I’d had sex with Flynn. And I didn’t miss the curl of disappointment when I thought of it.
Steeling myself, I trotted downstairs, but Flynn was out on the deck, manning the grill, his rigid shoulders toward me.
Finding fresh veggies on the counter that he must’ve picked up on his trip to town, I prepped a salad, then toasted some garlic bread.
The sliding door opened, but as the silence stretched, I turned to see what was wrong. Paused in the doorway, Flynn hastily looked away and carried the plate of steaming steaks to the kitchen.
“Hope you’re hungry,” he said, presenting me with his epic ass. All that protein did him gooood.
The aroma of the food teased my nose. This was almost as nice as eating out. Unless I was on a date, that never happened.
We settled at the table, Flynn taking the far side.
Okay. Hurt lingered that he didn’t choose the chair next to me, but I wasn’t up to interpreting his actions. The day had already been filled with new experiences, all made a tad overwhelming by the man across from me.
I bit into the first cut of steak. Savory flavor burst over my taste buds and I closed my eyes and groaned.
Flynn’s silverware clattered against his plate. My eyes popped open, but he’d recovered and was slicing his steak.
More for conversation than interest, I asked, “What cut of meat is this?”
“Ribeye.”
“It’s good.”
“Thanks.”
We ate in silence. He didn’t touch the bread but ate up most of the salad.
Before he had a chance to clear the table and run, I peppered him with questions. “How’d you get into construction?”
His jaw clenched for a heartbeat before he answered. “My dad was a carpenter.”
“You’re a business owner in your twenties. Did you follow your dad around, then take over for him?” There had to be a fascinating story, and Flynn seemed like a guy who’d relish telling it.
He pushed his plate away, his expression blank. “His boss hired me on and it took off from there.”
I waited, but he didn’t elaborate. “What type of construction?”
“I build corporate spaces.”
“There must be a lot more to that than houses.”
He nodded, still reserved. “I used to build houses.”
“How’d you make the jump?”
He lifted a shoulder. “It just happened. Houses got bigger, I got talking with the owners… Where’d you go in high school?”
I recoiled at the sudden subject change. He hit on a time in my life I never talked about, which was most of my life. I answered honestly, my irritation at his vague answers eating at me. “I dropped out.”
His surprised gaze flew up. “What? Really?”
“Yep. Got my GED instead.” Now that I’d opened the door, I had no wish to step through it. My Wonder Woman pajamas weren’t lending me any more girl power than I normally had. Standing, I gathered a bunch of dishes to carry to the counter.
He did the same. “Why?”
“I just made the decision and it took off from there.” How would he feel, having his own words flung back at him?
“You started college early then?”
“No, a year late, actually.” Ack. I was worse at this game than he was.
“What happened?” He shadowed me around the kitchen, putting everything away.
“Life happened.” I spun and started. He was right in front of me, his body blocking out everything. “I’m sure you know how it goes.” He must if he didn’t offer any of his personal history for me.
“Is that when you changed your name?”
“Close.” I exhaled and rubbed the side of my head. The filling, delicious dinner wasn’t enough to stave off the headache talking about my past brought on. “I’m sorry, Flynn. I don’t like to talk about it.”
He replaced my hand with his own, one on each side of my head. His thumbs massaged my temples.
Oh, that was nice. His strong hands were gentle. Couldn’t he have done this earlier in my bedroom?
Abruptly, he stopped and stepped back. “I’ll let you rest then. Good night.”
He was out of the kitchen before I could blink. I peeked at the time on the microwave. It wasn’t even eight p.m. Looked like I’d have time to plan my lessons after all.
Best vacation ever.
Chapter 6
Tilly
I swung my feet in the cool water. I was perched at the end of the dock. The sun was high overhead, warming the tops of my shoulders as I frowned into the clear lake.
Sundays were usually a quiet day, but this was ridiculous. Flynn had stayed in his room all day. We’d said hi over breakfast, then he’d disappeared into his room. I’d been about to knock to let him know I had made lunch, but his voice on the other side of the door had persuaded me to leave him alone. He must be working on vacation, too.
I kicked my feet and watched them glide through the waves, releasing my frustration with the effort. Sure, I’d brought work with me, but I didn’t do it when he was around. It just seemed kinda rude.
But I wasn’t the owner of a multimillion-dollar business.
As more hours passed, the excuse didn’t make me feel better.
With a sigh, I drew my feet up and stood. I shed my shorts and T-shirt. Today’s swimsuit was one Mara hadn’t had to talk me into. The front was a red-and-black checkerboard pattern, and the back was half red, half black. While the suit wasn’t an obvious superhero design, it was cool as hell. Mara had invited me to the next Twin Cities Comic-Con, and I planned to dress up as Harley Quinn. To my students’ delight, I had the laugh perfected.
I evaluated the water. It was deep enough to jump in, but not so deep that I might find myself sinking because I couldn’t swim. But I could float and the dock was right there.
The responsible thing to do would be to use the shore to enter the water, but I wasn’t looking forward to treading over the rocks again. I narrowed my eyes. Going inside to
