Page 47 of Playing Mr. Perfect

He covers my hand with his, giving it a squeeze. “Good. I don’t want to make you think about work, but I do want to know more about you and how you got into research and development. Have you always loved science?”

“Yes. I’ve always been a curious person, and science answers a lot of questions. When I was a kid, my parents would buy me science kits, and I’d spend hours working with them. My dad made the hayloft in our barn into a lab for me when I was in sixth grade. I had to swear never to use fire or flammable chemicals without him, but I was too smart to do that anyway.”

“I’d expect nothing less. Your parents seem very supportive.”

“They always have been, for all of us. My dad was an engineering professor before he retired, and he used to come up with things for us to build together.”

“I can see your dad doing that. What kind of things did you build?”

“All sorts of things. We made robots and boats and gadgets we could use around the house.”

“Like what?”

“This won’t seem like a big deal now, because technology is so easy to come by, but we built a detection system that turned the light on when I came into my bedroom, and a plant watering system, which worked, but it was too cumbersome to leave in place.”

“That’s amazing. Dash told me that when you were in graduate school, you developed the seizure-alert necklace Amber wears and that it’s now sold all over the world. That’s impressive. Is that how you got into making medical devices?”

“Sort of. I wanted to make a difference in people’s lives, and R and D allows me to do that. I guess it was a natural fit. Probably like football is for you. What did you study in college?”

“Biology and physical education. I figured if professional football fell through, I’d become a biology teacher and coach high school football.”

“Biology, really?”

“Why do you sound so surprised. You did think I was a dumb jock, didn’t you?”

“No. You’re obviously smart. It’s just that a biology degree takes a lot of hard work and dedication, and the athletes I knew in college didn’t care about anything but football and skating through their classes with a passing grade.”

“That would’ve been a waste of time and energy. I like structure, and I have always enjoyed school. That’s one of the reasons I fought to stop traveling when we were young. That and football, of course.”

“I didn’t realize you fought for that.”

“I had to. I was going stir-crazy. I’ve always been competitive, and while my parents supported my love of football, signing me up for teams when and where they could and bringing in coaches from time to time, I wanted to excel at it. I also wanted to have clear academic expectations and goals so I could excel at that, too. We were homeschooled a lot, and I wanted the competition of kids other than my brothers and sister. It turned out I loved science, too. Why do you think I found your explanation of chemical reactions sexy?”

“I thought you were just flirting with me.”

“I was.” He picks up his glass and takes a drink. “But now you know it goes deeper.”

“I have a feeling a lot of things about you go deeper than I thought. Are you a sapiosexual?”

He shakes his head. “No. I don’t think intelligence is the most important quality in a partner, but it’s damn sexy with you.”

“It’s pretty sexy with you, too.” Our gazes hold for a long moment, and then I remember we were in the middle of a conversation and try to get back to it. “How old were you when your family stopped traveling?”

“We moved back to Ridgeport when I was twelve, but we still traveled during school breaks.”

“How did your siblings feel about it? Did they resent you for asking your parents to stop traveling?”

“No. Victory and Seth wanted to go to a normal high school, so we were a united front. Flynn hated giving up travel, and Noah was too young to really know what he wanted. But we were brought up a little differently in other ways, too, and I think that kept Flynn from being too angry at us.”

“What do you mean?”

“My parents had family money, but we never knew it until we were adults. We lived meagerly, fitting all of our belongings into a few small bags, and we were raised with family and giving back to others at the heart of everything. So when one of us got something that was important to them, the rest of us were genuinely happy for them, even if it meant we didn’t get anything. We knew we’d get our turn. Of course, we had our moments when we’d lose our shit, but in general, we were happy for each other. Flynn knew football was my life and that Vic needed consistent friends and Seth needed bigger opportunities. He didn’t resent us, but my parents made sure he got what he needed, too.”

“How?”

“Flynn has always been tight with our grandfather. They’re like two peas in a pod, and when Flynn was a teenager, he got to go on expeditions with our grandparents.”

“That’s incredible. Your parents sound like really special people. Your grandparents, too.”