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“There is someone here to see you, by the way,” Irma said, suddenly. “I told him you were with a client, but he said he would wait. He’s in the lobby.”
“Thank you, Irma.” I squeezed her arm gently and exited to the lobby.
Flynn stood by the doorway, his back pressed against the wall and scouting his surroundings. When he saw me that rakish smile spread across his lips, and I swear the receptionist uttered something short of a swoon.
Sure! There was no doubt Flynn was attractive. He stood about six-one, with bright gray eyes that looked like storm clouds in a wintery sky. Every girl from our high school loved him. He exuded charm from every pore and would have been a great distraction from the concerns taking hold of me these past couple of weeks.
Except for the whole thing about seeing him like a brother.
No, I would need to find another way to keep my mind off of Hunter. Maybe I could go out to a bar one night and find a total stranger to occupy my time. We wouldn’t have to talk about our families or share intimate details about our lives. We could remain completely anonymous, then part ways without ever seeing one another again. It would be exciting.
Or would it? Was that what I even wanted anymore?
“What are you doing here?” I asked Flynn, my mind still raging with an onslaught of questions.
“I wanted to make sure we were still set for the party next week,” Flynn said, and closed the distance between us. “I assume your cousins approved?”
“They did. So, now I have the unpleasant task of putting this whole thing together in a week and two days,” I explained. “So, thanks for that.”
He inclined his head forward, tilting an ear toward me as if straining to hear me. “Thanks for coming up with a brilliant plan that keeps you safe without spending a fortune? You’re welcome. I’m always happy to help.”
“You’re sure this will work?”
He shrugged. “There’s no guarantee for anything. But you’ll at least get one heck of a party out of it.”
The door separating the lobby from the office areas swung open. My heart stopped, shattering to pieces in a jumbled mess at my toes. Every nerve came alive once again. The rush of blood flowing through my veins set my body aflame. It was always the same when I saw Hunter enter the room. The only difference from day-to-day was how intense it grew.
“Oh, hi,” he said. His gaze shifted from me to Flynn, then back over me. “I was just heading out.”
I suppressed the need to explain myself, to rationalize Flynn’s appearance there. I certainly didn’t owe Hunter any explanation. He might assume Flynn was just another client. Flynn’s presence beside me didn’t automatically suggest he was the mystery man I claimed to be dating. And even if he was, it was none of Hunter’s business.
He isn’t asking. So why am I even having these thoughts?
“Yes. Did you call Crystal?” I asked, trying to focus on something other than my concerns about Hunter’s assumptions.
He nodded. “I did. We are going to the charity event at the fire hall this weekend.”
“That’s great.” This was painful. I needed to end this conversation. But there didn’t seem to be any way around it. “It’ll be the perfect time to introduce her to all your friends.”
“Yeah. I thought so, too.”
The silence flowed between us. I shifted on my heels, my eyes darting from the floor to Hunter and back, until they must have been spinning in circles. Hunter rocked on his own feet, raising a hand to rub at the back of his neck.
Why was this so hard? Did I need to ask him to leave? That sounded too cold, and yet the awkwardness between us nearly killed me. Did he have another question? Why didn’t I just finish the conversation? I wasn’t ready to let him go yet. I don’t think either of us really wanted him to walk out that door. It meant starting the next step in his life, the next stage of pursuing a lifelong relationship.
It was all becoming too real too quickly. And maybe I wasn’t as ready to let Hunter go as I thought.
“I’m Flynn, by the way.” Flynn broke the tension, extending a hand out to Hunter. “Flynn Archer.”
“Flynn.” Hunter accepted the hand, turning his attention squarely on Flynn for the first time. “I’m Hunter.”
“I think we’re rivals,” Flynn said, suddenly.
My pulse skipped. This was it. This was the end for me. What the hell was Flynn thinking?
“Excuse me?” Hunter inclined forward.
Flynn tipped a finger toward the man across from him, completely unphased by the notes of menace in Hunter’s gaze or the look of sheer terror in mine. “Firefighter, right? Old feuds run deep with the police department. Especially when it comes to the baseball teams. Am I right?”
