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He shook his head and looked at me wonderingly. “No, actually. I’m waiting for the nerves to set in again, but they’re not. I feel like I’ve got this.” He squeezed our linked fingers. “We’vegot this.”
I grinned. “Yeah, we do.”
“Boys!” my mother called.
I loosened my grip, and Flynn pulled away from me reluctantly.
“We should get to work,” I said, running my fingers through his hair to smooth it down from where I’d grabbed it during our kiss.
Flynn pulled off his button-down, giving me a quick glimpse of his broad shoulders and cut arms and chest. The sight made me harden instantly. “So the famous Alice is here?” He pulled his Honeybridge Mead shirt over his head. “Will I get to meet her?”
“Ngh,” I said before trying to hide my reaction in a cough.
Flynn turned to look at me in concern, and whatever he saw on my face made him raise an eyebrow and dart a glance at my crotch. “Really, Frog? Now? Here?”
I nodded enthusiastically. “Always, baby. Anywhere.”
He grabbed the front of my shirt and yanked me in for another fierce kiss, this one way too quick. “Next time we reconnect after an argument,” he hissed, “could you please make sure it happens at a time when you and I aren’t surrounded by hundreds of strangersand your mother, moments before I’m supposed to woo a bunch of Ren Faire judges?”
I pretended to think about it for a moment. “Or we could just… not argue at all.”
Flynn pursed his lips. “We could try, I suppose. But… no arguing at all, Frog? Why on earth would we do that?”
I laughed out loud. Might as well tell a hedgehog not to be prickly. Our relationship had always involved rivalries and disagreements—passionate ones. But I wouldn’t trade that passion for anything.
“How about I promise that from now on, our arguments won’t involve either of us walking away without talking to the other?” Flynn suggested. “I won’t push you away again—”
“And I won’t be pushed?” I nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, that sounds pretty perfect.”
His face cleared. “It does, doesn’t it?” He unbuckled his belt so he could tuck in his shirt, and I forced myself not to get distracted. “So… I think we can figure the rest out, Frog. Don’t you? Yeah, I know, I know,” he hurried on before I could answer. “I’ve been the one saying that we couldn’t work long distance for weeks now. But that was mostly me not trusting you. Not trustingmyself.” He shoved his shirt tails into his waistband and buttoned it again. “The truth is, it’s gonna suck being apart. But giving you up entirely would be way, way worse. Keeping you in my life is nonnegotiable for me. So even if you’re in New York on Team Fortress and I’m in Honeybridge, I want us to be together. I can travel sometimes, and you can— Wait, why are you shaking your head?”
“Because I’m not Team Fortress. I’m Team Flynn.” I pointed down at my shirt. “Baby, I—” I took a deep breath and opened my mouth to tell Flynn everything.
“Jonathan. Turner. Wellbridge.”Mother appeared at my shoulder like an apparition. “Unhand Mr. Honeycutt at once. ThatBoston Globereporter you contacted has arrivedandthree local reporters besides. While you’re canoodling, we’re being overrun!” She disappeared once again.
Fuck.“We’ll talk about this later,” I promised both of us. “As soon as possible.”
Flynn’s eyes met mine. “You contacted theGlobe?”
“A college friend’s husband. He was eager to come by—”
Flynn kissed me briefly, grabbed my hand, and towed me toward the front of the tent. “I love you. I don’t know how I got lucky enough to have you come back into my life.”
“It was mostly thanks to my mother,” I reminded him.
Flynn closed his eyes and grimaced. “Dammit. I’mreallygonna have to be nice to her now, aren’t I?”
“Since I plan on you and me being together forever?” I squeezed his fingers before releasing him. “Yeah, maybe—”
“Overrun!” my mother whisper-hissed from way too close.
“But not too nice,” I concluded, and Flynn laughed out loud.
From the moment we stepped into the booth, the afternoon flew by. Thanks toFrankie Hilo’s magical Instagram posts, Honeybridge Mead already had a lot of buzz in the brewing world, and Flynn’s booth was on the must-visit list for several media outlets covering the festival.
Alice came back soon, shooting me a wink that said her lead-chasing for Rainmaker Holdings had been successful, but I didn’t bother asking for specifics. There’d be plenty of time for that later, ideally after I’d filled Flynn in.
The five of us worked side by side in sync for the next few hours, talking to people from the media and various other VIPs. Reagan lost no time charming Alice and joking with Flynn like they’d been best friends for ages.
