Stripping the towel away from me, his eyes scanned my clean, damp skin and raked from my feet to my head before he dropped to his knees in front of me. “You are so stunningly beautiful you know that? You make me breathless when I look at you, Valerie. Those words don’t cut it for how you make me feel when I see how naturally beautiful you are.”
Flynn shook his head and bent forward to kiss my belly. “And you are going to be such a hot dude, just like your daddy,” he said, chuckling close to my belly before he pressed his lips to it.
My hands reached for his head and my fingers tangled in his wet hair before they sifted through the thick dark strands. He sighed heavily and his arms wrapped around my waist as he pulled me closer. “You’re all I want in this world, honey. All I’ve ever wanted since the day I met you,” he murmured against my belly.
“Are you talking to the baby or me?”
“You, but I guess that applies to both of you now,” he said, his genuine smile confirming his words. As soon as we made eye contact he bit his lip and I shook my head. I wanted him right there and then, but I had to deny myself. Flynn had to learn that he didn’t take our lives into his hands every time he thought I’d be upset. I untangled my hands from his hair and stepped back, turning to slip between the sheets.
“God, I’m so tired,” I commented as he snuggled up behind me and held me close. Flynn had given another long sigh before he kissed my shoulder. “Get some rest, babe, I’ve got you.”
I was so washed out I don’t remember anything else, apart from his soft breathing, his warm hand gliding up and down from my rib to my thigh repeatedly, and his rock solid cock nestled along the crack of my butt.
Chapter 27 ~ Valerie
Ghosts from the past
The sound of Flynn’s cell playing “Highway to Hell” interrupted the great sleep I’d been having. He rolled away from me, and half sat up as he swiped the screen to accept the call. A rapid change in his movements had him sitting upright, his hands running nervously through his hair. I could vaguely hear a man’s voice that I didn’t recognize on the other end of the line.
“Yes, it is. Sure, seventeen, six, nineteen ninety-two. Sure…” I realized whoever was on the phone was asking him security questions about himself. He went quiet listening, “I see, you’re sure? Yep. Okay, thank you. I appreciate your discretion. Thank you.”
Flynn pressed the red button and closed the flap of his screen protector. He placed it on the nightstand, and his head fell back heavily on the headboard as he exhaled a huge heavy sigh.
“Was that the hospital? The doctor?”
“Yeah with the DNA results.”
I couldn’t sit up quick enough, and turned to face him, “And?”
Seeing the same internal struggle I recognized when Flynn had something difficult to say, I sat quietly and waited for him to speak. I couldn’t read the look on his face, all I saw was the toll this whole thing had had on him. He hadn’t looked like his normal carefree sleepy self. The strain of the previous few days was etched on his face, and his narrowed eyes and tense jaw showed me how uneasy he felt.
Pushing himself completely into an upright position, he scrubbed his hands down his face before turning to look at me. Extending an arm, he said, “Come over here,” I did as he asked and he put his arm around me and guided me into his side. “Valerie…” I glanced up at him and saw tears welling in his eyes. I hadn’t been able to tell one way or another whether the Milly was his or not. He kissed the top of my head gently and smoothed down my hair while he swallowed with difficulty. He drew in a deep, sharp breath. “Milly is Martin’s baby.”
Truth be told that hadn’t been what I’d expected from his behavior, but when the impact of what he’d said hit me, I suddenly felt like I was suffocating. Flynn held me tightly and kissed my head, “It’s okay, babe. We’ll come to terms with it.”
I must have gone into denial because I started to question what I already knew, “Wait, we only know she’s not yours. How can we be sure she’s Martin’s?”
“That’s the other thing I have to tell you. Don’t hate us, but I went to see Kayden yesterday morning and told him where I was going. I asked him not to tell you. Your brother is as smart as you are because he suggested I take a beanie of Martin’s with him to have his DNA checked as well. We both knew this was the only chance we were likely to have for definitive confirmation one way or another if it was Martin’s. I know this is difficult for you, but I need to speak to Melanie today.”
“Kayden knew where you were?” I shook my head and mumbled, “It doesn’t matter now. Of course, you have to speak to her, and so do I, Flynn. I need to tell my parents about Milly, and if I know them like I think I do, they are going to want to meet her.”
“Whoa, Valerie. You may be going a little too fast for that. Milly’s been around a while already so a few more weeks without knowing won’t hurt them. Melanie needs a little time to get her head around this as well.”
I considered what he’d said, “One week, Flynn, that’s all. Martin died. Time is never taken for granted in our household as far as kids are concerned. They’ve already lost over two years of their granddaughter growing up already. Melanie may see this as none of my business, but that’s my niece and my parents’ grandchild.”
Flynn took another deep breath, but I saw the resignation on his face, “Okay, a week, and Melanie isn’t an unreasonable person.”
“How do you know that? What’s happened so far hasn’t exactly been reasonable has it? We’ll bring her here,” I said, decisively.
“You think that’s a good idea, babe?”
“I do. I don’t want my parents somewhere strange when they meet the daughter of their dead son. Give them a little consideration. I imagine they’ll do some grieving again once they know, and again when they see her.”
The week I’d asked for turned into ten days. When I told my parents, both Kayden and Flynn were by my side. Dad tried to look stoic, but our Mom went to pieces right there on the living room sofa. She sobbed and howled this blood curling, high-pitched wail that she’d done the day we found out about the boys, and the same again at their funerals. Kayden was able to console her, and I think he brought her to her senses when she remembered he’d survived the same tragic event.
After their initial shock, my mom and dad were excited to meet Milly. I was still trying to get past the thought of Flynn and Martin being with Melanie, but I knew I had to be tolerant of their past relationship for the sake of the little girl who’d been born from their sordid night of passion. Flynn constantly reassured me he felt nothing for Melanie, and I had to accept that, or my brain would have exploded.
Another four days passed, and that gave my parents a little more time to absorb the news before they finally met. My dad surprised me on the day Milly and Melanie came to Iowa. We’d arranged for them to come on the weekend so that they could stay in our place, and we had planned to stay in the cabin the band members used.
I was glad the band had gone by the time they’d arrived because the last thing I’d wanted was to answer questions about them. I was a tough person, but my feelings were so strong that day I knew the meeting had to be a private affair.
When the car that brought Melanie and Milly from the airport pulled up the drive, I was a bag of nerves. I was anxious about actually having to spend time with someone who’d been intimate with Flynn, and maybe because I loved him so much, I couldn’t imagine anyone else wanting to have sex with him just for fun.
Conscious of my belly bump that morning, I’d put on some leggings, cowboy boots and a long floaty top. I didn’t look pregnant in that outfit, but it was getting harder to hide at seventeen week’s pregnant. The last thing I’d wanted to do was remind Melanie of her dilemma about Flynn while rubbing her nose in it that he’d stuck around to support me.
That point may have been too considerate after the past couple of weeks I’d been through, once I’d known about her and Flynn. I’d never been a vindictive person, a
nd Milly was Martin’s child. That made me a stakeholder in the future of Melanie and Milly’s as it impacted our now growing family.
I don’t know what I’d been expecting, but Melanie was actually a very sweet woman. It was obvious that Kayden and Amber liked her right away, and as much as I hadn’t wanted to, I did too. When my mom and dad set eyes on Milly, they’d sat silently and stared at her like she had some kind of magical aura around her. My parents gripped one another’s hands like they’d die if they’d let go. I knew they were fighting with all they had in them, not to cry.
When I looked closely at Milly, the familiarity I’d seen was one hundred percent Martin—same dark lashes, same shape and colored eyes. She even had the same birthmark on the inside of her arm at the elbow joint that Martin had.
When I saw that, my heart ached and I felt myself choke with emotion because Martin never got to see his baby girl, and never knew she was his after all, but we did. At least Martin was able to leave part of himself behind. Adam and Ziggy never got that chance.
I shook off my sorrow when Milly wandered over to me and pointed to the center of my chest. “Button.” I looked down at the row of buttons on my top and smiled affectionately, “Smart girl, yes, they’re my buttons.”
“Milly draw, Mommy, Milly draw buttons,” she said tugging at her mom’s oversized bag.
“Later, Milly. We’re with guests right now.”
“No. Grandma, Papa, Amba, Dayden, Finn, and Buttons,” she said cutely, going around the room pointing us out one by one like she was introducing us to her mom.
“It’s Valerie, Milly, not Buttons. Say it, Val-er-ie.”
“Va rer I lee,” Milly repeated a tad frustrated at her mom.
“No. Milly, again. Val-er-ie.”
Milly snapped her hands on her hips in frustration and shook her head.
“Dat Buttons. She be Buttons,” she said, defiantly.
Flynn chuckled and shook his head, smiling as she grasped the finger he’d held out to her, “Maybe three syllables is a lot for a three-year-old to push out at one time. It’ll come if we don’t force it,” he said as if he’d been teaching kids to talk his whole life.
“Finn, I like your Buttons.”
“I’m not wearing buttons sweetheart,” he chuckled and ruffled her hair.
Milly pointed at me and shook her head, “No, this Buttons. She pretty, like my Princess dollies.”
Flynn turned and stared at me for a moment longer than I was comfortable with, “Yes, she is, and I’m very lucky to have a princess dolly like yours.”
“I don’t have talking Buttons. Mommy, me want a talking dolly like Buttons.”
“We’ll see, Milly. Come and sit over here by me.”
Milly turned to look at her Mom then eyed the rest of us. As young as she was, I could see she was cutely cunning. Stepping away from Melanie she started to climb on my knee. Flynn was quick to pluck her by her armpits and lift her over to where Melanie was sitting.
“Milly, princesses always do what their mommies tell them. Didn’t you know that?”
Staring back at Flynn, Milly was enthralled by what he’d told her.
“They do?” she asked in disbelief.
“Of course, they do, as well as being pretty they always try to do what the grown-ups tell them. It’s how they stay safe and learn their manners. No point in being pretty and full of…princessiness if you don’t have good manners.”
My jaw dropped before I mouthed, “Princessiness?” Flynn smirked sexily at me, and my heart skipped a beat. I couldn’t wait to see him father our kid.
I glanced over at my parents who were both sitting staring at Milly like she’d hung the moon and colored the stars bright pink. Their hands entwined, and the fingertips of my mom’s hand were white as she gripped tightly. A smile played on her lips that quivered and she began blinking rapidly. My dad swallowed several times and chuckled, but I could tell how hard the meeting had initially been for them.
After an awkward first half an hour, Melanie and my parents hit it off, and she was amazed at how giving they were. She was happy for them to be in Milly’s life after meeting them, and despite my earlier nerves and ‘first sight’ hate for her when I found out she’d slept with my brother and my man, I actually liked her. We were similar people, and we’d fought through the worst of times, and had come out stronger for it.
Flynn and Melanie walked Buster with Kayden and Amber while I spoke with my parents about Martin’s money. There was still around seven million dollars in the bank because of daily interest that had been accruing. When I told my father I’d wanted most of that money to go back to Milly, he’d readily agreed. We had what we needed, and the rest I could cover from the money coming in from my business. In fact, with Flynn being my boyfriend, sales of my pictures had increased tenfold.
Once everyone was back, Dad had called Harry and asked him to bring food for everyone. A low-key dinner was exactly what we’d all needed while we got to know one another. Milly made us laugh when she tried to get into Buster’s bed, tired out after her big day on the airplane, and being busy around lots of new people. Melanie took her to the cabin, bathed her, and put her to bed. Amber offered to babysit at the cabin so Melanie could return and we could discuss how we intended to support Melanie.
I hadn’t known whether to be pleased or angry with Flynn when he told Melanie not to call him about anything, and directed her to me. Whether he was giving me my position as manager, or it was because I’d shown a jealous streak I hadn’t been sure, but I’d let it go, and reminded myself to talk to him later about it.
Dad told Melanie I wanted to say something, but I shook my head, “That’s for you to discuss, Dad.”
Clearing his throat, he looked at Mom, who was tentatively touching her flatware and showing her discomfort because she knew that he was going to talk about something that was a reminder of the boys she lost.
“Melanie, when Martin died, the tour company the boys took the trip with was found to be negligent. The courts decided they should pay for their mistake that cost the lives of our beautiful boys. The courts gave us compensation for our loss and we, in turn, gave it to Valerie. She has spoken to me, and we’ve decided that Martin’s money should go to Milly.”
Watching Melanie’s response was touching. Her mouth dropped and her eyes watered at the same time, tears ran down her face. I wondered if part of that was with relief that she was going to have some support to raise Milly. Melanie’s parents were alive but older, and she’d told us it hadn’t been easy for any of them with their own medical bills.
There was still one million from Adam’s share left and I’d ring-fenced that for cash flow for the band. I told Melanie we would put three million in trust for Milly. I suggested the other three would buy a home for them, and give them a regular income until Milly reached the age of twenty-one.
After she reached twenty-one, she could access the trust at the discretion of a counter-signatory, being either Kayden or me. At the age of twenty-five, she would gain full control of her funds providing she wasn’t dependent on drugs, alcohol or anything else that might make her vulnerable.
Giving the money to Milly was an easy decision for me. I was a shrewd woman. I knew that having too much money to act as a buffer for mistakes could lead to less effort by the band if they’d known. We’d taken our time, and as far as I knew we were ready for the band’s new release, as soon as Bernie’s case was wrapped up. Basically, one million dollars cash flow in the music industry was a drop in the ocean, so failure was not an option.
Melanie cried at our generosity, and her genuine gratitude made us all feel we’d done the right thing by Martin. As Flynn and I walked her back to the cabin, she’d walked beside us in silence, before she turned and hugged me.
“I don’t know what to say…”
“There’s nothing to say, Melanie. You’re family now. We’ll work out regular contact for you, Milly, and the rest of us, we can’t waste any more time. Milly’s me
mories are important, and I want her to grow up knowing about her awesome dad,” I said.
“That part is very true. Despite what happened, Martin and I were really close. I had strong feelings for him. He just didn’t feel the same way. He was seeing Jess—” Melanie stopped mid-sentence and looked tearful as I hugged her again.
“He cheated on Jess with you, I know, Flynn told me. That’s a side of my brother that has disappointed me.”
Melanie’s eyes flicked to Flynn, and he chewed his lip.
“I may have been many things back in college, Melanie, but I never cheated on a girl. I just never committed in the first place. I was a free agent when we…” Flynn cleared his throat and looked at me like he’d been mortally wounded for having brought up the incident, and hurriedly continued, “With Iria…at one point I suppose I’d thought there was something there, but in my mind I couldn’t forget Valerie, always Valerie,” he said casting his eyes back to me.
Without another word, Flynn pushed open the front door, and Amber stood up from our sofa, and slowly wandered over to us. “She’s been asleep the whole time. It’s been so nice meeting you, Melanie. I’m looking forward to seeing Milly and you again,” Amber said, and hugged her, “See you in the morning before you go home.”
We watched Amber make her way back to the house, and Flynn slung his arm over my shoulder. “We’d better be heading to bed as well. We’ve got the band coming back around the time you leave. It’ll be a long day tomorrow. No matter what happened, Melanie, we’re here for you. This family…they are everything mine never was, and I’m proud to be a part of it. See you tomorrow, hon.”
Flynn turned and walked us toward the other house, “Valerie Darsin, just when I think there’s nothing else you can do to impress me, and you go and hit the ball right out the fucking park.”
I glanced up at him with a questioning look, and his eyes twinkled in the security light that had come on in front of the house, “All that today? I had no idea there was that much money, and the way you ran the show with Melanie, Milly, and setting Milly and her up…it’s fucking mind-blowing how mature and together you are. I’m so proud of you, babe. How the fuck did I get so lucky?”
Ready For Flynn, Part 2 : A Rockstar Romance (The Ready For Flynn) Page 24
