Page 96 of Twist of Fate
“Sorry for making a mess of your panties.”
“No, you’re not.”
“No.” He smirks. “I’m not. I’m going to enjoy the fuck out of the fact that you’re walking covered in my cum for the rest of the day.”
I shake my head. “And here I thought I was falling for a sweet and charming tour guide. Who knew he had such a dirty mouth.”
“You knew,” he says confidently.
My stomach does flip-flops, and he laughs. “Okay,” I relent. “Maybe I had an inkling.”
I get up, and we start to rearrange our clothes and fix our hair. I ask Finn for some tissues to take care of the situation between my legs, and he refuses. “I told you, darlin’. I really like the idea of you walking around covered in me, smelling like me.”
“You’re a caveman.”
He shrugs. “Never said I wasn’t.”
I finish brushing my fingers through my hair, trying my best to make it look like I wasn’t just thoroughly fucked, and then glance down at my watch. “Shit, I’ve got to go,” I say to him. “I’ve got a meeting in the conference room in twenty minutes.”
He grins and shakes his head. “You know it takes exactly three minutes to get there, yeah?”
“Shut up,” I mutter. “I like being on time.”
He steps forward until he’s right in front of me. “I do recall you being very punctual on our tour. I just assumed it was because you liked me.”
“Oh, I did,” I agree. “But I didn’t need to show up early to spend time with you.”
“No, your mam mostly took care of that.” A sudden wave of grief sweeps over me that startles me. It must show on my face because Finn steps forward and cups my chin. “Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Although we spent an excessive amount of time in bed over the last week, we also managed to find time to talk—to catch up. It was essential. We had been apart for two years, and we missed a lot in each other’s lives.
One of the main topics of conversation was my mom and her illness.
“It’s not your fault,” I reassure him. “Grief is funny like that. I can go days or weeks feeling perfectly fine, and then suddenly, it’s as if I’m taking ten steps backward.”
“You don’t think it’s because we dredged up a bunch of stuff talking about it?”
I shrug. “Maybe, but honestly, I’m glad we did.” He rubs my shoulders while I rest my hands on his waist. “I don’t have anyone I can talk to about her, you know? It might have been painful to talk about the sad stuff, but it was nice to reminisce with someone who actually knew her.”
He offers a sad smile. “Well, I’m here,” he vows. “Whenever you need me.”
But we both know that’s not true.
Not when our relationship has an expiration date.
* * *
“Are you fucking Finn O’Connell?” Shea startles me, plopping down in the seat next to me. I’ve been here for about ten minutes because, as Finn said, it really does take only three minutes to get from his office to the conference room.
Not that I would tell him that.
“I—” I stutter, looking at her with a wide, panicked expression.
But she just stares back at me with an ear-splitting grin. She’s wearing purple eyeshadow that seems like it took a year to apply. “Oh my god! You are! Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Um—” I gulp. How do I answer this? Lie? No, Shea is my friend. But Finn is our boss. This is why I decided to keep this whole thing on the DL.
“Are you worried that we might hate you? Or think you’re being opportunistic?”
