Page 8 of Man Glitter
“Haven’t met the right woman yet, but I fully intend to co-habitate whether a formal marriage is involved or not.”
“Good for you.” I spun around with our plates, wanting to get out of there as soon as I could before this line of questioning went any further. I didn’t care about Charlie’s marital outlook. I couldn’t care. I had career plans that couldn’t be sidelined by a weird neighbor with a body that made me break out into a hot flash.
“So, what’s Finnie short for?”
I nearly dropped the plates, eggs and all. That was definitely not a topic I wanted to discuss.
“It’s not short for anything,” I answered primly, setting the plates down and digging in.
Charlie didn’t even glance at the food, just stared at me.
“What are you doing?” I asked around the egg in my mouth.
“You don’t really think I’m going to believe Finnie isn’t short for something right?” Charlie tilted his mouth to one side. “I mean, you did stitch me up last night, so maybe I should ask to see your credentials to make sure I’m not putting my life in a liar’s hands. For all I know, you might not even be a doctor.”
I swallowed hard, not even tasting the eggs. “Oh, that’s low.”
He shrugged and used his left hand clumsily to cut a bit of egg.
I sighed. He could find out easily enough if he dug around. “It’s short for Rudolfina.”
He whooped loudly, those lines around his mouth teasing out a smile on my own face despite myself.
“Shut up!” I reached over and smacked his chest, regretting that reaction the second I touched his warm skin. My cheeks flared hot, and I got busy eating the rest of my egg. My body was a traitor.
“Rudolfina? That’s amazing. Honestly. I fuckin’ love it.”
I rolled my eyes and didn’t make eye contact. “Yeah, okay, whatever.”
His hand landed on mine, my fork clattering to the plate not from the force but simply from the intimate touch. “I’m serious.”
I looked up, yet another mistake where Charlie was concerned. His blue eyes still had that twinkle, but they also appeared completely lucid and serious.
“You should be proud of that name. It’s whimsical and different and perfect. Just like you.”
I melted. Yep, I straight up melted into the bar stool, a reaction I hated as much as I loved. He had to be lying. No one had ever loved my name, myself leading the pack of those who fervently hated it. And I certainly wasn’t a whimsical or perfect person. If only he knew.
“You’re out of your goddamn mind,” I said quietly.
Charlie just smiled, damn him. “Maybe, but what a way to go about life, huh?”
5
Finnie
The music blared out of the tiny speakers in my car as I headed back home, my approved business proposal sitting in the passenger seat underneath two bags of takeout containers from Forty-Diner. If it came deep fried, I’d ordered it. The mayor had a killer poker face, but after a grueling round of questions on the tail end of my presentation late this afternoon, he’d approved my plans. Now I needed to build out the empty retail space on Brinestone Way and I’d have myself a proper business.
Tonight, though, I would celebrate. The last two days had been stressful taking care of Charlie and Chester, as well as unpacking my new house and polishing my business plan. I could take one night to celebrate the life I was building before getting down to work again on the gritty details.
I pulled into Charlie’s long driveway, not bothering to stop by my place as most of my toiletries were at Charlie’s, along with a couple day’s worth of clothes. I’d underestimated how much help a grown man would need down one hand. There was no doubt a woman wouldn’t have needed any help, but a man? Dear Lord, they were babies with injuries.
The wound looked good so far—no sign of infection—and the stitches were so smooth I’d bet my clinic he’d barely have a scar. But the guy seemed to have an unhealthy aversion to clothing for a fully grown male. I couldn’t take much more of seeing muscles popping every time I glanced around. It was enough to have my libido spinning out of control, despite how irritated he made me when he opened up his mouth.
Climbing out of the car, I saw a stack of wood planks piled outside his workshop that hadn’t been there this morning. What was that man up to? If he split my perfect sutures hauling wood, I’d kill him.
“Charlie?” I called out as I entered through the unlocked front door.
I still couldn’t understand leaving your house unlocked, but none of my valuables were there so I didn’t press too hard. Setting the bags on the small kitchen counter, Chester ran up to me from somewhere in the house, his happy tail wagging hello and planting an idea in my head about getting one of my own as I settled into Auburn Hill.
