV. Immediately, his radar for trouble went up.

  Flynn had been extra careful since arriving in Bar Harbor with Ruby. Apart from visiting Cassie’s workshop, he had only been to the Sullivan Café and to the hardware store. At the café, he’d sat out of sight in the back corner. And he’d worn his baseball cap and dark glasses to the hardware store today.

  Had someone still been able to figure out who he was? Had they alerted the press? Was this a car full of paparazzi angling for the big scoop and the big payout, the same way his nanny had?

  He cursed, already furious at whoever it was. Ruby had only just begun to settle in, and Flynn not only didn’t want to move her again, he also realized he didn’t want to fall into the pattern of always being on the run.

  Ruby deserved a home. A real home of the kind he’d never had himself.

  Every muscle in Flynn’s body was tense as the SUV came to a stop, and the door opened. Perhaps it should have been a relief to see Cassie’s brother Rory step out, rather than the paparazzi.

  But it wasn’t. Not when Rory looked like he meant business.

  The kind of business where he eviscerated the guy thinking about getting into his sister’s pants.

  Rory looked at Flynn, then scanned the area around him. “Where’s Ruby?”

  “Napping.”

  “My nephew wasn’t much of a napper at Ruby’s age,” Rory said in a deceptively easy voice. “Ashley was pretty much a zombie for those first couple of years.”

  Flynn could have responded in just as easy a tone, but he knew Cassie’s brother hadn’t come to make small talk. “Something I can help you with?”

  Instead of answering, Rory gestured to Flynn’s project. “You’re replacing Cassie’s flower boxes?”

  The look of surprise on her brother’s face was borderline insulting. Scratch that—there was no borderline about it. “They’re rotting.”

  Rory nodded. “I’ve been meaning to make new ones for her.” He went to take a closer look at the box Flynn had just screwed to the front of the house. “Not bad.”

  Flynn had done a little research into Cassie’s siblings since he’d met them at dinner. The furniture Rory made was mightily impressive. A not bad from him was a massive compliment.

  “Where’d you learn to do woodwork?” Rory asked.

  “I grew up in the woods. There were always projects.” Projects that, as a teenager, Flynn had to learn to take care of to keep their home from completely falling down around them.

  “I find a lot of the materials for my furniture in Cassie’s woods,” Rory told him.

  “But that’s not why you’re here this afternoon, is it?”

  “Nope.” But as Rory moved away from the house, all he said was, “I’ll help you build the rest of the flower boxes. You’ll be done by the time Ruby wakes up.”

  Though Flynn could easily guess that Cassie’s brother was simply biding his time until he went after him, he wasn’t going to refuse his help. Flynn wanted to surprise Cassie with four new flower boxes the next time she came to the cabin. He’d even bought fresh flowers for them, just as bright and sunshiny as she was.

  He almost laughed at himself. Sunshiny wasn’t a word that had ever been in his vocabulary.

  Not until he’d met Cassie.

  In silence, the two men cut and hammered together the new boxes. When they were done forty-five minutes later, they planted the flowers in fresh potting soil, then stood back to look over their work.

  “Looks good,” Rory said.

  “I appreciate the help.”

  “You didn’t need it.” Rory ran a hand over his hair, looking uncomfortable. “My cousin is a private investigator. I asked him to look into you.”

  Flynn braced himself. “And?”

  “You’re very charitable,” Rory said first. “Apart from your large donations and the details of your career and the women you’ve dated, he didn’t find much. After he and I talked this morning, I was planning to come after you to convince you to tell me what you’re hiding.” Rory had big enough muscles that if things got physical, Flynn would have to work like crazy to hold his ground. “But I’m thinking of giving that a pass.”

  Nothing could have surprised Flynn more. “What’s stopping you?”

  “Cassie asked me to lay off.” Rory half laughed as he said, “More like yelled it, actually.”

  Though he was surprised to hear that Cassie could yell about anything, Flynn said, “You agreed?”

  “Not at first. I was thinking it was up to me to make sure she didn’t get hurt by some
slick star from Hollywood who wouldn’t have a clue how to treat her right.” He looked Flynn up and down in his T-shirt and worn jeans, covered in sweat and sawdust. “You’re less slick than you seem at first glance.”

  Again, an unexpected compliment. “You still don’t trust me, though, do you?”

  “Nope.” Rory wasn’t at all apologetic about it. “Cassie is as nice as they come, and I’m not just saying that because she’s my sister. She’s a sister who will drop everything for you. A daughter who would never willingly hurt her parents. And a friend who will go out of her way to make you happy. Her heart is so damned big that she can’t help but want to be there for everyone.” Rory pinned him with a hard look. “I sure as hell hope you’re not planning on taking advantage of her.”

  “Of course not.” Regardless of Flynn’s fascination with her, he knew someone so good, so pure of heart, could never be his. “Cassie deserves only the best.”

  Rory studied him before nodding. “Just wanted to make sure we’re clear about that.”

  A soft cry from Ruby came through on the monitor.

  “Mind if I come in and get some water?” Rory asked as Flynn turned to head inside.

  “Help yourself.” He went into Ruby’s room and picked her up out of her crib. She was a little sweaty from her nap, and he brushed her damp curls from her forehead.

  He handed over Ellie the elephant, her favorite stuffed animal, then carried her out on his hip while she made Ellie dance in the air.

  Rory was finishing his drink when they came into the kitchen. Putting the glass down, he smiled at Ruby. “Cute kid.”

  She beamed at him, then reached out her arms for him to take her. Clearly, she was a sucker for a good-looking face. Flynn made a mental note to teach her to be on her guard against guys like Rory when she got older. Guys who were too good-looking, too charming, too talented for their own good.

  It wasn’t hard for Flynn to guess that part of the reason Cassie’s brother was so worried about Flynn hurting her was because Rory didn’t have the best track record with women himself. Still, her brother didn’t balk at holding the baby.

  “What’s that you’ve got in your hand?” Rory asked her, touching the stuffed elephant’s trunk.

  Ruby made her funny little noises as she danced it around in front of Rory’s face.

  “Cassie christened it Ellie the elephant,” Flynn told him.

  “Sounds like something my sister would come up with.”

  As Ruby cracked herself up, Rory smiled at her again. “You’re going to be a little heartbreaker, aren’t you?”

  As if to back up his remark, she puckered her lips for a kiss.

  Laughing, he gave her a little peck on the lips before handing her back to Flynn and heading out.

  A few minutes later, as Flynn settled Ruby on his lap to feed her a post-nap bottle, he remarked, “That didn’t go the way I expected it to.” Especially after Rory had told him he’d hired a private investigator, which ranked right up there as one of Flynn’s worst nightmares.

  For nearly twenty years, he’d lived his life within the framework he’d come up with on a Greyhound bus at seventeen—change who he was, make a lot of money, be lauded as a professional success. But for the past several weeks, nothing had fit within that framework.

  And suddenly, he found himself wondering if that might not be such a bad thing.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Cassie had worked late the previous day to get her Town Hall candy structure to a point where Flynn would best be able to help her. Fortunately, hard work was also a good way to get rid of her anger at her brother and cousin for investigating him.

  Cassie didn’t get mad very often, but when she did, everyone knew to watch out.

  She’d sent texts to both Rory and Rafe telling them to put anything they’d found out about Flynn through a shredder—or else. Rafe had sent a video of the papers going into his shredder, which made her smile in spite of herself. And Rory had texted back early in the evening with one word: Sorry.

  By the time Flynn rang her office doorbell the next morning, she had icing ready to go in the piping bags, along with the various piles of candy that would create the brick walls.

  She went to open the door. “Good morning. Come on in.” It was hard to speak normally after losing her breath, but she hoped she’d pulled it off. Surely at some point she’d be used to Flynn’s looks—and the force of her reaction to him. “How’s Ruby doing today?”

  “As excited as ever to hang with your mom and the dog.”

  She smiled, glad Flynn seemed to be feeling better about allowing someone else to watch Ruby for a few hours in the mornings. She couldn’t imagine how difficult it would be to trust another caregiver after what his Hollywood nanny had pulled. It was beyond her how people could behave in such a horrible way—to even think of selling a story of two people who had suffered such great loss.

  “Ready to become a master candy builder?” she asked.

  His smile was another breath-stealer. “I’ll do my best.”

  Cassie could easily guess that Flynn was nothing less than a perfectionist with his screenplays. You didn’t get to where he was without being both a brilliant artist and dedicated to putting in the hours to make your work the best it could be.

  “Okay, wash your hands and then I’ll put you to work.”

  Just washing his hands, Flynn was far sexier than any man she’d ever known, with his broad shoulders and well-muscled limbs. How he stayed so fit when he sat behind a computer writing all day, she couldn’t imagine.

  “Do you play sports?” she found herself asking before she could swallow the words.

  He turned off the faucet and grabbed a hand towel to wipe off his hands before turning to her. “I play basketball with a group of guys at the gym in LA. Why?”

  Her mouth went dry as she was hit with a potent vision of Flynn in shorts and a T-shirt, all sweaty and fierce while he worked out. “I was just thinking that you look really fit.”

  Slowly, he scanned her curves. “So do you. What’s your workout of choice?”

  Sex with you.

  Oh God. She hadn’t just said that out loud, had she?

  Thankfully, there was no look of shock on his face. Which meant she had shouted the words only inside her own head.

  He was still waiting for her response, so she said, “I love to hike in Acadia National Park.”

  He smiled. “Ruby seems to be a fan of hiking already. As soon as she sees me get out the carrier backpack to walk around your property, she claps her hands.”

  She was about to respond when he moved beside her. Close enough that she could smell his scent—fresh, clean pine with a hint of spice.

  “Show me how you make magic, Cassie.”

  She hoped he couldn’t see that she was trembling slightly as she picked up a handful of handmade candy bricks and dropped them into his palm. “The key is to work quickly enough that the frosting between the bricks for the wall doesn’t quite set, but not so quickly that it squirts out between the pieces.”

  He shot her a surprised look. “You’re going to let me work on your Town Hall? I figured you’d set me up in the corner with a smaller project that you could throw into the trash once I’m done with it.”

  “It isn’t rocket science—or putting together a complicated plot for a movie that will thrill millions of people around the world. It’s just making one small move forward, again and again, to get to where you need to be. I’ve always felt like anything is possible if I just remember that.”

  She piped in some white icing for the mortar between the bricks, placed one of the candies on top of it, then piped in more icing where Flynn would place his piece. “Now you try it.”

  But he didn’t move. “I don’t want to damage your work.”

  “I have faith in you not to let my walls crumble.” When that didn’t seem to convince him, she said, “Would it help you get the feel for it if I put my hand over yours and did it with you?”
r />   “Good idea.”

  When she made the suggestion, she hadn’t been thinking about what it would be like to actually touch Flynn. But as she reached out to put her hand over his, she found her breath going again. And when she finally made contact, the back of his hand under her palm, his fingers strong and his skin warm beneath hers, just that tiny little touch affected her so deeply she felt her entire body heat up.

  How had she never realized just how intimate it was to touch a man’s hand?

  Every cell in her body jumped to sensual life as she ran her fingers down his so that they could grasp the piece of candy together. Together, they lifted the piece and moved it toward the wall. Gently, but confidently, she placed the piece beside the one she’d put down a minute ago. It fit perfectly.

  “How did that feel to you?” Her voice was huskier than normal.

  He turned to meet her eyes again. “It felt just right.”

  She stared at him, unable to look away. “Do you want to try it yourself this time?”

  “Not yet.” Was it her imagination, or did his voice have a slightly raw tone? “Show me again, Cassie. Just like that.”

  Before she could stop it, her brain ran away with her. Show me again, Cassie. Just like that. But instead of saying it to her in her workshop, she pictured him saying it in bed. While they were naked, and she was giving in to the sensual urges she’d had since the first moment she’d set eyes on him.

  She had to tear herself from her daydream. “Okay.” She gestured for him to pick up the piping bag. “We’ll start with the mortar. Piping is deceptive. You have to be gentle with it…and yet not be afraid to show it that you know what you’re doing.”

  She should have been prepared to touch him this second time, but if anything, her reaction was even stronger. As though she was already primed to crave the feel of his skin, his heat, his strength. Compared to Flynn, every man she’d been with before seemed no more than a callow boy.

  It probably took them only five seconds to ice the wall, but they were officially the five sexiest seconds of Cassie’s life. Especially when she realized that Flynn had exactly the right touch.