Chapter 6
“The girl I marry won’t just be marrying me. She’ll be marrying my family too.”
Holy. Shitballs.
Flynn was totally out of her depth. He was talking about marriage. Marriage. On their first date.
Guys her age talked about grabbing a drink on a first date, not marriage.
But with his long fingers hooked around hers, Flynn focused on letting go of the intensity of her emotions, and when she felt calm settle over her, she immediately started wondering, What is step two?
Just let it unfold naturally, her inner voice reminded her.
First, meet the family.
They sounded amazing. All of them. Flynn couldn’t imagine what it would have been like to have a houseful of siblings and parents who loved each other and were always there for you. What a novel concept.
She wanted to ask Marcus if he thought they’d like her, but she didn’t.
She’d talked to Zoe plenty of times at the club, but she wouldn’t say they were friends.
Zoe was always all business, and Flynn …
well, the only time she was all business was when she was wearing a helmet, dressed in all black, and sitting behind the wheel of a fast car.
And then there was the first impression his dad had gotten of her …
A pang of regret hit Flynn. Oh well. There was nothing she could do about that now.
If it had been a long time since he’d brought a girl to Sunday dinner, she would be under the microscope.
“Should I have dressed up more?”
Marcus glanced over at her as they drove through the tunnel. “You’re fine. I already told you that. Perfect for a barbecue. Worried about making a good first impression?”
He smiled again, and Flynn was growing really attached to seeing that look on his face instead of the serious or forbidding expressions she was used to.
“I already made quite the first impression with your dad.”
Q’s hand squeezed hers as he coughed out a laugh. “Did you ever. I don’t think any of us will forget that day.”
“God help me,” Flynn groaned as she lifted her free hand to cover her face.
“Do you want to know what my dad said back then?” Marcus asked.
“No … I’m sure I don’t,” she said to the palm of her hand.
He tugged at her hand, and she peeked through her fingers to look at him.
“He said something like, ‘Maybe we’ve finally found the girl to match up with you, Marcus. Don’t forget me bailing you out of jail.’ ”
Flynn’s hand fell from her face. “Really?”
“Yeah. Remember he told me to—”
“Give me your sweatshirt because he raised you right.”
Q’s nearly black gaze was warm. “Never did get that sweatshirt back.”
“Oh God.” Flynn squirmed in her seat. “This is where I shouldn’t tell you how I still have it, and on occasion, I sleep with it on.”
His grip tightened on her left hand. “Really?”
“It was the most chivalrous thing anyone had ever done for me.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, I mean … guys my age are just trying to get a piece of ass with as little effort as possible. Being a gentleman doesn’t figure into the equation.”
His expression darkened. “I don’t want to hear about any guys trying to get a piece of ass from you.”
Flynn couldn’t help the warm thrill that shot up her body. “I didn’t go home with all those guys from the club. None of them really.”
Marcus looked straight ahead at the lanes of traffic. “I told you, it’s none of my business.”
“And I need you to know I’m not a virgin, but I’m not a ho.”
His swarthy jaw seemed to tense. “What you did before today is ancient history. Irrelevant.”
“And I’m just telling you that you’re not trying to make a ho a housewife.”
Instead of his dark gaze turning thunderous, he burst into laughter. Was that relief she felt in the air?
“Just be yourself. That’s all you gotta do, Flynn. It worked with me.”
Flynn sat back against the leather lining the carbon fiber bucket seat of his dope car.
“That’s the big thing I don’t understand. What changed? Like … why is this even happening? Especially now? You ignored me forever, and then Scarlett said, last night, you wanted me banned from the club or you’d sell your half.”
“I might have exaggerated for effect, but, yeah, that’s true.”
“So, Marcus Quinterro, how did I end up in the passenger seat of this amazing ride on the way to step one?”
Marcus let out a long breath. “There comes a point where a man has to put up or shut up, and I blew straight past that point.”
Flynn studied his gorgeous olive-toned profile, loving the way she could already see his five-o’clock shadow darkening his jaw.
“What does that mean?”
He glanced over as he braked for a light. “I had a dream that I was taking you home.”
“To get rid of me?”
“No, to my home.”
“You had a sex dream about me?” Flynn couldn’t hold back her shock.
Marcus shook his head. “No. I had a dream that I was about to cross every line I’d ever set when it came to you, and it felt too damn real. I figured I’d better do this the right way, in case it actually worked out.”
Flynn’s heartbeat picked up, and she rubbed her free palm on her jeans. “In case?”
“I told you, I see you, Flynn. I’ve seen you for fucking years. I’m not blind, and you’re hard to miss.”
“Then why wait so long?”
“Because I told myself you were too young, we’d have nothing common, and you’d never want what I want.”
“Well, we have sweet cars in common. I like turbos too. And …” She paused. “I’ve always wanted kids. I think I’d be good at it. Just do the opposite of what my mom did. Be like yours instead.”
Marcus looked at her, his face unreadable.
“And what about a husband? A bossy Latin husband?”
Flynn laughed, and there was no denying the nervous undercurrent.
“I guess you can try bossing me around, and we can see how that goes.” Her laughter died away.
“No one has ever cared what I did. Good or bad. Might be interesting to try the opposite of that too.” She tried to keep her tone light as she glanced over at him.
“Flynn, you don’t deserve that.”
A lump settled in her chest. “It’s fine. You don’t need to feel bad for me. I’m used to no one giving a shit about me. Until Scarlett, that was just life.”
He turned again and drove slowly down a side street. “I don’t feel bad for you, but damn if I don’t want to change that for you.”
Flynn pressed her lips together, uncertain of what to say.
In all those nights she’d danced at the club, dreaming that Q might see her and finally say something to her, or lead her down a dark hallway and kiss her …
she’d never imagined what the reality of a relationship would be like with him.
She’d had fantasies, for sure. But reality?
That was proving to be something different altogether. Something way more … real.
Flynn swallowed. “Well, I guess we’ll see how step one goes first, right?”