Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 116455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Firecracker: I have a bunch of bottling to do for Brew Fest, remember?
Shit. I dropped my chin to my chest as an icy bucket of reality poured all over me. Of course he did. And that was his priority, like finalizing the contracts I’d left undone the night before was supposed to be mine.
Just because I was craving his presence badly enough to disregard everything important didn’t mean he felt the same impulse.
Me: Right. I knew that. I just got overly excited for a second there. lol.
Me: I’ll slink back to my extremely profitable career now.
Me: Unless that job offer you mentioned is still open. I could help, if you needed it.
Firecracker: Not necessary.
Wow.
Okay.
Well, I couldn’t ask for anything clearer than that, could I? Flynn got an A+ in communication. Sadly, I got a D- in setting reasonable expectations.
Me: The offer stands if you change your mind. I’ll stop distracting you now. Back to work for both of us!
Firecracker: Fuck. Okay, look, if we do this, you need to PROMISE we won’t talk about work or anything stressful for the next twenty-four hours.
I sucked in a breath and forced myself to read the text twice. I couldn’t believe Flynn was going to let himself have this. Let us have this.
Then I closed my eyes and exhaled. He was.
Me: Yes. I agree. Hard agree.
Firecracker: I’m serious. Or I’ll hold you down and take my revenge. It’ll make my little victory at Quick Lake all those summers ago seem like nothing and prove to you I truly am the King of the Lake once and for all.
In that moment, I couldn’t remember what the fuck he was talking about, and I didn’t care. My brain had short-circuited at the idea of him holding me down.
Me: Right. Anything you say.
Firecracker: Okay. Then I’ll pack a bag. You can pick me up at 7.
Firecracker: And I need to be home Friday morning at the latest.
Me: No problem.
My hands might have shaken just slightly as I clicked over to my browser and pulled up the phone number for my favorite bed-and-breakfast in Ogunquit—a little place not far from the scenic beauty of the Marginal Way and all the shops and restaurants downtown.
I really wanted to share that place with Flynn. And for once in my life, I would have no qualms about name-dropping my father in order to secure the best room in the house.
My coworkers were wrong if they thought I’d do anything to close a business deal. But when it came to being with Flynn Honeycutt, clearly, there wasn’t much I wouldn’t do.
I wanted this, wanted him, for as long as he’d agree to let me have him…
And maybe even longer than that.
Me: I’m on my way.
Chapter Twelve
Flynn
I spent the entire drive to Ogunquit alternating between relishing the feel of the cool breeze and sunshine on my skin in JT’s fancy convertible and convincing myself I’d made an irreversible mistake in accepting his invitation.
What the hell had I been thinking? A romantic trip away to a bed-and-breakfast in Ogunquit with JT? Jesus. I was asking for heartbreak on a silver platter. Why not go ahead and confess the deepest feelings of my heart and have him laugh in my face? Might as well do that while I was at it.
But then I saw the place, and I couldn’t for the life of me regret coming here.
I’d seen the inn from the outside many times before. Situated on a rocky outcropping right over the water, with flowers spilling out of hanging baskets everywhere and a rainbow flag flapping lazily in the breeze coming off the ocean, it was the picture-postcard sort of place I’d daydreamed about staying… before hiking my ass to someplace more budget-friendly down the street.
Now, I was enjoying the view from the inside. And, I realized, for once, I was the guest and not the host. I could relax.
Of course, that was easier said than done.
“Do you need a quickie beej before dinner?” JT asked with a knowing grin after the host left us alone in our room. Somehow, we’d lucked out and gotten one of the rooms with a stunning view of the ocean. “It might pull your shoulders down from around your ears.”
I tossed my bag on the big bed and wandered over to the open windows. In the distance, I could hear waves crashing and seagulls squawking. The sinking sun was chasing shadows across the lawn leading down to the beach.
“It’s beautiful,” I murmured.
“Mm,” he said, coming up behind me and slipping his arms around my front. “Sure is.”
He smelled like coffee and a long day at the office despite his flight to Honeybridge and the drive to Ogunquit. He must have been exhausted.
“Do you need a rest?” I asked without looking back at him. The warmth from his solid body felt good behind me. “Sounded like you had a crazy day.”