Highways & Hostages (19 page)

He looked totally at ease up there, which was funny, considering how against the idea he’d been at first. Derek would never be caught dead in such a situation.

Ugh, she didn’t want to think about Derek right now, but it was hard. It was hard to imagine what life would be like without him when she got back to Vegas.

Whatever, I’m not going to worry about it tonight.

Stella turned her attention back to Finn. She was pretty sure he hadn’t packed leather pants for their journey, but it was hard to know. She smirked, wondering how on earth he was going to get them off since they looked like they were painted on.

Finn faced the back of the stage and worked his butt in time to the music. Dollar bills started to rain down on the stage floor. He whipped around and eased off the fringed vest, making eye contact with several of the men standing at the front of the stage, and even more dollar bills flew into the air.

Stella hurried back to the bar where Lacey was watching the stage with her mouth agape.

“Do you
see
this guy?” Lacey asked.

“That’s my friend! The one I was telling you about,” Stella exclaimed.

“
That’s
the guy? Lucky you,” Lacey said.

Stella shrugged. “We’re just friends.”

Finn threw his hat into the crowd and started to unbutton his pants, revealing tight navy blue boxer briefs.

“Girl, take him off the market, or I will!”

Stella watched as Finn crawled across the stage sans pants, a dollar bill in his mouth. She recalled going to see
Magic Mike
with Valerie. Finn could have
easily
been cast in that movie. He jumped up and moonwalked back across the stage. The gay men and their female friends hooted and catcalled. Finn glanced over at the bar and caught Stella watching. She blushed furiously but maintained eye contact as Finn winked.

As the song faded, Finn struck a pose, and a pair of panties flew at his face. He gazed at them, stunned for a moment, and then gave the crowd a cheeky grin before sweeping up the carpet of scattered bills that littered the stage. He bowed and blew the crowd a kiss before disappearing behind the silver curtain.

Stella didn’t know what she’d been expecting, but it definitely wasn’t that. She fanned herself with a napkin. Had someone turned the temperature up? And that tiny flutter in her chest was puzzling…

Four more men got up on the stage and stripped, but none fared nearly as well as Finn. At last it was time for the crowd to choose the night’s winner, which for Stella was already decided. Tanya stood onstage with a microphone, alongside Finn and the other contestants.

“It’s that time of the night where we crown our Mr. Hot Body,” she announced to cheers. Our first place winner will get five hundred dollars. Second place receives two-fifty, and third place gets a hundred. You decide our winners! When I hold my hand over your favorite contestant’s head, make as much noise for them as you possibly can. Are we ready?”

The crowd screamed and clapped. Tanya moved forward and raised a hand over James Bond’s head; he received a solid level of noise. Tanya moved on to Mr. Darcy, who got a few halfhearted claps. “I’m sorry, Mr. Darcy, you just didn’t get enough noise. Please exit the stage.” Head lowered, Mr. Darcy exited through the silver curtain.

Stella stood in the back of the room, hands clasped together, praying fervently.

“Give it up for Jules!” Tanya cried. The applause was enormous. Tanya took Finn’s arm and led him to the left side of the stage next to James Bond. Tanya went through the last four men until she had her final three.

Finn and the two remaining contestants moved to the center of the stage. Tanya held her hand over each contestant’s head. When she got to Finn, he unbuttoned the leather pants, pushed them to his ankles, and stood with his arms raised triumphantly. The room exploded into noise.

“Yes!” Stella squealed, pumping her arm hard in the air. She looked over at Lacey, who gave her a double thumbs-up.

“Well, Jules, it appears you’ve earned our grand prize!” Tanya beamed as she produced a sash reading “Mr. Hot Body” and a plastic crown.

Finn beamed and waved at the crowd. He shimmied his pants back up as Tanya announced the second and third place winners. Finn looked around the room until his eyes met Stella’s. He gave her a large smile and pointed to his crown.

Stella wished the traitorous thoughts in her head would vanish, but they were becoming more insistent, particularly when Finn honored her with a smile or a wink. She shook her head. She needed to get her mind off of Finn’s abs and focus on getting through the rest of the evening.

Dressed back in her jean shorts, plaid shirt, and pink Chucks, Stella pushed through the front doors of The Prickly Pear to see Finn quickly getting out of Josie.

“Hi, Jules,” Stella said.

“Miss Carstens.” He picked her up and twirled her in a circle. “We did it!”

Stella blushed as he put her down. He stayed within her personal bubble, but she didn’t mind. She gazed at his lips, full and kissable. Oh God, where had
that
thought come from?

“How long have you been out here waiting?” she blurted.

“Not too long, but I had to take Josie for a couple spins around the block once some of the crowd realized who I was,” he replied, running a hand through his hair. “That was crazy in there, huh?”

“Yeah, really crazy.”
Get it together, girl.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to find someplace to crash for the night.”

“How much do we have?” Stella asked.

“I’ve got about nine hundred dollars.”

“I have a little over seventy-five,” Stella said sheepishly.

Finn raised her chin and forced her to look at him. “Every dollar counts.”

Then, to Stella’s disappointment, Finn dropped his hand. He opened the passenger door with a flourish. “Your chariot awaits, m’lady.”

“I’m sure you’re happy we didn’t have to pretend to be husband and wife again,” Finn said, flopping onto the king-size bed. He felt like he was lying on a cloud. After leaving The Prickly Pear, he’d insisted on finding a ritzy hotel for the night. They’d both earned it.

“I don’t know…” Stella dove onto the bed next to Finn with a blissful sigh. “There was champagne at the other hotel.”

“Let’s look at the room service menu,” Finn said. When Stella opened her mouth to object, he quickly followed up with, “No arguing. We earned it.”

Stella accepted the menu from his outstretched hand and perused it, pointing at a couple of items for them to share. Finn called the room service line and placed their order. When he hung up the phone he turned to Stella. “Go take a hot shower. I’ll wait for the bellhop.”

“Thanks.” Stella rose with a groan and went into the bathroom.

Finn took off his shirt and lay back on the bed. He was physically exhausted, but his brain was going five hundred miles per hour. He wondered where the hell Billy was, and how Phoebe was doing. He was going to strangle Billy when he got back to Vegas. He was also annoyed that he couldn’t stop thinking about the way Stella had grinned at him back at The Prickly Pear. She’d made it clear she wasn’t up for anything…but that was
before
she took her ring off.

He rubbed a hand over his face, trying to wipe away the memory. He zoned out for a little bit, finally dozing off. Minutes later, Stella bounded out of the bathroom in one of the hotel’s extremely plush white bathrobes and flung herself onto the bed.

“No food yet?” she asked.

“Nope,” Finn replied, jerking himself into an upright position.

“No worries. I’m just glad to be off my feet. I thought I was supposed to be on vacation,” Stella joked.

Without thinking, Finn pulled Stella’s feet into his lap. Stella tried to pull them back, but gave in as he started massaging one of her heels. Finn wondered what Alex or Billy would say if they could see him now. He glanced at Stella’s face; she was so relaxed she was almost asleep. She looked peaceful and somehow even prettier.

All Finn could think about was how velvety her skin felt where it touched his. How she smelled like strawberries. How she actually seemed to give a damn about his life. This time he couldn’t fight off thoughts of kissing her.

A knock sounded at the door and Stella started awake. Finn guiltily dropped her feet and jumped up from the bed.

“Could you get that?” he called over his shoulder as he made his way to the bathroom.

He closed the door and turned on the shower before quickly undressing and hopping in. “Focus on the crown, Finn,” he instructed himself. “Forget about the girl. Make it back to Vegas and keep moving.” Finn scrubbed his skin until it was nearly raw, then got out of the shower. He put on the remaining hotel bathrobe and frowned at his reflection in the mirror over the sink.

What the hell is going on with me?

“Hurry up! The food’s gonna get cold!” Stella called.

Finn exited the bathroom in a haze of steam to find Stella lounging on the armchair beside the bed.

“I have a question for you,” Stella said, pouring red wine into two glasses. “Earlier today you said Derek wasn’t the right guy for me…”

Finn didn’t like where this was heading.

“What type of man do you think I should be with?”

Finn accepted a glass from Stella and quickly knocked it back. He gestured for a refill. Stella shook her head no. “Not until you answer the question, buddy.”

Finn swallowed and ran a hand through his damp hair. He looked anywhere but at her. “What I think doesn’t matter, Stella. My only relationship is with my work, remember?”

Stella’s cheeks colored but she pressed on. “Seriously, Finn, I want to know.”

Finn sighed and perched on the edge of the bed. “You should be with someone who won’t put a tracking device on your car. Someone who appreciates your free spirit—the way you’re able to just go with the flow and embrace whatever comes next. Someone who makes you feel like…a princess.”

Stella snorted and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Do I seem like the princess type to you? I know I resemble The Little Mermaid, but come on.”

Finn thrust out his wine glass. Stella refilled it and remained close to him.

If she doesn’t move away, I don’t know what I’ll be capable of.

Finn scowled. “Don’t you have girlfriends who can answer questions like that for you? What do I look like—a therapist?”

Stella’s face went slack. “You know what? You’re right. I do have friends I can ask. Sorry to bother you with my pathetic personal problems.” She downed the rest of her wine and began to eat from the room service tray in silence.

Ugh, from one end of the spectrum to the other.
He didn’t mean to make her upset, but it was the only way he knew how to respond when caught off guard.

“Look, I’m sorry. I’m sorry your car broke down. I’m sorry for bringing you into this whole shitty mess. I’m sorry for being such a jerk. It just comes really easily,” Finn said. He tried to crack a smile.

“I don’t think you’re a jerk
all
the time,” Stella said. “I just wish you could see that not everyone is out to get you. You’re wound up so tight all the time. Remember how it felt to let go in the karaoke bar? Didn’t that feel amazing?”

Finn wasn’t a fan of acknowledging his feelings. He both liked and disliked the way Stella seemed to see inside his head more and more each day. She looked at him, waiting.

“It did,” he agreed. “We should probably head to bed. According to the GPS we have about three hours left.”

Finn got up and walked to his bag on the other side of the bed. With their backs to each other, he and Stella got ready to go to sleep. After locating and pulling on pair of boxer briefs under his robe, Finn was ready in seconds. He silently glanced at the other side of the room and caught a glimpse one of Stella’s bare, milky shoulders.

“You better not be watching me,” Stella said in a stern tone. Finn snapped his head around so quickly he nearly got whiplash. He willed his nether regions into submission and took his robe into the bathroom. He took his time walking back into the room, stealing glances at Stella.

“So, I get the bed this time, right? Since you got it last time, and I slept on the couch?” Finn joked.

Stella pouted. “But I had to work a lot harder than you tonight. All you did was take off your clothes and shake your skinny butt.”

“Aha! You were looking at my butt!”

Stella blushed and stuffed her dirty clothes into her bag. “It was at eye level in the center of the club. There was no way I could avoid it.”

“Uh huh, sure,” Finn scoffed. “How about this? We share the bed. I’ll make a pillow wall and there won’t be any funny business. Not on my side or yours.”

Stella bit her lip, then shrugged. “Okay, but you better stay on your side!”

She climbed into her side of the bed and settled herself beneath the covers. Finn found extra pillows in the closet and fluffed them before lining them up along the center of the bed.

“That work?” he asked. Stella nodded and he shimmied under the covers. He turned out the lamp on his nightstand. He and Stella lay silently in the dark.

“You know, I don’t sleep with just anybody,” she said. “I mean, my bed is my sacred space.”

“I do,” said Finn, lighthearted. He hoped Stella wouldn’t realize he wasn’t just being facetious.

“Hey, Finn?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re being a jerk now.”

“Sorry, I’ll try to rein it in.”

They each woke up on their respective sides of the bed. Finn was disappointed to see the pillow wall remained undisturbed.

“We should probably get going,” he said. “The faster we meet my contact, the faster we can get back home.”
And the faster I can forget about this woman.

Stella slid out from under the covers, stood, and stretched. Finn shifted to the side so she wouldn’t see the tent poking up on his side of the bed.

“Could you get Phoebe on the phone?” Stella asked. “I trust you that she’s alright, but I feel bad that the last time I spoke to her we were fighting.”