Page 53 of Artemis

Don’t get ahead of yourself.

To distract himself, he ran the water into the sink and squirted dish soap in, making a small mound of bubbles. He worked his way through plates and cups before moving on to the pots and pans. The quiet ritual of cleaning up the kitchen was a balm to the turmoil in his brain.

As much as he wanted Artemis, he wanted to be there for her even more. Whatever she needed from him, he would give her. Even if it meant giving her space.

He finished washing the last dish and found the drying cloth, hunting through her cupboards for the correct location to place the dishes.

The stairs creaked slightly when he was almost done, warning him of her arrival. He turned at her greeting and smirked at her slack-jawed expression.

“You didn’t have to do all this,” Artemis said weakly, waving a hand around the kitchen.

“I know. I wanted to help, and this was the only thing I could think of. Where do you keep your frying pan?” He nodded at it; he’d put it on the kitchen table.

“Might as well leave it out,” Artemis said with a shake of her head. “I’m going to need it to make pancakes for Alexander tomorrow. He wants a do-over of his birthday. I can’t say that I blame him.”

To Finley’s horror, her chin wobbled and her face scrunched up, tears running down her cheeks.

“Who would want their third birthday to be marred by being kidnapped?” she gasped, wrapping her arms around her middle as if she was holding herself together.

Finley put down the dish and cloth and was across the kitchen in two long strides, scooping her up in his arms and tucking her head under his chin. “He was also rescued,” he murmured, rocking her slightly.

“He shouldn’t have needed to be!” she cried. “I can’tbelievethat asshole! Kidnapping a child for ransom? Hisownchild?”

“He didn’t know him. Alexander is not his child. He’s yours. And you protected him.”

“I let him get taken. How did they manage it?” She started to shake in his arms. It felt like she was going into shock.

He adjusted his hold on her, looser around the ribs, protective cage along her back with his forearms. “Invisibility spell, most likely.” Finley sighed heavily. “Expensive, but effective.”

“I’ll talk to Maddie about putting spell-blockers around the daycare,” Artemis muttered, wiping under her glasses. “We don’t want that sort of thing happening again.”

“Good idea.” Finley curled one hand around her neck. “Can you focus for me for a second? Tell me about one thing you see. Something special.”

“The clock on the wall.”

Finley looked up at the hideous rooster clock.

“I hate it.” A giggle escaped her. “But it was gifted to me by my brother, Apollo. I don’t see him very often, but every time he visits, he looks up at it. If I got rid of it, he’d notice immediately.”

“Maybe he gave it to you because it’s so awful and he wants to see how long it’ll take for you to get rid of it,” Finley said with a chuckle. “Do you want to smash it?”

“Yes! No! I don’t know.” Artemis bit her lip indecisively.

“Sleep on it. Buy a new one and then you can smash it,” Finley suggested. “It was just an idea. I always feel better after I go through my exercise routine, and I wasn’t sure if you had another physical outlet.”

Artemis pulled back a little and smirked up at him. “I can think of a much more satisfying way to exert myself.”

Finley blew out a long breath. “I wasn’t sure you’d want—”

“Want you?” Artemis interrupted him incredulously. “Are you kidding me right now? You—” She sucked in a deep breath. “Follow me.”

She led him into her living room and pushed him down on her couch, straddling his thighs a second later. She took his face in her hands.

“You’ve been looking after my son for two weeks now. Every day that you’ve been at the daycare, Alexander has come home practically bubbling over with stories about Lee, aboutyou. I’ve been falling in love with you through Alexander’s stories. And today? You’ve been as strung out as I have. You combed the city for him. You fought three guys so I could rescue him. You’ve been with me every step of the way. I couldn’t want you more than I do in this very instant.”

“Falling in love?” Finley said breathlessly. His brain felt fuzzy, hearing her say that. He needed to hear it again. “You’re in love with me?”

Artemis blushed. “Yes, I rather think I am.”

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