Those Sweet Words (Misfit Inn 2)

“I’ve been known to have a few. Meanwhile, I’ll be working on all of this.” He gestured to the exception to policy packet.

“If you have any questions, you know where to find me.” She pulled away and headed for the door. “And Flynn?”

“Yeah?”

She hesitated at the threshold, her expression turning serious. “Thank you. This means more to me than you can ever know.”

As he watched her go, he realized he was starting to feel the same about her.

Chapter Nine

AT THE END OF a long day, Pru was dumping used linens from her massage practice into the washer, when Abbey pounced on her.

“Pru Reynolds, how dare you keep this a secret!”

Pru found herself pinned against the washing machine, her left hand held aloft, Abbey’s own load of linens in a pile around their feet. “Jesus, girl, give me a heart attack, why don’t you?”

“Heart attack my ass. Spill!” Abbey demanded.

This wasn’t how she’d planned on the news getting out. But if she’d really wanted to keep it a secret, she wouldn’t have put the ring back on when she was done with massages for the day. She just…liked it there. Tugging free of her friend’s grip, Pru bent to gather up the mess in the floor and add it to the load. “So, I’m engaged.”

“To who?”

“Flynn.”

“I knew there was something going on between you two. But engaged? Isn’t that kinda fast?”

She’d committed to the cover story now and found that it fell off her tongue with greater ease. “Two years isn’t fast.”

“Say what? But I thought—” Abbey waved a hand, dismissing whatever she was about to say. “Start at the beginning.”

She did, giving Abbey the tale of how they’d supposedly met. The beauty of the scenario he’d concocted was that if they had met on that trip, she’d very likely have done exactly what he’d suggested. Because Flynn was…amazing. “Kennedy doesn’t know anything about it, so we’re trying to keep this quiet until we can tell her in person and explain.”

“You can count on me. Man. Engaged.” Abbey pressed both fists to her mouth and danced in place. She was still dancing when Flynn stuck his head in the laundry room.

He went brows up. “Do I want to know?”

Pru just shook her head.

“Done for the day?” he asked.

“Only just.”

“Good. Then you’ve got time for this.”

“Time for what?”

Another head poked through the door. “Hey Pru.”

“Porter. I wasn’t expecting you.” Even as she strode toward her foster brother, she stuck her left hand behind her back and began rotating the ring.

He caught her motion and grinned. “Don’t bother. Maggie told me.”

Pru rolled her eyes. “Of course, she did. And are you here to give me the whole big brother routine in Xander’s absence?”

“Nope. Not here about that at all.” Wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug, he pressed a kiss to her brow. “Congratulations.”

“That wasn’t the word Maggie used.”