Finn (6 page)

“Clandestine, huh?” I grin at her terminology.

“Sorry! I can’t help it. It’s my weakness. Sometimes, I go into my head and switch from the outdoor, dog loving, Warrior volunteer to the critical content editor.”

“What?”

“My real job. I’m a freelance editor. My degree is in English with a minor in Creative Writing. I edit for publications, magazines, and a few clients that publish their work online only.”

“That’s quite impressive, much more so than a Security Specialist. Believe me, when I’m backstage doing security at an event, it’s less than
clandestine
.”

“Are you making fun of my vocabulary, Finn Black?” she questions, trying to hide her amusement. Yep, she’s adorable.

“Never, but I may need to bust out my thesaurus to keep up with you.”

Her smile widens, and I reach down and graze my fingertips over her hands. “I was serious about coming here today to see you. It seemed crass to ask you out at your brother’s funeral. Took my chance that today would be better timing.”

I inwardly curse myself for bringing it up, expecting her face to fill with sadness, but she surprises me with a giggle, her eyes dancing.

“Are you asking me out?”

“Yes, I’d like to take you to dinner tomorrow night.”

Her face falls, and the light in her eyes dims. “I have Winnie tomorrow night and Thursday, too.”

Shit! I have a concert on Friday night and the charity event on Saturday. No way do I want to wait until Sunday to see her again. My mind starts to scramble with ways to work this out.

“Unless you’d like to meet us tomorrow night,” she says hesitantly. “I pick her up from summer camp, and we go for an early dinner at Chick-fil-A. She plays on the play center for a while before we eat. You could join us.”

“I’d love to,” I answer without thinking about it. She could tell me to meet her at the Sonic Drive-In, and I’d probably agree.

“Give me your number. I can call you and let you know when we’ll be there.” She reaches in her back pocket and takes out her phone.

“How about I call you tomorrow to confirm? Maybe I can pick you two up?” I pull out my own phone. If my first date with Presley is going to be at a fucking Chick-fil-A, I’d like to do something traditional, like picking her up.

“That’s really nice, but I’d have to change out the booster seat, which is a pain. And Winnie doesn’t know you—”

I’m an idiot and completely fucking this up. “Say no more. I get it. I’ll meet you there.”

Her grin turns solemn as she takes the phone from my hand and punches in her number.

“Hey, why the sad face?” I gently lift her chin to me.

“My life is different than most twenty-five year olds, Finn. Maybe this is a bad idea.”

“On the contrary, I think this is a good idea. I’ll call you tomorrow, schedule a time to meet, and we’ll discuss how
‘different your life is’
over nuggets and waffle fries. Sound like a deal?”

There’s a small change in her expression, and she forces a smile. “Sounds like a deal.”

Before she can change her mind or talk herself out of it, I lean in and brush my lips lightly across her cheek.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Presley.”

Her breath hitches, and she gives a small nod. I take one last look and force myself to turn around and walk away.

The whole walk back to my office, her beautiful face fills my mind. The feel of her soft skin against my lips mixed with the scent of her perfume is all I can think about. Tomorrow night can’t come soon enough.

Oh yeah, I’m screwed…

Presley

I
  close down my computer unusually early, allowing myself plenty of time to get ready. Ordinarily, I’d wear my workout clothes to pick up Winnie and head to dinner. But today’s different. Finn’s face fills my thoughts, and butterflies flutter everywhere in my body. The way his crystal blue eyes bore into mine, the feel of his soft lips on my cheek, the way his husky voice shoved down my impending rejection of him meeting up with us tonight.

I touch my cheek and run a fingertip around the small space his lips grazed. With the small gesture, he took my breath away. Never has anyone affected me that way. Even the early days of dating Russell never sent my heart into overdrive and caused my knees to buckle.

Great way to push him away, Presley. Tell him you aren’t like most twenty-five year olds. He’s probably regretting his intent to ask you out!
I silently admonish myself and go into my closet to find something appropriate to wear to a first date slash weekly date with my niece.

After rummaging through my sundresses, I decide on a casual and flirty lavender maxi with a pair of silver sandals. My hair takes a while to straighten, and by the time I swipe some mascara across my lashes, I’m a bundle of nerves. He still hasn’t called. Maybe he thought it through and realized I’m an inconvenience.

My spirits start to plummet, but then my phone rings with an unknown number. Hope springs in my chest as I clear my throat, attempting to sound as normal as possible.

“Hello?”

“Presley?” Finn’s smooth voice flows through the line.

“Yes.” I swallow.

“I didn’t miss it, did I? I’ve been in class all day and just got done.”

“Not at all, I’m about to get her. We’ll be there in thirty minutes.”

“You go to the one closest to your dad’s?”

“How’d you know?”

“It’s my job to know. See you soon.” He hangs up without a goodbye, and the fluttering from earlier returns.

The whole drive to get Winnie is a blur as I play out different scenarios in my head. I pray she’s in a good mood because I need her to behave tonight. Dad told me she’s been fine, but I still worry when—or if—she’s going to realize Simon is really gone.

When I pick her up, she’s as happy and energetic as always, babbling about their field trip and filling me in on all the summer camp activities. I force myself to stop thinking about Finn and try to participate in the conversation.

The second I pull into the parking lot, I stop mid-sentence. Finn is leaning against a shiny black SUV. Seeing him sends the familiar fluttering and swarming sensation to my stomach. He watches me pull into a spot, and I actually feel his gaze as I wait for Winnie to unleash her seatbelt and crawl to the front to get out. My whole body buzzes with anticipation. Once I open the door, we both tumble out ungracefully.

Finn catches her arm and stops what could have been a true face plant since my arms are like jelly. She giggles and hugs his legs, looking at me.

“Finn’s here, Aunt Presley!” she squeals loudly.

He looks at me, surprised that she remembered him. We don’t have a chance to discuss his presence because she drags him across the parking lot to the entrance, leaving me.

I lock my doors and scramble behind them, trying to hear exactly what she’s saying. To my knowledge, she relates their only ‘real’ meeting with the funeral. He was at the house, but who knows what her little mind remembers.

I catch up as she starts to remove her shoes, telling him she will be playing before we order dinner. He nods at all the right times and helps put her shoes in the cubby as she scurries away, without another word to me.

When he turns and locks eyes with me, I grip the back of a booth for support. He looks incredible. His blue eyes shine, and his hair is unruly, yet sexy as hell. He’s wearing a white t-shirt that hugs his chest with a pair of black athletic shorts and black Nikes. Pretty sure if Nike saw him, they’d snatch him up for endorsement opportunities.

He looks away first, running his eyes over me. I tremble slightly, and my grip on the booth threatens to slip as my hand starts to sweat. He steps in close, and I hold my breath when he cups my chin and rubs his lips across my cheek.

“Presley,” his voice is thick and velvety, adding to his raging sex appeal, “you look incredible.”

My mouth runs dry and my tongue swells. He’s so close I can smell a variety of scents: the rich aroma of wood and cedar with a hint of spice. He moves back, but only enough to run his nose along mine before stepping away. My lungs start to burn, and I remember to breathe.

“Thank you,” I finally find my voice.

We stand there for a full minute before he gently touches my elbow and helps me sit in the booth. I’m disappointed when he slides in across from me.

“How was your day?” he asks.

“Busy, but productive. Finished a large MS I’ve been working on for a week.”

“MS?” His eyebrows scrunch in confusion.

“Sorry, professional lingo. MS means manuscript.”

His face relaxes and he nods.

“How was your day?”

“School kicked my ass. These shortened summer semesters slam so much together. I lost all track of time until my alert told me it was time to meet you. I didn’t have time to go home and change.”

“You look great!” I say a little too loudly and slap my lips together, feeling heat creep up my face.

He gives me a small smirk that sends my heart back into overdrive. It’s unreal how his presence alone has me bumbling like an idiot. Even when I turned twenty-one and my friends got backstage concert passes to meet Blake Shelton, I never stuttered. They fawned and shed a few tears, but I shook his hand and told him how much I enjoyed his music.

But this man sitting in front of me affects me all the way to my bones. I’m worse than a fifteen-year old at a Justin Bieber concert. At this point, I can’t deny it anymore. As crazy as it sounds, I’m convinced he’s the man Simon was referring to in my dream. And that makes me certifiable because it’s impossible to create a man in your dreams.

“Thanks, but I’d have preferred to change. However, given the risk of being late and missing out on even a minute with you had me rethinking my plans.”

“Really?” I rasp quietly.

“Really,” he confirms.

The screeching of children in the play tubes snaps me out of my fog, and I glance over his shoulder to make sure Winnie is okay.

“So tell me about the MS you finished today.”

“It was a RomCom, which means romantic comedy, for a long-time client. She’s set to publish in six weeks. We’ll do another round after she cleans it up, but this was the critical edit that will hopefully help shape her story.”

“Do you like romantic comedies?”

“I like romance any way I can get it. Simon and Johnny always made fun of me and my addiction to the over-the-top fictional romances. This is a somewhat new adventure for me, though. The book editing fell into my lap. After I graduated, I worked with mostly publications, papers, magazines, and freelance work, helping with special projects.”

“How’d it fall into your lap?” He sits back and extends his legs under the table. One rubs against mine, and that damn tingle circles in the spot his skin touches.

“You know we lost my mom when we were teenagers, right?”

“Yeah, I remembered, but your dad also mentioned it the other day after the funeral. I’m sorry.”

“Thank you. It was rough, but Dad did an incredible job with us. But after she died, I became the woman of the family. When Simon learned he was being deployed, we all gathered together and discussed how we’d help. I was already living in North Carolina to be close to him and Winnie. Luckily, the Marines gave him so much prior notice, we got a good plan together. There was no question Dad would get temporary custody of Winnie until Simon came home, but Johnny and I wanted to be a part of it. So I relocated here with Winnie to start the adjustment. My company was wonderful at first, letting me work from home, but most of my business clients were still in North Carolina. So we worked out a good deal, and they started shooting freelance work my way. It took about six months, but I built up a base of local clients. Eventually, I was able to get some contracts in place. One of the reporters who works with the newspaper contacted me about helping her with her debut novel into the Indie world. It took off from there.”

“Do you like it?”

“Oh yeah, I love it. But even more, I love the life it provides for me. There was no way I was moving back in with Dad at my age. This allows me to be independent and also set my own schedule. For the summer, until we get Winnie into school, she spends two or three nights a week with me.

“Don’t get me wrong, Dad is perfectly healthy, but it’s hard to go from three grown children out of the house to having an energetic four—almost five-year old. And a girl at that. So this schedule allows Dad some time to himself and the ability to keep up his personal life. His law firm also requires a lot of his attention, sometimes into the evening. Johnny also helps a lot.”

“That’s so selfless.”

“I guess, but to me, it’s family. I insisted on this. It’s my promise to Simon. Winnie will grow up in a loving environment with a woman’s influence always around to guide her if needed.”

Finn runs his fingers through his hair and looks at me wearily. “It’s none of my business, but what about her mom?”

There’s the million-dollar question.
I think to myself.

“Her name’s Elisa, and she’s still alive, but she gave all custodial rights to Simon. There’s a whole lot more to the story, but I can’t tell you when Winnie is ten feet away and may come busting back here any second. As far as she knows, her mother is a beautiful woman who lives somewhere else. As she gets older, we’ll have to share more, but for now, it works.”

“The woman gave up her child?”

“She did, and we are forever in her debt. It may seem weird to some, but she gave us Winnie, and that little girl inherited the absolute best from both parents.”

“Jesus, you’re even more incredible than I ever imagined. Canine volunteer, doting aunt, loyal sister, concert violinist, the list goes on. Anything else I should know?”

Heat starts to creep up my neck, and my cheeks burn.

“Looks like I can add bashful when complimented to my list.”

“Stop.” I laugh to try to hide my embarrassment. “I think this conversation took a wide turn into deep territory for a first date.”

“I disagree. I could listen to you talk for hours.”

“Well, how about we move onto lighter subjects, considering Winnie is coming out of the playhouse and she’s going to be ‘
so hungry’
.”