CHAPTER TEN
The elegant estates that dominated so much of the rolling, wooded hills of Belle Meade belonged to a world of their own. Once during college, Sami had accompanied Nathalie to a fundraising event for The Frist, a cause Nathalie supported not so much out of a love of art but of a desire to be seen supporting what she deemed a proper civic cause. As she drove her small Honda along the manicured roads, Sami glanced over at Flynn. “I remain skeptical about your plan for my residence in this neighborhood.”
“Next driveway,” Flynn said. “About a mile up.”
Sami rounded the curve. “That comment illustrates why I am hesitant.”
“You mean you feel like the hired help?”
She nodded. “Perhaps I wouldn’t choose precisely those words, but yes, I do sense that I am out of my element.”
“Good to get kicked out of the old comfort zone once in a while.” Flynn grinned at her. “A few years back, my buddy Cameron did nothing but those rock ‘em sock ‘em action flicks.”
Sami wrinkled her nose. “I went to one on a date and I must say I prefer his more recent films.”
“Had to trick him to force him out of his comfort zone,” Flynn said. “I signed him kicking and screaming to do Mister Benjamin.”
“I loved that movie,” Sami said, slowing to watch for her turn.
“Yeah, well, the s.o.b was afraid he’d fail. It was easier to stick to the formula flicks.”
“Didn’t he meet Jonni when he was filming that movie in New Orleans?”
Flynn scowled. “Yeah.”
“Aren’t you happy for them?” Sami was surprised at the scowl.
“This driveway,” Flynn said. “Don’t get me wrong. Those two are made for each other. It’s just that I never thought he’d fall and fall that hard.”
“They are perfectly romantic,” Sami said, halting at an imposing wrought iron gate that guarded the drive. “But I can understand that you miss the guy friend that Cameron Scott was before he met his wife. I have learned that after each of my three best friends married, our relationships changed in a number of ways. For you, it must be difficult to have to carouse without your side kick.”
“I manage,” Flynn said, and winked. “Here’s the code for the gate. You enter it on that covered keypad.”
Sami followed the instructions and the double gates swung inward. Ruby barked at the movement, but the gates made no sound.
The drive curved, and once around the first bend, Sami spotted a three-storied brick mansion with imposing columns gracing the broad front porch. She followed the drive around the circular sweep to the back of the house, stopping in front of a five-car garage topped by an upstairs living space. A pool glittered in the distance.
“The guest quarters are above the garage,” Flynn said. “There’s a pool house, too. The caretakers live in the main house.”
“I hope they don’t mind dogs,” Sami said. “Or I will have no choice but to leave.”
“Relax,” Flynn said. “You just got here.”
“I do wonder if anyone has ever mentioned to you the degree of bossiness you exhibit.”
“Nah,” Flynn said. “Let’s put all the windows down, leave the dogs for a few minutes and go meet the caretakers.”
Sami lowered the windows. Then she paused. “Are you telling me you have never met these people?”
He shrugged. “My people know their people’s people’s people. And they play in a band I’ve heard once or twice. No worries.”
“Academia does not operate in such a casual fashion,” Sami said, realizing she sounded a bit too prim and proper for someone fairly desperate for a place to stay. “But perhaps I can learn from this experience.”
“That’s the spirit,” Flynn said. “Shake yourself out of that comfort zone.”
A silver-haired man with a trim goatee strolled toward the car. He waved.
“Show time,” Flynn said and got out of the car.
Sami joined him and they walked toward the man. Ruby set up a vocal protest at being left behind and the other two dogs joined in. Sami grimaced and walked more quickly toward her host.
“You must be Sami,” the man said, extending his hand.
Sami smiled at him somewhat nervously, and shook hands.
“Flynn Lawrence,” Flynn said.
“William,” the man said. He tipped his chin toward a younger man walking up beside him. “And this is Kyle. Welcome to Stone Lake. We’ll show you around and help you two get settled.”
“Thanks,” Flynn said. “But it’s Sami and her dogs who are staying. I’ve got to get back to L.A. Though I hope it’s good if I drop by when I’m back in town.”
“Absolutely,” William said. “Any friend of our employer is welcome anytime.”
Sami figured it was rude to ask who owned the palatial estate. Stars needed their privacy and Flynn probably would have told her if it was the acceptable practice to reveal such information. Still, she admitted to curiosity. And she needed to confront her biases. She’d assumed a caretaker couple would be a male and a female. Funny how those old stereotypes came so readily to mind, even for someone who considered herself a seeker of truth and meaning.
“Thank you so much,” Sami said. “Can you meet the dogs first? I hate to leave them in the car longer than necessary.”
The four of them strolled toward the car. The dogs raced around exploring as Sami followed the men up the stairs to the apartment over the garage.
“Wow,” Sami said as she gazed around the spacious open living room and to what looked like a gourmet kitchen beyond. “Apartment hardly describes this lovely interior.”
Kyle laughed. “That’s very gracious of you. We’ll be putting in a real guest house farther back on the property, but for now we have to make do with this space.”
Sami definitely did not live in the same world. She glanced over at Flynn but he didn’t seem at all surprised with Kyle’s comment. Then it occurred to her she had no idea what world Flynn lived in. Did he live in a mansion in Beverly Hills? Had he thought her New Orleans shotgun the size of a dog house? She wrinkled her brow, thinking she’d like to ask him, but really why should she? His lifestyle was no concern of hers. She hadn’t realized he was flying back to Los Angeles so soon. No wonder he’d been in a hurry to help her find a place to stay. He needed to check out of his suite at the Hilton. He probably had a plane to catch any time now.
“The bedrooms and bathrooms are down the hall from the kitchen,” William said. “Two master suites. Pick whichever you prefer.”
“I’m almost overwhelmed at your hospitality,” Sami said. “Seriously, I cannot thank you enough. I suppose it’s in bad taste to ask about how much rent I can offer.”
The two caretakers looked at each other. “Very bad taste,” they said in unison. “We would never accept money for letting friends of friends stay here. Our employer would have our heads.”
Flynn grinned. “Told you so, Sami Pepper.”
“Then I will simply say ‘thank you,’” Sami said.
“The kitchen is fairly well stocked,” Kyle said. “Just let us know if there’s anything else you need. The wireless key is ‘Every day at Stone Lake is a happy day.’ ”
“What a lovely sentence,” Sami said.
“I’ll get your bags,” Flynn said.
William waved a hand. “You two look around. We’ll carry your things up.”
Sami gazed around the comfortably furnished living room, taking in the enormous media center, a well-stocked bookcase, two leather sofas with matching chairs and a small dining table next to broad windows. The piece that caught and held her eye was a gleaming black Yamaha upright on the wall opposite the windows. She walked over to it, almost tempted to open the keyboard and touch the keys.
Almost.
But not quite.
Flynn crossed to the kitchen, whistling a sadly melancholy tune. She turned away from the piano and followed him, listening and trying to identify the melody.
She ran a hand over the granite of the island that included a breakfast bar and waited till he paused. “What is the name of the music you were whistling?”
He shook his head. “No name. Just something I hear in my head.”
“You should consider writing it down. You have a gift.”
“Thanks, but I prefer managing the talent.”
“Hmm,” Sami said.
“Hmm what?” Flynn glanced at his watch.
“I was recalling what someone said to me, very recently, about stepping outside of one’s comfort zone.”
“Let’s check out the bedrooms.”
“I believe you are attempting to change the subject,” Sami said, following him along the hall past the kitchen.
He stopped and she bumped into him. Before she could back up, he turned. They were close. Close enough that her breasts brushed his chest. Too close.
Sami licked her lips.
Flynn muttered something under his breath that sounded a lot like ‘what the hell.’
Sami tipped her head up.
He pulled her tight and kissed her. Hard. Hungry.
But only once.
He dropped his arms and strode down the hall.
Flynn walked through the first door he came to. Damn but he had to keep his hands off that woman. What was it with her, anyway? Bossy. Prissy. Telling him he had talent. He clenched then unclenched his fists and forced himself to look around the room. He was standing in a bedroom almost as large as the living room, done in a rainbow of shades of lavender, from the walls to the bedcovers and pillows and what looked like a purple leather loveseat. His eyes widened. Maybe Kyle and William knew what they were talking about when they made excuses for the apartment.
Sami paused in the doorway but didn’t enter. Good. He needed her to keep her distance. For his sake. He had absolutely no control around her. Flynn kicked a toe at the pale violet carpet.
“Pretty,” Sami said and moved on from the doorway.
Flynn let out a breath. He’d finished his meeting. Time to get his butt to the airport and get back to a life he understood. He walked toward the other master suite and this time he was the one who paused in the doorway.
Sami was in the room, this one done in soft blues and whites, with as many frills and laces as a girly-girl like Sami could wish for. She had her back to the door and was gazing out French doors beside the bed that evidently led to a balcony off the back of the garage. Slowly, she turned around and Flynn realized she was brushing at her eyes with the back of one hand.
“Did I upset you? Kissing you?” Flynn spoke softly. She looked more sad than mad.
She shook her head and waved a hand around the room. “It reminds me of my room. Where I would be staying this summer. Only everything is different now.” She dabbed at the corner of one eye. “I apologize for feeling sorry for myself. You have been so generous and thoughtful and I have absolutely no reason to feel sad.”
He wanted to hold her. To offer comfort. But he really didn’t think he should move into the room or touch her again. He had no right to start something he knew he couldn’t finish. “Sami, your world has been turned topsy-turvy. It’s natural to feel all sorts of emotions.” His jaw tightened as he thought of how his brother had looked stretched out in a goddamn coffin. “Loss is one son of a bitch.”
She crossed toward him and put her arms around him. “What am I doing complaining about a house when you lost your brother?” She stroked his back and then broke the contact by turning and pacing toward a door that stood open to the bathroom. She came back quickly, patting her nose with a tissue.
“Not to change the subject,” she said, “but the bathroom is amazing.”
Flynn smiled. “Good. Good for the bathroom and for changing the subject.” He checked his watch again. “I’ve got to Uber to the airport. This new deal I’m working on for Cameron may put me back in town again soon.”
“Oh?” She tipped her head to one side, watching him, but not giving away any particular reaction.
“Yeah, so I’ll stop by and see how you’re settling in. If that’s okay with you.”
“I guess Ruby would like that,” Sami said, her tone not at all encouraging.
Flynn wasn’t a guy to beg. Well, damn, had he ever needed to from a woman? He didn’t plan to start now, especially with a woman he wasn’t even trying to pick up. He lifted a hand in farewell and turned on his heel before he could waver.
He hated to admit it, but he didn’t feel one bit like flying back to L.A. His reluctance had nothing to do with the hectic business awaiting him and everything to do with the bossy blonde professor he was leaving behind.