Page 12 of Finn Rhodes Forever

When our eyes met, my pulse picked up.

I’d never admit this out loud, but fucking hell, he was hot.

My gaze lingered on the tattoos circling his right forearm, disappearing beneath the hem of his sleeve. On the other arm, stars spilled down his arm, constellations of pinpricks. Finn had always been my kryptonite, but as an adult? With the tattoos, his filled-out form, and the sparkle in his eye?

If I didn’t hate him so much, he’d be irresistible.

“I’m surprised you’re not bored.” I shrugged, keeping my face blank. I whirled around and walked away, eyes scanning the ground, cataloguing every plant.

“Bored? No way. Out here, with you?” He winked at me and a spark traveled down my spine. “This is heaven.” The grin hitched higher on his mouth.

Yeah, this bantery bullshit? I wasn’t doing this. “It’s quiet time,” I told him. “I’m working.”

My gaze swung back to the ground, scanning the surrounding area.Sword fern.Pacific oak fern.Western hemlock.

My mind wandered to the old house at the edge of town we had passed on our drive into the mountains this morning. As teenagers, we used to ride our bikes to it. It was an older couple who lived there, and since the house was deep in the forest, they didn’t get many people coming by. They used to keep popsicles on hand in the summer for us. They passed away in the years since, and their adult son owned the property but didn’t live there. The yard was overgrown and the house looked like it needed more upkeep.

My heart twisted. This town was full of memories of Finn and me.

“Rocky Mountain juniper,” Finn said at my side, pointing off to our right.

“That’s a common juniper.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” I stared at him as his expression broke into a roguish grin. He knew it was the common juniper. “It’s still quiet time.”

“Sadie said the bar is busy. You work there a lot?”

I gritted my teeth, keeping my eyes on the ground.

“My shifts at the fire hall are four days on, four days off,” he continued. “I was thinking we could do a few overnight trips if it works out with your bar shifts, now that your parents are back.”

My skin prickled at him citing things I hadn’t told him. Had he been asking about me? What else did he know?

“We’re not doing overnight trips,” I said. “I don’t need you crawling into my tent pretending you’re cold.”

He laughed. The sound was low, warm, and rich, and it sent a thrill through my stomach.

Thatwas why Finn was so dangerous. Around him, my brain melted. I used to love making him laugh. I was addicted to the sound.

“If we camp, we can cover more ground instead of having to go home each night.”

He had a point. I thought about my conversation with my advisor. I had until the fall to find this flower. It made sense to cover as much ground as we could.

I’d have to talk to my dad about coverage at the bar. The summer season was starting soon and our town thrived on tourism. With only two thousand residents, Queen’s Cove saw over a million tourists a year. People flocked from all over the world to enjoy our cold-water surfing, lush emerald forests, and sparkling Pacific Ocean waters. In the evenings, they packed the bar. He had hired a full staff for the summer, so could handle me working fewer shifts than usual.

I stared at Finn, with his trademark cheeky smile.

When we were hiking and I didn’t have to talk to him, it was manageable, but what about at night when we had to eat dinner and sit by the fire? We couldn’t just sit in silence.

“No overnight trips,” I told him.

He shot me a smug, knowing smile. “By the end of the summer, Livvy, we’re going to be best friends again.”

My stomach clenched. “Don’t call me that.”

Livvy. He used to call me that when we were teenagers. Only when we were alone, only for my ears.

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