Flynn's In (Lexi Frost Series) (28 page)

“You
’re worried she’ll say no?” Cassie asked.

“You
can’t
be serious,” Tiffany shook her head in disbelief.

“We haven
’t really discussed it. I threw the idea on the table over a month ago, but that’s as close as we came. Also, technically speaking we haven’t been together for long.”

“You
’ve been together a lot though,” Tiffany pled Flynn’s case.

“You
’ve really shown your devotion too,” Cassie added.

“Doesn
’t make it less of a gamble, but thanks for your support.”

“Go home
, take a hot shower, chill,” Tiffany suggested.

“Yeah
, you can’t meet Mom all nervous like this. She’ll get suspicious,” Cassie added.

“I don
’t want to catch her off guard, Cassie. Although I will head out. A little time to unwind isn’t a bad idea.” Flynn turned to leave.

“Good luck
,” the girls called in unison, then started whispering again.

“They
’re all yours, Tim.” Flynn nodded at the door.

“I called another driver after Teri left
. Take this one, I’ll call another.”

“Do you have an endless supply of cars and drivers?
”

“Nearly. Good luck.
”

“Do you mean that?
”

Tim looked Flynn in the eye as he pulled out his phone. “Paul put you there for a reason. Even if he didn
’t, you would have been there anyway. This was inevitable. You seem to make her happy. And you’re doing better with the children than Paul did, so yes, I mean that.”

“Thanks.
” Flynn left and went back to his apartment as Tiffany suggested. Their bags were still in the living room. Flynn left his bag, having everything he needed in his room. He didn’t want to consider the destination of Teri’s bags were in any way in dispute.

Sitting on the bed
, Flynn kicked off his shoes and pulled a small velvet pouch out of his pocket. Reaching inside, he pulled out the engagement ring he’d bought nearly a month ago and stared at it. A single solitaire on a simple band.

Flynn debated long and hard before he went ring shopping
, he even asked Nicholas about her original wedding band. This solitaire was considerably larger than the diamond Allen gave her, but the band was smooth and plain with no additional decoration to detract from the gem it held. A simple, elegant ring.

He wanted to keep the ring with him
, but the box in his pocket would have caught Teri’s attention. He didn’t want to be pressured into the conversation prematurely so he stashed the box in his carry-on.

“Fourth time
’s a charm, right?” Flynn whispered to himself.

Flynn stood up
, the ring clutched in his hand, and returned to the living room. He dug through his bag for the ring box, then closed it again afterward. Opening the blue velvet box, Flynn slipped the ring back into place. He tilted it to let it catch the light, igniting the fire within the solitaire and checking for fingerprints. It shone like a small star in the night sky. Satisfied, Flynn returned to the bedroom, put the ring box on the bed, and went to take a shower.

A leisurely pace getting ready helped Flynn
’s nervousness somewhat. He didn’t prepare anything to say, counting on the words to come from somewhere when the time was right.

It should be a late dinner
, not an early one he realized. Early dinners, especially after long days, were casual affairs. This should be a formal setting. A late night, champagne, candles, soft music.

Flynn shook the thoughts from his head. He planned it this way on purpose. The big romantic build up just increased the pressure on both of them. He figured Teri would probably be a little anxious about being alone together for a weekend. She certainly seemed tha
t way earlier and he had experience recognizing that ‘now that I’ve won what am I going to do?’ nervousness. There was nothing like pleasant but unexpected events to blow away such small worries.

Of course
, if she said no . . .

Flynn dressed and picked up the ring box
, slipping it into the pocket of his slacks. The bulge wasn’t profound when Flynn checked, relieved he hadn’t gained weight with all the eating out in Seattle. Of course he’d been working out more to compensate. With that in mind, Flynn replaced the dress shirt he was wearing with a polo. It showed off his body better and was more casual. Teri was going to be wearing the same slacks and blouse she did on the plane, this would match her better.

It wasn
’t quite time yet, but Flynn didn’t mind being early. He certainly didn’t want to keep Teri waiting.

Upon leaving the building
, he found the black sedan and driver was replaced by a limo. Tim no doubt.

“Mr. Peterson
, I’m Manny. I’ll be your driver this evening,” the new driver introduced himself. “Mr. DeLaney asked that I give you these in the event you needed them.” Manny walked around to open the trunk, bringing out a bouquet of long stemmed red roses.

“He said he apologizes he couldn
’t find daffodils on this notice.”

Flynn laughed. “Tim
’s amazing. Although just one should be fine. Thank you.”

Flynn pulled one rose out of the bouquet
, and Manny replaced the rest in the trunk. Getting into the limo, he gave Manny the address of the restaurant, made double sure he had his key, phone, wallet, and ring, and considered the evening as they drove to meet Teri.

Chapter Fourteen

“Now, don’t fidget.”

Flynn beat Teri to the restaurant and waited in the lounge with a club soda for her arrival. He turned at the sound of Teri
’s voice, eyebrows rising as he saw she wasn’t alone. Her back was to him and she was fussing over a child in dirty, over-sized clothes, but he was sure it was her. Flynn got up and walked into the reception foyer.

The child saw him
, a girl he realized when he saw her hair pulled back with what looked like a black silk tie. Her eyes got big and she leaned around Teri to see him better. Flynn gave her a playful smile.

“I know you!
” she exclaimed.

“Well that makes one of us.
” Flynn looked at Teri as she turned to face him.

“Flynn! Oh
, hi. I . . . um, well, it’s like this.” Teri’s hazel eyes were big, her face flushed. She pulled the girl behind her as she talked.

“Let
’s sit down first. Should I change that to a table for three?”

Teri bit her bottom lip and nodded. Flynn turned to the hostess
, who was already making a note on the list.

“If you
’d follow me?” The hostess looked at Flynn, apparently trying to avoid looking at the child Teri kept behind her.

Flynn nodded
, holding a hand out for Teri to precede him. The girl gave him an awed look and followed Teri. Flynn sized her up as they headed toward a table in a back corner. He couldn’t blame the hostess, the child reminded him of some of the poverty stricken areas of Middle East he visited, except in blue-eyed blonde. She was filthy and he wouldn’t really have blamed the establishment for refusing service. Flynn resolved to remember that when it came time to tip.

The girl didn
’t huddle too close to Teri as they sat. Flynn maneuvered her around to the corner, and sat opposite Teri with the child between them.

“First things first
,” Flynn turned to the girl. “I’m Flynn, what’s your name?”

“Sophie
Mayhew.”

“A pleasure
, Sophie. Now what sort of trouble did you manage to get Teri out of?”

Sophie giggled
, as Flynn assumed she would. He looked to Teri and winked.

“The circumstances are irrelevant
—” Teri started.

“So there
was
trouble? I was only kidding.” Flynn gave a dramatic sigh. “I just can’t leave you alone for a minute, can I?”

Sophie laughed outright
, a soft but genuine laugh that reminded Flynn of when his daughters were young. He couldn’t help smiling at her.

“Flynn
, Sophie’s living on the street and . . .” Teri faltered.

“And the mother in you can
’t abide that,” he finished for her, he suspected there was more to this than just giving the child a hot meal, clothes and getting in touch with Child Services. “Teri, we’ve known each other for a little while, under some unusual circumstances.”

Teri nodded.

“You have a big heart, love, so play it straight with me. Is this a ‘look what followed me home, can I keep her?’ situation?”

Teri flushed. “It
’s not that simple.”

“It never is. As long as you
’re prepared for that.”

“As long as . . .
” Teri stopped, analyzing Flynn’s comment.

Flynn let her think on it and turned to Sophie to see what he was really in for. “Sophie
, tell me how you came to be living on the street.”

Sophie wrung her hands on her lap.

“Are you ready to order?” A waitress looked at them expectantly.

“Ah. A moment.
” Flynn turned to Sophie. “Put that on hold, what do you like to eat?”

“I like p
olish dogs better than hot dogs, but no sauerkraut. Please.”

Flynn smiled. “Not a vegetarian
, eats hearty, my kind of girl. I’d be surprised if hot dogs are on the menu. Steak or chicken?”

Sophie shrugged.

“Right. Baked potato, mashed, or fries?”

Another shrug.

“Is there anything specific you really don’t like?”

“Sauerkraut.
”

“I don
’t blame you. Mind if I do the honors?” She shook her head. “All right.” Flynn looked over the menu. “Let’s try her on the prime rib, medium rare, loaded baked potato, the house fruit salad as the appetizer, and chocolate milk. Actually same for me. Teri?”

“Sure.
”

“To drink?
”

“Chocolate milk is fine
,” Teri answered.

The waitress nodded and left.

“Now, Sophie, let’s have it.” Flynn gave the girl his attention.

“Well
, Mom disappeared when I was five. Dad never said but Tommy, he’s the oldest of the kids I hang with and he’s really smart, Tommy said she probably died. Dad started drinking and lost his job. Then we went to live at the mission, but they kept putting me in foster homes. It didn’t work out so well, so I ran away and found Tommy and Ben and the rest. That was over a year ago.”

“How old are you?
”

“I
’ll be ten in September.”

Flynn was surprised
, she looked much younger, he would have placed her at no more than eight.

“Where
’s your dad now?”

Sophie shrugged. “Still at the mission
, I suppose.”

“So
, a runaway.” Flynn looked at Teri. “That’ll make things interesting. Still, it might be easier in the long run.” He sighed and returned his attention to the little girl beside him. “Sophie, what’s your dad’s name?”

“
Brandon.”

“Do you have a picture of him?
”

“No. He wears a Cubs baseball hat all the time.
”

“Blond like you?
”

Sophie nodded.

“Which mission?”

“
Saint Augustine’s.”

“All right.
” Flynn pulled out his phone.

“I
’m sorry I’m interrupting,” Sophie whispered to him.

“What?
”

“You have a rose for Teri
, so you were going to meet her and have a nice dinner and you weren’t counting on me.”

Flynn smiled. “To be honest
, Sophie, I’ve caught Teri by surprise enough that I had it coming. Have a rose. Teri’s had plenty.” He handed Sophie the long stemmed red rose. She took it gingerly.

“There aren
’t any thorns. In books roses have thorns.”

“They clip them off so delicate fingers don
’t hurt themselves.” He tickled the tips of her fingers before looking at Teri.

“You
’ve thought this through?”

Teri bordered on tears and gave a half shrug. Flynn reached out and took her hand.

“So you haven’t fully thought this through yet.”

“Flynn
, I can’t explain it. It’s not like I don’t have enough kids running around, but I . . . I want to take care of her.”

“Should I go call Kyle and see how interesting this is going to be?
”

Teri smiled and nodded.

“All right, sit tight. This isn’t a conversation I need to have here.” Flynn got up, gave Teri a brief kiss, and walked back up to the reception foyer and dialed Kyle’s office. He got his legal assistant and explained the situation, including Sophie’s information about her father and background. He called Tim next and gave him the heads up, then the same information. He thanked Tim for the car and roses, then had to admit his plan was derailed for the time being.

“Flynn
, I don’t tend to give relationship advice, but this is a different situation. Take care of Sophie first, that’s where Teri’s mind is at the moment. I’ll call someone to look for Brandon Mayhew, I expect Kyle will count on being able to get him to sign over his legal rights and cloud the waters so the state offices that might claim Sophie can’t so easily. You’ll be taking her out of state, bureaucrats don’t like losing their leverage. If he can keep it private, he will, we don’t want the state involved. Don’t wait to get the other, original, situation resolved.”

“I wasn
’t planning on calling Child Services.”

“
Of course not. However, if it does end up before a judge, having a ring on Teri’s finger should help.”

“Hadn
’t thought of that.”

“I
’ll track down Kyle and confirm just how big an asset it’ll be and get back to you.”

“I
’m heading back in to dinner; let me know what you find out.”

Flynn hung up and stood there thinking for a minute. He brought Teri to
New York hoping to get engaged, most likely initiate a more intimate phase of their relationship. Now intimacy may not be on the table, although the engagement looked more likely. Probably a short one too.

The waitress returned
, signaling Flynn she’d just served them. He hurried back to the table and sat down.

“The wheels are in motion
,” he told Teri.

“What did Kyle say?
” Teri asked anxiously. “Will it be complicated?”

“Only got his assistant
, Sam something. I gave him all the details, then went over it again with Tim.”

“What did Tim say?
”

“Later.
”

“Who
’s Tim?” Sophie asked, trying to cut her prime rib, giving up, and poking at her baked potato instead. Teri leaned over and started cutting up her steak for her.

“Tim handles things for Teri
,” Flynn answered.

“Like The Mafia? Is he going to go snatch Dad?
” Sophie asked excitedly.

“Of course not!
” Teri gave her a startled look. Flynn chuckled.

“He handles finances and sometimes other details
, like arranging for an apartment for Cassie and Tiffany. Did Teri tell you about the other kids?”

Sophie nodded
, eating her steak with relish.

“You
’ll meet the girls tomorrow or the day after. We’ll ease into it.” Flynn paused to watch Sophie. She seemed to like prime rib, and had an appetite. “Slow down, you’ll make yourself sick.”

Sophie hesitated slightly before taking her next bite and continued slower.

“So, aside from picking up a small girl, did you find a new Sudoku book?” Flynn asked Teri.

“No. I forgot. You know i
t was really just an excuse anyway.”

“I know
, but I figured a new book might put you in a better mood. I was really counting on you being in a good mood.”

Teri looked at him in horror
, her eyes darted to Sophie as a hint: nothing was going to happen tonight.

Flynn laughed.
“I know, love, that’s fine.”

“So what did you do to put her in a bad mood?
” Sophie asked.

Flynn wasn
’t aware she’d been paying attention to more than wolfing down her dinner.

“It
’s not what I did, it was what I was going to do, and it’s irrelevant.”

“It
’s what?”

“It doesn
’t matter anymore.”

Sophie stopped and looked up
at him. “So I
am
interrupting something?”

“No
, I’d say your timing was just about perfect, but don’t ask why. It’d be too hard to explain.”

“Flynn
, I —” Teri’s eyes were watery again.

“Later
, love.” He signaled the waitress for the check. “For now, I’m going to leave you the limo and take off a bit early. I suspect Sophie doesn’t have anything to sleep in or wear and I’ll need to pickup a few necessities. I gave you a key to the apartment?”

Teri nodded.

“All right, then after you’re done here, take her home and pop her in the bathtub.”

“Hey!
” Sophie protested.

“I
’m not going to swear to it that I have bubble bath, but if I do, it’ll be under the sink. Use the master bath, it’s a bigger tub. I’ll meet you at home as soon as I can.”

The waitress returned with the bill
, Flynn put two hundred dollar bills in there, told her to keep the change, and bring Sophie a chocolate strata cake to go. He tussled Sophie’s matted hair, and discreetly wiped his hand off on a napkin as he stood. Leaning to kiss Teri goodbye, he whispered in her ear.

“I
’ll back you on this one. No worries, okay?”

Teri looked up to him gratefully as Flynn headed out.