Chapter Nine
“You look like such a natural holding that baby,” Callie teased as she passed Flynn a cup of coffee, sitting down across from him at the kitchen table.
“I’m a good honorary uncle,” he said, cuddling Lily just a little closer. “I’m gonna spoil her every chance I get, you know that, right?”
“I know,” Callie said. “Which means she’ll have someone to talk to when she thinks Alexis and I are being unfair. Someone who’s good enough with kids to know if wearebeing unfair.”
“I mean… I doubt you will be. You’re both incredible,” Flynn said, shifting Lily’s weight so he could pick up his coffee with the other hand. She was still so tiny, and while Flynn knew she couldn’t stay that way forever, he kind of wished she would.
“Flattery gets you everywhere,” Callie said. “But not out of telling me all about how you’ve got Zach sleeping over on a regular basis now.”
Flynn sighed, though he couldn’t quite bring himself to betooannoyed. “I should never have let that slip. I knew you’d never let me hear the end of it.”
“I think it’s sweet,” Callie teased.
“It’s once a week, for school,” Flynn said. “On the couch,” he added.
He was pretty sure he didn’t actuallyneedto clarify that, but he felt the urge to anyway. It wasn’t that he thought Callie might get the wrong impression, it was just…
Well, he wasn’t entirely sure how it was. All he knew was that when hehadtold her, he felt as though he’d been telling her an exciting secret, and he still wasn’t sure how to handle that.
“Oh, well, as long as you’re making your new puppy sleep on the couch…” Callie said, reaching out to wrap both hands around her coffee cup.
“He’s not a puppy,” Flynn defended. “He’s a grown man who just… needs a little help. And I can give it to him. And I know he says he doesn’t blame me for the way Aiden behaved-”
“Because it’s not yourfault. Come on, Flynn. You were twenty-two when your mom died. You weren’t ready to keep a seventeen-year-old in check by yourself, but you were stuck doing it, and that wasn’tfair.”
“You helped,” Flynn argued. “You helped so much. I wasn’t alone. I just… don’t know what I did wrong.”
“Have you ever considered that you didn’t doanythingwrong, and Aiden was always your spoiled little brother? And maybe you just didn’tnoticeuntil all of his attention was directed at you?”
Flynn swallowed. They’d had this conversation before, and he didn’t doubt that they’d have it again. It felt like his fault. It’d probablyalwaysfeel like his fault, no matter how many times Callie said this to him.
He was glad she was willing to keep saying it anyway. She was the best best friend anyone could ever ask for.
Lily gurgled in his arms, making a soft, demanding noise. “Something wrong, sweetie?” he asked, looking down with concern. She’d just been fed and changed, so that probably wasn’t it…
“She can tell you’re stressed and she doesn’t want you to be,” Callie said.
“Oh.” Flynn’s heart sank. “Maybe I shouldn’t… if it’s stressing her out…”
“No, just… hold her a little closer until you calm down. Tell me what you did with your new boyfriend all night,” Callie teased.
Flynn snorted. “If he wasactuallymy new boyfriend, you wouldn’t wanna know. He showed up just as I was starting dinner, so I cooked for him as well. Then he told me about how he was going at school.”
“Not all night,” Callie said perceptively.
“No, not all night. We moved to the couch after and he explained some of the finer points of a particular pottery technique to me. It’s… not that I wasn’tlistening, it just mostly went right over my head. It was good to see him comfortable, though. I don’t have dozens of friends like you do. It’s really just…you.”
Callie made a soft, sympathetic noise, and sipped her coffee.
“Anyway we basically just… both worked on our own thing in comfortable silence until I went to bed. The apartment was still there when I got up, so he didn’t burn it down or anything. I know he’s practically a stranger, but I’ve got a good feeling about him.”
“I’d argue with your good feeling,” Callie said. “But I got one, too. I like him. I think he’ll be good for you.”
Lily seemed to be settling down, which was probably becauseFlynnwas settling down. She was so nice to hold that Flynn wasn’t sure how Callie could bring herself to let him do it instead of her.
Probably some combination of being able to do it as much as she wanted, and of loving Flynn enough to let him have this. She was awesome, and he loved seeing her so happy.
