Flynn spent the next twenty-four hours thinking about his conversation with Cassie. He’d gone to talk about how she was the inspiration for a new character…and yet somehow they’d ended up talking about him.
He’d opened up to her more than he had to anyone else. He’d told her he didn’t know the first thing about happiness. He’d admitted that he was terrified about whether he had what it took to raise Ruby well. And he’d confessed that his parents hadn’t been good ones.
Only to have her give him the pep talk of all pep talks—and genuinely seem to mean every word.
Flynn had never felt guiltier about being a lying son of a bitch.
The next morning, he and Ruby were up early enough to hit the park in the square before he took her to Beth’s. Yesterday afternoon, Flynn had discovered how much Ruby loved being pushed on the swings. No less delighted today, she kicked her feet and clapped her hands with every push.
Sometimes, when Flynn looked at his little girl, he wasn’t sure his heart could withstand the force of his feelings. He’d never known anyone could be so sweet, so pure, so ready to be happy.
Except for Cassie.
He didn’t let himself second-guess his urge to make a detour toward Cassie’s Confections on the way to Beth’s house. He might not be able to give Cassie the truth, but he could at least give her a few minutes with his adorable other half.
Now that Ruby’s tooth was in, she was a bundle of joy. All morning, she’d been giggling as she played with Ellie the elephant, then her new striped socks by pulling them off and throwing them across the room, then a beautifully colored leaf that had fallen into her stroller. Everything seemed a wonder to her as she happily played, whether with his participation or independently.
In Los Angeles, they’d both been wary, nervous, anxious. But in Cassie’s cabin in the woods, with the forest literally at their doorstep and some time with Beth and the dog at the Sullivan family home, Ruby seemed to have a totally new outlook on life. One that Flynn longed to share with her, if not for his guilt over lying to Cassie—and by extension, her whole family.
They were soon at her office, his heart pounding fast as he rang the bell. Flynn hadn’t been this nervous about seeing a woman since he was seventeen and newly arrived in Los Angeles. Already six foot four before he was out of his teens, he hadn’t quite filled out by that point, but he’d soon realized that whatever it was women seemed to like, he had. Thirty pounds of muscle later, he’d never had trouble getting a date.
And yet, though he wasn’t trying to date Cassie, here he was with sweaty palms and a racing heart.
“Flynn! Ruby!” Cassie beamed at them both as she opened the door, and when she immediately reached down to unbuckle Ruby from the stroller, pick her up, and cuddle her, he wasn’t at all surprised. In fact, he would have been surprised if she hadn’t.
He couldn’t help but compare her instinctive need to pepper Ruby with kisses every time she saw the baby to the way his ex had reacted to Ruby. Anja had not only never hugged or kissed Ruby, she had barely looked at her before saying good-bye.
“This is the best surprise ever,” Cassie said as she brought Ruby through to her workshop and Flynn followed, leaving the stroller outside. He would never have done that in LA, but he couldn’t imagine anyone in Bar Harbor making a run for it with his stroller, no matter how expensive it was.
He couldn’t help but continue to make comparisons, this time between Bar Harbor and Los Angeles. Southern California had been a huge step up from the desolate back of nowhere in which he’d grown up, but he’d still been looking over his shoulder in Hollywood, still been on edge, still operated with a base level of suspicion toward everyone around him.
Whereas here in northern Maine, it was starting to sink into his extremely hard head that suspicion would be nothing more than a waste of time. Especially when he had so many Sullivans on his side.
“I thought you might like to see Ruby before I dropped her off with your mom,” he said. “And I knew she would be thrilled to see you.” Just like I am.
“That’s so thoughtful of you to bring your sweet little girl to see me.” Cassie looked at him as though he’d just given her the world’s greatest gift.
When he’d given her diamonds, she’d been horrified and couldn’t wait to return them. But she would happily accept the gift of time with Ruby any day of the week.
Something cold inside his heart began to thaw, just from watching Cassie with Ruby as she made the stuffed elephant talk.
“Ruby,” she said in her silly Ellie the Elephant voice, “your eyes shine brighter than any jewel. Your smile is prettier than a rose garden. And your kisses are sweeter than all the candy in the world.”
Ruby giggled, the same delightful sound that he was lucky enough to listen to all day long.
“She’s happy.” He knew Cassie could see this for herself, but it felt good to say the words aloud.
“She sure is.” Cassie gave Ruby another kiss. “Good job, Dad.”
He hadn’t been fishing for compliments and still didn’t believe them when they came. “It’s being with you, and your mom, and getting to live in your cabin and be outside in the woods that’s doing it.”
“All of that might be helping out a little bit,” Cassie replied, “but like I told you yesterday, it’s you making her happy.”
He opened his mouth to argue with her, but her sudden peal of laughter stopped him. Ruby was holding the elephant now, waving it in the air the way Cassie moved the stuffed animal when she made it talk, while making little singsong sounds.
“Look at how smart she is, making Ellie talk and move all on her own!” Cassie exclaimed. “It obviously runs in the family. Just watch, she’s going to end up being a brilliant storyteller, just like her daddy.”
It was amazing how easily she said the word daddy, as though it was unthinkable that Flynn wouldn’t have what it took to step up to the plate and be a great father to Ruby.
“If I end up having a story to tell.”
“You will.” She mimicked the notoriously morose donkey from the children’s books in Ruby’s bag, obviously poking fun at his response. Flynn couldn’t remember the last time anyone had teased him like this. Probably because it had never happened. “After all,” she continued, her smile back in place, “you have me to inspire you.”
When she laughed again, clearly not taking herself at all seriously, her laughter lit up the same part of his heart that Ruby’s giggles did.
Just then, his phone buzzed. Before he could pull it from his pocket, she said, “I’m going to bet that’s Mom getting angsty about seeing her little treasure.”
He read the message and nodded. “I should take her over now.”
“You’ll come back, won’t you?”
He liked Cassie’s obvious desire to spend time with him, more than he should given that she could never be his. But if all he could have was the next few weeks together learning the heart and soul of what made her who she was, he would take it.
“I will. After all,” he said with a smile, “I still need to get to know you better.”
When she smiled back, he found he couldn’t look away from her beautiful face. Another text buzzing in from her mother finally got him back on track, buckling Ruby into her stroller and walking down the street to the Sullivan family home.
* * *
Cassie’s mother and Ruby couldn’t have been happier to see each other.
Again, Cassie’s father was out, leaving Flynn feeling as though he’d just had his reprieve extended. Flynn wouldn’t be surprised if the first time Ethan Sullivan got him alone, Cassie’s father sent him out to walk the proverbial plank—and he wouldn’t blame him for it either.
He was halfway back to Cassie’s office when he passed a flower shop. Her smile was so radiant, he wanted to do whatever he could to make her smile again. Inside, he nearly bought the biggest, showiest bouquet. But then he realized it would be like giving her the diamond bracelet—meant more to impress than to give joy.
He stood studying the flowers for a few minutes. Which ones would Cassie like best? Her candy confections were incredibly colorful. No shrinking violet, his Cassie.
He caught himself a moment too late. She wasn’t his. She couldn’t be his.
But he was still going to buy her flowers, damn it.
In the end, his instincts told him to go with an array of bright Gerbera daisies in red, orange, coral, pink, and yellow. The woman at the register asked if he wanted them sent over, but he wanted the pleasure of seeing Cassie’s reaction.
Flynn had never walked down any street carrying a bouquet of flowers before. Passers-by smiled at him, the kind of smile you gave a man when you knew he was about to make his sweetheart’s day.
If only they knew the truth: that Cassie deserved flowers from a far better man than he. Why was she still single? It was something he didn’t understand—one of the many things where she was concerned, actually. There should be men lining up around the block to be with her.
Then again, perhaps he shouldn’t be so surprised. Men, in his experience, could be complete idiots.
Once again, he was standing at her office door, his heart pounding a little too fast. These nerves were becoming a regular thing where Cassie was concerned.
He rang the bell, but when she didn’t come, and figuring she may have left it unlocked because she knew he was coming back, he decided to try the door. He called out to let her know he was in the building, and he was pleased by how happy she sounded when she told him to come on back.
He wouldn’t win any points for wishing he might find her nearly naked again…but that didn’t stop him from wishing anyway.
Of course, when he walked into her workshop, she was fully clothed, with the added layer of an apron. Her back was to him as she counted out gumdrops from a jar behind her.
“Flynn, perfect timing! I was just about to—”
Her words fell away as she glanced at him over her shoulder and saw the flowers.
“I bought these for you.” He felt like a thirteen-year-old with a crush on the most unattainable girl in school. “I hope you like them.”
The candy fell out of her hands as she spun around to take them from him. “Are you kidding? I love them.” She inhaled their scent, a look of utter bliss on her face.
He half hated himself for a sudden, and rather desperate, fantasy of seeing that blissful look on her face in bed, the sheets tangled around them, her skin flushed and warm beneath him as he made love to her.
“No one has ever bought me flowers before.” Her words yanked him from his fantasy, and he realized she was smiling shyly at him. “Thank you, they’re beautiful.”
Not nearly as beautiful as you are.
Selfishly, he was glad that he was the first man ever to give her flowers. After he and Ruby headed back to California, maybe Cassie would think of him whenever she saw daisies.
Because he already knew he wouldn’t be able to stop thinking of her.
She filled a tall glass container with water for the flowers. “How did you know Gerbera daisies are my favorite?”
He very nearly punched his fist in the air at having gotten it right. “Everything you make is so bright and colorful—I wanted to find flowers that matched what you do with candy.”
She gave him a look he couldn’t quite read. “Once I’ve put these in water, I have to show you something.” She was both efficient and delicate as she arranged the flowers in the makeshift vase. Then she wiped her hands and reached for one of the binders on the corner of the counter. She flipped through a few pages, before turning the open page so that he could see it.
He looked at the photo, then up at her in surprise. “You made a confection that looks just like the bouquet.”
She nodded. “It’s almost as though you had seen it and asked the florist to put together the same custom bouquet.”
Flynn had never put much stock in the idea of being so in tune with another person that you could read their mind. And yet, now that Cassie had shown him this picture…
“What did you make this for?”
“Last year, we had a pretty rough winter. I couldn’t afford to buy flowers every week, so I decided I’d make a more permanent display.” She laughed as she added, “More like semi-permanent, since I kept popping the petals into my mouth. One day I realized I’d deadheaded all of my candy flowers.”
“I’ve never met anyone like you, Cassie.” When her laughter fell away, he realized how serious his statement sounded. “I mean that in a good way.”
“I’ve never met anyone like you either.” Though she wasn’t smiling as she said it, she added, “I mean that in a good way too.”
“You shouldn’t.” His words were low. Rough.
“Something you’re going to learn about me, if you haven’t figured it out already, is that I don’t appreciate being told what to do.” For someone so cheerful, she had a spine of steel. “I like you, Flynn. So you’re just going to have to get used to it.” With that, she gathered up the candy pieces that had scattered on the counter and went back to work. “Now, should we get started with your character interview stuff so that you can nail your new screenplay?”
He was still a good half-dozen steps behind her. Still trying to process how she could possibly think so highly of him. Before now, he’d only ever gotten points for his screenwriting skill—and if he was going to take it into the gutter, for his skills in the bedroom. But not only had Cassie never seen one of his movies, he’d come nowhere near making her cry out with pleasure.
And yet…she liked him anyway.
Tonight, he’d surely be up pondering this. But for now, she was right—he needed to get to work if he was going to have a prayer of making his deadline. It was time to start his character research.
The prettiest, sweetest, sexiest research he’d ever had the good fortune to do.
“Sure, let’s get started.” He sat on a stool and pulled out his notebook. “When I’m trying to figure out a character, I ask the same three questions about them: What has happened to turn their world upside down? What are they afraid of? And why don’t they think they can conquer that fear to set their world back to rights?”
He let himself enjoy watching her work. She had a dusting of cocoa powder across her cheek, her hair was falling out of its ponytail, and her lips looked like she’d been chewing on them.
In other words, she was perfect.
“What has happened to turn your world upside down, Cassie?”
“Nothing.” She laughed at her lightning-quick response. “I warned you—no skeletons. No secrets. Apart from dating a few losers, like most women my age, thankfully there’s been nothing truly bad in my life.”
Though he wasn’t surprised by her answer—he was more glad than anything, because he couldn’t stand the thought of her being hurt—he said, “How about we try this from another angle? When was the last time you cried?” And if it turned out that some jerk had hurt her, he’d personally go hunt the guy down and tear him limb from limb.
She bit her lip, thinking. “If you really want to know, I watched Trolls again, and it made me cry.”
“You did?” He thought back to the plot. “Why?”
“Because when the grumpy troll finally opens up his heart to save the happy troll—when he risks facing his own demons for her—it is just so beautiful.”
His brain spun in circles as he tried to follow. “I want to make sure I have this straight: The last time you were sad, it was because you were happy?”
She gave him an I-told-you-so look. “Using me as a character reference is already driving you bonkers, isn’t it?”
Maybe he really was going a little crazy. Because instead of being irritated that he couldn’t quite understand her responses to his questions, he was more intrigued than ever.
By her unshakable cheeriness.
By her brilliant talent with candy as she created a masterpiece before his eyes.
Not to mention the breathtakingly hot sight of her gorgeous curves the previous morning. He wouldn’t forget the sight of those anytime soon.
In his previous life—which was what he’d started calling Los Angeles in his head—he would have scoffed at the entire idea of happy tears.
Tears of rage. Tears of sorrow. Tears of pain. Those were all things he could wrap his head around, emotions he regularly wrote about in his screenplays.
But tears of joy? Tears of laughter? Tears born of so much happiness that they couldn’t be contained?
It was entirely new ground for Flynn. Ground he wasn’t quite sure how to navigate, but knew he needed to anyway. Otherwise, his stories would forever remain one-dimensional. Obvious. Built to a cookie-cutter pattern.
No wonder he’d had to throw out his draft. At long last, it was time to work outside of the box, time to push himself into new territory.
“What else makes you happy-cry?” he asked.
“A perfect sunset. My mom’s slow-cooked corned beef and cabbage. When my entire family is in town and we’re all laughing together. Every time I hear about one of my cousins getting engaged, or having a baby. I could keep listing things forever.” She smiled. “Your turn.”
He shook his head. “I can’t think of anything.”
“Come on.” She looked up from her candy Town Hall as she urged him to think harder about his answer. “Something must move you enough to bring tears to your eyes.”
She was right. His knee-jerk response hadn’t been honest. It was more that he’d been telling lies like that for so long, he’d come to believe them himself.
If he wanted to write a better screenplay, it might not be enough to dig deep into Cassie’s mind, heart, and past.
He might have to dig into his own too.
And then it hit him. “The first time Ruby put her arms around me. Knowing she’d given me her trust.” He felt his eyes getting damp just thinking about it. “I knew I loved her. With everything I am, forever and ever.”
“She knows a good man when she sees him.” Cassie’s eyes looked a little glassy now too. “She loves you so much, Flynn. Just as much as you love her.”
He was glad when one of the gumdrops rolled across the stainless-steel worktop toward him, because it gave him a few moments to reach for it, pop it into his mouth, and pull himself together.
He picked up his pen and wrote happy tears in his notebook. Research had always been one of the easier parts of his job—talking with a cop, interviewing a chef, poring over documents in a library. It had certainly never involved his emotions. And no subject had ever turned his questions back on him.
It was why he was stalling, rather than moving directly to his second question about what she was afraid of. He wasn’t a good enough liar to believe that Cassie wasn’t going to ask him what he was afraid of.
Unsurprisingly, she must have sensed him warring with himself, because without any prompting, she answered his follow-up question. “I’m afraid of something bad happening to my parents, to my siblings, to my cousins and their kids, to my friends.” She shook her head. “And since I haven’t had much practice dealing with difficult things, I’m afraid that if someone I love did end up hurt in a terrible way, I’d crumble.”
“You wouldn’t.” He knew it with every fiber of his being. “I sure as hell hope everyone important to you stays healthy and happy, but if something bad did happen, you’d be their pillar of strength. Always there with a smile, with laughter that they desperately need, and with the fortitude to keep moving forward even when it might feel easier just to stop.”
She had stopped working and was staring at him now. “How can you know that?”
“Same way you always know exactly how I feel about Ruby. In some ways, you’re a complete mystery to me, with your happy-crying and your endless love for little animated trolls.” Just saying it made his mouth quirk up at the corner. “And still, I get you, Cassie.”
“I get you too, don’t I, Flynn?”
“You might be just about the only person who does.”