“No, we were together four years, nine years ago. The past is our foundation, but we need to build something on it.”
He sighed. “You’re probably right. I just—I’m ready for us to be a family. I want to wake up next to you every morning. I want Bridget to come jump in bed with us. I want to snuggle with you on the sofa after she goes to bed at night.” He skimmed his lips up my neck. “I want to make love to you every night. And I want to make more babies with you. I want to see you pregnant, and be there for all the morning sickness and late-night cravings. I want to be in the room when you give birth.”
I was crying again. What the hell was the matter with me? Flynn was offering me everything I’d ever wanted. All I had to do was reach out and grab it. Why was I dragging my feet?
“I want all that, too.” I sniffled against his chest. “Just give me a little bit of time to catch up with you, okay?”
“As long as you need, babe.” He wiped the tears from my face. “Now let me get some clothes on. I’m going to make you breakfast.”
“Speaking of babies.” Flynn set down his fork and took a sip of coffee.
“Were we? Speaking of babies?” I nibbled on a strip of bacon. “I don’t remember.”
“Yes, we were talking about the six babies we’re going to have, bringing our grand total to seven kids.”
“Holy shit. Just who do you think is going to pop all these kids out?”
“You’re the only person who’s ever going to have my babies, sweetheart. I’m willing to negotiate on the number, by the way. But I’d like to have one son, if we can. I want to name him after my dad.”
“Oh, Flynn.” I reached across the table to squeeze his hand. “Of course. I mean, I can’t promise the son part. That’s your job. But I’d love to name our hypothetical potential son after your father. I loved him. I wish he’d known Bridget.”
“Me, too.” He studied our joined hands for a minute. “That’s not really what I was going to say, though, when I brought up babies. I keep meaning to ask you why you named our daughter Bridget.”
I leaned back and sighed. “I didn’t plan to do it. I was going to name her Elizabeth, after my mom. And then the day she was born . . .” I swallowed hard. “It was an awful day. My labor wasn’t that bad, but it was all just so wrong. Craig was there with me, but I only wanted you.” I looked up at him. “After she was born, I just cried. I couldn’t stop. They laid this perfect little angel in my arms, and I could only think how terrible it was that you weren’t with us. So when they asked what we were naming her, I remembered you talking once about wanting to name your daughter after your grandmother. The next thing I knew, I had a baby named Bridget Elizabeth, and Craig was so mad. He stormed out of the hospital and went out drinking. If Alex hadn’t been there with me, I don’t know what I would’ve done.”
“I’m sorry, babe.” He rubbed his thumb over my knuckles. “I promise, the next time you have a baby, I’ll be right by your side. We’ll get through it together.” He smiled. “But thank you for naming her after my grandmother. I hate that I missed so much with Bridget. At least I feel like I was part of her naming.”
“There was never a time I didn’t think about you and wish you were there. You know what you said about me being around the world with you? I guess in a way I kept you here with me. I could never quite convince my heart to give you up.”
“I hope you never do.” He kissed my fingers. “Now, tell me something. How do you feel about shower sex?”
For the next few weeks, I was happier than I’d ever been in my life.
Flynn and I fell into a routine of sorts. On Saturdays, he and Bridget picked me up at the stand after closing, and the three of us went out on a family date. We went bowling or to the diner for ice cream. I loved those evenings when it was just the three of us, learning to be a family.
The only bad part of the evening was when Flynn dropped me at the farm and took Bridget back into town to spend the night at his mom’s. He’d suggested that I come for a sleepover, too, but I wasn’t quite comfortable enough to sleep with him at his mother’s house. So I had to kiss them both good night and go inside to my own lonely bed.
I drove in for Sunday dinners at the Evans’ house each Sunday afternoon, after which Bridget came home with me. She still spent Tuesday nights with Flynn, too; he picked her up after school and dropped her off in the morning.
“Ali, this is crazy.” Flynn was exasperated. “We’re adults who have a child. We’re in love. And we never see each other.”
“That’s not exactly true,” I countered. “I saw a lot of you on Thursday.” Flynn had come over to the house while Sam was out in the field, and I’d done the unthinkable by closing the stand for two hours in the middle of the day. Two hours in bed with Flynn was worth the risk of Sam finding out and yelling at me for potential lost business.
“I want to see you first thing in the morning and last thing at night, Ali. Not just for stolen sex hours.”
“Okay, Flynn. I get it. Me, too. But there’re a lot of complicated things to work out. I need to figure out how to balance my commitment to the farm and Sam with my commitment to you. And you still need to figure out what you’re going to do with the rest of your life.”
He sighed. “I know. I’m just . . . ready for the rest of my life to begin.”
“Still no local shoots coming up?”
“Nope. I got a call this morning about one in Madagascar.”
“Madagascar.” I tried to sound enthusiastic. “That’s . . . far.”
“Yeah, I know.” He was quiet for a minute. “Ali, stop freaking out. I can feel you doing it all the way from here.”
“I am not.”
