Anya grimaced. “Yeah. School. Ugh. I hated missing it.”

   “You need to have Grant and Katrina bring you out.”

   “I do, don’t I? Part of my culinary education.”

   Katrina rolled her eyes. “You think anything and everything is part of your culinary education.”

   “I know, isn’t it great? That’s because no matter where you go, there’s food. Isn’t that right, Amelia?”

   Amelia nodded. “She’s got you there, I’m afraid.”

   “Yeah, she’s already hitting us up for Paris,” Grant said. “Since she’s of legal drinking age there, she wants to sample the food and the wine.”

   “You’re a wise young woman, Anya.”

   “Quit encouraging her, Amelia,” Grant said.

   Amelia laughed. “Sorry.”

   “Though I do have a shoot there in the spring,” Katrina said. “And maybe if it’s during Anya’s spring break . . .”

   Anya’s eyes widened. “Really?”

   “Really.”

   “Hey, that means I get to go, too,” Leo said.

   Grant nodded. “We’ll all go.”

   “Well, now I want to go to Paris,” Amelia said. “I haven’t been in years.”

   She looked over at Flynn.

   “Don’t look at me. I’m just over here digesting.”

   She laughed. “Okay, fine. We’ll talk about Paris some other time. But I’m making a mental note.”

   He swept his hand over her hair. “You do that.”

   The thought of spending some time alone with Amelia in Paris had definite appeal. Flynn had never been there, but he knew she’d enjoy it.

   And he’d enjoy anything she loved.

   His heart was in deep with this woman, something that was becoming more and more clear to him every minute he spent with her. He’d been trying to take things slowly with her, given her reluctance to even enter a relationship. But maybe it was time to step it up a bit and see how she reacted.

   Because he was definitely ready for the next step in their relationship.

TWENTY-SEVEN

   Flynn did his run early the next morning before Amelia was even awake. They’d both stayed up long into the night with the family playing poker, a Thanksgiving night tradition.

   Tucker had won all the chips, the bastard. Flynn was certain he’d cheated.

   He’d run toward the main house and was about to take the turn to head back to the guesthouse when he saw his mother step out onto the porch with her cup of coffee, so he stopped and walked toward her.

   “Sweaty again, I see,” his mom said.

   He huffed out a few breaths and nodded, then walked back and forth in front of the porch so he wouldn’t stiffen up.

   “Want some juice or a tall glass of water, or are you going to head back to the guesthouse?”

   “I’ll take some water, please.”

   She set her coffee on the table. “I’ll be right back.”

   He stretched, did a slow jog back and forth down the walkway for a few seconds until his mom showed up with his water then headed up the steps and took the glass from her.

   “Thanks.” He took several deep swallows of water, then set it down on the table and took a seat next to his mom.

   “I didn’t mean to interrupt your run.”

   “You didn’t. And I’ll finish it on the way back.”

   “Okay.” Mom sipped her coffee, quiet as always.

   “We had fun last night. And all day yesterday.”

   “Did you? That’s good. I like Amelia, Flynn.”

   He’d wondered how his mom felt about Amelia. They seemed to get along well, but he’d wanted more details, her specific thoughts about him and Amelia together. It was one of the reasons he’d stopped this morning to talk to her. He hadn’t had a chance to get her alone yesterday with the whole family around. He valued his mom’s opinion and he wanted to get her take on Amelia.

   “Do you?”

   “Yes, I do. But you know, my opinion—anyone’s opinion, shouldn’t matter to you. How do you feel about her?”

   He dragged in a deep breath, then let it out. “I’m crazy about her. I think I’ve been crazy about her since the moment I met her.”

   That made her smile. “I can see why. She’s smart, talented, funny, and she clearly feels the same about you.”

   “Does she? I’m not sure. She holds her emotions deep inside. She had a rough go of it during her marriage. The guy treated her badly.”

   Mom frowned. “She told me she was divorced, but she didn’t get into details. He didn’t abuse her, did he?”

   Flynn shook his head. “No, not physically, anyway. But he didn’t trust her, accused her of things she didn’t do. So she put all of her love and trust in this guy, gave her heart to him, and he stomped all over it.”

   “And now she’s reluctant to give her heart again. That’s understandable.”

   “Yeah. I’ve given her space and I haven’t told her how I feel.”

   She looked over at him. “And how do you feel?”

   “I’m in love with her, Mom.” Saying the words out loud were a shock to him. But as soon as he said them, he knew they were true. It felt right.

   She laid her hand on his arm. “That’s so good to hear. And also terrifying. Because if she doesn’t reciprocate your feelings, she could break your heart.”

   “I think she feels the same way I do. But I want to approach her cautiously.”

   His mother’s lips curved. “Like a scared cat?”

   He smiled, too. “Something like that. I’m not in any hurry. It took me a long time to find her. She’s worth waiting for.”

   “I hope you’re right. I don’t want either of you to be hurt. I especially don’t want you to be hurt. You’re my firstborn. You’ve always looked out for your siblings, making sure they were the ones who took the right road in life. But there was never anyone to look out for you.”

   He took her hand. “You’re wrong about that. There was you—and Dad. I never felt like I was alone.”

   Her eyes brimmed with tears. “I hoped you always felt like you could come to us—to me, with anything. That you could talk to me about anything that concerned you.”