Many attendees were filing out. A few of the winners chatted up their bachelors. I scanned those remaining but couldn’t find Flynn. I hoped it wasn’t too bold of me to explore the hallway that led to the back rooms of Arcadia. Was Flynn back there?
I suppressed a yawn. This was much later than I normally stayed up and I had to get details from Flynn. When were we leaving? What did I need to pack?
Men’s voices emanated from a room on my left, its door cracked open a few inches. I eased in. Wes’s broad shoulders partially blocked a shirtless Flynn.
I stopped in my tracks. I didn’t mean to stare, but the man’s body belonged on the pages of the graphic novels lining Arcadia’s shelves. I would’ve bet my rental house on the perfection of his body, but I’d had no idea just how wide his shoulders were or how his biceps bunched as he held a hanger in one hand and his white suit shirt in the other.
“I’m warning you, bro, don’t you dare—” Wes cut off when he noticed Flynn’s alarmed stare. Wes spun around. “Tilly. Sorry we’re taking so long back here.”
I tried to talk, but my mouth had turned dry. I licked my bottom lip, and my belly clenched when Flynn’s gaze darted to the motion. “Sorry.” I started backing out. Words bubbled over like they always did when I was nervous. “I just had a few questions. I’ll be missing some work, so I wanted to pack as efficiently as possible. How much food do I need to pack? Do you need my address so you can pick me up? How long of a drive—”
“Yeah, um… Yeah. I can give you the details.” His gaze shifted to Wes, then back to me.
Wes sidled past me. “I’d better see what Mara needs help with.”
He left but I still stood in the doorway. It wasn’t like me to be speechless around Flynn, but except for the shock of seeing him the other day, we hadn’t seen each other for years.
“Y-y-you’ll have to drive yourself. I can message you the directions and where I put the extra key.”
My heart sank. “Oh…”
Guilt flitted through his expression. “I’m working on a couple of major deals and might need to come back to the cities a couple of times.”
Maybe I should come back, too, for a couple of my major clients for tutoring. I steeled my resolve. No, I deserved a darn vacation.
“As for food, they have a few gas stations, but the cabin has a full-service kitchen, so bring whatever you like to eat. I don’t cook.”
I barked out a laugh and he flinched. “If I didn’t cook, I would’ve starved long ago.” Clamping my mouth shut, I cursed myself for saying as much. I never talked about my childhood. Never. Long ago, I’d resolved to move forward and be the best Tilly Johnson I could be. To not bring up the past to remind myself how shitty I’d had it…then wonder what I’d done to deserve it.
He swallowed and glanced at the shirt hanging in his hands, then at me. This awkwardness was weird. Flynn had always brought out my vibrancy, but then I wasn’t used to my grown woman of a body reacting so strongly to him.
And, dang it, he was trying to undress. “I’ll wait outside.” Stalker much? I clarified, “To give you my number.”
“N-no. I mean, no need. Here.” He shoved the hanger into his shirt and hung it up on a shelving unit with his tux jacket. My mouth watered as his muscles rippled with his movements. What did he do for a living again? When I’d seen him earlier in the week, he’d been wearing a suit and looking damn fine, but his body did not look like a desk jockey’s.
He grabbed his phone from a shelf. “What’s your number?”
I rattled if off with lightning speed. “When should I be there?”
He shrugged, and I clocked the move like a hawk. Could he pretty please go shirtless all week?
“Whenever. In the brochure, I said Sunday through Saturday.”
We stared at each other for another moment. I couldn’t think of another question to save my life.
If I stayed and leered at him any longer, he’d think I was creepy. “Well, okay. See you…soon.” I gave him a small wave and he returned it with one I’d describe as cautious. Was he worried he’d stutter again if he spoke?
As I bounced out, I couldn’t help my small smile. I’d contact my clients about my last-minute plans. Most of them had canceled earlier for the beginning of summer vacations anyway. Then I’d be free to get to know the real Flynn Halstengard.
Chapter 3
Tilly
The pounding on my walls woke me up way too early for a Saturday morning. Not since I’d quit working serving jobs at twenty-four-hour diners had I been up so early on a weekend.
More pounding and a screeching noise invaded my dreams. I frowned. Was that a screwdriver?
Rolling out of bed, I grabbed a shirt and shorts from the floor to toss over the tank and undies I slept in. I padded out to my living room. Shadows moved across my drapes.
I peeked out, trying not to be noticed. Two men wearing tool belts had already set up scaffolding and were tearing away the siding at the corner of the house. A radio blared classic rock.
What the…
When I stepped out onto the landing,
