“I’m sorry.” Her heart ached for young Flynn, trying and failing to live up to his parents’ expectations. Obviously, he’d internalized those feelings and carried them with him into adulthood. “I wish you’d had more support when you were younger.”
“I think I turned out all right anyway,” he said with a playful smile, clearly trying to lighten the mood.
“You turned out more than all right.”
He took her empty plate from her and began packing up the remains of their picnic. She tugged the oxygen tube out of her nose and lay back on the blanket, eyes closed, soaking up the warmth of the sun overhead.
“This is perfection,” she whispered.
“I’m glad.”
She heard fabric shuffling and then Flynn was beside her, his hand sliding into hers. Birds twittered overhead, and the pungent scent of flowers filled her nose. “This isn’t how I planned to see Paris, but it’s not so bad.”
“You’re getting a different flavor for the city than you would have as a tourist, that’s for sure,” he agreed.
“Maybe I’ll come back sometime and do the tourist thing properly.”
“You absolutely should.”
“It’s so good to get out of the flat. Truthfully, I’m starting to get a little stir-crazy watching TV all day. I really wish I had my laptop or my Nintendo to give me something else to do.”
“That’s the problem with getting sick when you’re away from home, isn’t it?” Flynn said.
She nodded against the blanket. “You’ve been a nice distraction, though.”
They lay together in the sunshine. Peace flowed through her, something she wasn’t used to feeling in a situation like this. Usually, she drew contentment from crossing off all the items on her to-do list before bed, feeling that she’d accomplished everything she set out to do that day. She’d done absolutely nothing today, but somehow it didn’t seem to matter, because it just felt right being here with Flynn.
Her feelings for him were growing much stronger than she should have ever let them, given that they had to say goodbye soon. His life was here in England, and hers was in Virginia. She wasn’t prepared to give that up for a man, no matter how much she liked him. And she really did like him alot. But maybe…was it so crazy to try a long-distance relationship, at least for a little while, just to see what happened?
She rolled to face him, studying his profile. The unruly lock of dark hair that tended to flop over his forehead was behaving at the moment as he lay on his back, tamed by gravity. Stubble darkened his cheeks, and she reached over to touch it, letting her fingers skim over his skin. His stubble prickled against her fingertips, sending a delicious shiver through her body.
She leaned in, replacing her fingers with her lips. His scruff tickled, but beneath it, his skin was warm and soft against hers. He turned his head, and their lips met.
“Hard to believe we’ve only known each other a week,” she murmured against his mouth.
He rolled onto his side, cupping a hand against her cheek, the expression in his eyes fierce yet tender. “Sometimes, when we meet someone, it feels like we’ve known them forever. I felt that with you from the moment we met.”
“I did too.” She kissed him again, scooting closer to him on the blanket.
“I think that’s a connection we’ll always have, even after we go home.”
Ruby didn’tprotest when Flynn carried her up the stairs to their flat an hour later. She stowed her oxygen tank against the wall and stretched, invigorated by the blood flowing through her veins, more energized than she had been in days. “That felt so good. I think we should do it again tomorrow.”
“I’d like that,” Flynn said, moving to the kitchen to put away their leftovers.
“I feel bad that you’re always having to take care of the chores around here,” she said, watching as he threw away their picnic trash. “I’ll be able to help out more soon.”
“Don’t,” he told her. “It’s not as though I’ve been spending hours in the kitchen cooking for you.” It was true. They’d mostly ordered takeout, although he’d also kept them stocked with food from the market around the corner. “I don’t often get the chance to do this for someone. It’s good to feel useful.”
“Well, thank you. Really.”
At Flynn’s insistence, she lay down in bed to rest, and the next thing she knew, the ringing of her phone jostled her from a deep sleep. Apparently, all that sunshine had tired her out. Without her glasses, she couldn’t read the name on the display screen, but no doubt it was one of her friends or family calling to check in. “Hello.”
“Hi,” Megan said. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”
Ruby cleared her throat, coughing. “Just napping, no worries.”
“Ah, crap. I should have texted first, shouldn’t I?”
