But he already has me by the elbow and pulls me inside. “Come on. Let’s head to the kitchen and get a drink. We’re about to start dinner soon.”
I twist frantically to look over my shoulder, searching for Flynn with wild eyes as the door closes behind me.
Oh my God. How did you manage this one, Daisy? Not only have you entrapped one Winslow into marrying you for a green card, now you’ve got another brother thinking he’s dating you?!
Before I know it, we’re standing in the center of a bustling kitchen, and there are people pretty much everywhere. Loud chatter, laughter, and the sounds and smells of dinner being made overwhelm my senses.
“Well, dang!” Another attractive guy with light-brown hair and blazing blue eyes I recognize as another one of Flynn’s brothers shouts at the top of his lungs. “I thought that was gonna be Flynn at the door. For once, I can actually attend family dinner because we’re not working around Winnie’s schedule and doing it on nights I’m at work. I’m ready to enjoy this feast!”
“Stop whining, Jude,” a beautiful—almost ethereally, really—trim brunette with smoldering green eyes tells him. “You know Flynn will be here any minute. He’s reliable.”
Ty laughs beside me, and a whole new wave of panic renews as he wraps an arm around my shoulders. “Unlike the rest of us, right, Sophie?”
She shrugs. “You said it. Not me.”
Instantly, it feels as if everyone’s head turns in our direction, and I almost choke on the saliva in my throat from the pressure of it all.
What are they going to ask me? Who do I tell them I even am? How in the fuck am I going to explain this little moment when Flynn finally comes inside?
They’re going to think I’m a tart, for cripes’ sake.
But the stares are temporary, and to my surprise, everyone is back to their own conversations and tasks. No questions. No insults. No recognition, really, whatsoever.
If anything, his family notices my presence, and then…moves right the fuck on.
What the heck?
“Come on, everyone! Food is ready!” an older woman I think might be Flynn’s mom calls out. “Time to eat!”
I watch as a few women begin to carry platters of food into the dining room, chatting happily with one another as they go, and I’m torn between asking if they need help or burrowing into the nice hardwood floors of the house.
Overall, the current sentiment makes me feel as if I’ve either turned invisible and I don’t know it, or they couldn’t care less who I am.
Ty puts his hand to my lower back, thankfully not in a creepy way, and leads me into the dining room. Flynn is still nowhere to be seen, and I’m starting to get really close to bolting. I mean, I’m a fake wife. If I leave burning rubber on their floors on my way out the door, it’ll only be really weird for another three months or so, right?
Ty pulls out a chair for me, and without much of a choice other than the Road Runner scenario, I take a seat in it. Flynn’s voice finally—thank God—breaks through the chaos, and I bob and weave my head like a fucking emu to get a look at where he is.
Person after person stops him for a greeting on his way down the hall, giving hugs and backslaps and big, huge smiles that they in no way gave me. I’m an intruder in their lives, and I feel terrible for showing up unannounced.
When Flynn finally gets to the mouth of the dining room, I lasso his gaze with the frantic panic of my own and wait for him to figure out what to do. He gives me a kind smile as Ty takes the seat next to me, and I want to murder him for it.
This is not funny, Flynn Winslow. I’m on the edge of a cliff here!
Evidently recognizing the severity of my anxiety, Flynn wastes no more time stepping into the dining room, approaching Ty at the table, and tapping him soundly on the shoulder. Ty looks up at him curiously.
“You mind moving so I can sit beside my wife?” Flynn says without preamble, making me nearly choke on my tongue. And I’m not the only one floored by the simple statement—the entire room brimming with people comes to a screeching stop.
Did he just… Did he just introduce me as his wife?
I don’t miss the way the attention of the room has now come right back to me, and this time, it is different. No apathetic glances here. Nope.
Holy shit. Either this is really intense, or my face is on actual fire.
“I’m sorry,” a blonde with blue eyes and a friendly face says, the first to speak. “Did you just say wife?”
Only moments later, Ty turns to me. “You’re here with Flynn?”