She shrugged. “We don’t have kids yet, and Jon has similar crazy hours, so right now I don’t mind doing the erratic times. At some point we’ll start a family and I’ll have earned the right to work more stable shifts.”

   “What do you do, Jon?” Flynn asked.

   “I’m a software engineer, so I have the luxury of making a lot of my own hours. Which means when she works, I work.”

   Flynn nodded. “Sounds like an ideal situation for both of you.”

   “It works for now,” Laura said. “I’m starting to feel the burnout of all the hours, so probably within the next year I’ll be ready to start popping out some babies.”

   “Really?” Amelia grinned. “I’m ready for that, too.”

   Laura grinned. “To pop out babies of your own?”

   “Ha. No. To cuddle your babies.”

   “Oh. But wouldn’t it be fun if we had babies together?”

   “That would be great, but my timeline isn’t the same as yours.”

   “It could be.” Laura shot a pointed look to Flynn.

   “Don’t look at me. I mean, I like you and all, Laura, but I’m not having any babies in the next year.”

   Jon snorted out a laugh.

   “Oh, you’re no fun at all, Flynn Cassidy,” Laura said.

   He grinned.

   “So I guess that means I’m back in the running as baby daddy?” Jon asked Laura.

   Laura sighed. “I suppose. And you are supremely hot and tall and exceptionally smart. I suppose your genetics will work for me.”

   Jon smiled at her. “Nice of you to say.”

   They spent hours talking about everything from sports to having babies to world events.

   It had been a great night. Flynn was surprised how at ease he’d been with Jon and Laura from the minute he’d walked in the door. He hadn’t realized how much time had passed until Amelia nudged him and told him Laura had an early morning call, so it was time for them to leave.

   He shook Jon’s hand, hugged Laura and thanked them both for inviting him to their house for dinner. Then he left them an open invitation to have dinner at Ninety-Two on him whenever they had a free night, because it sounded to him like they both worked damn hard and could use a night out.

   “I’d love that,” Laura said. “How about tomorrow?”

   Jon laughed. “I don’t think he meant tomorrow.”

   “No, seriously. I mean whenever you want. Tomorrow is good. I’ll leave your name at the front desk and whenever you want to eat there, you can have a table.”

   “Thank you,” Jon said. “That means a lot. And we will take you up on that.”

   They said their good-byes and left. Flynn drove Amelia home and walked her to her door.

   “You’re not coming in?” she asked with a concerned frown.

   “Not tonight. I have an early call tomorrow morning.”

   She laid her palms on his chest. “I’ll miss you tonight.”

   “Me, too. I hope I did okay with your best friend.”

   She smiled. “I think my best friend is slightly in love with you. Or maybe more than slightly. So I’d say you passed the test, even though there really wasn’t a test.”

   “Good.” He drew her against him and kissed her, wishing he didn’t have to get up so early tomorrow morning. Because as his mouth moved over Amelia’s, he wanted nothing more than to feel his entire body moving against hers.

   But a little restraint was a good thing sometimes. So he took a step back.

   “I’ll see you soon.”

   She had a death grip on his jacket. “Yes, you will.”

   “Good night, Amelia.”

   She released her hold on him with a sigh. “Good night, Flynn.”

   He walked away with a smile on his face.

TWENTY-FOUR

   With Flynn’s out-of-town game and her work being so busy, Amelia hadn’t seen much of him the past week. And now it was time to leave for their Thanksgiving trip, and she was so stressed about it she could barely breathe.

   “Did you remember to pack shorts?”

   Amelia looked up from her suitcase to stare at Laura. “Honey, it’s November.”

   Laura had come over at seven in the morning to help Amelia pack. Only her best friend would give up sleep in order to see her off for her trip.

   “Yeah,” Laura said, flipping through her phone. “And I checked the weather in the part of Texas you’re flying to. It’s supposed to be eighty degrees there.”

   Amelia frowned. “Wait. What? Eighty? Are you sure?”

   “Yup.”

   “Well, hell.” She stared into her suitcase, where she’d packed long pants and sweaters. “That could change, though, right?”

   “Doesn’t look like it’s going to. At least put a pair of capris and a sundress in your suitcase.”

   “Fine.” She pulled out one of the sweaters and her jeans, replacing them with a pair of capris and a sundress, which felt weird for this time of year. But Laura was right. The last thing she wanted to do was sweat all over Flynn’s family.

   “You’ll be much happier if you’re cooler. And dressed appropriately.”

   After thinking, she threw in another pair of capris and a couple of short-sleeved tops, along with her brown flat sandals and higher platform black ones, then closed her suitcase. “What would I do without you, Laura?”

   “You’d sweat without me, that’s what you’d do.”

   “You’re right about that.” She felt better about what she was taking.

   “So you’re off work for a few days, and you’re traveling to Texas to meet Flynn’s family. How do you feel about that?”

   She sat on the bed and zipped up her suitcase. “You sound like my therapist.”

   Laura laughed and sat on the other side of Amelia’s suitcase. “I do, don’t I? Are you ready for that big a step?”

   She slanted a curious look at Laura. “Is it a big step? I’m only going because Mia invited me. Flynn said he wanted me to go and it was no big deal, but I still think he kind of had to say, ‘Oh, Amelia, sure, you’re totally invited.’”

   Laura gave her that look, the one that said she was full of shit. “Really? He could have said nothing, which would have meant he thought his sister’s suggestion was a bad idea. Instead, he invited you. More than once. He likes you, Amelia. Get on board with that because it’s obvious you like him, too.”