Page 81 of Rules in Love
“I think he knows, Finn.”
My nervousness all but disappeared when Finn attempted to slide an errant curl back inside my messy do. Melting into a puddle of lust, I sat still as he made a few unsuccessful attempts before giving up and, instead, tucked it behind my ear with a tickle. His face was right in front of mine, so close I could hear each shaken inhale and exhale and wouldn’t need to shift an inch if I kissed him as I wanted. His warm breath caressed my cheek, his lips dangerously ghosting mine, which seemed to be all he could look at. “I think he does too, but I don’t think I care. I don’t want to hide how I feel anymore.” Finn placed a sloppy wet kiss I could hear on my nose, then nodded toward the garden. “See you at lunch, Red.”
Twelve-fifteen…twelve-seventeen…twelve-eighteen and twelve seconds.
Never in the history of clocks had staring at one made time go faster. In fact, they said it usually had the opposite effect—a watched pot never boils and all that. Today wasno exception.
By the time one p.m. rolled around, I’d handed my anxiety over Jason or anyone knowing about us over to the gods—or attempted to, at least. The problem was that a small but loud voice of doubt had settled on my shoulder. And despite all the evidence pointing to the contrary, the fear of doing the wrong thing, of judgment, lingered. I’m not sure why I couldn’t shift it, but I couldn’t. Thankfully, my desire to secure Finn’s happiness, and the gratifying prospect of healing his mighty splintered heart, was more vocal than my own fears.
Carrying a large wicker picnic basket in one hand, a tartan blanket under his arm, and a grin I would remember forever on his face, my date had already ventured outside. He returned a few moments later, collecting another box from the kitchen before disappearing again.
With my curiosity piqued, I raced through the office, almost knocking poor Ronnie off his feet as I careened through the kitchen, burst through the door onto the landing, and looked down over the garden.
Fall was rapidly approaching, so my tree stood barren and bare in the center of the yard, but it had never looked so pretty. Adorned with fairy lights, a picnic blanket laid at the roots. Upon that sat a terrified looking but undeniably beautiful Finn. Next to him was the empty basket, two grape juice boxes, and what looked like an entire patisserie. “Hope you’re hungry, Red. Come sit,” he called.
Finn watched my wobbly descent with his lips between his teeth and his body shaking as he held in his laughter. “Don’t fall, Scarlett,” I mumbled, “Please don’t fall in front of the pretty man.” My choice of footwear, though stylish, wasn’t the only fashion issue I faced. The length of my skirt was a major regret as I approached and knelt by Finn’s side. Luckily, the abnormally loud thud of my heart had me quickly forgetting my flashing concerns.
My ass hit the blanket, and Finn’s hand cradled my chin, caressing my cheek with his thumb as he chastely pressed a kiss to the edge of my lips. “You’re so beautiful, Scarlett.”
Though only twenty-four, I’d already resigned myself to never finding love. It was inconceivable that I could be loved when I could barely tolerate myself. That someone could take the things I vehemently tried to disguise—the hated, broken, ugly fragments of a child that had been so alone and lost—and see something they found beautiful. Someone they didn’t want to run from. That they wanted to stay with. Build a family with. To me, that was true love, and at that moment, I was close to finding it.
My gracious host gave a detailed description and sample bite of each pastry before lying on his back and sighing. “I know we’re only out the back of work, but this is nice. I like this. This is good.” He punctuated each statement with a nod of his head and began tapping the ground beside him.
“Are you nervous, Finn? ”
“In general, or right this second?”
“Right this second.”
“Oh. A little, I guess. Can you tell?”
“A little.” I nodded to his still-tapping fingers. “You tap your fingers like that when you are. Are you nervous that people can see us?”
Taking a bite of his smoked salmon croissant, Finn chewed thoughtfully while watching me from the corner of his eye. Not nerve-racking at all.
“No. I’m not worried about that. I was just thinking about how you’re the most incredible woman I’ve ever met. You’re so damn sexy, and you don’t even know it, which somehow makes you even sexier. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the more time I spend with you, the more I want you. I think about you all the time, and well…” He edged closer. “I would very much like to tell you—”Oh my God, Oh my God. He’s going to say he loves me! “My best friend Nate is coming for Christmas, and I wanted to know if you would like to meet him?”
Okay, not quite the same, but still good.
Christmas?A shimmering, tinsley bubble of joy appeared in my belly and inflated rapidly as my mind skated away with itself. Finn was thinking of us being together at Christmas. CHRISTMAS. That was over two months away.
Do not do a happy dance.
I was included in his future. This was big. Not only because he wanted me to meet his bestie and would still be mine in two months’ time, but because I FREAKING LOVED CHRISTMAS! Growing up, I hated it. I was always lonely and sad. But since Teddy, Ben, and I formed our own little family, I’d worked hard to make it special, to build new and happy memories. Now I had more to look forward to. Shopping for gifts, baking, decorating, wrapping myself in a red bow, and lying naked in Finn’s bed.
My answer came in the form of my arms around his neck, pulling him down, and sealing my lips over his. As I moaned yes into his mouth, my worries melted away. The man had the lips of a god. Every kiss was like the first. My body came to life. Reborn again and again. No man had ever made me feel like he did, had kissed me the way he did, felt the way he did. His lips were soft as a cloud, and the smell of his skin set a fire within my soul. His tongue was smooth and wet and caressed the edges of my bottom lip like it was the sweetest candy on earth. I parted my lips, welcoming that irresistible tongue inside, and gently massaged it with my own firm, possessive strokes.
“God, I wish I could get you naked right now,” he breathed into my neck, pressing his firm body harder and harder into me. We chuckled as my head clunked against the hard ground, but neither removed our lips from the other.
“Tell me, nephew. Is Scarlett part of the menu, or do you always eat her face like that?”
“Poop! Jocelyn!”
Being familiar with the wit of his aunt, Finn took her jab in stride. I did not. I snorted, blushed, and then slipped behind his back. “Don’t let me stop you, Scarlett. I only wanted to talk to you about the design, but I can come back later. It’s much more fun to kiss each other than to talk to an old lady like me. Enjoy your time together.”
“Oh, we will, Jocie. We will.” Finn smirked.
Laughing and puffing her way up the stairs, I took a mental note not to add too many to her house and resumed kissing her nephew. When she finally made it to the top deck, she took a few deep and heavy breaths, then leaned over the railing and yelled down to us, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, Finny!”
