She hoped she wasn’t too overdressed, which meant she had to ponder her choice of outfit for fifteen minutes, deciding whether or not she should change into jeans. She finally texted Laura.

I’m wearing a dress. Is that too much?

Laura replied almost immediately. No. It’s easier for Flynn to take off of you later. Are you wearing your new underwear?

Amelia rolled her eyes. First, we aren’t having sex tonight. His sister is visiting. And yes, I’m wearing new underwear.

Laura replied: If you aren’t planning sex, why the new lingerie—hmmm?

Sometimes her friend was a pain in the ass.

Shut up, Laura.

Laura replied with: LOL. The dress is a good choice. Go have fun tonight and quit second-guessing yourself.

Laura was right, of course. She grabbed her purse and her keys and headed out the door. She was going to enjoy a night out, some dinner, and that was all that was going to happen.

THIRTEEN

After a grueling day at practice, Flynn felt tight in his right quadriceps. He knew better than to ignore it, so he’d had one of the team therapists work him out for about an hour and a half after practice, which meant he was late running all his errands afterward.

He’d planned a menu for tonight’s dinner, and he wanted to have a lot of it done before Amelia showed up.

Fortunately, Mia was home by the time he got there, so he enlisted her help.

“You’re sure going all fancy for dinner,” Mia said.

“Not really. I just want it to be something other than burgers on the grill.”

She nudged him as they stood side by side at the island. “Or because you want to impress your girlfriend, the chef.”

“She’s not my girlfriend, Mia.”

Mia lifted her gaze to his. “But she could be?”

He waited for a few seconds before responding. “I don’t know. I haven’t had much luck in that department lately.”

“This one’s different from the women you typically date, though, right?”

“Yeah. She’s different.”

“Good. I want you to be happy, Flynn. No one deserves that more than you.”

Dammit. He liked it when they teased each other much more than when she got all serious and emotional. He nudged her back. “Thanks, kid.”

And then she nudged him hard. “Not a kid anymore.”

He groaned. “Quit reminding me. And hey, how did your meeting go today?”

“It went well. Everything seems to be on track so far.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“Me, too. I have another meeting tomorrow. I’ll know more after that, but I’m pretty sure it’s going to go well.”

He liked this confident side of his sister, this motivation to build something. “I’m sure it will, too. Do you need anything from me?”

She turned to face him. “Actually, I do.”

That surprised him. “Okay, sure.”

“You can pass me the tomatoes.”

He rolled his eyes. “Smartass.”

Within an hour they had the lasagna in the oven and the salad had been made. Flynn opened a bottle of wine to let it breathe. Mia had gone to the guesthouse to change clothes and make some calls.

The doorbell rang, so Flynn went to answer it.

Amelia looked beautiful. She’d worn her hair down and the wind blew a strand across her cheek.

“Come on in,” he said.

“Thanks.”

She stepped inside and he inhaled a deep breath as she brushed past him. Her scent was always so unique—something sweet like vanilla, but with an exotic undertone. He didn’t know if it was perfume or something she cooked with, but whatever it was, he really liked it.

“A dress tonight, huh?”

She turned around. “Too much?”

He stepped toward her. “No. Definitely not too much. You look beautiful.”

As if she was self-conscious about it, she crossed her arms. “It is too much. I knew I should have worn jeans.”

He wound his arms around her and tugged her against him. “I haven’t had a chance to be alone with you in over a week, Amelia. And you come in dressed like that? No, it’s not too much. You look damn perfect.”

He was going to kiss her but then the back door opened and Amelia took a very large step back and turned around to face his sister.

“Hello, Mia,” Amelia said.

“Hey, Amelia. I’m so glad you came tonight. Flynn’s been going all out on dinner to impress you.”

Flynn frowned as they made their way toward the kitchen. “I have not. I’m just fixing dinner.”

“Oh, right.” Mia grabbed a glass and began to pour wine. “Like you make smoked oysters, crab salad and lobster lasagna every night.”

Amelia lifted a brow. “That sounds very good.”

He shrugged. “I thought it might be.”

And maybe he wanted to impress her. You didn’t just toss burgers on the grill when you had a chef over to dinner. For Mia, he’d totally do that. For Amelia, absolutely not.

Mia poured wine for everyone.

“Let’s go sit in the living room. We have time before dinner.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Amelia asked.

“No,” Flynn said as they made their way to the living room. “Tonight’s your night off and you’re not cooking.”

Amelia took a seat on the sofa and Flynn noticed Mia grabbed a spot on the chair, so he sat next to Amelia.