Sweet Little Lies: Heartbreaker Bay Book 1 (11 page)

He’d joined in and won two hundred bucks, which had kept him from trying to kill Archer.

Pru had the dumbwaiter door latched from her side. Smart girl. That didn’t surprise him.

What
did
surprise him was that there was almost no furniture in the entire place.

“Where did you move from?” he asked.

“Not far. Fisherman’s Wharf.”

“You didn’t move your furniture yet?”

“Uh . . .” She headed into her kitchen and was face first into her fridge now, leaving him a very nice view of her sweet ass in her snug yoga capris. “My place there was mostly furnished,” she said. “But yeah I have a few things left to move over.” Her tank gapped away from her front, affording him a quick flash of creamy, pale skin.

“You work out of Fisherman’s Wharf too,” he said. “At Jake’s charter service, right?”

“Yes.” She straightened and faced him. “He’s got that huge old warehouse on Pier 39. I both work and lived there.”

“With Jake.” Wow, listen to him all casual, when his stomach had literally just hit his toes.

“He’s got a lot of space. Not all of it is used for business. It’s residential too.”

Not,
Finn couldn’t help but notice, exactly an answer. He knew Jake. Knew too a little of the guy’s reputation, which was that maybe his legs didn’t work, but everything else most certainly did. That guy saw more action than Finn, Archer, Spence, and Sean all together.

Times ten.

“You and him . . .?” he asked calmly, while feeling anything but.

“Not anymore.”

Somehow this didn’t make him feel better. He was still holding Thor and the box. Pru came back toward him and took Thor, setting him down, unhooking his leash. Then she turned back to Finn and reached for the new box.

Their hands brushed but he held firm, waiting until her eyes met his. He let his question stand. He had no idea why it mattered to him so much. Or maybe he did. In any case, he was usually good at letting things go,
real
good, but for some reason this wasn’t going to be one of those things.

Finally, she blew out a sigh. “Did you think I’d kiss you if I was with someone else?”

“Do you always answer a question with a question?”

Making an annoyed sound, she tugged the box from his arms, her momentum taking her on a half spin from him but at the last minute she whirled back with something clearly on the tip of her tongue.

Problem was, he’d stepped in to follow right behind her. Which was how he ended up with the corner of the box slamming right into his crotch.

Pru
felt the impact, took in where the box had hit Finn, and staggered back a step in horror. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry! Are you all right?”

He didn’t answer. He did however let out a whoosh of air and bent over, hands on his knees, head down.

Good going, Pru. Since you didn’t kill him the other night, you went for unmanning him and finishing the job. She quickly set the box down and hovered close, hands raised but not touching him, not sure
where
to touch him. Which was ridiculous. She’d had her tongue halfway down his throat. He’d seen her lose her collective shit over the photograph of her mom and dad . . . “Finn?” she asked tentatively. “Are you okay?
Say something
.”

Head still down, he lifted a finger, signaling he needed a moment.

Going gonzo with all the agitation in the air, Thor
was on a yipping spree, running in circles around them both, panting in exertion.

“Thor, hush!” she said, eyes on Finn.

Thor didn’t hush, but she couldn’t concentrate on the dog. “I’m so sorry,” she said again, finally giving in to the urge to touch Finn, running her hand up and down his back, trying not to notice that under her fingers he was solid muscle. And thanks to his low-riding jeans having slid down his hips when he’d bent over, she could see an inch of smooth, sleek skin and it made her stupid. “I didn’t mean to crush your . . . er, twig and berries.”

He stilled and then lifted his head. He was pale. No, scratch that, he was green, and maybe sweating a little bit to boot. But he had a funny expression on his face.

Thor was still losing his mind, barking so hard that his upright ear bounced up and down and his floppy ear kept covering his eyes, freaking him out all the more.

“Shh,” Finn said to him firmly but not unkindly.

Shockingly, Thor “shh’d.”

Finn straightened up a little bit more, but not, Pru couldn’t but notice, all the way.

“Twig and berries?” Finn repeated.

“Yeah, um . . .” Pru strained for another reference so that she didn’t have to spell it out. “You know, your . . . kibbles and bits.”

The corners of his mouth quirked but she wasn’t sure if he was mad or amused. “Frank and beans?” she tried.

At that, he out-and-out smiled. “I’m torn between giving you a break and stopping you, or making you go on.”

Oh
for God’s sake. She crossed her arms. “I suppose you have better words.”

“Hell yes,” he said. “And when you’re ready, I’ll teach them to you.”

Breaking eye contact, she—completely inadvertently, she’d swear it on a stack of waffles!—slid her gaze to where she’d hit him. Did it seem . . .
swollen
? “I’ve got an icepack if you—”

He choked. “Not necessary.”

“Are you sure?” she asked. “Because I really am a good medic, I promise, and—”

He choked off another laugh. “And you’re offering to do what, exactly?”

Uh . . . She bit her lower lip.

“Kiss it better?” he suggested in a voice that made her get a little overheated.

Note to self:
not quite ready for prime time with Finn O’Riley
.

He gave her a knowing smirk and moved to the door. Definitely with a slight limp. “You should take Elle up on her offer for a new frame,” he said. “That picture clearly means a lot to you and she’s got some beautiful things in storage.”

And then he was gone.

It was a matter of pride that Finn managed to walk across the courtyard without a limp. Or too much of one anyway. He’d thought about going up instead of down, heading to the roof, the only place in the building that he could go and probably be alone, but he didn’t want or need alone time.

Or so he told himself.

“What’s
up with you, someone knee you in the ’nads?”

He turned his head and found Eddie in his usual place, sitting on a box in the alley. It was a good spot because from there the old man could see both the courtyard and the street.

“Isn’t it early for you to be up?” Finn asked him.

“It’s trash day.”

Finn went through his pockets for extra change. Coming up with a five, he handed it over.

Eddie smiled his gratitude.

When a shadow joined theirs, Finn turned just as Archer appeared silently at his side.

Archer had some serious stealth skills, earned mostly the hard way. He’d lost none of his sharp edges, which considering what he did for a living and the danger he still occasionally faced, was a good thing.

“What happened to your boys?” Archer asked.

Finn resisted the urge to cup his “boys” because they still ached like a son of a bitch from his collision with the corner of Pru’s box. “Nothing.”

“Maybe he finally got laid,” Eddie said to Archer.

Archer’s gaze cut to Finn’s face. “Nah,” he said. “He’d be more dazed. And happy.”

Spence joined them. “What’s going on?”

“The debate is whether or not Finn got laid,” Archer said.

Spence took his turn studying Finn’s expression. “He’s not happy enough.”

“That’s what I said.” Archer gave a rare smile. “Given how long it’s been, I’d assume he’d be doing cartwheels and shit.”

Finn
took a deep breath as they both laughed at his expression. “How about I
assume
my foot up your ass?”

This only made them crack up harder.

Eddie got himself together first. “Gotta go,” he said and headed for the alley. Trash day was his favorite day of the week because he loved nothing more than to go dumpster diving for treasures.

Twice now, the entire building—all fond of Eddie and protective of him as well, had implemented a system where everyone bagged up anything that might be of interest to him separately so that he didn’t have to go searching.

And then they discovered that Eddie was dumping out all the bags into the dumpster regardless.

Turns out, Eddie liked the thrill of the find.

“You smell like a skunk,” Archer said to Eddie.

Eddie blinked. “Is that right? Well, I’m sure we have skunks around here somewhere.”

“You think?” Archer asked casually. “Because I’m thinking it smells like weed.”

“Huh,” Eddie said. “Good thing you’re not a cop these days, huh?”

Oh boy, Finn thought. Even Old Man Eddie knew better than to remind Archer of his cop days, which in turn would remind him why he wasn’t one anymore.

Archer’s eyes went flat. “You growing?”

“Only exactly what I’m allowed,” Eddie said and pulled out a laminated card on a ribbon from beneath his shirt.

“You selling?” Archer asked.

“Sir, no sir,” Eddie responded, adding a smartass salute.

Finn
and Spence both grimaced. “Man,” Spence said. “What have we told you? Archer has
zero
sense of humor.”

Eddie grinned. For reasons that Finn had never figured out, Eddie liked to fuck with Archer.

Archer gave a slight head shake, like he was talking himself out of making Eddie disappear. “You know the rec center on Union?” he finally asked.

Eddie nodded. “Past the porn shop but before the C
OME
T
O
J
ESUS
sign?”

“Yeah,” Archer said. “They’re having a free meal tonight. Pot roast and potatoes.”

“I love pot roast and potatoes,” Eddie said.

“You want a ride, come by my office at six,” Archer told him.

Eddie grinned at him. “See, I knew you liked me. Though not as much as Finn. Finn gave me five bucks.” Eddie looked hopefully at Archer.

Well versed in this game, Archer snorted. “I’ll pay you ten if you tell me why lover boy here’s limping like he was rode hard and put away wet. I know you know more than you’re telling.”

“You think he got his knob polished,” Eddie said.

Archer flashed another grin. “Yeah.”

Finn flipped Archer off, which only made Archer’s grin widen.

“I don’t know everything,” Eddie said. “But I guess I do know some things.”

“Such as?” Archer asked.

Eddie held out his hand.

Archer rolled his eyes, fished through his pockets and came up with the promised ten.

“Okay,”
Eddie said. “I know he went inside Trouble’s apartment with her, but only stayed a few minutes. He came back out in this condition. It wasn’t long enough for him to get laid . . .” He slid Finn a sideways look. “At least I hope it wasn’t. You ain’t a quick trigger, are you, boy?”

Spence about busted a gut and handed Eddie another ten. “Totally worth every penny.”

Finn shook his head and walked away from those assholes, and he wasn’t going back to the pub either. He needed a few hours horizontal on his bed—where he would absolutely not think about how he’d rather be getting his knob polished.

Nineties Karaoke Night cheered Finn up considerably. First Archer bet the gang that Spence couldn’t rap “Baby Got Back.”

Spence rapped “Baby Got Back.” Perfectly. He was in a suit too, evidently fresh from some business meeting.

The ladies went nuts.

In penance, Archer had to sing “I’m Too Sexy” by Right Said Fred.

Shirtless.

The crowd went wild. But even better was what happened when the girls showed up. They walked in together, Elle, Willa, Haley . . . and Pru, all dressed in vintage nineties.

It was a cornucopia of hotness but Finn’s gaze went straight to Pru. His heart about stopped. She wore a tight, short, high-waisted denim miniskirt that showed off her mile-long legs to mouth-watering perfection,
a cropped white tee with an equally cropped leather jacket that kept giving sneak, tantalizing peeks of smooth, flat belly, and some serious platforms that told him Elle had been in charge. Her hair had been teased to within an inch of its life and she appeared to be wearing glitter as makeup.

Everyone had fun ordering nineties-style cocktails, so he made Pru a special one—a Chocolate Mock-tini. She raved over it so much that everyone else wanted one as well, and it became the night’s special.

Eventually the ladies all got up to sing “Kiss” by Prince and brought down the house. Not because they were good. But because they were so bad.

Pru had been right. She couldn’t sing. Couldn’t dance either. Or keep rhythm. Not that this stopped her or the glitter floating around her in a cloud everywhere she moved.

Finn loved every second of it.

That was until she dragged his ass up on stage and made him do a duet with her. “The Boy Is Mine.”

He was pretty sure not a single one of the guys would ever let him forget it either.

Sean bailed shortly after that, a woman on his arm, a smile on his face. Finn was happy for him, but when the night ended and the girls went to leave, he realized he was screwed because he didn’t have the option of taking Pru home.

Even if that was only up two flights of stairs.

He had to stay until closing, add up the till, make sure everything got closed and locked up.

Which means he got to watch Pru, his Fun Whisperer, walk out.

She
hugged him good-bye, and the feel of her up against him almost had him saying fuck it to the pub. But he couldn’t. He showered and hit his bed two hours later. Alone.

And when he woke up the next morning he had glitter all over his pillow.

The
next few days were busy at work, with Pru’s shifts consisting of one cruise after another, but she still had plenty of time to think. A lot.

Karaoke night had been fun. Watching Finn laugh with Archer and Spence had been a highlight for her.

Fun looked good on him. It made her happy to see him happy, and she realized it’d been a good week for her, too. Willa, Elle, and Haley had been so welcoming, taking her in, adding her to their group without hesitation.