CHANGE HAD NEVER BEEN my friend. When I was little, it took me weeks to adjust to the twice-a-year daylight savings time shift. And when I left home to live with Craig after we got married, I almost lost my mind. I hated being out of my routine and having to establish a new one.
Once Bridget and I had moved home, I’d quickly established a schedule and my own way of doing things. I’d reorganized the kitchen in my new role as woman of the house, and I’d laid down ground rules for Sam about helping me keep things clean and running smoothly. For the last seven years, our lives had remained essentially the same, with just a few tweaks in the schedule when Bridge started school.
Of course, a couple of things had changed when Meghan became a permanent part of our world, but even so, she’d been careful to adapt to our home and rules. I liked the fact that she cooked for us occasionally, that she took her turn at the dishes and helped with Bridget. As long as she didn’t rock my boat, I wasn’t going to complain. Sure, as I’d told Alex, sometimes I worried about what would happen when she and Sam made it all official, but I’d figure that out when it happened.
At the moment, I had a more pressing concern. When he’d left the farm on Friday afternoon, just before dinner, Flynn had suggested that we work out a schedule for him to see Bridget. He’d also asked if he could take her to meet his mother over the weekend. I couldn’t say no, of course, and I didn’t want to; Bridget was ecstatic about the plan, and I loved Cory Evans. She’d been good to me when I was dating Flynn, even stepping in to mother me once in a while. I remembered when it came time for our junior prom. There was no question that Flynn and I would go, but I was secretly dreading it. All my friends were talking about picking out gowns with their mothers, pretending to complain all the while I could tell they loved it. I knew Sam and I didn’t have the money for a fancy new dress. We were doing okay, thanks to help and guidance from the Guild, a group of local businessmen who’d taken Sam under their collective wing. But doing okay didn’t extend to trips to Savannah for gown shopping, even if I’d wanted to go by myself.
About a month before the dance, Cory had stopped me as I was leaving her house after a study date with Flynn.
“Ali, honey, could I have a quick word with you?” She flicked a glance to her son. “Flynn, run out and warm up the car.”
He wrinkled up his brow. “It’s not that cold, Mom.”
“Do it anyway, and don’t argue with your mother.”
Flynn was smart enough to obey, and with a shrug, he headed through the front door. My heart was pounding: I couldn’t imagine why his mother wanted to talk to me alone. Remembering what had happened down at the river two weeks before—Flynn and I had finally gone all the way—made me feel guilty as hell. Did she know? How could she?
Cory pointed to a stool at her kitchen breakfast bar. “Sit down, sweetie.” Once I’d boosted myself onto the chair, she leaned her elbows on the granite countertop. “Listen, Ali, I don’t want to overstep my bounds here. I know I’m not your mom, but I can imagine how much you miss her. And I was just thinking today that maybe you might want to go shopping with me for your prom gown. We could drive into Savannah if you like.”
My breath caught. “Really? Oh, wow, that would be . . .” Suddenly I remembered that the money for my dress was tied up on our fields, in the onions and peaches and what-all Sam had growing. My smile faded. “That would be great, but I’m not sure I can. I was just going to check out the thrift store in Farleyville.”
She nodded. “That’s perfectly okay, if that’s what you want. I’d still like to go with you.”
So that Saturday, Cory picked me up out at the farm, and we drove to the thrift store. I’d heard stories of almost-new gowns, beautiful dresses for just a few dollars. But apparently we were too late for those, since the only possibilities on the racks were tired old bridesmaids’ gowns or worn dresses that were several sizes too big for me. I flipped through the hangers one more time as desperation stiffened my shoulders.
“Ali, there’s nothing.” Cory put one soft hand on my back. “Honey, hear me out. Let’s just go into the city for kicks and see what we see. Sometimes they have amazing sales, and who knows . . . you might find something.”
Since she was driving—and since I recognized the determined gleam in her eyes, as I’d seen it often enough in her son’s—I really didn’t have a choice. And once I’d spotted the silvery-blue strapless gown with the soft lace overlay, I was a goner. When I checked the price tag, I nearly died. But Cory only covered my hand with hers.
“Ali, please. Let me do this for you.” She drew in a shaky breath. “When your mama died, I just felt so . . . helpless. There was nothing I could do for you and Sam, other than cook you some meals and try to be there for you if you needed me. But this is something I could do, on behalf of your mother. I want to think that if it’d been Brice and me who weren’t here anymore, your parents would be good to him. I can’t take her place, but I can make sure you have the perfect dress to wear to your prom. Please?”
I couldn’t say no. And when I saw the look on Flynn’s face the night of prom, I was glad I hadn’t.
So I had no qualms about Bridget hanging out with her grandmother. It was just the idea of sharing my daughter’s time with her father from now on that made my stomach clench. I was used to being the only parent, the one authority and the one who called all the shots. Sam had always been there as my back-up, to make sure Bridge knew she wasn’t going to get away with any nonsense. But he deferred to me as the one who made the rules and was the final say in my child’s life. Having to adjust to sharing wasn’t going to be easy.
Flynn was very business-like when he called me on Saturday morning. I’d just gotten to the stand and was unlocking the register when my phone rang.
“Hey, Ali. It’s Flynn.”
I had a dizzying flash of déjà vu and had to swallow hard before I answered. How many times had I answered his calls with anticipation and a swell of happiness? Too many to count. But now everything was different.
“Hey, Flynn. What’s up?” Silently I congratulated myself on sounding grown up and smooth. I could do this.
“I just wanted to let you know . . . I canceled my flight for today and backed out of the job I had in Los Angeles. I’m going to stay in Burton for the time being.”
I couldn’t tell whether he wanted me to apologize for screwing up his life or acknowledge that he was doing the right thing. I decided to go with a little of both.
“I’m sorry you had to change your plans. But I know Bridget’s going to be so happy to have the time to get to know you.” I paused before adding, “And I’m sure you’re going to be glad to have the time with her, too.”
“Definitely. It wasn’t even a question.” He sounded sure, and that made me feel a little less guilty. “I just had to make sure someone else could take the job. Otherwise I’d have flown out there, taken the photos and then come right back. But it works better this way.”
“Okay, that’s great. Bridget said something about meeting your mom this weekend?”
“I was hoping we could do that. If it works for you, maybe I could pick her up tomorrow morning. My mom’s doing a big family dinner in the afternoon, but I thought if Bridge comes early, they can get some time together, and then she can meet everyone else. What do you think?”
What I thought was lost in the pure panic over the idea of my daughter being thrown into a situation I couldn’t control. What if they didn’t like her? What if Graham was mean to her? What if Iona and Maureen took out their anger at me on their newly discovered niece?
It only took a fraction of a second before I realized how crazy that was. I’d known the Evans girls for a long time, and they’d never been anything but kind to me. Maureen and I’d been as close as sisters for several years. They’d welcome Bridget into the family, and the worst thing that would happen was she’d be spoiled rotten.
“I think that sounds wonderful. Bridget’s going to be in seventh heaven.” I tamped down my own misgivings and tried to sound like I meant it. “What time do you want me to have her ready?”
“Is ten too early?”
I laughed. “May I remind you, we live on a farm. Early is never a problem. She’ll be all set.”
“Cool. So I was thinking, maybe we could come up with a regular schedule for me to see her. I could pick her up from school some days, or if you were okay with it, she could spend the night at my mom’s with us.”
Panic filled me. “But she takes the bus to school.” It sounded stupid to my own ears, but I couldn’t stop the words from tumbling out.
Flynn’s voice took on a patient tone. “I’m sure we can work out something where I pick her up or drop her off. By the way, how come Bridget goes to the elementary school in Burton? I thought she’d be at the regional one.”
“They re-districted everything a few years back. We’re right on the line, so we were given the option of sending her to either school. I thought it would be easier for her to be with the same kids all the way through, rather than making the transition at high school like Sam and I had to.”
“That makes sense. And it makes it easier for me, too. What would you think of me picking her up Tuesdays from school and then having her over night? And maybe one day a weekend?”
“I . . .” I bit my lip. “Yeah, I guess that works. I’ll have to go into the school and make sure you’re added as a parent. They’re very strict now about who’s allowed to pick them up, you know.” This was going to mean telling other people the truth. I didn’t know why this hadn’t occurred to me before now, but for some reason, I’d thought I could keep the whole situation quiet, just between Flynn and his family and me. But once I told the school, the news would run through town like a wild fire. Great.
“Can you do that on Monday? The sooner, the better. That way if I ever need to get her, it won’t be a problem. Right?”
“Sure.” I couldn’t say anything more over the lump in my throat.
“Are you okay?” Flynn sounded cautious. “You sound . . . weird.”
“No, I’m fine.” I rolled my shoulders and closed my eyes. Honesty would be best here, I decided. “You just have to understand, Flynn, that right or wrong, I’ve been Bridget’s one and only parent her whole life. Getting used to sharing that responsibility might take me a little time. I’ve only been away from her overnight a few times in her entire life. The furthest and longest I’ve been apart from her was when she stayed at Katie’s last fall while I went to Savannah with Sam and Meghan. This is very new for me.”
He was quiet for a minute. “I can understand that. And if I’m moving too fast for you, just tell me, and we can talk about it. But I’m trying to catch up on eight years of missing out. I don’t want to lose another second with her. Especially if I’m going to have go away again.”
“How long do you think you’ll be in town?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer.
He blew out a long breath. “Not sure. I was planning to be state side for a while anyway, even before . . . well, before everything changed. I’ll have to go back to work eventually, but it isn’t pressing, unless a really incredible opportunity comes along.” He paused for a moment. “But no matter what, I’ll be back. I’m planning to make Burton my center of operations from now on.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I’d gotten used to a life that didn’t include Flynn Evans. Having him in town full time had the potential to turn my world upside down. “Won’t that be a big change for you?”
“Yeah, it’ll be an adjustment, but it makes sense. Mom’s going to need some help, and I want to be here for Bridget.”
“Do you have an apartment in New York?” I’d always pictured him living in one of those lofts I’d seen in sitcoms, something spacious and modern, with a deli on the corner and a view of Central Park. Having never left the great state of Georgia, I relied heavily on television and movies for my information on the world at large.
“I have one that I’ve been renting from a friend of a friend. Actually, I move quite a bit, even in the city. All my shit that I can’t take with me on the road, I keep in two big rubber totes in whatever apartment I’m currently using. If I need to vacate before I can get back there, I have a friend who swings by, picks them up and moves them to the next place.”
“Geez. That’s . . . wow. I just can’t imagine not having a steady place I could come back to, even if I were traveling most of the time.”
Flynn was quiet for a beat. “I guess I lost the taste for a home after I left Burton. At least, home the way you’re thinking of it. At this point, I take everything I need with me. Traveling light isn’t a bad thing.”
“I guess not. It hasn’t really been an option for me for a long time. Maybe ever. I’m one of those people who comes with baggage.” At some point, we’d stopped talking about apartments and homes. We’d veered into dangerous territory, where I felt like I might be walking close to quicksand.
“I’m going to say something, but I don’t want you to think I’m trying to blame you for anything again. I just want to say that if I’d known . . . God, Ali. I would’ve been there every step along the way. You wouldn’t have had to do it all alone. Even if we couldn’t work things out between us, I would never have abandoned you.”
I closed my eyes and leaned my forehead against the heel of my hand. “I think on some level, I knew that. But I couldn’t let myself really believe it. So many times I came close to calling you . . .” A particular memory burned against my mind for a nanosecond. I winced and pushed it away. “I was so afraid. I kept the possibility of you as my last resort. But at the same time, I was terrified of what would happen if I did call you and you didn’t come. Or refused to believe me. Or said you didn’t care. If that had happened, I’d have truly felt like I was on my own.”
Flynn sighed. “I wish I could go back and change what happened, Ali. We can’t do that, but I promise, from here on out, we’re a team.”
It’d made me glow, that promise. Sharing my daughter—our daughter—was going to take some getting used to, but the idea of not shouldering the entire job of parenting her made me a little giddy. I loved being a mom. I adored Bridget beyond the telling of it. But having another person to help me make decisions and take some of the responsibility was something I’d scarcely dared to dream I’d ever have.
Keeping that in mind, I made it through the next day, when Flynn came by to take Bridget to his mother’s house. She was excited, hopping first on one foot and then the other as we waited on the front porch.
“Do you think they’ll like me?” Her sudden question was the first indication that she might’ve been more nervous than she let on.
“Oh, sugar, they’ll adore you. How could they not? You’re the prettiest, smartest, most talented little girl who ever walked God’s green earth. You just remember that. And remember, too, that you’re a Reynolds. So you hold your head high.”
Bridget glanced up at me, mid-hop. “Am I still a Reynolds? Even though my daddy has a different name?”
Crud. I hadn’t expected this issue to pop up so soon. “Well, honey, legally you don’t have your daddy’s name.” I bit my lip. Bridget’s name, on her birth certificate, was Moss, and Craig was listed as her father. When I’d registered her for school, though, I’d asked that they list her as Reynolds, since it was my last name. I’d never gotten around to changing my name on anything legal after Craig and I’d gotten married, and we hadn’t been together long enough for it to matter. “Not yet, anyway. We’ll see what your dad wants to do, okay?”
“Okay.” She frowned. “But will I still be a Reynolds even if I have a different name?”
“Always, sweetie pie. You’re part of me, and you’re part of Uncle Sam, and we’re both Reynolds. Nothing can change that.”
I heard a car on the gravel of our driveway, and a moment later, Flynn’s gray sedan appeared. I didn’t know much about luxury cars, but I knew this was one. He opened the door and stepped out, and I tried not to stare. It was warmer today than it had been the last week, and Flynn was wearing faded jeans that fit his fine ass to perfection. And the blue T-shirt on top hugged his broad chest, showing off arms that had taken on quite a bit of muscle definition since he was eighteen. My mouth went dry. Hot damn.
Flynn grinned up at us. Well, mostly at Bridget, but I was claiming some of that smile, too.
“Morning, ladies.” He stopped at the bottom of the steps and stuck his thumbs into the front pockets of those sinful jeans. “Miss Bridget, you ready for a good time today?”
As hyper as my daughter had been moments before, she was suddenly shy now. She nodded, her eyes wide, before repeating the same question she’d asked me a few minutes before. “Will they like me?”
“Honeybunch, they already like you. Your grandma and your aunts—they can’t wait to meet you for real.” He leaned in as though sharing a secret. “In fact, and don’t let on I told you, but there just might be presents with your name on them at my house.”
That brought out a smile. “Really? How come? It’s not Christmas, and my birthday already happened.”
“I think we have a little catching up to do on Christmases and birthdays.” He glanced at me and winked. “Don’t worry, nothing outrageous. And they’ll rein it in after this.”
“That’s fine.” I couldn’t think of anything else to say. Yeah, I didn’t like the idea of Flynn becoming the indulgent dad who could afford to give our daughter everything I couldn’t, but I wasn’t going to argue with the fact that they had years to make up. As for it becoming too much . . . I’d deal with that if and when.
“Okay, well, you all set?” He stretched out a hand for Bridget. “Grandma’s chomping at the bit for you to get there.”
Bridge took his hand and jumped down the two steps. “Yep!” She paused and turned back to wrap her arms around my legs. “Bye, Mama.”
“Bye, sugar.” I knelt down in front of her and hugged her tight. “Be good. Mind your manners. Have a nice time, and I’ll see you tonight.”
“Okay if I have her back around eight?” Flynn took hold of her hand again.
“Sure. Of course.” I managed what I hoped was a good approximation of a genuine smile. “Enjoy yourself.”
“We will.” He tossed the words back over his shoulder as Bridget dragged him toward the car. “Thanks, Ali. See you later.”
I watched as they moved slowly down the driveway and out of my sight. And then I dropped to the top step and buried my face in my hands.
“Hey.” Meghan’s hand squeezed my shoulder at she sat down next to me. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” My voice was muffled by my hands. “It’s just . . . harder than I thought.”
“Ali, you’re not losing Bridget. Just because she’ll have more people to love her doesn’t mean she’ll forget those of us who loved her first.” She bumped against me. “Besides, if anyone should be freaking out, it should be me. After all, she’s not going to meet a new mom. She’s going to meet new aunts. What if she likes them more than me? I mean, I’m not even a blood aunt.” She sighed. “I’m not even an aunt by marriage. I’m just . . . her uncle’s girlfriend.”
I wrapped my arm around Meghan’s back. “Don’t be silly. Bridge loves you. You’ll always be her coolest aunt, no matter what. And the marriage part is just a matter of time.”
She raised one eyebrow. “What’ve you heard?”
I smirked. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” When her eyes widened, I just laughed. “No, I don’t know anything. But even if I did, I’d never rob you of the joy of a surprise proposal, so don’t even try.”
“Great. Have I mentioned how much I don’t like surprises?”
“Too bad.” I stuck out my tongue at her. “Someday you’ll thank me.”
“Maybe.” She hunched over, arms folded across her chest. “So for real, are you all right? Was it hard to see her go?”
I grimaced. “Yeah, but will you think I’m horribly shallow if I tell you the real reason?”
“Too late. I already think it.”
“Bitch.” I rolled my eyes. Meghan was the first female best friend I’d had in adulthood. It’d taken a little while to get used to some of her humor—affectionate insults, in particular—but I’d embraced it all eventually, to Sam’s horror. He liked to complain that his house had been overtaken by estrogen, but I knew that he secretly loved it. “It’s just that I’m not really worried about losing Bridget. But I felt so left out when they left. Here my daughter and her dad are going off for a big family reunion and dinner, and I’m Cinderella who gets stuck at home, alone.”
“Aw, sweetie. I’m sorry. That sucks.” Meghan laid her head on my shoulder.
“You know, when I was dating Flynn, that was one of the things I loved, being part of his family. Or just about. Maureen and I were best friends, and I was in love with Flynn, and his parents were awesome. They always included me—and Sam, too, if he’d come—in their family stuff. I was starving for parent love, and they helped fill some of that. I couldn’t wait until I was really one of them.”
“You know I’m more than happy to share my wacky family with you, right? Mom keeps pestering me to bring you and Bridge down to the Cove for a visit. She’d have a blast.”
“Someday, we’ll do that. Of course, maybe before too long we’ll have a good reason to go down . . . like, say, a wedding.”
She stared at me, her eyes narrowing. “You’re evil. You are really and truly evil.” She stuck out her tongue and jumped to her feet. “Just for that, I’m abandoning you to your brother for the rest of the day.”
“Aw, really? Are you leaving already?”
She stretched her back. “Well, yeah. Remember I was supposed to leave Thursday night, and then circumstances kept me here.” She arched her eyebrows, reminding me that those circumstances involved me coming clean about my child’s father. “I need to go back, catch up on some homework and see what I missed in class on Friday. So you and Sam have the rest of the day together.”
“Fun.” I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been alone in our house with my brother. Bridget was always with us, or during the school day, he was in the fields and I was at the stand. Which reminded me . . .”I think maybe I’ll go open the stand for a while.”
“Really? I thought you didn’t open on Sundays until summer time.”
“We don’t usually, but today’s so pretty and warm, we might get traffic.” Plus, it’d get me out of the house and keep me from moping all day, which would in turn probably save my life, since my moping would likely drive my brother crazy.
“Okay, chick. I’m going to grab my bags and hit the road. See you Friday night.” She leaned down to kiss my cheek. “Behave, and call me if you need to talk this week.”
I heaved myself up and walked down the steps and around the house toward the path that led to our stand. Being away from the house when Sam and Meghan said goodbye was never a bad thing.
My hunch about traffic at the stand proved to be correct. We had a steady stream of customers over the course of the afternoon, and I was grateful for how busy they kept me.
About mid-afternoon, as I was helping an out-of-towner select some souvenir jams, I saw a familiar black car pull into the lot. Guilt niggled in my chest; I hadn’t talked to Alex since before Brice Evans’ funeral. He’d texted that afternoon, but I’d been in the middle of the big reveal to Sam, and after that, I’d been too miserable and nervous to talk to anyone.
I finished up the jam sale, wrapping the glass jars and bagging them carefully. Alex wandered around the produce, trailing a hand over the oranges. I caught his wink just before he spoke.
“Miss, I have to tell you, this is the greatest farm stand I’ve ever seen. And I’m an expert, because roadside produce stands are my business.”
“Thank you, sir.” I struggled to keep a straight face. “Just what kind of business is that?”
“I write books about the stands. I travel the world, finding the best and brightest and spotlighting them in my books, Roadside Gourmand: Eating My Way Across the Country One Stand At A Time.” He winked at my customer. “Volumes One through Eighteen.”
“That’s intriguing. I’ve never heard of those books.” The woman smiled at him. “Are they in bookstores?”
“You should definitely ask at your local bookstore. You’ll be mesmerized.” He shot her the smolder, and I watched her melt. “But if you wait for Volume Nineteen, you’ll be able to see this very business as the highlight feature.”
“Well, isn’t that wonderful?” She beamed at me. “You’ve got to be so excited. I can’t wait to tell my friends that I was here when you found it!”
Alex sketched a bow, like the goof he was. “Of course.”
The woman glanced around. “You know, I was on the fence about buying that big basket of preserves and pickles . . . but I think I’ll get them. Do you mind ringing them up? Even though I’ve already paid?”
Did I mind? That was our single most expensive item in the stand. Hell, yeah, I’d ring her up again.
Once my new favorite customer had paid and left, happy about her purchases, I turned to Alex. “You, my friend, are devious.”
“But effective.” He stood in front of me, hands on his hips. “Now to business. I just stopped by to say two things. I’m mad at you, and what the fuck?”
I winced. “I’m guessing those two things are related. Okay, I’ll grovel. I’m sorry. I know it was shitty of me not to answer you. Or call. I have no excuse except that it was a really, really hard few days.”
“Yeah, I know. Because Meghan, who is a good friend—but not my best friend—was good enough to answer my texts.” He leaned his hip against a table. “So how’re you doing?”
I blew out a breath. “Honestly, I’m not sure. On one hand, it went a lot better than I had any right to hope. I mean, yeah, Flynn was furious. He was shocked, and he was hurt.” I wrapped my arms around my middle, remembering. “But he actually got beyond it a lot faster than I’d expected.”
“So are we talking happily ever after? Should I be getting out my tuxedo and working on my man of honor speech?”
I barked out a sharp laugh. “Hardly. Flynn’s willing to deal with me in order to see Bridget. He wants a relationship with his daughter, so he’s going to be as pleasant to me as he can. But nothing more than that’s going to happen between us.”
Alex reached across to brush his hand over my arm. “I’m sorry, Ali Baba. That sucks.”
I managed a smile. “What? Like I was expecting Flynn to come back into town, find out he has a kid with his high school girlfriend and declare his undying love to me? Nah. It’s been a long time. Too many years. I’m just happy that he’s sticking around to get to know Bridge.”
“And how’s our girl dealing with the newfound daddy?”
“Amazingly well. It’s almost weird. She didn’t ask that many questions about where he’s been all this time. She just kind of accepted it. I expected . . .” I spread out my hands. “I don’t know. I thought she might be upset and want to know why I’d never talked about Flynn before. But she didn’t.”
Alex nodded. “Well, count your lucky stars, I guess. Who knows, maybe she’ll have a delayed reaction and flip out when she’s a teenager.”
I shuddered. “I don’t even want to think about it. Let’s change the subject. Are you on your way back to Hotlanta? Did you see the boy toy last week?”
“There might’ve been a sighting. I’m still not ready to dish, though, so no digging. And yes, I’m heading west. I don’t know when I’ll be back in town again, but don’t worry, I’ll be keeping my eye on you. I have my ways.”
I fiddled with the hem of my T-shirt. “Did you see Flynn? Did you talk to him?”
Alex shook his head. “Just at the funeral. I was planning to stop by yesterday, but after Meghan let me know what was going down, I figured he needed a little space.”
“He’s staying in town, you know. Indefinitely. He told me yesterday that he’s going to make Burton his center of operations, whatever that means. But he’s giving up his apartment in New York.”
“Wow. That’s huge.” He quirked one eyebrow at me. “When I talked to him on Thursday, at the wake, he made it sound like he couldn’t get out of town fast enough.”
“It’s just Bridget. He wants to be a good father, and what more can I ask?”
“Sexy times? A little hard-core romping in the sack with the guy who took your V-card back in the day?”
“Nice, Alex. C’mon. Nothing’s going to happen between us. He can barely tolerate me.”
“Uh huh. I’m going to reserve the right to dance the I-told-you-so all over your face when Flynn ‘tolerates’ you onto your back. In a good way.”
I rolled my eyes and flipped back my pony tail, channeling my inner-teenager. “Whatever.”
“Hmm? Aren’t you even the littlest bit interested? You’re telling me Flynn Evans doesn’t still make your heart go pitty-pat?”
I turned my back to Alex and busied myself with the day’s receipts. “Whether he does or doesn’t is immaterial. I need to be an adult and make sure we have a good relationship for the sake of our daughter.”
He whistled. “That did sound very grown-up. And I almost bought it. If your eyes weren’t saying, ‘I want Flynn Evans between my legs, pronto’ I might’ve believed you.”
I shook my head. “You’re insane. My eyes were so not saying that. They were saying, ‘I’m a mature, well-adjusted woman who doesn’t need a man between her legs to be happy.’”
“Oooh, baby.” Alex faked a leer. “The dudes like a lady who can take of her own needs.”
“You’re despicable.” I couldn’t help grinning as I swatted at his arm. “Don’t you have some place to go?”
“Sadly, yes. But I’ll be texting you for updates, and if you don’t respond, I’ll text Flynn. Oh, and I’ll be back in town in two weeks.” He winked and grinned lasciviously. “Another, ah, business meeting in Savannah. And this one might just close the deal.”
“Oooh, baby!” I mimed his words and leer. “And if you, my friend, don’t decide to tell all, I might just hold out on you when it comes to Flynn and me.”
“Aha!” Alex held up one finger. “I knew it. I knew there was something going on.”
I sighed, shaking my head. “You’re such a pain in the ass. Go home, Alex. Go terrorize the good people of Atlanta.”
“Going.” He grabbed me and gave me a smacking kiss on the cheek. “But I’m coming back. And when I do, I want the juicy stuff.”