Virtuous(105)

“I have to ease my way into the day. It’s my routine.”

“Your routine is f*cked up.”

“And you’re cranky in the morning.”

“This isn’t the morning! It’s the middle of the f*cking night.”

I laugh at him as I gather up my clothes and head for the shower. “Fluff, be nice to Flynn. He’s taking you out to pee. And isn’t it cute that you both have names that start with FL? You’re a match made in heaven.”

“Do you have to be so f*cking cheerful in the middle of the night?”

I’m still laughing when I step into the shower. I love that he’s cranky in the morning and that his hair stands straight up and he looks nothing at all like a movie star. Rather, he looks exactly like the man I love with all my heart.

He’s talking to Leah when I emerge from the bathroom, dressed and ready for work.

“Um, Nat, there’s a movie star in our apartment,” she says, smiling at me over a mug of coffee.

I wink at her. “Nah, that’s just Flynn, and he’s grumpy in the morning.”

“It’s not morning. It’s the middle of the f*cking night.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Leah says.

We all leave together, Flynn to head to his place while the security guys take Leah and me to work. She loves that we now have our own driver. Flynn kisses me good-bye on the sidewalk and waits until we drive off to head to his car.

After four days with him, I miss him already.





Chapter 23





Watching Natalie drive off in the big SUV with her security detail, I experience a sense of unease. I hate that she needs security simply because she’s dating me, but like I told her, I’m not taking any chances where she’s concerned.

The seven hours until she gets out of school stretch out before me like an endless ordeal I have to endure so I can be with her again. Tonight, I’ll take her to my place, and we’ll pick up where we left off the other morning. I honestly can’t wait to be inside her again. That’s the closest to heaven I’ve ever been. But I can’t think about that now or I’ll be walking around with a hard-on all day.

I go home to shower and change before heading to the Quantum office to do some work. I’ve let everything slide over the last ten days, and it’s time to get caught up. I’ve got a meeting at two thirty with Hayden to go over the plans for post-production on our new film, which has defied naming. That’s one of many decisions that must be made soon. I keep the meeting short and sweet, because it’s almost time to see Natalie. She has to tutor her student Myles right after school, but at four o’clock, she’s all mine.

Hayden calls me right on time. “How’s it going?” he asks.

“Great, you?”

“I’m still high from Sunday night. I can only imagine how you must feel.”

I can’t tell him that winning the Globe is the least of what happened Sunday night. “It was a good night.”

“Natalie seemed to enjoy it.”

“She did.”

“Addie says the press is going wild over her, trying to get the skinny.”

“Liza is dealing with them.”

“You can’t stonewall them forever, you know.”

“I’ll stonewall them for as long as I can.”

“So it’s serious with you two? What you said in your acceptance speech…”

“It’s serious. I’m in love with her.”

“Flynn… Jesus, you just met her. Don’t you think you ought to take some time before you start talking about love?”

“You ought to know about taking some time.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“When are you going to admit that you’re in love with Addie?”

He’s silent for so long that I wonder if he’s still there. “What the f*ck are you talking about?”

“I have eyes, Hayden. Perfectly good working eyes, and I’ve known for some time that you’re in love with her.”

“You’re out of your f*cking mind! You fall in love and suddenly you see love everywhere?”

“It’s not sudden. You’ve been into her for years now, but you’re too damned afraid to do anything about it. So don’t sit in judgment of me just because I choose to act on my feelings for Natalie.”