Victorious(29)

She wraps her arm around my neck and kisses me. “Love you,” she whispers.

“Love you, too.”

“I’m going to clean up the kitchen.”

“I’ll check on the kids and then take on the living room.”

“This is way, way above and beyond the call of husbandly duty.”

I lean in close so my lips are touching her ear. “You can reward me later.”

I leave her with that thought and go to pick up the toys, pillows, blankets and newspapers that are strewn about Aileen’s living room.





While I tend to the mountain of dirty dishes in Aileen’s sink, I think about how great Flynn was with Logan and Maddie. From pulling them on a sled to supervising the building of a snowman, to engaging in a snowball fight, he was incredible with them, and they loved every minute of the attention he showered them with.

I’m not sure what the deal is with their dad, just that he’s not in the picture.

When I finish in the kitchen, I go to find Flynn, who’s stretched out on the floor of Logan’s room with both kids pinning him down.

“Natalie, help! I’ve been taken hostage!”

The kids giggle madly as he tries to tickle his way out of the bind they have him in.

Aileen joins me at the doorway, smiling at the sound of her children’s laughter. “That’s a very nice thing to hear.”

“We had the best time,” I tell her.

“Apparently, they did, too.” She takes a closer look at Logan’s room. “Did you clean his room?”

“Nope, he did.”

“How did you pull off that particular miracle?”

“Flynn gets all the credit. He made it a brother-sister race to see who could clean their rooms the fastest.”

“Wow. He’s good.”

“I think so, too. Are you feeling better?”

“So much better. I can’t thank you enough for this today.”

“Believe me when I say it was our pleasure. We had a blast playing in the snow with the kids.”

“Logan, go easy,” Aileen says. “God forbid we damage that priceless face.”

“That’s right,” Flynn says. “It’s insured for millions.”

I roll my eyes and share a laugh with Aileen. As we prepare to head out a short time later, Flynn lets her know help is on the way.

“You’ve already done more than enough,” she says in protest, referring to the half-million dollars he donated to the fundraiser for their family at school.

He puts his hands on her shoulders and kisses her forehead. “Let us help. There’s no need for you to try to do this alone. You have friends who care, and if we lived here full time, we could come by every day and check on you guys. But since we don’t, this is the next best thing, okay?”

“Are you ever able to say no to him?” she asks me.

“Rarely,” I reply with a saucy wink that makes them both laugh.

“Thank you,” she says, gesturing to the spotless apartment and the two kids on the sofa, quietly watching a movie. “I’ll never forget this, and neither will they.”

“We had a great time.” I hug her, and the feel of her sharp bones under my hands unsettles me as I lean down to gather up Fluff. “Call you tomorrow, okay?”

“I’ll be here.”

“Bye, guys,” I say to the kids.

“What do you say to Flynn and Natalie?”

“Thank you!”

“You’re welcome. We’ll see you soon.”

Flynn has summoned an Uber car that is waiting for us outside Aileen’s building. He holds the door for me and follows me inside.

After a long period of silence, I reach for his hand. “I’m worried about her.”

“Me, too.”

“Her bones… She’s…”

“I know, sweetheart. I felt them, too. My dad has a friend who’s a big-time surgeon here. I’m going to ask him to get a name for us. I want the top breast cancer doctor in the city for her.”

I lean my head on his shoulder. “I’m scared for her. For all of them.”

“We’ll do everything we can for them.”

“Thank you for making my friends your friends.”

“Aileen and the kids are easy to like. I’ve enjoyed getting to know them.”

Flynn asks the driver to take us into the garage to avoid the photographers still staked out in front of the building. The driver makes all the usual noise about the Bugatti, but while he’s friendly, Flynn doesn’t offer photos.

In the elevator, he says, “I feel like steak tonight. I need some protein to build up my strength.” He waggles his brows, reminding me of our plans for the evening. As if I could forget. All afternoon with the kids, I’ve been thinking about how this night might unfold.

But after seeing Aileen in such poor condition, I’m not sure if I can get my head straight to concentrate on him.

“Nat?”

“Hmm?”

“You okay?”

“Sure.” I force a smile for his benefit, but he’s not buying it.

“Tell me what’s wrong.”

The elevator opens into the foyer, and he takes my coat, hanging it next to his in the closet.