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)
“Because Alden had a bridal party to style last night,” I explained instead, pulling Flynn against my side and draping an arm over his shoulder to keep him there. “And Dan and Castor had to keep the Tavern open. My mother organized a whole troop of Honeybridgers to help pack things up yesterday, too. The Gentlepeople’s Society, the volunteers at the Log Cabin Museum, and a few others besides.”
“Wow. Thank you, Patricia,” Flynn said softly. “Truly.”
“Nonsense. No thanks needed. Honeybridge helps its own, and the town… loves you,” she admitted. She straightened and tucked a strand of her blonde bob behind her ear. “Which is only fitting for my future son-in-law.”
“Your future… what?” He sent a ferocious, adorable scowl in my direction.
Thank you, Mother. So helpful.
“Heh.” I bit my lip, feeling my cheeks burn. “It’s, ah… been a busy couple of days, baby. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and I’ve made some decisions that I really need to talk to you about—”
“But not now,” Mother warned. She put an arm around Flynn’s shoulders and steered him around the back of the booth, where there was relative privacy. “It’s almost noon, and I’ve seen the Ren Faire people walking around already. Since Reagan and I only know the bullet points about the Meadery and Alice is off chasing down leads for Jonathan, you, Mr. Honeycutt, need a wardrobe change immediately so you can get out there. It’s showtime.” She pressed a Honeybridge Mead shirt into Flynn’s hand and gave him a small smile, then set her shoulders, shook her hair back, and strode out to greet the public like a modern-day Evita.
Flynn pressed the shirt to his stomach and frowned.
“Problem?” I asked, grabbing his free hand. “Is it my mother? She’s a lot, but I promise she means well.”
“No, I know. That’s not it.”
“Nerves again?”
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’ve got 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 strangers and 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 trusting myself.” 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.