Page 55 of Better Luck Next Time

He took a second to think about it, then said, “The Bride of Chucky.”

Her jaw dropped and she scrambled for a response. The corners of his mouth twitched, and she threw her napkin at him. “You’re the worst!”

His eyes twinkled. “I couldn’t resist.”

“So what’sreallyyour favorite movie?”

“Fast Five,” he said unapologetically.

She shook her head. “What’s that?”

“It’s in the Fast and Furious franchise.” He grinned. “It’s aclassic.”

Since her napkin was gone, she considered throwing a piece of broccoli at him but reminded herself she was working on being a grown-up. “Well,” she said coyly. “If it’s aclassic,I guess we have to watch it.”

“ButPride and Prejudicefirst,” Finn said. “I had a woman tell me I was like Mr. Darcy, so I want to see if it’s true.”

Adalia took a gulp of wine. She had a feeling it hadn’t been intended as a compliment. Maybe he’d deserved it, but she suspected she wasn’t the only one who’d misunderstood Finn. If he hadn’t discovered her secret, she might never have learned that there was more to him than his button-ups and docksiders, than his ambition and drive. So she was grateful he’d seen her that day, because it had allowed her to see him.

Chapter Eighteen

Finn’s house had always felt a little lonely. He’d had out-of-town friends come to visit and locals over for dinner. Plenty of women had spent the night. But it had always felt a little big, a little empty. His mother hadn’t just found the style obscene, she’d considered it a strange choice for a young man like him, a bachelor, to buy a house large enough for a family. She’d clearly perceived it as a worrying development in her plan to get him to move back to Charlotte. Her disapproval had stayed with him, though, making him wonder if the purchase had been a mistake.

But the house didn’t seem too big with Adalia in it. Shopping with her, making dinner with her…he didn’t want her to leave. Which was why he’d suggested the movie, but the moment she asked if he had any blankets they could share, he worried it had been an impulsive mistake.

All night long, he’d been fighting the temptation to pull her to him and kiss her. To take her hand and lead her upstairs.

Because this was kind of a date, wasn’t it? When was the last time someone other than Dottie had made him dinner? And she kept making those innuendo-laced comments that were driving him nuts. And when she’d talked about watching her favorite romance movie in bed…it had planted an image in his head of Adalia inhisbed. Now he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Part of him wondered why he was hesitating. Yes, Adalia was wounded, but she was also a fierce Valkyrie, very capable of knowing what she wanted and reaching for it. If she wanted him, shouldn’t he just consider himself the luckiest man alive and roll with it?

He had to conclude that Adalia’s past wasn’t the only speed bump. He knew how to charm women, but he didn’t know how to keep them around. No, that wasn’t precisely true…he’d just never been this worried about messing things up. Maybe it went back to that fortune-teller. She may have said he and Adalia were meant for each other, but she’d also said Adalia would be leaving something behind. He didn’t want that something to be Asheville. Or him.

Of course, he wasn’t sure he believed in fortune-tellers. But he couldn’t help feeling a little twinge of superstition about the whole thing.

“Are you sure you want to watch this?” Adalia said, misinterpreting his hesitation. “Itisprofoundly moving. You may never be the same.”

Didn’t he know it.

“A deal’s a deal,” he said, retrieving a fuzzy red blanket from the chest beneath the TV. “Just don’t renege on your part of it.Fast Fiveisalsoprofoundly moving. The cars are unbelievably fast.”

“Oh. My. God. You just made a dad joke,” she said in mock horror. “I now have doubts about this entire enterprise.” But even as she said it, she snuggled onto the couch.

Finn lowered down next to her, keeping a little distance between them, but she instantly snuggled closer, pulling the blanket over both of them. Her side was pressed up against him, her warmth suffusing him.

It was so distracting, it took him a solid five minutes to find the movie and set it up. (They really had made about a dozen different versions.)

At some point during the movie, Adalia’s hand landed on his thigh. It happened organically. She’d raised her hand to point at the screen, accusing one of the characters—Finn had no idea what his name was, something British that ended with “ham”—of being a bounder and a cad, and when she’d lowered it, it had landed on Finn’s leg. She hadn’t moved it, and several of his brain cells had fled fromPride and Prejudice.He also had to concentrate enormously, and shift the blanket, to avoid embarrassing himself.

When the heroine visited Mr. Darcy’s enormous estate, Adalia poked him. “Pay attention, this is the good part.”

A grin crossed his lips. “What? She’s going to look at him differently because she realizes he has a big house?”

“Oh, don’t you besmirch Elizabeth Bennett that way,” she cried out. “Besides, it’s not just a big house—it’s Pemberley! But that hasnothingto do with why she changes her mind about him.”

“Oh yeah?” he asked, giving into temptation and putting his hand on top of hers. “Maybe you should give me some tips? Like I said, I’ve been told I’m like this guy, and from what I can tell, he’s a bit of a jackanapes.” Which was another word she’d used for the Ham guy.

Adalia surprised him by reaching for the remote and turning off the TV. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, her profile swathed in shadow now. Her lips came into focus first.

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