Virtuous(12)

I’m so petrified she’s actually going to say it out loud that I refuse to even nod for fear of encouraging her.

“No time like the present, my friend. Mr. Godfrey, it was indeed a pleasure to meet you. If you abscond with my roommate, I won’t call 911.”

“Leah! Yes, you will!”

“Relax. Have some fun. Go a little wild.” She waggles her brows and succeeds in infuriating me. I hope the look I give her makes it clear I’m going to kill her in her sleep.

“We can leave now,” I say to Flynn, who seems to be settling into the conversation.

“But this is just getting interesting.”

“Go to work, Leah.”

“Go wild, Natalie.”

“It was very nice to meet you, Leah,” Flynn says, chuckling softly.

“You, too. Thanks for coming by. Come back again sometime when you can come in and I can impress all my coworkers because we’re friends.”

“I’d be happy to.”

She waves and skips back inside, no doubt ready to spill the beans about who her roommate is out with.

“She’s hilarious,” he says, earning a glare from me. “What? She is.”

“If you say so.”

“May I borrow your phone to send her the text I promised?”

I find Leah’s name on my list of contacts and hand him the phone with the text screen open.

He taps out a quick text and returns the phone to me.

“Do I get to know where we’re going?”

“When we get there.”

I don’t like his answer. All of a sudden, I don’t like this whole thing. His vague response to a legitimate question coupled with Leah’s foolishness has put me in an unsettled mood. I wish I was at home with Fluff, eating takeout and watching movies on TV like I do every other Saturday night. What am I doing in this car with Flynn Godfrey?

“I’d like to go home, please.”





Chapter 4





For the second time, she has stunned me. I turn in my seat so I can see her face. She’s staring straight ahead, refusing to look at me. “Excuse me?”

“I said I’d like to go home.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t know why I’m here, and I no longer wish to be.”

“You’re here because I enjoyed your company this morning, and I’d like to get to know you. And I sort of hoped you felt the same about me.”

She finally looks at me, and I discover she’s even more stunning when she’s angry. “Why me?”

It occurs to me that I should choose my words carefully. Any chance I have with her rides on what I say right now. “I found you to be a refreshing change of pace. Do you know how rare it is for me to meet someone who doesn’t go all crazy about what I do and who I am?”

“I did that. A little.”

“A little. And then you were… normal. I liked that. I appreciate that. I want to spend more time with that. With you. You’re beautiful and sweet and unaffected and passionate about your job and your new city, and… I like you.” I shrug off the unexpected swell of emotion that starts in my chest and threatens to close my throat. “I miss normal conversations with normal people. Do you know how long it’s been since I met someone normal?”

“I appreciate that you think I’m normal, and I understand you mean that as a compliment.”

“As the highest of compliments.”

“But…”

“But what?”

“I don’t know how to say this without hurting your feelings, and I don’t want to do that.”

She’s adorable, and I want her with a desperation that stuns me. “Don’t worry about me. I can take it. Lay it on me.”

“I know things about you.”

That frightens me, another emotion that catches me by surprise. “What things?” I notice her fingers are trembling when she brings them to her throat. “I know about your feelings in regard to women and relationships and marriage and commitment.”

“You know what’s been reported in the media.”

“Yes, and it’s not particularly flattering to women. I didn’t take the time earlier to consider how I feel about those things. Now that I have, I don’t see the point in spending time together when nothing can come of it.”