I’D BEEN IN LA for more than a week and living with Flynn far exceeded all of my expectations. We got along perfectly. We made each other laugh out loud, we could talk about anything and our lovemaking was out-of-this-world amazing. I felt more like a woman than I ever had before. He’d opened a whole new world to me, and it had changed me forever for the better. I’d come alive with him and it made me deliriously happy.
The guillotine that hung over my head was my anxiety about the tour. Professionally, I was excited and I couldn’t wait. Personally, I was scared to death the exposure to the groupies and the anything goes sexual buffet offered on tour would pull him away.
I was excited about meeting Flynn’s sisters for the first time. They were coming over with his dad, his grandparents, their brothers, sisters-in-law, and their aunt. Flynn and I spent most of the previous night making potato salad, macaroni salad, deviled eggs, fruit and vegetable platters, spinach dip and buffalo chicken dip. All that was left for him to cook were the hot dogs, burgers and chicken breasts.
We’d also tried to make the house a little more comfortable. We both knew it was an almost impossible task, but a trip through Bed Bath and Beyond meant there were at least blankets, throw pillows and some candles in the living room. Our efforts didn’t yield huge results, but it gave the house a scintilla of comfort it had been sorely lacking.
I was standing at the kitchen counter uncovering all of the food we made when Flynn stepped up behind me and wrapped his arms around my middle, pulling me back against him.
“We work well together baby. Thank you for doing all of this with me. You’re incredible and it means the world to have you here with me.”
Laying my head back on his chest, I sighed. “I think you’re pretty damn incredible too, and I love being here.”
I moaned as his hands started sliding up my torso and he buried his face in my neck and gave me a love bite. Settling his hand over my tummy possessively, he pulled me hard up against him as his other hand cupped my left breast. “Mm babe,” he whisper growled into my ear, “It’s only been an hour but I’m already strung out for you. I can’t wait till we’re alone again later and we can dive into our bed and not come out until tomorrow.”
My knees turned to jelly and every nerve ending in my body caught fire. He was insatiable, and I was right there with him for the ride. Sliding my hand up behind his neck, I pulled his head down to mine and kissed him. The hand he’d had cupping my breast moved up to caress my face, and I melted into him like butter.
“My God, Tess, I can’t tell you how much I love having you in my life,” he said.
We were interrupted by the sound of people clapping. Flushing with embarrassment, I pulled back from him. As embarrassed as I was to have been caught red-handed, I had to laugh when I saw Gram and Pop standing at the kitchen door applauding. Clearly, they were delighted to find Flynn and I being lovey-dovey.
Sylvia was across the room to me in a flash, pulling me into a hug. “We missed you terribly sugarplum! I’m so happy to see you back here ahead of schedule. It’s my understanding things are going incredibly well for you and my beautiful boy, not that I’m surprised. I knew from the moment I saw you two together this was the real thing.”
What I loved about Sylvia was her complete lack of filter. If she thought or felt something, she wasn’t going to hold it in.
Before I had a chance to respond to her non-question, Mason was throwing his arms around me in greeting. “Better watch what you tell her, Tessa-girl. This one’s chomping at the bit to see her little man standing at the end of an aisle waiting for you. You’d think having Dominique and Delilah in our lives would have slowed her down, but my Sylvia’s got granddaughter fever and she wants to mark you as one of her own.”
I didn’t quite know what, exactly, I could say. I was aware that my mouth was opening and closing, but I wasn’t able to form words. Finally, I settled on, “Um, I think it’s really early yet.”
Sylvia had grabbed my hand and pulled me from Mason with a laugh. “Oh sugarplum, there are none so blind as those who can’t see. It’s not too early dear, trust me.” Turning to Flynn, she said, “Tessa’s going to make a beautiful bride, don’t you think?”
I was mortified when she put him on the spot like that, and it took everything I had not to smack my forehead with my hand. I imagined Flynn wanted to run from the room. Instead of running, he laughed. Grabbing me from Sylvia, he took my hand and lifted it to his mouth, opening my hand and settling a kiss on my palm before closing it and addressing his Gram. “No doubt about it, she’s going to be stunning.”
I pretty much vapor-locked right then and there. Had Flynn agreed with Sylvia about seeing marriage in our future?
I mentally chastised myself to get freakin’ real. Of course he didn’t mean it, he just said it because he was put on the spot. I was falling for him—hell, I’d already fallen—but the tour loomed like a black cloud. I knew it was bound to change everything we had. It would shift our relationship for sure, and I feared it would do irreparable damage.
Thankfully the bell saved us when the front door chimed announcing the arrival of Flynn’s guests.
Flynn’s dad was first through the door and he enveloped me in a big hug. Then things got overwhelming for a few minutes as I was introduced to everyone else. Flynn’s newly discovered twin sisters, Dominique and Delilah, were amazing. They were ridiculously beautiful but they also managed to be two of the most genuine people I’d ever been fortunate enough to meet. Todd was clearly enamored of his daughters, and it was a lovely sight. Flynn had filled me in about what a difficult life the Hart family had before their Aunt Sandra took over, and it really impressed me how down to earth, and well adjusted, they all were.
Everyone except for Dominique had a significant other at his or her side. Flynn had already told me she appeared to be single. The introductions moved on to Delilah and Dominique’s other brothers, Dante and Damien Hart. Those two pieces of prime eye candy were male model material, but just like their sisters, they couldn’t have been nicer. Dante introduced me to his wife, Sabrina, and then Damien introduced me to his fiancée, Brooke. Sabrina and Brooke were sisters, and the resemblance was obvious. They perfectly complimented their men, and it was clear to see both relationships were in full bloom.
Next I met Delilah’s fiancée, Spencer. He was built like a Nordic God, and I had to remind myself to swallow as I took all of him in. I’d been told he and the Hart boys were like brothers, and even though there was no physical resemblance, I could see similarities in the three of them, mostly because they all carried themselves the same way. There were women everywhere who would kill to be in a room with this much male beauty, and I sure did enjoy it.
Spencer was in full expectant dad mode and it was adorable. He had an eye on Delilah at all times, their movements so perfectly mirroring each other it almost looked like they were synchronized.
The last person through the door was Sandra Thomas, the Hart family’s guardian aunt. She was a lot younger than I’d thought she would be. I’d assumed she was Todd’s age or older, but she was definitely a few years younger than he was. She didn’t look much older than the oldest Hart brother, and I marveled at what kind of inner strength she had to possess to have taken on five children without hesitating. She would have been crazy young when she’d gotten custody.
I noticed she gravitated toward Todd, which was interesting. They sat together at dinner and he rarely left her side. The two of them definitely had chemistry. Reflecting on what Flynn had said to me about his desire for Todd to remarry, I thought it was a good thing. Sylvia looked thrilled every time she looked at them, so I knew that I wasn’t the only person that had noticed. Flynn caught me watching them at one point, and he smiled and gave me a thumbs up. Clearly he had noticed as well.
Sylvia was in full great-grandmother mode, and she asked a million questions about how Delilah was feeling. She didn’t even really look pregnant yet, but you wouldn’t know by the way Spencer possessively caressed her stomach whenever the opportunity presented itself. He regaled the table with stories about the pregnancy book he was reading as Delilah shook her head and laughed as she told us all he was starting to drive her nuts.
“Since I told him we’re having a baby, he’s woken me up every Monday morning to tell me what developmental stage the baby is in. Two days ago I found him on the computer buying a stethoscope so he can listen to the heartbeat. The man’s gone mad!” She radiated joy, so I knew she didn’t mind at all.
Just seeing how happy they were about the life they had created made me think about what it would feel like to have a baby Flynn and I created together growing inside of me. Almost as though he knew what I was thinking, he reached over and took my hand in his. The look in his eyes as he smiled at me seemed to promise a million things, all of them dreams come true. If someone had told me two months before Flynn Rand would become the center of my universe, I’d have called them crazy, but there we were and he absolutely was.
Flynn’s other sister, Dominique, seemed reserved to me. She smiled and participated in the conversation, but I sensed there was something going on with her. Flynn had told me she was the more cautious twin, and I could see what he meant. She was lovely and had a beautiful personality, but she was definitely the harder nut of the two to crack.
Sylvia was in her element, and it was obvious she’d already decided the Hart, Cross, and Tyler families were all now part of her own. It looked to me as though Dante, Damien and Spencer were eating up all the attention she paid them all, and I assumed it was because they’d never experienced a grandparent before.
As dinner progressed, I’d grabbed my camera and started taking photos. It was like a knee-jerk reaction to me, as necessary as water in order for me to feel right. I loved capturing a moment, especially when the moment was something that should be remembered. Sylvia squealed when she saw the camera and shouted out, “Sweetie, do you have a tripod?”
“I sure do.”
“Wonderful! Can you set it up after dinner to take some pictures of all of us together as a family?”
“Of course!”
At the conclusion of dinner, Sylvia corralled everyone into the backyard so we could take some pictures while the light was good. After we were all in place, I set my timer and took twenty photos lightning fast. When I was finished, Sylvia dragged me into Flynn’s office so she could see the photos. After choosing her favorites, she had me email them to her before she enveloped me in a bear hug.
When we finished hugging, I was surprised to see her tearing up. “Oh no, Sylvia! What’s wrong?”
Shaking her head, she grabbed a tissue and dabbed at her eyes. “Ignore me, sugarplum. I always get like this in the weeks before they go out on tour because I’m a silly old woman. You’d think I’d be used to it by now, but I’m not. I’m going to miss you, Flynn, Cole and the boys terribly while you’re out on the road. I shouldn’t complain—this is actually the shortest tour they’ve ever done, but it never hurts any less when they leave.”
Wrapping my arms around her, I kissed her cheek. “I can’t imagine how hard it’s been to have had to do this time and again for the last ten years, but you’re right, this is the shortest tour they’ve ever done. It will be over quickly and they’ll be back before you know it.”
Pulling back, Sylvia looked at me. “You’ll all be back sugarplum, not just my boys.”
I wanted nothing more, but in my mind, my future with Flynn was uncertain. There was no way to foretell what would happen on tour.
“Well, no matter what happens with Flynn and me, I’ll see you at the final show of the tour. That’s something to look forward to.”
As she stepped away from me Sylvia waved her hand in front of my face. “Hello, Tessa? Earth is calling dear. You need to stop planning for the worst. You’re Flynn’s other half sugarplum, and you aren’t going anywhere, I promise you.”
I gave a smile I hoped she interpreted as encouraging. I could only pray she was right, because I knew there would be no coming back from the feelings I had for Flynn. He rooted himself deeper in my soul by the hour and I knew if it ever came down to it, I wouldn’t be able to walk away with my heart intact.
As the night wound down, Dante and Sabrina invited us all over to their home the following evening for Sunday dinner. Apparently it was a tradition in their family, and it was a good indicator of where things were going that they wanted to include the Rands.
Once everyone had gone, Flynn and I cleaned everything up before heading to his bedroom to shower. Our end of the day ritual of showering together had become a highlight for me, and for him, judging by how eager he was to get there each day.