by Ava Miles
“Amelia,” Annie said, shaking her head.
“What? Mom, my tummy monster needs to be fed.”
“You’re always eating,” Eloise said, rolling her eyes.
“Am not,” Amelia fired back.
“Where did you get the cake and brownies from, Flynn?” June asked, smoothing Eloise’s hair. “Around here we don’t have too many options.”
“Penelope Wingate took care of dinner. I’m staying at her and Joe’s place like Tom said.” Maybe the Wingates would put in a good word for him, neutralize some of the poison he sensed behind Tom’s words. “My aunt and uncle will be staying there too, once they arrive. It’s a wonderful place.”
“Probably not as nice as those fancy digs I see on TV in New York City, but they take pride in their bed and breakfast,” Tom said.
The word fancy was said with disdain again, like it was sour milk on the tip of his tongue. It made Flynn bristle a little, and he found himself saying, “My mother is from the Midwest originally, and she raised all seven of us kids to respect hard work.” As a salvo, it wasn’t bad, but he wished he hadn’t felt the need to explain himself. Caitlyn had told him to stand his ground with his brothers, and he sensed he’d need to do the same with this man.
Tom’s bushy eyebrows rose, and he rocked on his boots. “That’s a pretty large family, especially for city folk.”
“It is a large family, but we’re not from the city. My parents raised us in a small town in Northern California.” He wasn’t going to mention it was Napa Valley because the man probably thought that was fancy too. Rightfully so, as it happened, but Flynn was aware of his privilege—he didn’t need it pointed out. “My sister is also coming to help with the holiday baskets next week. Our family company is important to everyone. We all play a part.”
“Well, I think that’s wonderful,” June said, stepping forward and patting her husband on the back, and since he’d seen his mother do it a million times to his father, he knew it was a silent communication to back off. “If you’ve finished with supper, we can cut into some desserts. Maybe we can teach you how to play euchre after the kids go to bed, Flynn.”
“My Grandma Anna taught us euchre when we were kids,” he said, wanting to wince at the thought of them interrupting his time with Annie. Then he realized that might have been the intended purpose.
“We’ll have to take a rain check on the euchre, June,” Annie said, still standing in the doorway. He had a wave of intuition that she didn’t want her in-laws to stick around any more than he did. “I need to show Flynn the lab tonight and go over inventory and the like for the baskets. We have a lot of ordering to do and a short timeline to complete everything. Right, Flynn?”
“We do, indeed,” he said, flashing another winning smile.
June’s open gaze didn’t miss a beat, and she nodded. “Why don’t Tom and I serve the girls their dessert and put them to bed? That way, you two can get started on your business so you won’t be burning the candle late.”
Annie finally relaxed her clenched hands. “That would be wonderful, June. Thank you for the offer. Come here and say good night, girls.”
Amelia raced across the room and gave her mother a smacking kiss on the cheek, and Iris and Eloise grudgingly came forward. Annie wrapped them in a hug together, and it struck him as funny that they even did something as individual as a hug as a unit. Man, if that didn’t take him back. His mom used to hug J.T. and Trevor like that, the three of them clustered together.
He gave them a warm smile. “It was great to meet you, Iris and Eloise. Maybe tomorrow I can show you some pictures of my brother’s alpaca. Her name is Buttercup, and she’s pretty cute, but I think Carrot would give her a run for her money.”
“Carrot is Amelia’s pony,” Iris told him, her blue eyes narrowing. “Me and Eloise don’t care about horses.”
He saw Annie tense and wanted to soothe her.
“How could you not like Carrot?” Amelia asked, throwing her hands out in artless disbelief. “He’s the best horse ever.”
“He’s a ridiculous pony, and Darren Polski bamboozled me into thinking he would pull his weight on this farm,” Tom said gruffly. “If you hadn’t taken such a shine to him, Amelia, I’d have sold him off and prayed to break even.”
“No, Grandpa, no!” the little girl cried. “Carrot is a magical horse. He does all sorts of things you don’t see.”
Flynn’s diaphragm clenched as an uncomfortable silence swept through the family room.
“Grandma, we’ll help you with dessert,” Eloise said, taking Iris’s hand in solidarity. “Come on, Amelia.” The last was said reluctantly.
Flynn swept the little girl up in his arms, feeling oddly defensive of her. “Thanks for being my new friend,” he told her, seeing the hurt she felt at her grandpa’s comments.
She wrapped her little arms around him and then kissed him on the cheek. “I’m glad you’re my friend too. I’ll see you tomorrow, Flynn. Remember, I’m going to be Rapunzel. Carrot will be the king’s horse, Maximus, and you’ll be the brigand, Flynn Rider.”
“Anything you want, princess,” he said, earning him another kiss.
“Thanks for this, June,” Annie repeated, rubbing the space between her brows.
“Happy to help,” the older woman said. “Again, good to meet you, Flynn. We’ll look forward to meeting the rest of your family.”
“A pleasure, June. Save a piece of that chocolate pie for me. I have a feeling it’s delicious.” He winked at her for good measure, and she laughed—a lovely, natural sound—and swatted his arm as she passed.
He’d just made an ally, he knew. God, he was going to need it.
Turning to Tom, he extended his hand again. “Great to meet you, Tom. If you have time, my family and I would love a tour of your farm while we’re here. It’s beautiful land.”
The man grunted. “If I can spare the time. It’s no petting zoo, that fool horse aside—I keep busy from sunup to sundown. Good night, Annie. Don’t work too late. That rooster crows early.”
“So does Amelia,” she said, lifting her shoulder. “Come on, Flynn. Let’s go to the lab.”
With a final nod at the older man, Flynn turned and followed her to the coat closet in the foyer. She jolted when he helped her into a winter-white parka before shrugging into his coat.
Outside, they followed a shoveled side path to the small outbuilding twenty yards from the house. The door was unlocked, and she let them inside. When the lights went on, he had his first impression of her lab. A gift basket, presumably for him given what she and Amelia had said earlier, seemed to be the center point, resting on the long stainless steel counter in front of them. It was the only item in the lab with any holiday spirit besides his hat, which he decided to remove given the serious tone of the lab.
He glanced at Annie, who was tugging off her coat, and gave her a big smile.
“That for me?”
“Yes,” she said, blushing a little. “The red ribbon might have been a step too far, but Amelia insisted. More holiday spirit and all.”
“It’s perfect. I’ll treasure these, Annie. Thank you.” The knowledge that she’d made everything in the basket with her own hands made the gesture all the more heartwarming…and not a little arousing. But he’d think about that later.
As she fussed with the thermostat by the door, he took a glance at the room. A large scale sat on the counter, along with a few hot plates on either side. The glass cabinets behind them appeared to be stocked with various bottles, glassware, and products arranged in perfect order. A refrigerator in bold red was tucked in one corner and a full sink and dishwasher in the other. If he had to guess, the lab was about the size of her living room. He noted a small hallway leading to a back room with white-paneled shelving lined with Bilberry & Co. products. There also looked to be a bathroom and a small coat closet.
Here there were no inspirational signs. It was all business.
Annie rubbed her hands together, finishing with
the thermostat. “I left the heat up since I wanted to give you a tour, but it’s still cold. Give it a few minutes, and the temperature will improve. I usually keep the lab on the cool side since it’s more science compliant, but I can turn it up if you’re uncomfortable.”
“Don’t worry about me being uncomfortable, Annie. I’m more concerned about you. I’m sorry if my presence is making things challenging for you.”
“You mean with Tom and June and the twins?” she asked, letting loose a large sigh. “It’s been a tough transition for all of us since Ben died a year and a half ago. Technically, they aren’t my in-laws anymore, but… Never mind.”
He crossed to her, the hum of the fluorescent lights above them the only audible soundtrack. “No, finish what you were saying. I’m a good listener.”
She wrung her hands, staring at him, before saying, “I’ve thought about moving to another house. But Ben’s death was so hard on the kids, and I didn’t want to put them through any more big changes. I’ve been saving up for something small, but the right opportunity hasn’t come along, and it’s not like it would be easy to sell the house and such. Real estate in the area’s not exactly booming, as you can imagine, and we’re right across from Tom’s farm. Amelia couldn’t bear to be parted from Carrot, and I doubt I could do the upkeep on a barn and pasture by myself.”
“Running a farm alone wouldn’t be easy for anyone, and I can’t imagine raising three daughters by yourself is any easier.”
“Some days are simpler than others. Amelia was a little over three when Ben died, so she doesn’t remember him as much as the twins do. It hasn’t been as hard on her, and she’s still so happy and carefree. The twins…they haven’t been the same since he died, and our relationship has been tough. They’re a bit more like their dad in some ways. All the parenting books talk about the dangers of making those comparisons, but to me, they’re simply facts. I love them more than life, but I don’t always understand them. Especially lately.”
“I get it. I have four older brothers, and two of them are twins. They’ve always been tight, just like the girls, and it was hard to connect with them sometimes. We’re all adults now, and they live on different continents, but they’re still like that. Losing their dad has probably made them even more of a unit.”
He’d do best to remember that. Iris and Eloise might act like teenagers, but they were only little girls missing their father.
She gave a tired smile. “That’s kind of you to say, Flynn.”
“Can I ask what happened to Ben?”
She tapped the stainless steel counter, looking down. “Do you want the fit-for-company version or the truth?”
“The truth. You can always tell me the truth, Annie.”
She mumbled something he couldn’t hear before she pushed away from the counter and stalked to the window. “He got drunk, something he started to do more frequently after Amelia was born. In the next town, of course, hoping to hold the gossip at bay. He was thoughtful like that.”
That was thoughtful? Flynn wasn’t sure he’d call leaving his family at home to get drunk thoughtful.
She wrapped her arms around herself. “Our marriage had never been very happy, but we had the girls. Anyway, he skidded off the highway and wrapped his car around an oak. I can’t tell you how hard it was to hear the news. He was so young. It was such a waste. Telling my girls he was gone was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”
He crossed to her and put his hands on her shoulders, but she didn’t turn to face him. “I can’t imagine.”
“Anyway, June and Tom helped so much afterward with the girls and the house, and I appreciate it. June and I have always gotten along, and she’s so generous and sweet—very different from Tom, who can be a hard man.” Her voice shook then, and she dropped her arms, fisting her hands at her sides. “But sometimes I want to remind them Ben isn’t here anymore. I—we—need to live our own lives.”
Her need for freedom called to something in him, and it only reinforced his desire to help her. He only hoped she would be open to sharing her freedom with someone else. That strange certainty he’d felt upon meeting her—that she was his soulmate—had only become stronger. There was an iron strength at the core of this woman that awed him.
“Everyone needs to feel like they can make their own way, Annie. I realize it’s something I’ve always taken for granted.”
She rubbed the space between her brows, something he was discovering she did when she was stressed. “I take full responsibility for how I’ve come to this point.” She shook her head a little, making her curls bounce prettily. He had the urge to reach out and touch one, but they weren’t there yet. “I can’t believe I’m sharing all of this with you. It’s not very professional.”
“I want you to feel like you can talk to me, Annie,” he said. “I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want to listen. Emily is my friend. Let me be yours too.”
She gazed at him for a long moment, something awakening in her eyes. They reminded him of the blues in the Roman candles they used to shoot off as kids on their west ridge in Napa Valley. Finally, she said, “Thank you. I suppose I could use one. I’m sorry Tom and the twins were so rude. I’ll handle it tomorrow.”
He held up his hand. “You apologized already, and you didn’t need to in the first place. Let’s just let things evolve, shall we? There’s no need to get anyone’s back up.”
He figured Tom’s back was stiff enough as it were, and Iris and Eloise… He would find a way to win them over. Clearly, he’d taken the wrong approach tonight.
“All right,” she said, running a shaky hand through her curls. “You still sure you want to go through with all of this? I’m hoping Tom and the twins will warm up, but I don’t want to make your family feel unwelcome.”
“Don’t worry,” he said. “We all have thick skins. And I’m especially determined to see this through.”
She gave him an assessing look, biting her lip in a way that made him want to kiss it. “So I’ve noticed, and after talking to Emily, I’m just going to come out and ask. Flynn…”
The lab suddenly seemed charged with electric energy. “What, Annie?”
She was quiet a long moment before saying softly, “You don’t normally bring flowers to a business meeting, do you?”
Annie’s gaze seemed to delve into him, reading all of his secrets. What exactly had Emily told her? He considered for a moment, then said, “I told you before you could always tell me the truth, and I’d like to do the same with you. No, Annie, I don’t normally bring flowers to business meetings.”
Her chest rose as she inhaled deeply, but he made himself hold her gaze.
“This came up earlier than I expected,” he continued, “but since it has, I’d like to clear up a couple of things. Merriam Enterprises is professionally interested in you fulfilling the holiday basket order as we agreed, and I’m going to help you do it. But I’ve already asked my brother to send a trusted third party to go over your operations in order to determine whether Merriam Enterprises wants to make a competitive offer for your company. I told him I can’t be objective.”
Her beautiful blue eyes blinked rapidly at that. “I see.”
“I’m also interested in you simply as Flynn. Not Flynn Merriam. Do you understand what I’m trying to say, Annie?”
“I think so,” she said, sucking in another breath. “Despite how hard part of me is struggling to believe it. Emily said she had a feeling we might…”
The awkward gesture she made with her hand told him all he needed to know, and he wanted to kiss Valentina—er, Emily—on the cheek for her matchmaking. The matchmaking trio had had help this time. “And how do you find the situation as Annie?”
Why in the hell was he talking in the third person? All he knew was that she made him uncharacteristically nervous—when had he ever been anything but unflappable when wooing a woman?—and he felt like he was standing on a bed of nails waiting for her answer.
“Annie rather like
s how Flynn feels about her,” she responded, the corners of her mouth lifting into a ghost of a smile. “The business owner is also open to hearing Merriam Enterprises’ offer should they want to make it. But you should know…Annie’s life is really complicated.”
She was warning him off? He’d expected she might. “Good thing Flynn excels at dealing with complications.”
“This might be more than Flynn bargained for.”
He let a smile break across his face. “Flynn’s up for it, Annie. Now, how about we focus on something that makes you happy? Whew! I’m back to talking in the first person. That was about to get weird.”
She gave a shaky laugh. “About to? I think we already verged into weird territory. Flynn, I…” She paused, as if considering what to say next, then ended with, “Can we table this for the time being? How about I walk you through the lab? We can start by going through your gift basket.”
“We can do whatever you want,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere.”
She blushed at that, but she led him over to the jaunty basket. The first thing she pointed out was the goat milk soap, which made him smile. The rest of the products were part of the new luxury line she was piloting. She’d used rare, top-shelf oils for them, like marula, plum, tamanu, and red raspberry, alongside extracts like peony root and orchid blossom.
Any residual awkwardness drifted away as Annie talked him through her work. Her excitement was genuine, warm, and catching—the kind of bliss a person only felt in the pursuit of something that fulfilled them. He didn’t feel that way about tech, and it was somewhat mesmerizing to see the inner fire within Annie Loudermilk. Even more so because she kept giving him sidelong glances, her gaze shooting invisible sparks across his skin.
“This lab is my sanctuary,” she said, giving him a broad smile as she gestured to the space. “In some ways it’s been my salvation. When I decided to start selling my products five years ago, I didn’t know how much I was going to need the business. Coming out to the lab after the girls have gone to bed has gotten me through a lot of tough nights. I work when I can’t sleep, which is a lot, honestly.”
