Winter's Heart (6 page)

Almost reluctantly, Julianna smiled, “It would almost be worth it.”

Shaking her head, Flynn laughed, “I think it would be better to find a magic lamp with a genie inside and get a couple of wishes. That way you get to have the experience of wealth or fame and if it all turns to shit, you can use the last wish to return everything to the way it was.”

“Unless the wishes are irrevocable and you’ve screwed the pooch.”

“Hopefully not literally,” Flynn laughed.

Around eleven, Flynn stood up and stretched, feeling the ache from sitting in one place for too long. All morning, the place had been a hive of activity with catalogs and samples flying back and forth between the front area and the back. For the past ten minutes, however, there was a heightened awareness and Flynn knew one of the celebrities they catered to was out front. She briefly wondered which one but since she knew she’d never meet him or her, she figured there was no point in putting her job on the line just to get an introduction.

Until Jennifer sighed in rapturous glee and Flynn could have sworn she heard the girl say, “Winter Mitchell.” Her curiosity got the better of her and she had to know if Winter actually came to Gilded Dreams and if so, why. With her heart doing a mad dance in her chest, she slowly made her way to the front room, ignoring the excited voice that whispered in her head that maybe he was there for her.

Stepping through the door that separated the chaos from the calm, she froze when she saw him, an
sexy smile on his lickable lips. He was standing casually, leaning against the wall and listening to whatever Gwyneth was saying to him. Why did it have to be Gwyneth, with her Nordic beauty and carefully crafted charm? If Flynn didn’t know the woman so well, she would think Gwyn was the sweetest, most sincere person on the planet.

She was one hell of an actress and that was saying something in the land of make believe.

He laughed and Flynn’s stomach twisted into knots because he was laughing with Gwyneth in the same easy manner he laughed at her. No, with her… as he laughed
with
her. She was about to return to the back room when his laughter abruptly stopped and he looked directly at her. She froze and then she melted. His intense blue eyes burned right into her, as if seeing everything, and he crossed the room to take her hands in his. Though it was subtle and she doubted most people would even see the difference, his smile was warmer than it had been.

“Flynn,” he said, his voice curling around her and kissing her skin with its heat. “Just the event coordinator I was looking for.”

Flynn’s eyes darted to Gwyneth in time to see the scathing scowl the blond shot her way. If glares were arrows, Flynn would have been pierced through the heart. Licking her lips, she forced a smile to her numb face, “Mr. Mitchell.”

“Missy wanted me to pick you up so we can discuss venues,” he said and the infinitesimal seed of hope withered within her. He was only there to discuss business, not to see her. Duh.

“Of course,” she managed, pleased that her voice didn’t betray her disappointment. “Let me just grab my purse and we can be on our way.”

“Fantastic.” She had to blink because his smile really was blinding and it took her another moment to remember she still had to go to the back room to actually get her purse. Plus, she had to get her tablet, even though she hadn’t had the time to figure it out.

As she turned to leave, she couldn’t help but look at him once more. She stumbled over her feet when she saw him watching her with naked lust. But as soon as he saw her face, the primitive sexual hunger quickly faded from his expression until he was wearing his affable grin once more and she wasn’t sure if she actually saw what she thought she saw or if it had been her own desires playing tricks on her.

As soon as
Flynn had gathered her stuff, Gwyneth burst through the door and made a bee line straight for Flynn, her eyes flaming with fury. Her entire body radiated malice and Flynn froze as the beautiful woman became an ugly beast, screaming, “How dare you waltz out there and steal my client!”

“Um, he’s not a client at all, not really,” Flynn said, unable to explain who he was in regards to Storm. His guardian? His mother's lover? Fake lover?

“Really,” Gwyneth sneered, her blood red nails suddenly looking like ten little weapons as she pressed her index finger against Flynn’s sternum. “Because from where I was standing, he came into the shop and asked for my assistance and if it weren’t for you he would be hiring me.”

Flynn tilted her head to the side, wondering why Winter would do that unless he was finally taking her advice and hiring a real party planner and not some lowly gopher. But then, why did he tell her he was there to pick her up? Taking a step back, she held her purse and tablet in front of her as a shield and asked, “What did he need help with?”

A delicate blush crept into Gwyneth’s cheeks but the fire in her eyes only burned hotter, “He hadn’t had the chance to tell me because you stuck your nose into it. You’ve just cost me a huge bonus.”

Flynn gave her a look of patent disbelief, “I’m working with his girlfriend, you know, Melissa Irish? My name is even in green on the schedule and the only reason he’s here is to pick me up since I don’t have a car.”

“Bitch!” Gwyneth’s face glowed in red fury as she reached up and twisted her long, bony fingers in Flynn’s hair and yanked, bringing tears to Flynn’s eyes.

“Ouch!” Flynn cried, trying to pry the crazy woman’s fingers from her hair, knowing that mascara was racing down her cheeks and she was going to look like the poster child for why girls shouldn’t play dress up. It was made even more difficult because she could only use one hand since the other was wrapped around her new tablet. “God, if you want him that badly you can take him.”

“No she can’t,” a deep, sexy voice purred from behind her. All of the air left her body as a strong arm wrapped around her waist and a warm hand helped untangle the crazy woman’s fingers from her hair. Heat and Winter’s masculine scent blasted through her and the pain in her scalp disappeared and Miss Crazy Bitch was forgotten.  “I hope you realize Miss Rogers can file a suit against you and if something like this happens again, I will pay for her lawyer.”

It took Flynn a moment to realize Winter was scolding Gwyn on her behalf and her heart felt all warm and fuzzy, even after Gwyn purred in a sultry voice, “It was all in fun, Mr. Mitchell. I’m sure you know what that’s all about.”

“Yeah, that’s not going to fly with me,” Winter sneered. As he turned Flynn around and ignored whatever else coming out of Gwyn’s mouth, his eyes were intense as he gently brushed the black tears from her face, “Are you okay?”

Mesmerized by the concern in his eyes, the way his mouth moved as he spoke, she nodded and forgot that they weren’t alone. “Yeah, she’s just seven shades of crazy.”

His eyes lit up even as he bit down on his beautiful bottom lip. She wanted to bite down on his beautiful bottom lip…. Her scalp tingled as he massaged the abused flesh, her body burned where it was pressed against his and she never wanted to lose the heady sensation of being in his arms. Chuckling softly, he asked, “First cat fight?”

She blinked up at him, hearing his words but taking a moment to understand them and when she did, she felt the heat rush into her cheeks. Nodding, she pried her body away from his and managed to stand on her own two feet. “How did you know?”

“You’re still holding your tablet.”

She frowned, “Of course I am. I just got it.”

He shook his head but he asked, “Do you know what will make it better?”

“Ice cream.” Because ice cream made everything better.

He blinked at her and she wondered what she said wrong. “I was going to suggest diamonds but ice cream works for me. Come on.”

The moment he flung his arm over her shoulders, she felt like she was in some eighties teen rom com where the gorgeous jock finally realized the girl of his dreams was the geeky girl and Flynn hated to admit she liked the feeling. What they failed to show in the movies were the look of daggers coming from the homecoming queen that promised retribution at some point in the future when the handsome quarterback wasn’t there to protect the wallflower. Flynn could feel Gwyneth’s eyes boring into her back and she knew there would be hell to pay someday soon.

Just not today.

And just like that, she understood why some people made deals with demons. It wasn’t the obvious things like fame and fortune that damned a soul but the little things, things that seem insignificant but accumulate over time, a touch, a moment. How many more moments did she have left with Winter Mitchell before her time in the sun was over? Did it even matter? She’d bask in his warmth until it was time to return to reality and hope the burn wasn’t fatal and her soul remained intact.

Sitting at a picnic table in the middle of a park, wearing a baseball cap to try to hide in plain sight, Winter couldn’t remember a time he had been able to just relax and have a pleasant conversation. Even though Missy wanted to discuss invitations with the sassy party planner, he didn’t want to return to the house immediately. He used the cat fight as an excuse to steal some time with the delectable Flynn and continue his slow seduction. As long as he didn’t lay it on too thick, the poor girl was never going to see him coming and it was going to be so sweet. She was going to be so sweet.

“Here,” Winter said, reaching across the table and wiping a bit of ice cream from the corner of Flynn’s luscious mouth, loving how her eyes widened in response to his touch. Sticking the finger into his mouth, he licked the cream off, almost swearing he could taste a little bit of Flynn.

“Thanks,” she stammered, staring at him with those warm, chocolate brown eyes that seemed to see beneath his façade to the man he was underneath. Almost unthinkingly, she lightly touched the spot where his fingers had been and he had to bite back a smile. His groin tightened at the innate sensuality that she wasn’t even aware of and he was looking forward to awakening her desire and drawing out her passion.

After hearing the commotion at Gilded Dreams and subsequently walking in on Flynn getting her ass kicked by the blond Viking, all he wanted to do was gather Flynn up in his arms and protect her from all the evils of the world. He had to settle for taking her out for ice cream, which was surprisingly enjoyable and cheaper than a diamond bracelet. Not that he was going to buy her diamond baubles, at least not yet, but it was interesting to note she preferred ice cream over ice.

“What are you smiling about?” she asked with a soft, quizzical grin on her lips. Even with her makeup washed away, she was pretty, glowing with an inner light that called to something deep within him. She made him feel almost human, which was quite an feat considering he had been little more than a plastic man, a caricature, for almost ten years now. Except for when he had been having sex with Ginger and the time he spent with Storm, he was a man going through the motions of being a man without actually existing.

With her, he felt he could be real again, and not the monster being a celebrity had made him.

“A stupid pun,” he answered, telling her his thoughts regarding ice cream and ice.

She laughed, a full-bodied sound that was genuine and he loved that about her. There were no pretenses or deceptions about her. With the laughter still in her voice, she said, “Well, when you get your hair pulled you can tell me which makes you feel better, a delicious bowl of ice cream that can soothe away the ache or a diamond that just sits there looking pretty.”

As she talked about pulling hair, the image of her fingers twining in his hair and holding his head to her as he devoured her pussy flashed in his head and he had to shift to ease the sharp pain of his burgeoning erection pressing against his blue jeans. Dealing with his penis only made him imagine sinking his fingers into the silky strands of her hair and holding her head as he fucked her mouth. Clearing his throat, he took a bite of the ice cream and hoped it would cool him down. Yes, he was going to have her but he wanted to savor the anticipation, not jump her like a green school boy. The chase made the ultimate surrender that much sweeter and he needed that. “You may have a point.”

“Admit it,” she grinned, pointing at him with a spoonful of ice cream before sliding it between her lips and licking off the creamy dessert. “This is a lot more fun than going to a jewelry store.”

“It would be even more fun if we were naked,” he said, waggling his eyebrows and wishing he had kept that to himself. Hadn’t he just decided he wanted to savor this seduction?

“Perhaps,” she said, her eyes twinkling. “But it would be awkward if someone were to come upon us. Plus, I think it’s illegal to be nude in public. Aren’t we supposed to be checking out venues or something?”

“Actually, we already know where the party is going to be held,” he reminded her. “At my place in the country.”

“Right, you mentioned that for the pirate ship.” She nodded her head, looking at him with professional interest, no hint of the flirtatious girl from a moment before. Unless he looked into her eyes and saw the sparkle she tried so hard to suppress and yet couldn’t manage. “That’s where you want the whole thing?” At his nod, her irrepressible merriment came through, “So no trips to the moon or flying to Paris?”

Chuckling, he shook his head, “Maybe for his seventh birthday.”

“I’m sorry I won’t be planning that one, since this is my one and only event,” she teased, her smile doing weird things to his stomach. “I think a trip to the moon would be quite the event to plan and it would be interesting to figure out the logistics and if anyone would be willing to take a gaggle of seven-year-olds and their parents on a rocket ship.”

He laughed, “I don’t think many of them would survive the training.”

“And you know this how?” she asked lightly, her teasing filling him with warmth and loosening his tongue.

“I actually got to do some of the training that astronauts go through for a movie that I just finished filming,” he said, wondering where that came from. Usually he hated discussing his roles with anyone – because that was all they wanted to discuss. Even the cool things he got to do were annoying when discussed with the wrong person. At her encouraging smile, he continued, “I did the high-G training in that centrifuge thing. It was incredible.”

“Is that the one that you’re in a small pod and they spin you around at like a million miles an hour?” she asked, her eyes widening with every word she spoke. At his nod of confirmation, she asked in a hushed voice, “Did you throw up?”

Licking his lips, feeling the heat steal up into his cheeks, he admitted, “I passed out.”

She reached out and put her hand over his and he felt it in his balls. Looking at him with those brown eyes, he didn’t see a trace of mockery. “I am impressed that you put yourself through that. I don’t think I’d have the courage and if I did, I’m pretty sure I’d puke.”

He chuckled, “I felt sick for a couple of hours afterwards and I hope I never have to do it again but I’m glad I did it once. I also got to experience zero-G, which was a rush. There’s nothing quite like floating around weightless, feeling like you're going to fall but knowing you won’t. What about you?”

“That's so cool,” she murmured genuinely interested, without any trace of false curiosity at all. “I think the most exciting thing I’ve done in my life is move out here with my sister. But I had a job lined up and an apartment and I wasn’t alone, so it wasn’t really that far outside of my comfort zone. I do have my college degree, though.”

“Really?” he grinned, realizing she had to be twenty-two or twenty-three, which wasn’t quite as young as she appeared. “What did you study?”

“Well,” she hedged, drawing out the word. “I got a degree in literature by default.”

“By default?” he asked on a laugh.

“I loved taking lit courses because I enjoyed discussing all of the different books in depth.” She shrugged her shoulders and crinkled her nose as she smiled. “When it came time to declare a major, I realized I had nearly fulfilled all of the requirements for literature so there you have it. My daddy says it would have been cheaper to simply join a book club.”

“He’s probably right,” he said with a grin. “Unless you were there on a full scholarship.” At her tell-tale blush he leaned back in his seat and laughed, “Don’t tell me you’re a nerd.”

“Full-fledged,” she said with a hint of pride. “Except I got a full ride because of track.”

“You’re an athlete.”

“I can run,” she clarified. “And it was enough to allow me to get a degree that I will probably never use but I’m glad I did it.”

He laughed as she returned his words back. “And now you’re a party planner.”

“Right,” she said with a wry grin, rolling her eyes. “I’m still trying to figure out what I am but it’s definitely not a party planner.”

“Right, event coordinator,” he teased, feeling warmth explode in his chest when she laughed. “I know your sister is out here to pursue her dream of becoming a star,” he said, watching her closely, loving how expressive she
was. “Why are you here?”

“We made a promise to each other,” she answered. “She’d go to college and get a degree, have something to fall back on, and I’d come out here with her so she wouldn’t be alone. I think it would be a lot harder to do this all alone and she might make… poor choices if she didn’t have me to vent to on her bad days.”

He nodded his head in perfect understanding. Maybe if he had had someone in his corner when he first came out here he wouldn’t have made some of his more questionable choices. Of course, he was one of those exceptional cases where serendipity played her hand, plucking him out of obscurity for a small role on a television show. For some reason, the audience fell in love with him and the producers expanded his part until the show revolved around his character. Then he was offered roles on the big screen and that came with lots of money, which came with expensive toys and beautiful, willing women.

He behaved how any eighteen
-year-old boy would have behaved. It wasn’t some of his better years.

Clearing the unexpected emotion from his throat, he murmured, “She’s lucky to have you.”

“Yeah, well, the feeling’s mutual,” she said with a soft smile, the love for her sister apparent in her face, her words. “I don’t know what I’ll do when she becomes famous and no longer needs me.”

“You’ll be surprised how much we still need our family when we find ourselves plastered on billboards in our underwear to promote our latest movie.” He said the words lightly to hide the cynicism that still ate away at him. “Far too often, the support we get is superficial and when something bad happens it quickly disappears.”

She stared at him with wide, chocolate-colored eyes, nodding her head in understanding but not offering any empty platitudes. “So fame isn’t all it’s cracked up to be? All of those girls falling madly in love with you isn’t enough to make up for the bad?”

He smiled at her attempt to lighten the conversation. “Yes, but do they fall in love with me or a character I’ve played?”

“I’ve never thought of it that way,” she murmured thoughtfully, reaching out her hand and laying it over his, offering him comfort once more. He stared at that delicate hand, feeling the heat of it warm his frozen soul. “That has to suck.”

“It’s the curse of being famous,” he said, no longer able to keep the bitterness from his voice.

When he looked up, her lips quirked upwards into a teasing smile and she squeezed his hand, “Well, you have to admit that you
are
very pretty.”

At his baffled expression, her grin grew, “Combine that with your obvious intelligence and magnetic sex appeal, I’m sure girls simply lose their minds around you and I’m sure you’d never take advantage of their brainlessness.”

“I might have accepted one or two offers of casual sex,” he admitted, a slight smile curving his lips. “But not since Missy.”

“You’re devoted to her,” she said, a hint of resignation in her voice that made him bite back his triumphant smile.

“I’ve already told you we’re not sexually involved,” he told her again.

Her brow crinkled in confusion, “So you’ve been celibate for nearly six years?”

“Um, no,” he muttered, blushing again. He hadn’t blushed so much in years, if ever, than he had blushed in front of this girl. It sucked because he wanted her to see him as suave and cool, not this blushing imbecile. As her brow arched upwards, he cleared his throat, “I had an… arrangement with a discreet individual, though I ended that months ago.”

“So you’re looking for a new partner?” she asked with inquisitiveness, her open expression letting him know that she wasn’t fishing, she was just interested.

“Um, if the opportunity presented itself I wouldn’t necessarily say no,” he hedged, not wanting to play all of his cards. “But I’m not actively searching, no. Well, I wasn’t.”

“But you are now?” she asked, in adorable cluelessness.

“No.” At her stumped expression, he reached out and put his hand over hers, “There’s no need to search because you’re here now.”

“But you’re with Melissa….”