Bad Boy (Invertary 5)

“Yes. Surprise?” Katy copied her action while standing at her side. In her tiger onesie and bunny slippers, she managed to undermine Abby’s dramatic gesture. As confirmed by the chuckles of the watching men.

“I’m giving you a pool, remember?” Flynn pointed to the guy measuring out the area. “Ta-da.”

Abby started to count to ten. One, two... Oh, to hell with it. “You’re doing what?” Yes, it was a shriek. She wasn’t proud of it, but there was no way she could have stopped it. “I thought the pool comment was a joke.” Was he out of his mind? “Are you out of your mind? You can’t give a kid a pool. Especially not without talking to her mother about it first. And this is Scotland.” She pointed at the ground. “That’s an outdoor pool, which means the weather will be warm enough for it to be used maybe four days a year.” Okay, she was shouting now. She needed to calm down.

“It’s top of the line,” the idiot said. “It’s heated. There’s a Jacuzzi section. An automatic cover. The whole shebang. We’ll be able to use it year round.”

“In the rain? The snow? Have you thought about this at all?”

He glanced at the guy beside him. “Bob here says it’ll be fine. He’s the expert.”

“Bob probably just wants the business.” She gave the man a tight smile and pretended she hadn’t just called him a liar. “No offence, Bob.”

He didn’t seem offended. From his smile, he seemed to be entertained.

“Maybe we should build an indoor pool?” Flynn said to Bob.

Abby wanted to scream. “Not on my property, you aren’t. Who’s going to pay the huge monthly bills for heating and maintaining a top of the line pool?”

He actually had to think about it. Honestly!

“I guess I’ll take care of the running costs, since it’s my gift to the kid.”

Enough of this. She folded her arms. “Send them away. Stop this now. You can’t give a child a pool. I’m putting my foot down. Enough is enough.”

“Abby, Abby, Abby,” Flynn said with a shake of his head. “Any parent worth their salt knows you don’t make promises to kids unless you intend to keep them. Otherwise it breaks their wee hearts and sets them up for a lifetime of dealing with trust issues. Do you want that for your child? Now, tell me honestly, do you?” He actually batted his eyelashes at her, while a smile quirked at his lips. “I need to give the kid her pool. I promised.”

Was it wrong that she wanted to superglue those damn eyes shut? And maybe his mouth too? Definitely his mouth. His mouth was the part of him that caused the most trouble.

“Yay, I’m getting a pool! I can’t believe I’m getting a pool,” the traitor at her side yelled—as though she hadn’t arranged the whole thing. She squealed loudly and did an excited dance.

“I don’t know why you sound surprised, kid.” Flynn seemed genuinely perplexed. “You were the one who demanded a pool.”

“I didn’t think you’d give me one.” Katy rolled her eyes but couldn’t contain her glee. “I thought if you did I’d get one of those kids’ pools. Not this. This is gonna be a real pool. Isn’t it?” She looked up at him, suddenly uncertain. “Is it going to be a real pool, Flynn?”

Abby watched as Flynn’s eyes warmed before he rolled them dramatically, in an imitation of Katy. He awkwardly patted her head, the way someone else would pat a strange dog.

“Yeah, it’s going to be a real pool, you numpty. We can’t swim in a kids’ pool. And by we, I mean us separately. You swim at your time. I’ll swim at mine. You can swim, right?” Flynn looked up at Abby. “Can she swim? Is she old enough? How old are kids when they learn to swim?”

Abby shook her head. “Yes, she can swim. No, she shouldn’t be around a pool unsupervised. That’s not the point. The point is, I don’t want a pool.” She turned to Bob. “We can’t accept this. I’m sorry, but you have to leave. I don’t give you permission to put in a pool.”

The guy looked unsure. His eyes shifted to Flynn.

“Give me a minute, Bob,” Flynn said.

He walked the few steps to Abby, threw his arm around her shoulders and led her away from the work crew. As though this was his property and he had a say in what happened on it.

“Abby, sugar, give the kid her pool.” He spoke softly against her ear.

“Not going to happen, Flynn. Make them pack up. This is worse than the money you gave her. You can’t give a five-year-old a pool just because she asked for one.”

Flynn’s thumb caressed her shoulder, momentarily distracting her. “I’m not giving her a pool. This isn’t a gift. It’s a deal. With a miniature terrorist organisation.” He leaned into her, the heat of his body having a strange effect on her ability to breathe. “This is the cost of her help. The kid has been through a lot. All she wants is a pool. Give the kid a pool, Abby.”

For a moment she swayed towards him, her focus on those luscious lips of his before she caught herself. What was she doing? His insanity was contagious. She pushed away from him and folded her arms over her navy twinset. Yes. Twinset. She didn’t care what it said about her, she liked wearing them.

“I’m not bribing my daughter with a pool, Flynn.”

“It will be great. We can all use it.”