Virtuous(88)

“He’s good,” Annie says begrudgingly as she raises a glass to her parents, who are positively beaming after their son’s toast. “We gotta give him that.”

“He’s a pro-fessional,” Aimee says to laughter from her sisters.

Flynn just rolls his eyes at their teasing as he retakes his seat and reaches for my hand immediately.

“That was lovely,” I tell him.

“Thank you.”

“Thank you, son,” Stella says. “I agree with Natalie. That was lovely.”

“Did he tell you he’s Mom’s favorite?” Ellie asks. “Little baby Flynn could do no wrong in Mom’s eyes.”

“That’s because he was well-behaved and sweet from the second he was born,” Stella replies with a saucy smile. “All of you could take a lesson from him.”

While his sisters make gagging noises that have the kids giggling, Flynn smiles at their antics. “Yes, you should follow my lead.”

Cloth napkins come flying across the table, all of them aimed at his head.

“Girls!” Stella gazes at me apologetically. “We have a guest tonight, and we’re showing her our very worst.”

“This is nowhere near as bad as we can get,” Aimee says, making everyone laugh.

“That is so true,” Max says. He’s obviously enjoying every second with his boisterous family. “Just ask Frankie. He’s seen us at our best and our worst.”

Frankie holds up his hands. “I see no evil, I speak no evil.”

“A wise man,” Flynn says, his arm around his niece India, who has worked her way onto his lap.

We’re served delicious chocolate cake and offered coffee and after-dinner drinks.

Flynn orders coffee drinks for both of us. “You’ll love this,” he assures me.

And he’s right, I love the smooth heat of the Bailey’s, something I’ve never had before with coffee.

The party begins to break up when Annie says it’s time to get her kids home to bed. The littlest one, Garrett, is asleep on Hugh’s shoulder. The adorable blond boy has his thumb planted firmly in his mouth as his father rubs his back.

Looking at them, I’m hit with an undeniable sense of yearning. What would it be like to watch the man I love hold my sleeping child? I’ve never had much of a hankering for children of my own. I’ve been too busy trying to piece together a life and make a living to think that far ahead.

But now…

Flynn’s arm encircles me, and I turn to him. “Ready to go?” he asks.

“Whenever you are.” My heart beats erratically at the thought of what will happen when we get back to his house.

We say our good-byes, and his parents tell me they’ll see me tomorrow at the Globes. I’m happy to know I’ll see them again soon.

“Thank you for including me tonight. Your family is wonderful.”

“They do have their moments,” Stella says as she hugs me. “We’re absolutely thrilled to meet you, Natalie. I hope we’ll be seeing a lot of you.”

“Mom…”

“What? I only speak the truth.” She kisses her son on the cheek. “And don’t ‘Mom’ me.”

“Let’s get out of here before they make you change your mind about me.”

“Thank you for a wonderful evening,” I say as he leads me from the room.

“Our pleasure, honey,” Max says.

Once again, Flynn turns heads as we walk through the dining room on our way to the exit. His car is waiting outside the door, and he helps me in. I watch him press another bill into Anton’s hand. Everything is handled so smoothly and efficiently that I can’t help but be impressed.

“I hope you had fun,” Flynn says when we’re on the way home. He took hold of my hand the second we pulled away from the restaurant.

“It was great. Your family is amazing, but of course you know that.”

“Yeah, I do, even if they drive me bonkers sometimes.”

“I liked Hugh. He seems really nice.”

“He’s a great guy. So is Trent. The three of us play a lot of basketball when I’m in LA. I tell my sisters they finally became useful to me when they got me a couple of badly needed brothers and some nieces and nephews.”

“They must love that.”

“You know it’s all in good fun, right? There’s nothing—and I do mean nothing—I wouldn’t do for any of them, and vice versa. The three of them would kill for me, and a few times, they nearly have.”