Back To Us (Dare With Me #4) - J.H. Croix Page 0,22
and I were leaving to return to the resort from Diamond Creek at the same time. He suggested we grab dinner at Diamond Creek Brewery. It made no sense for me to refuse. Grabbing a beer with friends was perfectly normal, and Flynn and I had done it many times.
If I’d been wondering before, I knew now that he had an agenda other than food and drinks.
“Uh, yeah,” I said slowly.
His lips twitched at the corners, and I sensed he was enjoying my discomfort. He took a bite of his burger, and I gratefully took that moment to enjoy a few fries. After he finished chewing, he cocked his head to the side and studied me quietly again.
“I knew something was up with you two. I only left it alone because I knew Nora would raise fucking hell with me if I interfered.”
“How did you know?” I finally asked, resisting the urge to tap my fingers on the table.
In lieu of spinning my fork between my fingers because I tended to fidget when I was uncomfortable, I took a swallow of my beer, idly tracing my fingertip around the base of my glass after I set it down.
Flynn arched a brow, still watching me too perceptively for my comfort. “I’m not sure. It was more of a feeling. But then she stopped talking to you, so that pretty much said it all. What happened?” he asked, his tone cool.
It was only when he asked that question that I realized he might be pissed off at me or on the way to it. I figured the only thing on my side was Flynn was a controlled man. He was never impulsive, and he never flew off the handle. He could be a cranky ass, but falling in love with Daphne had softened his sharp edges.
I decided blunt honesty was my only option, or at least the only sensible option at the moment. I leaned back in the booth and ran a hand through my hair, not even bothering to hide my ragged sigh. “I fucked up is what happened. Now, I’m trying to fix it. Because I’m in love with Nora.”
Flynn blinked, his eyes widening slightly. “You’re in love with her?”
I nodded, a flash of defensiveness rising at the disbelief in his tone. “Yeah. It took her breaking things off for me to figure that out. Now, she doesn’t believe me. She thinks I don’t know what I’m talking about.”
His gaze dipped down, and his shoulders shook. It took me a minute to realize he was silently laughing. At me.
When his eyes lifted, he shook his head slowly. “You’re a fucking idiot. If you break her heart again, I’ll kick your ass.”
His laughter faded by that second sentence, and his icy blue gaze was lasered on me. My heart ached a little. Because I was a fucking idiot. Even worse, I had hurt Nora.
“I won’t break her heart,” I said firmly.
“Didn’t you already?”
My chest burned. “I’m not sure. Look—” I began
Flynn shook his head. “You don’t need to explain. As I said, I stayed out of it because Nora really doesn’t appreciate it when I butt into her personal life. But you’re my friend, and she’s my sister. When I mentioned it to Daphne, she pointed out you were the one likely to get hurt this time. I didn’t get it at first because I know how you are about relationships. That’s your weakness.”
I sighed again, running a hand through my hair before finishing off my beer. Setting the empty glass down, I rested my elbows on the table. “I guess so. She’s pissed, and I don’t know how to get her to believe I love her.”
He shrugged. “Not gonna be easy. You know what my stepfather was like.” Flynn’s stepfather was Nora’s father. I knew the sketch of their childhood, but not all of it. Flynn was nine years older than Nora, so I knew more of his version.
“Sort of,” I offered, hoping Flynn might elucidate.
His lips tucked in at the corners, and I knew he was fighting back a smile. “Sure, I’ll fill you in. It’s no big secret. He was just a flake. My dad got our mom pregnant and then never showed up again. My stepdad was more of a bounce-in-and-out-of-our-lives kind of guy. Never really committing. Our mom was always waiting for him, and money was tight. Nora doesn’t count on guys. Her not believing you is as much of a product of her father as