Page 79 of Reckless Hearts

“You really want me to answer that?”

“Yes, I do. Tell me. What do you think?” I play back, a smile on my face now.

“You are unable to surf. You lose your place at Pipe, and the world doesn’t get to see how amazing you are.”

He’s so fucking sweet I almost can’t stand it. How the hell did I land a guy like this? He has zero concern for himself or his career. The good news is, we’re both worried about each other rather than ourselves, and I’m willing to go to bat for him.

“Do you want to know what my worst-case scenario is?” I ask. I lean forward, resting my elbows on the counter and Flynn stands across from me, his brows knitted together, his anger starting to recede.

He smirks now, winking at me. “I’m pretty sure I have a solid idea, and it has nothing to do with you, does it?”

“It doesn’t,” I confirm, and he chuckles.

“I’m going to go talk to her. You stay here. Don’t leave because I want to fuck this anger out of me when I get back.”He points at me, waiting for me to echo my approval. He smiles when I nod, like I would be able to turn him down.

Walking over to where I’m sitting, he leans down to kiss me. His lips brushing mine, a simple smile as his eyes fall closed.

“Thank you for being the voice of reason. I will fix this, babe,” he says. “Even if I have to grovel. You’re the only person I’ll grovel for.”

He kisses me again, and I pull him to me, holding him. I don’t want to let go, knowing he’s walking into the lion’s den. This could change everything, and as much as he says he’s thinking about me, he also has to be thinking about his career.

“Good luck,” I tell him, taking his face in my hands. “No matter what happens, I’m not going anywhere.” My eyes are focused on his, hoping he hears me, hoping he understands what my words mean without me coming out and saying what I really feel.

I love him.

He kisses me goodbye, and the second the door closes, I’m overwhelmed, and the tears begin to pool in my eyes.

I don’t want to cry about this. I’ve done enough crying, and thinking I’d finally reached that happy place, I’m now met with this bullshit. Jade isn’t going to give in easily. If anything, she’s going to demand Flynn stop seeing me, and he might agree to it.

I have to be open to the idea that he may put his job before me, and as much as that sucks, it’s probably the right call for him. At least until he can find something else.

He needs to smooth things over, and I hope he can.

Two hours later, and a lot of me worrying and pacing, Flynn walks through the door, and he’s holding Mochi.

“Why do you have the dog?” I immediately ask. The little ball of fur is tucked under Flynn’s arm, just relaxed and letting him carry him around.

He sets Mochi down, and he instantly scampers over to me, his fluffy tail fanning around wildly as he does this adorable little happy dance.

“She said she couldn’t take care of the dog any longer because of what I did,” Flynn says, and I don’t mean to laugh, but I do.

It sounds completely ridiculous but very accurate.

“So you took the dog?”

“I took the dog to allow her time to heal,” he tells me, rolling his eyes. “She’s still pissed. Basically, she spent the entire time screaming at me and telling me how her contract says I can’t date another surfer.”

“Is that true?” I question, my tone laced with complete shock.

“Fuck no,” he replies. “It states I’m not allowed to train or coach other surfers while under contract with her. And that’s not what we’re doing, but she’s…ugh…she’s Jade.”

He doesn’t need to say much more. Just saying her name is an explanation enough.

“And now you own a dog,” I add, again laughing.

“No, you own a dog,” he corrects. Mochi’s still dancing at my feet, his little tongue poking out to lick my bare leg every so often. “I can’t keep the dog here. Nate and Sage’s listing said no pets. Any chance you can keep him at your house?”

“You’re lucky, my house is pet-friendly, but I gotta check with the girls,” I reply, looking down at Mochi, knowing Sloane is going to lose her mind.

---