Page 9 of Thanksgiving With Dad's Best Friend

As we head out to the car, the cold air hits me and I shiver. Within seconds, Flynn has shrugged off his jacket and draped it around my shoulders.

“Is that better?” he asks. His voice is gruff and he’s still flushed from the argument, but when it’s just the two of us, he’s so gentle, so caring…it’s like he really cares about me, and it makes my skin tingle. I nod and he slips the warm pie into my hands so that he can open the car door for me. Feeling like some kind of celebrity with the way he’s treating me, I get in and savor this feeling. I know we can’t tell my father about what happened, and I know things will be different when we get back to the house…but for now, I’m full of butterflies. I feel like I matter to someone. I feel like I’m important.

As we drive toward home, Flynn is quiet and brooding, but I don’t mind too much. It gives me time to think about what just happened.

I recall his strong arms holding the creep up in the air…I recall how he made sure to protect women everywhere, not just me…but mostly, I recall the thing that has stuck in my mind the most.

I know I didn’t imagine it. He called me his lady. Warmth pools in my stomach at the thought. I would do anything to belong to him. I’d do anything to hear him say it again. I want him to tell me to my face, to look me in the eyes and say I’m his…and I’d tell him that I am, for as long as he wants.

How did I get to this point so quickly? How have I let someone take over my emotions so completely? I look at him now, his hands gripping the steering wheel too hard, his handsome face creased in anger. I melt inside just at the sight of him. I want to feel him touching me again. I want him to save me all over again. I’d go through that horrible ordeal all over again just to see him go all alpha male for me.

It’s unnerving to me how much I like him. He’s got a hold on my heart, and I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to change that now. I never expected to fall for an older man….I assumed that I’d meet a guy at university, and we’d eventually settle down, have a family, get married…but now that I’ve met Flynn, that fantasy has ceased to exist. He’s so much better than the young men I know…so strong, so handsome, so mature…I can see he knows exactly how to treat a woman. He’s smart, successful and so good looking. He’s the most attractive man I’ve ever seen, and it makes so much sense now that women of his age are falling at his feet. I just never expected to be among them.

But he practically admitted that I’m the one he wants too. He said someone he met recently has caught his eye…who else could that be, but me? Or am I getting too cocky? I don’t know anything about his life before today…just because my world is suddenly centered around him, it doesn’t mean that he feels the same.

I’m starting to come across as desperate, even though I’ve not admitted any of my thoughts out loud. If he knew what I was thinking about right now, he’d probably run a mile. I know that I’d do anything he asked of me right now, and it scares me how easily I’ve become putty in his hands. If he feels the same, will he even act on it? We both know it’s a bad idea…my father would kill us if he found out.

And yet, I still want it more than anything in the world.

Flynn clears his throat suddenly, and my heart jolts. What is he going to say to me? I’m full of flutters. He takes a deep breath.

“I’m sorry about what happened back there. I’m not usually so…forceful. I just…I hated that guy so much. The way he looked at you…he just assumed you wanted him…and it made me feel sick.”

I feel myself blushing, though I’m not sure why. “Honestly, I’m glad you stood up for me. No one else would’ve done anything…it made me feel so much better. “

He allows me a small smile. “Well, at least something good came of it. I just felt so protective of you. You don’t deserve to be harassed like that…though I’ll bet it’s not the first time. Young beautiful women like you always get creeps hitting on them.”

Now my cheeks are hotter than I thought possible, and I’m sweating a little. With his jacket still around my shoulders, this car is starting to feel a little too hot.

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