Page 17 of Curious

Chapter Five

“Another beer, Jeremy?”

He looked up at Owen’s sister and nodded with an absent smile. “Thanks, Jen. I’d love one.”

“Anything for you, dimples,” she said with a wink, her light blue eyes reminding him of Owen’s. “You look great without the beard by the way. Ten years younger. Don’t get me wrong, you had the whole dangerous artistic biker thing going on, and it was hot, but you really do have a handsome face. It reminds me what a crush I had on you when I was just an innocent tween. Too bad I’m getting married, because I could get into a lot of trouble with a bad boy like you.”

“Don’t patronize me, little Finn. The bad boy is now a dirty old man.”

Jennifer Finn rolled her eyes. “Tell someone who doesn’t know. Still, it could work. My brothers like you better than they like their future in-law.”

Jeremy barely held back a snort. They’d like a fungus better than they liked Jennifer’s fiancé, Scott, but he wasn’t going to be the one to say it. Every time anyone did, Jen just dug in and reminded them of Scott’s horrible childhood. She’d started rooting for the underdog in middle school and she still wasn’t ready to throw in the towel. She was going to soft-heart her way into an unhappy marriage if the Finns didn’t shake some sense into her soon.

He grinned at her. “The Finn boys don’t like me—I’m prettier than they are and they know it.”

Jen laughed. “I know it too. So does that hot guy at the end of the bar who keeps asking me questions about you.”

“Don’t start. You know my rule—no pick-ups at your family’s place. I wouldn’t want to give anyone a heart attack.”

“Spoilsport,” Jennifer pouted. “No one else is around tonight. Anyway, Dad wouldn’t blame you, and even if he did, Seamus will be taking over soon and he’s got plans to bring in a younger crowd with healthier, less narrow-minded hearts. Come on, look at that guy. He’s a Latin hunk of sexy and he’s totally into you. I suppose if you want to let him down easy I could let you flirt with me. Though if he’s anything like you, it might make him more interested.”

“Little Finn, you are trouble,” he said, shaking his head, “and you’re sounding like Natasha. What has she been filling your head with? We shouldn’t have let you make her a bridesmaid. You two are obviously spending way too much time together.”

“And we still have five months to go.” Jen looked around and then lowered her voice. “Speaking of Tasha, she’s taking me to her club for a special bachelorette party soon. One of her friends is going to…well, we’re negotiating. That’s what they call it, Jeremy. Negotiating. You basically have to sign a contract to get kinky. Isn’t that wild?”

Oh, hell no. “Does Owen know about this?”

“No, he doesn’t, and don’t you dare tell him, Jeremy Porter.” She fiddled with her strawberry blonde braid the way she always did when she was nervous or excited. “I’m twenty-four not twelve. I can do whatever I want. But if he happens to show up and give me grief? I’ll threaten to tell our feminist mother how he spends all his free time lately. That would be enough to scare anyone into silence.”

Just lately he spent it with me, he thought, lowering his head into his hand and sighing. He wondered how Ellen Finn would respond to that information.

Somehow he didn’t think they’d be any more pleased than they would be about Jen getting her kink on at Tasha’s club. Though his transgression would merit far worse than a lecture.

“I wish I didn’t know this,” he mumbled into his palm. “Why do I know this?”

Jen took his hand off his face and squeezed it. “Because I know you’ll understand and keep my secrets. You always have.”

He squeezed back. “And I always will, little Finn. Still, this is a bit more intense than the average bachelorette shindig. Why don’t you get a stripper and objectify him with your friends like a normal girl?”

“I just want to try it once. I’m going to marry Scott, and I know him well enough to realize he won’t be the kind of husband that wants to experiment with that sort of thing. If you want to know the truth, he likes to—”

“I don’t,” Jeremy interrupted rapidly. “I really don’t want to know the truth. At all.”

She giggled and he studied her through narrowed eyes. “All three of your brothers would take turns kicking my ass if they found out I knew about this and didn’t talk you out of it. They won’t hear it from me, but I have to tell you, I’m not liking the idea of you negotiating with one of Tasha’s friends.”

“You’re one of her friends.” She grinned. “Let’s negotiate. If you want to let that man pick you up while I watch, maybe even kiss him, I might get enough of a vicarious thrill to change my mind and cancel my date at the club.”

Jeremy shook his head and took a drink. “Tempting as that is, your brother’s going to be here any minute. How about I promise not to say a word if you stop trying to hook me up before he gets here?”

“Have it your way.” Someone called her name and she moved to the other end of the bar, leaving Jeremy staring into his glass mug.

That conversation had been disconcerting as hell. He needed to have a talk with Tasha. Was she trying to drive Owen crazy by leading his sister over to the dark side, or was it something else? Was she using a different method of persuasion to show Jennifer that she had more options than Scott? If so, it was already more successful than the Finn frontal assault her brothers Stephen and Seamus had attempted.

At least it had temporarily taken his mind off the reason he was here. The reason he couldn’t make himself get up and leave, even though that was exactly what he wanted to do.

Owen had ordered him to come.

Jeremy hadn’t seen him in the two days since his birthday. The last time, he’d been lying in bed, watching Owen dress so he could go home and change before work. He’d kept his hands laced under his pillow, his short nails digging painfully into his skin so he wouldn’t reach for him and try to convince him to stay.

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