by Nicola Marsh
“No, now!”
Adam folded his arms, his frown deepening.
Lori blushed, furious Flynn had to witness this, and furious he’d inadvertently started it. She was a good mother, yet Flynn just stood there scrutinizing her every move and she found it extremely unnerving.
She bent to Adam’s level and brushed his hair back off his forehead.
“Why don’t you go next door and play with Chris while I discuss this with your father?”
Adam shook his head. “Don’t want to.”
“Adam, do as your mother says. We’ll talk about this later as a family,” Flynn intervened, his firm tone brooking no argument.
To her amazement, Adam looked up at Flynn. “Okay,” he said, contrite, and trudged away, scuffing his feet on the lawn.
In that instant, Lori realized how important Flynn was in Adam’s life. Having a father’s steadying influence was vital in these developing years and though she’d like nothing better than to send Flynn packing she owed it to her son to be civil.
“You’ve done a remarkable job raising Adam on your own. I really appreciate it.”
He lay what she assumed was a comforting hand on her shoulder. Instead, all she could think about was how his simple touch made her stomach somersault.
“He thinks the world of you,” she said, torn between wanting to shrug his hand from her shoulder and leaning her head against it. “But I swear I could kill you for springing this on me.”
“I intend to be there for him, always. As for springing this on you, I did warn you.”
Her gaze flew to his, his playful tone alerting to the fact he wasn’t listening to a word she said.
“I think there’s something you need to see.”
Flynn could sense her wavering. He read it in her eyes, in the way her body almost swayed toward him.
“Please. For Adam.”
Okay, perhaps bringing their son into this was a low blow but all he needed was one last chance to prove his love for her. For despite her pushing him away he knew she loved him too. And he would do anything to bring Lori to her senses.
She pinned him with a stare that would’ve stopped a lesser man dead in his tracks and he could easily imagine how a naughty student would feel if they incurred her wrath.
“Why do you keep doing this to me? I’ve signed the papers regarding your visitation rights, I’ve fostered your relationship with Adam. Isn’t it time to move on with our lives? In separate directions?”
He nodded, experiencing a fleeting doubt for a second and not relishing the feeling one bit.
“Sure, you’ve done all that but the one thing you haven’t done is given us a chance.”
“I have.”
Her lips compressed into a thin, stubborn line and he had a sudden urge to pry them apart with his own, kissing her senseless in the process.
He shook his head. “Not really. You said it yourself. Every time we’ve grown closer, you’ve run. This time I have no intention of letting that happen. And you will hear me out, in full, this time.”
He shifted his hand from her shoulder to the side of her neck, where he let it rest while caressing her cheek with his thumb. He watched her eyes widen, their fathomless depths tugging at his conscience.
This was it, last ditch stand.
If she didn’t agree to his proposal after what he had planned, he didn’t know what he’d do.
She sighed and turned her face toward his hand, surely a sign she’d surrendered? For now, at least.
“Fine. We’ll play this out to the end. But promise me after this you’ll leave me alone?”
How could he agree to a promise that could rip out his heart if she didn’t see things his way? He’d lost her once before and he’d be damned if he lived the rest of his life without her.
“Promise?” She prompted and by the stubborn glint in her eye, he knew he had to capitulate.
He nodded. “I promise.”
She didn’t see the hand in his pocket, its fingers crossed for all their worth.
“Why do you keep bringing me to our old haunts?”
Lori stepped from the car and looked at the empty grounds of Collingwood High.
Flynn took hold of her hand, brushing his thumb over the back of it, sending an electrical impulse shooting up her arm. No matter how much her head told her to get over him, she’d accepted the fact that her body would always betray her when it came to this man.
“Because I thought you were a romantic soul,” he said, smiling in an intimate way that suggested he knew everything about her.
Which he did, of course. They’d been best friends before becoming lovers for that one, all too brief night and she’d opened up to Flynn in ways she wouldn’t dream of doing with anyone else, even her closest girlfriends.
She tugged her hand away before she succumbed to his seductive power yet again.
“So what? There’s nothing romantic about your old high school.”
“That’s not what you used to say.”
He recaptured her hand and gently pulled on it, leading her in the direction of the gum tree. Their gum tree.
“Come on, grumpy. I need to show you something.”
Okay, so maybe she’d told a small fib. She did find the old red brick building romantic, especially as it resurrected a host of memories.
Memories she needed to forget, remember?
Though if she was completely honest it wasn’t the building that held romantic notions for her but the man who she’d first met there.
“You’ve come this far. How about humoring me a little more?”
“Don’t push your luck, mister.”
She frowned though her heart wasn’t in it. In fact, her heart raced the closer they got to the gum tree, a strange tingle of anticipation causing goose bumps to pepper her skin.
“Close your eyes.”
“No way.”
“I thought you loved surprises?”
“What is it with the men in my life?” She shook her head. “First Adam, now you. Am I that easy to read?”
“I wish,” he chuckled, the familiar low sound wreaking havoc on her wavering resistance.
The longer he played these games with her, the harder it was to hold him at arm’s length. He’d definitely piqued her curiosity and she had a sudden urge to throw caution aside and join in the fun.
“Fine.”
She closed her eyes and tried to pretend she wasn’t enjoying herself. “Let’s get this over and done with.”
He placed his hands gently over her eyes from behind and steered her forward with his body.
“Trust me,” he whispered in her ear, the feather-light brush of his breath against her skin, combined with the lean hardness pressing against her back, sending desire shooting through her body.
She shouldn’t be feeling this way.
She shouldn’t be playing his game.
Most of all she shouldn’t believe those two little words he’d whispered as much as she wanted to.
“Take three steps forward and you’re there.”
Was it her imagination or had his voice turned husky, its low tone reviving memories of the incredible kiss they’d shared under this very tree not that long ago.
She took three exaggerated steps forward before stopping abruptly.
“That’s it. I’m not taking another step ’til you tell me what this is all about.”
“Surprise.”
He dropped his hands and she stared at the tree trunk in disbelief.
“Well? What do you think?”
She stared at the words he’d engraved into the bark, seeing but not quite believing. Under their old engraving of LB 4 CL he’d added a few extras, namely, LB I LUV U 4EVER, WILL U MARRY ME?
Her knees shook, her insides quivered and heart almost stopped beating before galloping at a frantic pace.
“An answer some time this century would be appreciated,” he said, wrapping his arms around her and hauling her against his body.
She leaned her head back against his chest, knowing her answer yet too scared to give it to him.
“You know how I feel about this. It wouldn’t work.”
He pulled away so quickly she almost staggered. “Because of some misplaced fear I’ll end up like your dad?” He grabbed her arms, turned her to face him. “What about us? Our love? Adam?”
She shook her head, making a lightning fast decision to come clean. She needed to do this if she had any chance of moving forward in her life — without him.
“Adam’s the reason I’m doing this. I’ve loved you forever, you big dolt, but that doesn’t change the fact what you’ve seen, what you’ve done, won’t manifest some time in the future and affect how you treat our son.”
She shook her head, his horrified expression at her honest admission slicing her heart in two. “I won’t put him through that. Whatever feelings we share, it’s just not worth the risk.”
“You think I’d hurt him?” His lips thinned. “That’s absurd.”
“Is it? Can you honestly stand there and tell me Pop didn’t take his anger, his frustration, out on you?”
He stared at her, his face devoid of expression. “I’m not Pop. I’m not your father. I’m the man who’s willing to spend the rest of his life proving it to you.”
If her heart had split moments ago, it now bled.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Then don’t say anything at all.”
He crushed her to him, burying his face in her shoulder and she let the tears fall, soaking his shirt, sobbing out all her fears and hopes.
When she had nothing left to give, he eased her away, placed a finger under her chin and tilted her face up to receive the sweetest, softest kiss.
His lips grazed hers, tender, fleeting and she sighed as he brushed away the last of her tears.
“I didn’t tell you this before because I wanted you to love me for me, but I’ve already been through extensive counseling. I saw what being a soldier did to Pop and no way in hell I wanted to end up like that.”
She couldn’t speak past the tears still clogging her throat so she nodded, silently urging him to continue.
“They’ve given me a clean bill of mental health, which doesn’t mean I won’t have the occasional nightmare or flashback, but I can deal with that.”
Staring deep into her eyes, he said, “Don’t you see? I never, ever want to put my family through anything remotely what I went through. I would’ve done anything for Pop, including signing up to make sure all the sacrifices he made to raise me weren’t for nothing, but I’m not like him.”
The final piece of the puzzle slid into place and Lori almost gasped. That’s why he’d enlisted. Out of a warped sense of duty to his grandfather, a payback for leaving the army to raise him.
To think Flynn would go to such lengths for people he cared about … in that moment, she realized the truth.
The man she loved was loyal and dedicated and self-sacrificing. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for her and Adam, and she’d be a fool to let him go.
“I’m not my grandfather.” He laid a hand on his heart. “Especially here, where it counts most. I love you, have always loved you and I swear I’ll never give you or Adam reason to question me.”
“You’ll start me blubbering again,” she said, sniffling, stunned by the depth of his trust to tell her all that.
“That’s okay, the other shoulder’s dry.”
His crooked smile, so familiar, so heart wrenching, made her want to fling herself into his arms and never let go.
And while she couldn’t release all her fears at once, his admissions had gone a long way to allaying them. Flynn was right. He wasn’t her dad or his grandfather. He was a bigger man. He was her man. Now and forever.
“So what do you think? Ready to take a chance on a retired soldier who promises to love you ’til we’re old and hobbling?”
She smiled, hoping the love she felt for this amazing man reflected in her eyes.
“If you want me after all the grief I’ve put you through, I’m saying yes.”
He stared at her in solemn silence, as if not quite believing she’d agreed.
She gave a subtle jerk of her head toward the tree. “I take it you carved that proposal?”
He nodded, while reaching up to draw a lazy finger down her cheek.
“Good. In that case, I’d love to marry you.”
He let out a whoop, picked her up and whirled her around until she was breathless before setting her back on her feet and kissing her.
“We’re going to be a family,” she murmured against the side of his mouth, her arms snaking around his neck, never wanting to let go.
Her heart turned over as he stared down at her, his love shining like a beacon from those stormy gray eyes she adored.
“I like that sound of that.”
“Me too.”
Standing on tiptoes, she kissed him, putting her heart and soul into it, showing him what he meant to her, what he’d always meant to her.
He chuckled when they finally came up for air and rested his forehead on hers.
“Come on, let’s go tell our son the good news.”
EPILOGUE
“Come on, Mom, we’re starving.”
Lori stuck her head out of the camper van and smiled at Adam. “Give me a sec, sweetheart, I’ve got a surprise for you and dad.”
Adam rolled his eyes. “I hope it’s not vegetable lasagna again. That wasn’t such a great surprise last time.”
She laughed as her gaze locked with Flynn’s over their son’s head, her heart swelling with the constant love blazing in her husband’s heated stare.
It had been a whirlwind ten months since their quiet ceremony in the backyard, witnessed by their closest friends Jane and Michael — who were dating much to her delight — and their son, who’d taken pride of place as Flynn’s best man.
They’d settled into family life surprisingly easily, making a mockery of her fears.
Flynn had been right all along.
He was nothing like her dad, nothing like his grandfather and there wasn’t a day went by she didn’t lavish affection and love on her amazing husband.
“What are you cooking up in there?”
Flynn’s eyes twinkled, well aware of her surprise as he ruffled Adam’s hair.
“You’ll see.”
She ducked inside the van, grabbed the photo and set it next to Adam’s favorite afternoon tea when they were traveling: fruit kebabs with a banana smoothie chaser.
Sending a silent prayer heavenward this would go the way they hoped, she eased out of the door, taking the two steps with care as she balanced the tray.
When Adam’s curious gaze landed on the plate piled high with kiwi fruit, watermelon, cantaloupe and strawberry kebabs, he let out an excited whoop.
“Now that’s what I call a surprise. Awesome,”
She laid the tray down on the fold out table they’d set up next to the Murray River, Echuca, their favorite holiday spot for relaxing and watching the paddle steamers of days gone by meandering down the river.
Flynn came to stand next to her, draped an arm around her waist and gently squeezed.
“It’ll be okay,” he murmured as she slid the photo from under a plate, her hand trembling slightly.
“That’s not the only surprise we have for you, son.”
Adam stopped hovering over the kebabs and glanced up at them. “There’s more?”
“Uh-huh.”
Beckoning him closer, Flynn made way for him between them as they squatted to his level.
“We have a picture to show you.”
Lori flipped it over, holding her breath as Adam tilted his head to one side, squinting at the photo.
“What is it? Looks like a black and white jellybean.”
“It’s a picture of your brother or sister.” Flynn hugged him close. “Do you know what that means, buddy? Your mom’s going to have a baby and you’ll have a little brother o
r sister in about five months.”
Adam screwed up his face, his expression thoughtful as his solemn stare swung between the photo and her belly.
“Is it in there?”
She exhaled slowly, nodded. “Uh-huh. Want to feel, sweetheart? It’s only a tiny bump for now but the baby will grow and you’ll be able to feel more then.”
Frowning in concentration, Adam extended his hand, tentative at first, until she pressed his hand to her lower belly and his face split into a wide grin.
“Wow! I can feel a bump. Awesome!”
They laughed, bundling him into their arms, the familiar family hug warming Lori’s heart and obliterating her anxiety at how Adam would take the news.
“Do you have any questions, sweetheart?”
Adam looked at his dad, who gave him a thumbs up sign of encouragement.
“Just one.”
“Anything.”
Adam fished his favorite action figurine out of his pocket and held it aloft.
“If it’s a boy, can we call him Ben 10?”
Flynn chuckled. “Plenty of time to chat about names, champ. Let’s eat.”
As Adam dug into his favorite afternoon treat and the sun dipped behind the eucalypts lining the riverbank, Lori rested her head against Flynn’s shoulder, safe in the comfort of his embrace, one arm resting protectively on her belly, the other on Adam’s shoulder, and smiled.
Life didn’t get any better than this.
In the mood for more Crimson Romance?
Check out The Saint’s Devilish Deal
by Kristina Knight
at CrimsonRomance.com.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
EPILOGUE
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