Valorous(24)

“Without both of us. Go celebrate.”

I hug him again. “I’m so thrilled for you and so proud!”

“Thanks. Wow. I had no idea it would feel this good.”

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—you deserve every award in the world for the work you did in Camouflage.”

“Thanks, sweetheart.”

His phone rings nonstop with calls from his parents, sisters, friends and colleagues. Then his publicist, Liza, calls with requests for interviews that keep him tied up for the next couple of hours. While he spends most of the morning on the phone, I keep us both in champagne. We’re giddy and more than a little buzzed by the time the phone finally stops ringing around eleven.

He puts his arms around me and holds me tight.

“How you feeling?” I ask.

“It’s surreal. My parents were so excited. I love that.”

“They’re so proud.”

“That’s all that mattered to me for the longest time—making them proud. But now I want you to be, too.”

“I’m so proud I could burst. And so are they.”

He smiles and kisses me. “Thank you for that. Means a lot.” He kisses me again. “Want to hit the beach?”

“Would it be okay if we hit the deck instead of the beach?” Despite the security people who met us at LAX and surround us at the house, I’m not ready to be seen in public quite yet.

“Whatever you want, sweetheart.” He kisses my forehead. “Come on, let’s go get changed.”

“Flynn?”

“Hmm?”

“Thank you for bringing me here, for knowing what I need before I need it. For everything.”

“I can’t believe you’re thanking me when I feel like the luckiest bastard who ever lived because I get to spend today and tonight and tomorrow and the next day with you.”

“We’re both lucky.”

He wraps me up in his strong arms. “Yes, we are.”





Chapter 5





We pass a magical, relaxing day at Hayden’s pool. The housekeeper, Connie, serves us a delicious lunch that includes a bottle of ice-cold chardonnay from the Quantum Vineyard in Napa. After she serves our lunch, Flynn tells Connie to take a paid vacation and that Hayden will call her when he needs her to come back to work.

“Thank you so much, Mr. Flynn. You enjoy yourselves.”

“Who is paying for her vacation?” I ask when we are alone. “You or Hayden?”

“Hayden of course,” he says cheekily, making me laugh.

“Does he know that?”

“What he doesn’t know will never hurt him.”

“Any connection between the vineyard and the production company?” I ask after Flynn opens a second bottle. We’re sitting together on a double lounge chair next to the pool, which overlooks the ocean below. Between the stunning scenery and the gorgeous man snuggled up to me, I’m on sensory overload. Fluff is curled up between my feet, enjoying the warm sunshine.

“Yep. We own it.”

“What else does Quantum own?”

“A lot of real estate, most of it in New York and LA, a couple of restaurants, four radio stations, six TV stations. I think that’s everything.”

“Wow. I figured you were all about making movies.”

“For the most part, we are, but we believe in diversification.”

“Your life is fascinating to me, and not because you’re famous. It’s the scope that’s mind-boggling. Right when I think I’ve got the full picture, there’s more.”

A strange look crosses his face, but he quickly erases it with one of his trademark smiles. “We also believe in living life to the fullest.”

“How did the five of you come together to form the company?”

“I’ve worked with Hayden from the beginning. We’ve made six films together and produced five others. Marlowe was in two of our early films and was interested in getting into producing. Jasper, who’s a cinematographer, and Kristian, a producer who came along later, were a good fit for us because we share a similar vision about the kinds of films we want to make and produce. It sort of happened organically.” He tops off both our glasses. “This is a tough business. It’s nice to work with people I trust and who trust me.”

“I’m looking forward to meeting Jasper and Kristian.”