by Jaci Burton
"I have a lot of things to do tomorrow. Early."
He got up and came over to where she stood, sliding his arms around her. "I get up pretty early."
His body was warm and she was tempted to turn around and curl into him, let him coax her back into his big bed.
But he was dangerous to her mind and her body, and most especially her heart. So she stepped away, turned around and smiled at him. "I had fun tonight. But no. I need to get home."
Fortunately, he read her signals and nodded. "Sure. I'll throw on some clothes and drive you home."
She got dressed and grabbed her things. They got into his SUV and he drove her the short distance to her house. When he got out and walked her to her door, for a split second she thought about inviting him in. But that would defeat the purpose of putting an end to their night together.
She pulled her keys out of her purse, unlocked the door then turned to him. "Tonight was amazing."
He pulled her against him. "I thought so, too. I'll see you soon."
Before she could walk inside, he tugged her close and kissed her. She fell into the kiss, making her wish they were still naked and in his bed.
One time with Flynn was definitely not enough. Her body curved into his and wanted more. So much more. She finally had to break the kiss with her heart and pulse pounding and everything within her trembling with desire.
"Good night, Flynn."
He smiled in that devastating way she could only describe as lethally sexy. "Night, Amelia."
She waited while he walked down the steps and got into his SUV. Since he didn't drive away, she assumed he was waiting for her to get safely inside. Because he was a gentleman, of course. So she went inside and shut and locked the door.
Then exhaled, because she was still pent up and turned on from his kiss and all that body contact on her doorstep.
She tossed her bag on the sofa, shrugged out of her sweater, then went into the kitchen and poured herself a tall glass of wine. She picked up her phone and looked at the time.
It was one in the morning, too late to call Laura so she could talk to her best friend about tonight, which left her alone to dissect her own thoughts.
She took the wine into the bedroom and laid it on the nightstand. She stripped and climbed into bed.
She wasn't remotely tired, so she grabbed the remote and turned the TV on, surfing until she found a movie to watch. She sipped her wine, feeling a hundred times stupid for asking Flynn to take her home.
She actually had nothing to do early tomorrow, she'd just gotten scared listening to him talk about finding his forever woman. She knew that wasn't her, but it didn't mean they couldn't have some fun together in the interim.
So now she was alone in her bed watching an old romance movie on TV where the characters were getting a lot more action than she was right now instead of getting some real-life action with the hottest man she'd ever been with.
She lifted the wineglass and stared at the contents. "Dumbass move, Amelia."
TEN
Flynn had a whirlwind week of practices and meetings. Then he'd had to leave town for a Thursday-night road game against Dallas, so he'd barely had time to breathe.
At least they'd won their game, and winning on the road was always tough. But he hadn't had a chance to talk to Amelia after their time together, and he'd wanted to do that in person. He wasn't much of a texting guy--not with women he was sleeping with. He'd called her to tell her he was going to be out of town all week, and he wanted to see her this weekend. She said she and her friend Laura had planned a girl's weekend to the wine country.
He remembered her mentioning that when the restaurant had first opened, that she'd need time off for this event. He told her he'd talk to her next week.
But right now he felt unsettled, as if that great night they'd had together was unfinished. He wanted to see Amelia. But his sister was flying in this week, and that would put a crimp in his plans.
After practice and the team meeting on Tuesday, Flynn stopped at the restaurant early to take care of some business with Ken, then headed home and cleaned the house. He had a woman who cleaned for him once a week, but he still picked up the kitchen, ran the vacuum, made sure there were extra towels in the guesthouse and stocked the mini fridge for his sister. After, he took a shower and checked his phone. Mia's flight had touched down about thirty minutes ago. She'd texted him and told him she was on her way to get her rental car and she should be at his house within the hour.
Since it was before rush hour, she shouldn't have too much trouble with traffic.
He'd texted his mom to tell her Mia was on the way. She texted back and asked that Mia call her when she got to the house.
His sister might be an adult now, but she was still Mom's baby and Flynn knew it.
He was glad he had a home game this weekend since Mia was in town. Even better, it was the game against St. Louis, which meant she'd get to watch the game where he'd beat up on Grant. He grinned as he thought about it. He'd get to spend extra time with her, and she could come to the restaurant and to the game.
He was in the kitchen fixing some snacks when he heard a car pull into the driveway. He washed and dried his hands and headed outside. Mia was pulling her luggage out of the trunk of the rental car. She looked up at him and grinned.
"Hey," she said.
"Hey yourself." He went over to her and folded her into his arms.
She wrapped her arms around him. "It's really good to be here." She stepped back. "You look good. Been working out?"
He laughed. "Nah, just beating up on guys on Sundays."
"It seems to be working for you."
"You look good, too. And you cut your hair."
She swept her chin-length brown hair behind her ears. "It was getting in my way a lot so it's more functional this way."
He grabbed her luggage and they headed into the house. "You're still gorgeous."
"Thanks."
His sister was beautiful, even more so now that she had cut her long hair. She had the kind of face that made people stop and look twice. It was heart shaped, and she had the sharpest blue eyes in the entire Cassidy family. The fact that she was also the smartest Cassidy didn't hurt, either.
"This place is amazing, Flynn," Mia said as she stepped inside. "I love everything about it. It's got the fifties flair of a Craftsman with all the modern touches. And this kitchen--wow."
He let her wander into the kitchen while he headed toward the back door, where he set her suitcase.
"Thanks. I really like it. You want a tour?"
"You know I do."
He took her around the upstairs, where the bedrooms were, then out back, along the walkway leading to the guesthouse.
"I love this," she said as he set her luggage just inside the door. "It's perfect for guests. You give them plenty of privacy with a bedroom, bath and living area, a wet bar and mini fridge for snacking, and yet it's still close enough to the main house. And still far enough away not to infringe on your action."
He laughed. "There's no action going on in the main house. Not at the moment anyway."
She gave him a wry smile. "Too bad for you."
"Why don't you get unpacked? I was fixing lunch for us when you drove up. I should have that finished when you're done."
"Okay."
He started to turn to leave, then stopped. "Oh, and call Mom and let her know you're here. I told her you would."
"I'll do that right now."
He left and went into the kitchen. The water had already been on to heat when he heard Mia drive up, so he kicked it into high gear. When it started boiling he put in the penne pasta, then made a salad and dressing.
Mia came in.
"Something smells good. What can I do to help?"
He handed her a knife and motioned to the cutting board. "Slice bread."
"I can do that." She washed and dried her hands at the sink, then began to slice the bread. "It's weird seeing you in the kitchen."
He pulled his focus from the salad and put it onto Mia. "Weird how?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I'm just not used to seeing you so . . . in charge here."
"I like to cook. I've helped Mom cook tons of times."
"Maybe I just wasn't paying attention. How's the restaurant going?"
"Good so far. We'll eat there tonight."
"I can't wait. I'm planning to be extremely critical."
He forced back a smile. "You do that."
He drained the pasta and poured the sun-dried tomato pesto sauce over it, adding basil and fresh Parmesan.
"My stomach is growling loud and insistent over here," Mia said, laying the bread into a basket. "And that looks amazing."
"Of course it's amazing. I cooked it."
"I'll decide if it tastes as good as it smells."
"Prepare to be wowed."
She rolled her eyes and they headed into the dining room. Flynn had already set the table, so all he had to do was pour iced tea for them and bring in the salad.
He waited while Mia dug into the salad. "Balsamic vinaigrette?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"Really good and not from a bottle. I can tell because that bottled stuff is crap."
"Picky, aren't you?"
"Absolutely." She scooped up some of the pasta next, and made a "mmm" sound. "This is really good, Flynn."
He grinned. "Thanks."
They ate and chatted about his football season and her year at school.
"Are you thinking of entering the PhD program as soon as you finish your master's?"
She took a sip of iced tea, then set the glass down. "I don't know. It's a long commitment and to be honest, I'm kind of burned out on school. I'd like to work for a while."
She paused, pushing her food around on the plate. Flynn knew his sister, and he knew that meant she had something on her mind she wanted to talk about, so he waited.
"Actually, what I'd really like is to start my own business."
His brows shot up. "Seriously?"
She nodded.
"What kind of business?"
"I've been floating around an idea that's gaining steam, at least in my head."
"And what's your idea?"
She paused again, this time taking a few more bites of food. He wanted to ask her, but he knew he had to be patient while she worked out in her head how she wanted to say whatever it was she wanted to say to him.
"A sports management company."
He laughed. "You hate sports."
She frowned. "I do not. How could I hate sports? My entire life has been deeply immersed in it."
"Yeah, and you complained about it constantly."
"Okay, maybe I did say I hated all jocks and everything having to do with sports or the mention of sports or anything connected to sports. But that was then and this is now. And now sports is a mega-billion-dollar industry and if there's one thing I know a lot about, it's sports and athletes."
He could tell this was something she was not only serious about, but passionate about, so he reined in his initial objections. If there was one thing he knew about Mia, it was that she would never jump into something without thoroughly vetting it. "Okay. Tell me your thought process."
"If there's one thing an athlete needs during the course of his career, it's cohesion. He--or she--is bombarded with contracts and lawyers and social media and marketing. I intend to offer a one-stop shop, if you will. One place where they can be offered not only training before they're even drafted, but also how to manage every aspect of their career, from legal to financial to public relations to social. And I intend to do it better than anyone else by hiring the best people out there, from agents to lawyers to the best PR people in the sports management game."
Flynn blinked. "Wow. You really have thought about this."
"Not only have I thought about it, I've been talking to a lot of people who are interested in coming on board. I honestly believe I can do this, Flynn. I might not have the years of experience, but I've got the family name, which I never thought I'd use, but if it works to get me in the door, then I'll use my knowledge after that to get athletes on board."
He leaned back in his chair and took several large swallows of iced tea. When had his baby sister grown up and become a power player in the world of sports? It was the absolute last thing he'd ever expected.
Mia leaned her forearms on the table. "You're very quiet and it's making me nervous."
"I'm just . . . Wow, Mia. This is huge. Have you talked to Mom and Dad about this yet?"
"I haven't talked to anyone in the family about this. You're the first."
He felt honored that Mia had chosen him to discuss the possibility of a future business with. "This is a big damn deal, Mia. You realize that, right?"
"Of course I do, Flynn. This isn't me with a notebook drawing hearts and circles and a maybe someday I'll be a mogul kind of thing. I'm damn serious about this, I've done the financial research and I believe I have the skills to make a success of this venture."
If anyone could do this, it was his sister. "I believe you do, too. Now tell me who you have lined up as players in your company."
She listed two agents, two attorneys, and a handful of highly successful people in the PR world. And he recognized every name. They were all power players in the industry.
"No shit. All of these people would join your company."
"Yes."
"And how did you convince them?"
"By giving them a list of the prospective clients I have who have agreed to come on board. Not to mention who they could bring. Together, we could have one hell of a dynamite company in the first year alone. I'm hardly a dumbass, Flynn. I've written one-year, five-year and ten-year business plans."
Of course she had. For someone who wasn't even twenty-five years old yet, his sister had the potential to be an ass kicker.
"Where would you set up shop?"
"Here in San Francisco. That's one of the main reasons I'm here. I do have a meeting set up at Stanford, but I also have other meetings as well. And after this I'll be flying down to L.A. to meet with some key players in my potential business venture."
He was stunned. She'd done her homework. This wasn't a pipe dream for her, a someday kind of thing. This was . . . right now. "Jesus, Mia. I don't even know what to say."
She smiled. "Say you support me."
"Hell, I'll do more than that. Do you need investors?"
She laughed. "Not yet, but I appreciate it. I have investments from the money Grandpa left me. I intend to use that and I'll get business loans. I want to do this all on my own."
"You know Mom and Dad won't want you to go into debt."
"And I don't want this to be a company that Mom and Dad bought for me. I'll do it my way."
Argumentative and stubborn, as always. "I think it's a great idea, Mia. Now you have to tell Mom and Dad."
"We'll see how everything goes this trip. It's not a one hundred percent done deal yet, but I can't tell you how good it makes me feel that you believe in me."
"Honey, you could shovel shit for a living or decide your next goal is to win the Nobel Peace Prize and I'd be in your corner. I love you."
Tears welled in Mia's eyes. She pushed her chair back, came around and hugged him. "I love you, too, Flynn."
Having taken all this in was not only a surprise, but the details of it had been more than a little overwhelming. All this time he'd been thinking his baby sister was going to stay in school. He'd always thought maybe she'd go into teaching.
This was anything but teaching.
He knew plans changed, but . . . wow. "Now I need a beer."
She laughed. "Me, too."
After lunch they cleaned up the kitchen, then headed to Toronado on Haight Street, one of Flynn's favorite beer bars. Mia had a Valencia Gold and Flynn had a Blind Pig.
"So why haven't you talked about this with Mom and Dad yet?" he asked as they sipped their beers.
She s
hrugged, staring at her mug. "I want to be sure first. Mom will be supportive and let me make my own decisions. But you know how Dad is. He's pushy. He'll want to know everything, and get all up in my business, and then he'll take out the checkbook. That's the last thing I want. I have to do this--succeed or fail--on my own."
He understood that need to make a success out of yourself on your own merits. He'd been walking in his father's footsteps his entire life, but he'd like to think he'd forged his own way, had made a name for himself on his talents alone. Otherwise he wouldn't have been playing as long as he had. The Cassidy name could only take a football player so far. After that, you had to make it or break it on talent, sweat and hard work.
And as he looked across the table at his sister, he realized the fire that had burned in his belly all those years ago when he'd first started out in his career burned just as hot in her. She knew exactly what she wanted and she was going after it.
He reached out and grabbed her hand. "You can do this. All on your own. I know you can."
"Thanks." She inhaled deeply, then blew out a breath. "Now that it's out in the open, at least with one member of the family, it's starting to feel real. I have a lot to do."
He laughed. "Yeah, you do. But before you go charging full steam ahead with this new venture, tell Mom and Dad."
"Well, I have a lot to do before I talk to them. I want to be sure everyone is on board and I have something to present to our parents that's real and tangible."
They finished their beers and went back to his house, then sat and talked for hours about her business plan. He had to admit he was impressed. She had it all laid out, had a vision, had her chosen personnel and her financing in place. She knew exactly what she wanted and was confident in her approach. With every passing minute he knew for a fact she could make this business a success.
But she'd have to work damn hard at it. He didn't doubt she would. Just like he didn't doubt she'd succeed. And he'd continue to worry about her because that was his job.
"You know, I get that you're all into being your own woman and self-reliant and all that shit, but if you ever need me, I'm right here. And I'm serious about being an investor. If you need me at all, I won't get in your way. I'll just fork over money and wait for you to double my investment."
"I know that. And thanks. The money part I might definitely consider."
He caught and held her gaze. "I mean it, Mia. I'm not just blowing smoke. If you need me for anything."
"And I meant it when I said I know, Flynn. You've always been there when I needed you. I don't doubt you will be in the future."