“It was so nice to meet both of you. I’ll leave you my card,” she added as she stood, plucking one out of a slim stainless steel case and sliding it across the table.
Zach snapped it up enthusiastically. “I’ll keep this, he’d lose it,” he said, smiling brightly. Elouise walked away without another word.
Once she was out of earshot, Flynn breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank you,” he said softly. “I thought she was gonna eat me like one of those spiders.”
“Black widows?” Zach suggested.
“Yeah, those,” Flynn agreed, reaching out to grab his beer. “Or like… a praying mantis? I think they just cut the head off.”
“Normallyaftersex, though,” Zach said. “So you were probably safe.”
“Didn’t feel that way,” Flynn said, taking several greedy gulps of his drink. “But your timing was perfect. I knew there was a reason I married you,” he joked.
Zach chuckled, reaching out to play with his own empty beer bottle. He hadn’t let go of Flynn’s hand yet, or moved his head from his shoulder, and he was telling himself that was because they couldn’t just jump apart the moment Elouise left in case she looked back.
He was also telling himself that was why Flynn hadn’t eventriedto move him yet. It definitely made more sense than any other explanation.
“The reason was that you’re too kind for your own good,” Zach said. “But I’m glad you’re getting some benefit out of it now.”
Flynn chuckled. “You sound like Callie. I did it because I wanted to, because you needed help and I could help you. That’s all.”
“Because you’re too kind for your own good,” Zach repeated, since that was essentially what Flynn had just said. Most people wouldn’t even have considered it, let alone made the offer. The fact that Flynn had gonethroughwith it, and was still trying to help Zach out, made him one of a kind.
“Maybe,” Flynn allowed. “Better to be kind than cruel, I think. I don’t wanna look back on my life and regret the way I treated anyone.”
Zach sighed softly. Flynn was so fundamentallygood, and that was why he was so nice to be around. Whoever he really did end up with would be lucky to have him.
“You’re sweet,” Zach said, finally lifting his head away from Flynn’s shoulder and straightening up, his hand instantly feeling cold as he took it away.
“You didn’t have to move,” Flynn said, shifting his weight minutely and staring down at his beer bottle.
“She’s gone,” Zach said, a lump forming in his throat. They both knew that. Flynn was telling him he didn’t have to move because he hadn’tmindedbeing leaned on, and that really… said everything about him, didn’t it?
Flynn was the kind of man who put everyone else first, and Zach would have liked to see him getting his own way for once. Of course, it was impossible to know whatFlynnwanted, and Zach wasn’t even convinced that he knew himself.
He spent so much time being there for other people that there wasn’t a whole lot of him left.
Dammit.
He was getting emotionally invested in this man. This kind, sweet man, who really needed more than one friend who cared about whether or nothewas happy, and Zach wanted to be that friend.
He wanted other things, too. He wanted Flynn to hold him again, this time while he wasn’t crying about a man who hadn’t deserved the tears.
Not compared to his older brother. It wasn’t even fair tomakethe comparison. He could see similarities between them, and he thought that maybe Aiden hadwantedto be more like Flynn, and maybe someday, he would be.
But Flynn was perfect, just as he was, right now.
“Was it worth coming tonight?” Zach asked, wondering if Flynn had gotten what he came for.
“Think so,” Flynn said, draining the last of his beer. People were finally starting to filter out, which meant they’d probably be leaving soon. Flynn hadn’t wanted to be thefirstto leave, but he wouldn’t want to be the last, either.
“It gets lonely, you know? Working by yourself all the time. So it’s nice to get to see some of the other people who do similar jobs. I dunno. I wouldn’twantto work in a cubicle. Or I guess these days it’s mostly open-plan offices.”
“But it’s still nice to see other people from time to time. That’s why you go to the café,” Zach said. “That’s why I work in a shared studio. Because mostly I’d rather work alone, but it’s nice to know there’s someone else in the world all the same.”
“That’s why Alexis has been looking for a mom group that works for her,” Flynn said. “You’ve gotta meet Lily someday. You’ll love her.”
