Page 1 of Embattled Ever After
Chapter One
Alex felt like shewas somebody important or something. A tall handsome guy with dark hair, wraparound sunglasses and a service dog at his side met her at the airport taxi area, white cardboard sign in his hands. When she stopped in front of him he reached out to shake her hand. “Alex Hartfield?”
“Yes,” she nodded.
“Flynn. I’m your ride. Is this your only bag?”
“Yes.”
He hefted the full-sized suitcase into the back of a truck nearby as if it weighed nothing, and she knew for a fact if she hadn’t flown first-class it would have been over the weight limit. The airlines were a little more lenient when you spent more money with them.
He moved to the passenger side of the vehicle and held the door open for her. Alex moved forward but yelped as the service dog—looked like a shepherd mix—jumped into the seat before she could.
“Maya,” the man growled.
The dog gave him a wounded look before hopping over the seat and into the second row of seats.
“Sorry about that,” he murmured.
Alex could have laughed, but she was afraid if she did it would sound slightly maniacal. Instead she climbed into the seat and allowed him to shut the door behind her. Then she fastened the seatbelt across herself.
She was so off balance in this situation and it was not a feeling she was used to. Normally, she was the one calling the shots—directing nurses, ordering tests, guiding patients. It was what she was comfortable doing. It was what she had been raised to do, trained to do. But trekking across the country to tempt a man into a relationship was definitely something she’d never done before.
This…adventure, yeah, that was a good word, was very different.
Flynn pulled the truck out into the traffic streaming toward Denver. It was the day before Christmas, and people were out in droves, trying to pick up last-minute gifts. Alex could see the skyline in the distance, but it was a little hazed by snow flurries.
“Was your flight okay?”
Alex glanced at him. “It was. There was a little turbulence but not too bad. The crowds were a little crazy though.”
The man nodded but didn’t say anything else. To Alex it seemed as if he didn’t like making small talk, but was trying for her sake. She could at least reciprocate.
“So, do you work for the Lost and Found company?”
Flynn nodded without looking from the road. “Yeah. Been there a couple years now.”
“And, can you tell me about your dog?”
Flynn glanced up in the rearview mirror to look at the animal. Even through the dark glasses Alex could tell his expression softened. “Maya kind of adopted me earlier this year, when I rescued her from dying.”
Alex glanced back at the dog, intrigued. “Really?”
As if she knew they were talking about her, Maya stood up and popped her head between the front seats.
Flynn reached a hand up to the dog’s neck, ruffling the hair. “If you look you can see where she had a cable embedded in her neck because of a careless owner. I took her to the vet but she escaped and kind of moved herself in.”
She chuckled, liking the man more now that she could see he had a soft spot for the dog. “Sounds like she needed a home.”
“Yeah, and Willow, my girlfriend, uh, mywife, refused to take her back.”
She glanced at the dark band on his ring finger. “She was your girlfriend then?”
“Yeah, we just got married.” With a proud grin he ran his thumb over the band, like he was still getting used to the fit.
That was sweet. He had that dazed look of a guy that couldn’t believe that the woman of his dreams had acceptedhim.
“Sounds like she couldn’t take her back if Maya adopted you.”