It was supposed to be a comforting lie, but some part of him knew it was true. He didn’t expect Zach to be nearly as much trouble as Aiden, and he really was starting to like the guy. He’d taken him on as a project, now.
Hell, they weremarried, and apparently the fact that it wasn’t entirely sincere didn’t stop some part of Flynn from suddenly feeling both attached to and responsible for him.
“That’s what I want to hear,” Violet said. “I’d like to hearhow, too.”
“Uh, well…” Flynn scratched the back of his neck with his free hand. “I own my own apartment, for a start. Got a steady IT job…”
“Doing what?” she asked.
“Uh. User experience design. It’s where-”
“I know what UX is,” Violet said. “I may be retired now, but I used to manage one of the local strip joints. We had a website as early as nineteen ninety-nine.”
Flynn blinked. He had no idea what to say to that.
“I worked my way up from waiting tables,” she added.
Flynn got the distinct feeling that his eyes were actually going to fall out of his head.
“I’m not surprised Zach didn’t tell you. He probably thought it’d scare you off. But let me tell you the rest of the story: I did that job because I fell in love with a painter. And it paid well enough, but we both hated it. Trust me, serving drinks didn’t stop the customers from touching what wasn’t theirs to touch.”
Now that his head was done spinning, a sense of respect for Violet was settling over Flynn. She was obviously the kind of woman who solved problems.
“I don’t want that for Zach. I don’t want him in a position where he’s struggling, or where he feels inadequate, or like a burden to the person he loves. I watched it make his grandfather miserable. I watched that man put down his brush for the last time and go and work a soul-crushing office job for me, and I’d rather if Zach’s soul is going to be crushed, it was on his own terms,” she said, her voice starting to waver with emotion. “I love that little boy.”
“I love him, too,” Flynn said, and it didn’t matter that it wasn’t strictly true, because Flynn didcareabout Zach.
He also knew that Zach had been just fine on his own and had managed to support Aiden’s casual relationship with paid work as well as himself. His soul didn’t seem crushed just yet.
“Good,” Violet said. “You seem like a sensible young man.”
They’d been walking aimlessly for a while now, though Flynn realized they were heading back in the direction of the hotel, and he could vaguely sense Zach and Callie trailing after them.
“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t go that far, but no one would pay me to wait tables in a strip joint,” Flynn joked.
Violet chuckled. “I think you could have a career on stage instead,” she said. “But I’m not sure Zach would appreciate me sending his new husband for pole lessons. Or, well…” she trailed off, smirking just a little. “Maybe he would.”
Flynn blushed all over again, the tips of his ears burning with it.
“I think I’d just embarrass you, but I’ll keep the offer in mind,” Flynn said. He hadseenMagic Mike, with a girlfriend.
His later attempt to do his best impression of a stripper had left him tripping over his own pants. It probably wasn’t anything he was cut out for.
“I mean it when I say I’ll take care of him,” Flynn added, and hedidmean it. Zach was one of his people now, whether he wanted to be or not.
Callie said he had a problem where he was always looking for new family members. Flynn didn’t necessarily disagree, and as far as he was concerned, he’d just found one. And they were married now, so that even made it official.
“I believe you,” Violet said. “Which is why I’m happy to pay his tuition, as promised.”
Flynn breathed a sigh of relief. “He’ll be thrilled to hear that. Thank you.”
“Go tell him.” Violet let go of Flynn’s arm gently. “He’d probably rather hear it from you.”
Flynn nodded, turning back and grinning at Zach as he approached, leaving Callie to catch up with Violet.
Zach practically tackled him into a hug, wrapping his arms around him tightly and laughing. “You did it,” he said against Flynn’s shoulder. “I knew you would.”
Flynn’s heart swelled in his chest at Zach’s confidence in him. They might not have known each other all that well yet, but he was glad he’d come through for Zach, and it meant a lot that Zach appreciated it.
