Winnie: P.S. I love you, Daisy! And while I was mad at you both when I first found out, I’m only thankful that I have you as my sister-in-law now.
Instantly, I go from laughing to staring down at the phone with a knot in my chest. I’m starting to feel like such a fraud for lying to Winnie, for lying to everyone about the truth of Flynn’s and my marriage.
A marriage that will come to an end soon.
My interview is the morning of Jude and Sophie’s wedding. Which means, if all goes well, not too long before their actual wedding, Flynn and I will no longer need to keep up the fake-marriage pretenses.
And even though his family has accepted me with open arms and started to feel like my own family—feel like the family I’ve always wished I’d had—I’ll have to move back to LA and go back to my life there, and Flynn will go back to living his life here.
A life that doesn’t include me.
Flynn
I flip two steaks on the skillet and turn to grab some seasoning, but when I spot movement out of the corner of my eye, I turn to find Daisy setting her purse and keys on the counter. Normally, she announces her arrival in some adorable way like “Honey, I’m home!” or “Flynn, I’m starving! Feed me!”
But tonight, she came in like a fucking ninja.
“Hey, babe,” I greet, but it’s like she doesn’t even hear me.
Daisy’s face is devoid of her normally bubbly expression, and her eyes are distant, as if she’s too busy inside her own head to even notice her surroundings.
“Babe,” I repeat, and she looks up to meet my eyes.
“Hi,” she responds, but her voice is quiet, timid even.
“You okay?”
She nods, but that’s all she gives me. No rambling explanation or adorable hand movements punctuating her words. Just…a nod.
“How did your appointment go?” I ask, and when she furrows her brow in confusion, I expand. “Your physical…？”
“Oh,” she acknowledges, and her mouth forms a little “O.” “It was fine.”
I might not be the type of man who has a track record of long-term relationships with women, but I have a sister and a mother and an aunt who have shown me that “It’s fine” never means that.
Fine means the opposite.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yep.” She nods again. “Just tired, I guess. It’s been a long day.”
“Would a steak help make the day not feel so long?” I grin and nod toward the skillet.
“I’d love to say yes to that, but…” She pauses, cringes, and explains, “I’m not hungry, and I still need to finish up some staging plans for a property by tomorrow.”
Daisy not hungry? Not talkative? And choosing work over her favorite Friday night Netflix binges that she always forces me to join in on?
I can’t shake the sense that she’s shutting me out. Like, she has shit on her mind that she doesn’t want to talk to me about. It’s the opposite of what I’m used to with her. Sure, sometimes it takes her a bit to open up to me, a sort of rambling in circles before she reaches her end destination, but she always gets there in the end.
Though, tonight, she appears steadfast in not saying much. Not saying anything, really.
And that’s not sitting well with you.
But before I can decide if I should ask more questions and try to figure out what has her in such an off mood, Daisy is out of the kitchen.
Damn, it appears she just wants some space. From you.
I turn back to the skillet and flip over the steaks, but the idea of eating right now isn’t holding the appeal it did ten minutes ago.
Stove off—and steaks most likely ruined—I set down my spatula and head into the living room where Daisy is sitting on the sofa with her laptop in her lap. Her fingers move across the keys in quick succession, and I decide right then and there she needs something to help take the edge off.
Whatever is causing that edge, I don’t know, and I’m hopeful she’ll eventually get around to telling me, but if there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s to help my woman relax.
To make her feel good.
I grab the edge of the coffee table and slide it away from the couch. Daisy’s feet fall to the floor, and she looks up from her laptop screen in confusion.
“Don’t mind me, babe. Just keep doing what you’re doing.”
She scrunches up her nose, but her eyes widen as she watches me get to my knees in front of her.
“Flynn…？”
“Like I said, don’t mind me. You keep working,” I tell her and place both of my hands on her thighs and spread them farther apart. I’m thrilled that she’s wearing a skirt and all it takes is my fingers sliding her panties to the side to reveal her gorgeous pussy. “In fact, ignore me completely.”