“That competitive, are you?” Amelia asked.
“Just a little.”
Tara shook her head. “I’m not sure who’s more competitive—the Rileys or the Cassidys.”
Both Mick and Flynn answered at the same time.
“We are.”
Amelia laughed. And finally relaxed, even though Flynn kept skirting glances her way. He could watch her all he wanted to. As long as the two of them didn’t have another one of those intimate conversations where he touched her and her body didn’t go up in flames, she’d be fine.
The party broke up around midnight. Amelia took out her phone to call for a ride.
“What are you doing?” Flynn asked.
“Ordering a ride home.”
“We live close. I’ll drive you home.”
“That’s not necessary. I’m used to getting my own ride.”
“It may be what you’re used to, but it’s not happening tonight. Put your phone away. I’m driving you home.”
She frowned at him. “Are you always so bossy?”
“You work for me so you know the answer to that. But in this case, no. I’m a gentleman, because my mother raised me to be one. And I’d very much like to give you a ride home, Amelia, if you’d let me.”
If he’d been overly assertive and an asshole, she could have easily told him no. But he had to be sweet about it, and even brought up his mother. What was she supposed to do with that? “Okay. Sure. Thanks.”
They said their good-byes. Amelia made sure to hug Tara.
“Thank you so much for inviting me. I had a wonderful time.”
Tara gave her a squeeze. “I’m so glad. I’m really sorry about Aaron. I had high hopes for the two of you.”
Amelia laughed. “It’s really fine. And I’m glad he and Skylar found a connection.”
“It would seem so, since they took off a couple of hours ago. I think they wanted some alone time to get better acquainted.”
Or something that had nothing to do with talking. “I’m happy to hear that.”
“We’ll talk soon,” Tara said.
Flynn hugged Tara, then they walked out to his SUV. He opened her side of the vehicle and waited for her to get in before closing the door and moving over to the driver’s side.
The night was cool, so she was glad she had her sweater to wrap around her.
“Cold?” Flynn asked after he started the engine.
“A little.”
He leaned over and pressed a button on the dash. “Butt warmer. That should help.”
“Butt warmer, huh?”
“Yup. And I’ll turn the heat up.”
“No, don’t do that on my account.”
He looked over at her. “Did someone tell you once that you were a pain in the ass or something, so now you never complain about anything?”
“I . . .” Actually, that’s exactly what had happened with Frank. Whenever she’d asked for something more than once, he’d called her a complainer. Or, even worse, a whiner. So she’d stopped asking.
After a while, they’d stopped communicating altogether.
That had been the beginning of the end for her marriage.
He put the car in reverse and backed down the driveway. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. If you want something, Amelia, just ask for it. I’ll never jump down your throat about it.”
“Duly noted.”
They drove for a while in silence, then she looked over at him and said, “I need a couple more stainless steel sauté pans for the restaurant.”
When they reached a red light, he glanced her way and arched a brow. “Taking that opening to hit me up for some inventory, huh?”
She gave him her sweetest smile. “Well, you told me to ask.”
He laughed. “Anything you want, you can have.”
“Anything?”
“Within reason.”
“Oh, now you’re putting conditions on it.”
“Hey, I can’t have you out buying a new stove or anything.”
She frowned. “You put a brand-new stove in when you remodeled the restaurant before you opened. Why would I want a new stove?”
“I was joking.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
“You need to lighten up, Amelia. Not everything between you and me has to be so damn serious all the time.”
“I’ll make a note of that.”
She was still so wrapped up in what had happened between them earlier that she’d totally missed that bit of humor.
He was right. She did need to relax. The problem was, she’d been tense ever since that moment in Tara and Mick’s kitchen.
Sexual tension.
A good orgasm would cure that. She made a mental note to take care of that as soon as she got home.
Great. Now she was stuck in the car with Flynn and thinking about sex and orgasms.
She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry as she thought about how it had felt when he’d touched her, the way he’d looked at her with such . . . intensity.
She bet he fucked that way, too. He seemed like the kind of man who was all-in on everything he did. She could already imagine him giving his full attention to a woman, both with his hands and his mouth, and then later, with his cock.
Suddenly overwhelmed with heat and a quivering sensation, she blew out a breath.
“Everything okay over there?” he asked.
“Fine. I’m fine.”
“You sure? I can pull over if you need a drink or you need to pee or something.”
It was definitely more of the “or something” variety, and she didn’t think having an orgasm at a nearby convenience store sounded all that . . . convenient.
“I’m sure.” This ride home was interminable. She needed to get behind closed doors and take care of this problem. Once she had a tension release, she’d be her normal self again.
Or, at least, she needed to get far away from Flynn.
When they finally drove up her street, she almost exhaled in relief. He pulled up to the curb and it was all she could do not to leap out. But then he parked and shut off the engine. She shot him a glare.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to walk you to your door.”