Page 39 of Lightness In My Dark

Finn tickled my side. I moved away from him while he glanced at everyone. “Not bad,mia piccolarock star. This turned out better than I thought.”

I bumped him with my hip. “Hey! Thanks a lot.”

His shoe scuffed against the table when he said, “I didn’t mean it like that. Everything turned out great.”

“This wouldn’t have happened without Chef Dan. He was a lifesaver.”

We regarded the people as they maneuvered to other tables to socialize, filling drinks, and devouring the platters. I could feel Finn staring at me.

I twisted his way. “What?”

A boyish grin captured his face. “Nothing. It’s just nice seeing you smile. It suits you.”

The floor hid my embarrassment as I whispered athank you.

People mingled for hours until the last one, Lucille, made her way to her driver. She slurred her words, rubbing her hands over Finn as he caught sight of me, trying not to laugh. I snickered into my hand. Once gone, I kicked my shoes off and slumped onto a stool at the kitchen island. Chef Dan blended and poured two drinks. Finn came in afterwards.

Chef Dan offered me a glass, and I gave him awhat’s thislook.

“Kiss me under the mistletoe.”

“Chef Dan! I don’t think your wife would approve.” That made us laugh.

“No! That’s the name of the drink.” I lifted my glass and inspected the contents. “Try it. You’re going to love it.”

And he was right. I loved it. I closed my eyes and groaned with pleasure. When I opened them, Chef Dan had a smile on his face while Finn explored mine, mouth ajar, wetting his lips.

He must have realized what he was doing when he shook his head, lifted his glass, and said, “A toast to both of you. You did an excellent job! I appreciate all you did. Everyone had fun. The food, décor, and music were perfect.”

Chef Dan and I lifted our glasses and said, “Hear, hear.”

We didn’t stay up much longer. It had been a long day and night. Finn offered to drive Chef Dan home, but he brushed the suggestion away. He called an Uber. I walked upstairs, Finn behind me. When we reached our rooms, we turned to one another, wishing each other a good night. As I closed my door, I noticed Finn still looking in my direction.

Chapter 17 – Family Holiday

WREN

Christmas morning and I was beyond ecstatic. Lindsey and Carter were coming over to celebrate with Finn, Cole, and I. Not since childhood had I celebrated Christmas with my parents. Once I became a teenager, my parents broke family tradition by traveling, either taking me along or leaving me with my grandmother. Our distance grew over the years, and much of my life remained hidden from them. Even after all these years, their travels whisked them away, and they wouldn’t be meeting Finn until after the new year. In my adult life, I spent Christmas with friends. But it wasn’t the same, driving somewhere to spend the day drinking and eating, a couple of charity gifts given to me. To have a day with family, no matter how temporary it was, filled me with joy.

I took some morning time to write in my journal as I smiled out the window. Large snowflakes fell down, accumulating on the sill. Kneeling, I turned the handle on a window to open it. My fingers gathered the snow, created a snowball, and tossed it out the window.

I fell to the side when Finn said, “So, you’re up for a snowball fight?”

My face lit up, letting out a screech. He leaned against the doorjamb, arms folded, cocking his eyebrow with a challenging smile. I still couldn’t get over his flawlessness.

His laugh shook me out of my daze, realizing I had been staring at him.

I shrugged a shoulder and said, “I’m game. We can even have teams.”

“Teams, huh?” He approached. “Who else is going to play?”

“Cole and Jacob?”

Finn shook his head. “I gave the staff off today and tomorrow. And there is no way you’ll get Cole out there tossing snowballs. He’d rather prepare breakfast.”

I closed the window and jumped off the seat. “Then you better dress warm because you’re going to be covered in snow.”

“Ha! You wish.” His departing words were, “Make sure you double-up on clothing. You’re going to be wet and pummeled.”

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