Cassie hadn’t looked at her phone since yesterday’s hike. When she got into her car and finally thought to pull it out of her bag and check it, she found a half-dozen texts from her sisters. First, asking if she wanted to meet for a drink after work. Then, when she didn’t answer, asking if she was with Flynn. And this morning, another round of texts insisting that she tell them everything and that they’d be waiting to have breakfast together in Lola’s studio.
She sent a quick text saying she would be there in half an hour, then put her phone back into her bag and got on her way.
She didn’t blame her sisters for wanting the details. If she were in their shoes, she would expect the same. The three of them had had their arguments over the years, but they also had each other’s backs, no matter what. There was nothing Cassie couldn’t say to her sisters.
It was what she wanted from Flynn—for him to know that he could trust her with absolutely everything.
Was that too much to ask?
All she knew was that after spending a night in his arms—and after experiencing such sweet pleasure that she was still reeling—she wanted to feel that close to him always.
But how could they ever get there if he couldn’t trust her?
And, more important, trust himself.
In her apartment, she took a quick shower, then threw on jeans and a tank top. Bang on thirty minutes, she walked into Lola’s studio, where she could hear her sisters chatting.
“Your coffee delivery is here.” She handed Lola and Ashley the to-go cups, then walked over to admire the new fabric designs her sister had pinned up around the room. “These are gorgeous. This magenta one is practically glowing.”
“That’s your glow you’re seeing reflecting back at you.” Lola scanned Cassie from head to toe. “Well, well, well. I haven’t seen you look this satisfied in…pretty much ever.”
Ashley was also regarding her with a laser focus. “Did you stay the night with Flynn?”
Cassie couldn’t hold back her smile. For all that her relationship with Flynn was nowhere near settled, she was still incredibly happy.
“I did.”
“And…?”
She hadn’t held back with Flynn this morning, and she wasn’t going to hold back with her sisters either. “I’m in love with him. And Ruby too.”
Lola and Ashley shared a look.
“Go ahead,” Cassie said. “Whatever the two of you are thinking, spit it out.”
“First,” Ashley said, “I think it’s great that you and Flynn had a hot night together. After all these sex-free years I’ve been having, I can definitely see the upside of a night with a guy who knows what he’s doing. Which, from your glow, he clearly does. But…” She looked at Lola again, who nodded for her to continue. “We also want to make sure that you’re not so busy swooping in with your Superwoman cape to take care of Flynn and Ruby that you forget to take care of yourself.”
“I’m not.” When her sisters both raised their eyebrows at her quick denial, Cassie said, “I’m not going to deny that they’ve brought out the nurturer in me.” She tried to figure out the best way to explain what she was feeling. “But it’s so much more than that. Ruby is a ball of joy, so of course I love spending time with her. And Flynn—no one has ever seen me the way he does. I’m not talking about my looks, although he does seem to like them quite a bit, which is lovely. But me. Just as I want to understand what makes him tick, he wants to know all the same things about me. And when I’m with him…” She smiled again. “I’ve never been so happy. Or felt so absolutely certain that I’m in exactly the right place, with exactly the person I’m meant to be with. You were trying to get us together from the beginning, Lola, and whatever instinct possessed you to do that, you were right. It might have taken me a little while to come around to the truth, but now I’m one hundred percent certain that he’s the one for me.”
“Wow.” Lola looked more than a little shell-shocked. “And here I thought you were just going to tell us about your night of hot sex. You really are in love with him, aren’t you?”
Cassie nodded. “And he’s in love with me too.”
“Did he say that?” Ashley asked, her eyes huge.
“No.” Cassie plopped down on Lola’s comfy couch. “He’s too busy saying he’s not good enough for me to get those other three words out.”
“Wait a second,” Lola said, holding up her hand before Cassie could say more. “I want to make sure I have everything straight. After a week of will-we-won’t-we, the two of you finally got it on last night, at which point you told Flynn that you’re in love with him, and he said—”
“I should wait for a much ‘better’ guy to come riding in on his white horse for me.”
“I take it he thinks his viewpoint is warranted?” Ashley asked.
“His story isn’t mine to tell,” Cassie said. “But yes, he’s convinced that his past has to define his future. He’s wrong, though. And I was hoping you two might have the magic answers so I can get him to see it.”
Lola held up her hands. “If you’re looking for me to possess some sort of love potion, you’re talking to the wrong girl. The best you’re going to get out of me is a killer dress for your awards ceremony this weekend. Which,” she said as she unzipped it from its hanger, “is ready for your final fitting.”
When Cassie turned to Ashley for input, her sister said, “You know I’m not exactly Little Miss Sunshine when it comes to matters of the heart. And the truth is that I think I understand some of what Flynn is feeling. Because once you’ve screwed up badly enough, you’re never quite convinced that you won’t mess up again just as badly.”
Cassie hated that Ashley was still beating herself up over getting pregnant in high school. “What would it take to convince you to risk your heart again, Ash?”
“The guy would have to be great with Kevin.”
“Obviously,” Cassie said. “But what about you? How would he have to treat you? What would he have to do to break down your walls and make you look at everything in a new light?”
“I’m going to need a few minutes to think that one through,” Ashley said, “so you might as well go put on the dress.”
Cassie went into Lola’s changing area, quickly shed her jeans and shirt, then shimmied into the formfitting dress. Slipping on the heels Lola had thoughtfully sourced for her to wear with it, she tied her hair into a knot in an updo and walked back out.
Both of her sisters whistled. “Damn, you really are gorgeous in my dress.” Lola whipped out her phone and started taking pictures before Cassie could stop her. In any case, she was far more interested in hearing what Ashley had to say.
“Have you come up with an answer yet, Ash?” Cassie asked.
“I’d have to know that the person I was risking my heart for loved me no matter what.” Ashley’s expression was as serious as Cassie had even seen it. “And even if I did screw up because I was scared, or if I tried to push him away—and I’m thinking both of those things are pretty much a given considering my emotional battle scars at this point—he’d have to prove to me that he wasn’t going anywhere. That he had faith in me, and in us, to weather anything that came our way.”
“So you’re not asking for much, then?” Lola teased.
Ashley huffed out a laugh. “I’m certainly not holding my breath that Mr. Perfect is going to show up anytime soon—on a white horse, or otherwise.” She shot Cassie a rueful look. “Sorry I’m not more help.”
“Actually, you’ve been a huge help. Both of you.”
“How?” Lola asked.
“Well, Ashley has confirmed that I was right to tell Flynn this morning that I’m not going to give up on him, no matter what.” She grimaced slightly. “I kind of yelled it at him, actually.”
“You?” Ashley’s eyebrows went up. “Yelling?”
“He was being utterly infuriating and stubborn.”
“I swear, this is getting more interesting by the second,” Lola murmured. “In any case, you were getting to how I’ve helped…?”
“You’ve given me the dress of a lifetime. So even if Flynn believes the right thing to do is keep his distance from me, I’m fully confident that your dress will make him lose control again. If I can convince Flynn to go with me to Portland for the awards ceremony, will you guys help Mom watch Ruby? I know he came to Maine with Ruby for the chance to be anonymous, but maybe if he knows he has our support, he’ll consider trying to live a normal life where he doesn’t have to wear glasses and baseball caps and sit in corners every time he goes out.”
“I’d love to help,” Ashley said. “And Kevin will be thrilled to get to spend more time with her.”
“As long as I don’t have to change diapers,” Lola said, “I’m in too. In fact, I’ve been mulling over creating some fabric for a girls’ line. Ruby would be the perfect model.”
“Great. I’ll text Mom to make sure she’s free too, in case Flynn says yes. Now I just need to figure out a way to get him on board with my plan.” Cassie looked down at her dress. “Maybe I should wear this when I ask him, in case I need to seduce him into going to the ceremony with me.”
“I know I’ve teased you more than once about making more of your sex appeal,” Lola said, “but you’ve always led with your heart. Regardless of how great your night was in the sack with Flynn, it’s your huge heart that he’s fallen for. And it’s that same big heart that is going to make him realize that he doesn’t have to beat himself up anymore over his past, because you’re always going to be there to love him.”
“I agree one million percent,” Ashley said. “You’ve got one of the biggest hearts of anyone I’ve ever known. Flynn would have to be a fool to throw that away…even if there’s a little yelling, here or there,” she added with a teasing glint in her eyes.
“But just in case there do need to be some sexy hijinks along the way to convince Flynn to see sense—” Lola went over to one of her cabinets, pulled out a couple of condoms, and gave them to Cassie. “Now you’re ready for anything.”
Cassie eyes were wet as she hugged her sisters. “I love you guys.”