“It’s beautiful,” Paige said, stepping out of the car when we reached the cabin. The air was sharp with an early evening chill but she breathed in deep and smiled at me. “This is totally worth ditching work for.”
“Aren’t you the boss?” Jake glanced over from the trunk where he was hauling bags out with effortless grace. “It’s not ditching, it’s delegating. Makes you feel less guilty.”
She grinned at him, blue eyes sparkling. “It does ease the guilt some.”
Paige reached for her bag but Jake shook his head. “I’ve got it.”
He and Finn carried the luggage inside, leaving Paige to hook her arm through mine. “Oh my God, he’s hot.”
I laughed and nodded. “They don’t look like brothers, do they?”
“Not really. Quite the gene pool, though.”
Turning, I looked out over the lawn to the rise of low hills and then the trees climbing the larger slopes behind them. “You ever been to Colorado before?”
“Once. Skiing when I was a kid. I hated it.”
“Did you fall?”
She nodded, brushing her hair back from her face. “A lot. And it was cold. Too cold for me.”
“It’ll get cold here in the evenings and at night, too,” I warned her. Then smiled. “But maybe you can find something to warm you up.”
She nudged my arm. “You’re a very bad girl. I hope Finn gets to enjoy some of that.”
We walked up the stairs to the porch where Paige admired the rocking chairs and glanced at the mountains again. “I can’t go inside, this is too beautiful.”
“You might need a heavier jacket, then.”
She smiled. “I’d settle for some wine.”
The crack of a branch startled me and I whipped around, my fingers curling into my palms.
“Deer,” Paige said, wrapping her arm around my shoulders. “See?”
She was right. Five of them ran through the trees on the side of the property and froze when they saw us. They stood and listened as we watched them for several minutes.
“You okay?” Paige asked softly.
I nodded, relaxing my hands and then my shoulders. “Just…tense, still. I’m kind of nervous without Dustin or Curtis here.”
“Didn’t Finn say Curtis was coming tomorrow?”
I led her inside and nodded. “He is. And that’s fine—in fact, we’re fine here. He doesn’t need to come at all.”
“But it’ll make you feel better,” Paige said gently.
I swallowed my nerves, trying to forget the things I couldn’t do anything about right now.
Jake appeared at the top of the stairs. He pointed down the hall. “The lovebirds stole the suite, which I think is just wrong since they’ve got other things besides the room and the view to occupy them—”
“Hey,” I said. “Finn picked the room, not me.”
“True.” He smiled at Paige and jerked his thumb behind him. “You can choose between the blue room or the green room.”
She clasped her hands together and grinned at me. “This is just too much. I’m getting spoiled.”
“Get spoiled,” I said. “It’s good for you. I’m going to the wine cellar and pulling out something that’ll work for this evening. Okay, Jake?”
He waved a hand. “Sure. Grab whatever. You know Mom keeps that thing stocked like she’s preparing for the apocalypse.”
Paige’s eyes turned dreamy. “A wine cellar, too? Do I look at that first or the room?”
Nudging her toward the stairs, I said, “Go pick your room. I’ll get the wine.”
Leaving her with Jake, I walked to the other side of the house and down the back stairs. It wasn’t a cabin so much as a retreat. The first time I’d been here, I’d been wowed just like Paige. It had been hard to equate the Finn I knew from school with the wealth he was surrounded by. The same with Jake. But I’d gotten used to it—and it appeared I’d have to again if things kept moving forward with Finn.
I flipped on the lights as I went downstairs, comfortable with the layout. It might have been several years, but I still knew my way around this place. The wine cellar could fit the kitchen from my apartment inside of it. Jake was right, it was fully stocked.
I wasn’t even sure where to start. When I heard a creak on the stairs, I spun around just like I’d done on the porch. My hand closed over one of the bottles of wine as a figure appeared in the doorway.
“God, Finn,” I breathed. “I thought you were upstairs.”
He eyed the wine I’d pulled partly from the shelf. “I was. Were you going to hit me with that?”
“If I had to.”
Finn walked over, prying my hand from the bottle and shaking his head. “An okay choice, but”—he pulled another bottle of red from the shelf above it—“I’d recommend this one to start. And it’ll go well with dinner.”
“What’s for dinner?” I asked.
“I’m grilling. Or Jake is. Steak.”
I flashed a smile. “Sounds good.”
He propped his free hand on the shelf next to my head, making it look relaxed and natural. He fit this place so perfectly, with his dark jeans and cashmere sweater. With ease in his stride as he moved around the place. He had a little stubble on his chin and made me want to lean in and kiss his jaw.
But I stayed where I was because his eyes were boring into mine with questions I wasn’t sure I had answers to.
“Paige said you were a little tense.”
“Not…really,” I said, unconvincingly.
“You were about to hit me in the head with a wine bottle.”
“I—I’m nervous. I’m used to Dustin being here or Curtis or—I mean, I know you and Jake are here, but—”
“I understand.” He set the bottle aside and propped his other hand up, boxing me in. “Don’t worry, Powell will be here tomorrow.”
I nodded, trying to infuse a look of nonchalance into my smile. “I know.”
“And in the meantime, we’ve got protection.”
I blinked. “You mean, like the security system?”
“That, and weapons.”
I laughed at first, sure he was joking. But he kept a straight face. “Are you serious?”
His eyes dipped to my lips. “Sure.”
“Sure? Does that mean yes?”
He eased in a little more, body pressed against mine. “Yes,” he murmured, lips brushing my neck.
I shivered. I couldn’t tell if he was trying to distract me or this really wasn’t that big of a deal to him. My body arched to his even as I tried to keep a level head.
“Finn, wait…”
“For what?”
He ran one hand down my back, letting it rest at the hem of my shirt. He slid his hand underneath, making me shiver again when he ran it all the way up my ribs to my bra.
“Guns,” I said.
“Hmm?”
“Are you talking about guns?”
His hips pinned mine to the shelves, and I could feel every hard inch of him. He strained against his jeans, solid evidence of how much he wanted me right now. And I wanted him but I couldn’t seem to get my mind on the right track.
“Finn.” I set my hands on his chest, stopping him from going for another kiss. “Talk to me about this. Please.”
He propped his hand next to my head again, taking a moment to get himself under control. Finally, he said, “Yes. Guns. My mom always has one in the house—especially when she stays out here alone. After Dad died, we encouraged her to learn how to use one and figured hey—we might as well tag along at the shooting range here and there. I’m glad I did.”
“Okay,” I said slowly.
“Okay?”
I nodded. “Should we go upstairs?”
He caught my chin, forcing me to look up at him. “What is it?”
My eyes dropped to his collar and then came back up.
“The whole truth,” he reminded me.
“I’m…it’s just that guns make me a little nervous.”
“That’s no problem. You don’t even have to be around it—it’s just for protection. Or, even better, I could teach you how to use it. Just in case.”
I winced.
Finn kissed me gently. “Okay, bad idea. No learning how to use it.”
“No, it’s not that.”
“Then what?”
Squirming in his grasp, I blurted, “Mark used to have one. A gun.”
Finn’s eyes went stormy but he didn’t say a word.
“He…he’d bring it out sometimes when he was upset.”
“Shit,” Finn whispered, disbelief on his face. “What did he do?”
“Just…”
“Charlotte,” Finn said in his no-nonsense tone of voice.
“He’d tell me he’d hurt my sister or my mom with it. Or—or if he was really angry, he’d point it at me…”
“Goddammit,” he bit out. His hand curled into a fist and for a moment I thought he was going to break something. “Son of a bitch!”
I rubbed my hands over my face. This whole truth thing wasn’t as easy as I thought it was going to be.
“I want to learn,” I told him.
“What?”
“I want to learn how to use the gun. Will you show me?”
“Are you sure that’s what you want?”
I nodded. “Positive. I’m going to be terrible at it but I want to learn.”
Finn blew out a breath and finally smiled. “You’re good at everything you do.”
His phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket, glancing at the number before shoving it back in.
“Who was that?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Nobody important. Yes, I’ll teach you. We can start this week if you want.”
“That fast?”
He shrugged. “We have time and it’ll be harder to get out and do it when we get back. This is why it’d be even better if you just move in with me.”
I snagged the bottle of wine off the shelf and made for the door. “Maybe we should save that conversation for later.”
He touched my back when I limped for a moment. “Your feet bothering you?”
“No.” I glanced over my shoulder with a smile. “Yes, just a little. It’s fine.”
“You know,” he said as we climbed the stairs, “I can’t figure out if you’re stalling on this because you really don’t want to move in with me or if there’s some other reason.”
“It’s complicated.”
He stopped me at the top of the stairs, eyes full on mine. “I can handle complicated.”
“I know you can. But it’s not you I’m worried about, it’s my issues. It’s—”
“It’s not you, it’s me—that whole thing. Because that just makes it sound like it is me. That you don’t want to move in. And if you don’t, I’d rather you just tell me outright.”
“Finn—”
“So I can work on changing your mind,” he said with a smile.
“Why is this so important to you?”
He scooped his arm around my waist, pulling me close. His lips brushed mine when he said, “I’m making up for lost time.”
The words were on my lips, ready to tell him, We have all the time in the world, but I couldn’t seem to say them. We never knew how much time we had left, and that at least was something I could relate to.
But why couldn’t Finn just be happy with what we had?
“So, what’s your next project?” Paige asked Jake as he turned steaks on the grill at the island in the oversized kitchen.
I sat on a stool on the opposite side of the counter, drinking wine with her and enjoying the cool air coming through the window. It smelled so fresh. Untainted. But darkness also lurked outside the window, the evening coming to a close quickly. How would we even know if someone was out there? The security alarm would only go off if someone tried to get in the house but not if they were on the property.
Something touched my back and I nearly fell off my stool. My gaze snapped to Finn’s as he set two more beers on the counter for himself and Jake.
Everyone stopped and looked at me and all I could do was give a tentative smile.
Jake smiled back and continued on about the resort, his next project. Paige leaned her chin on her hand, listening avidly.
Finn popped the top on his beer and then stood behind me to rub my shoulders. He leaned in, breath touching my ear. “Relax.”
I tried to but tensed again when his phone rang. He sighed and pulled it out.
“Who is it?” I asked, frowning.
“No one. Just work, probably.”
“That’s the third call in an hour,” Jake said, gesturing for Paige to pass him the salt. “You sure it’s not important?”
I swiveled in my seat. “Maybe Curtis is trying to get to you.”
Finn shook his head, dismissing the question. “Hey, if that’s my steak on the end, it’s going to be medium well if you don’t take it off soon.”
“I know what I’m doing,” Jake said.
Finn set his phone on the counter. “I think I’d better check.” He grinned. “Just to be sure.”
He walked to the grill, and I peeked at his phone, frowning. “Are you sure it’s not Curtis? What if something happened?”
But then the phone flashed with a missed call, stating the number. One I recognized—but only because I’d called it four times this week.
Tracy’s number.
I lifted my gaze. Finn looked up at the same time, eyes locking on mine. He was already opening his mouth, ready to say something. Deny it, maybe. Or explain.
And I didn’t want to hear it.
“I need more wine,” I announced, moving from the stool.
“Don’t get up,” Jake said. He nodded at Finn. “Get the woman more wine.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ve got it,” I said, already moving around the island to the bottle on the counter by the refrigerator.
Finn got there first, making me grit my teeth.
“I said I’ve got it.”
He poured me a generous glass anyway and then wrapped his arm around me before I could return to my seat.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered in my ear.
Through my gritted teeth, I answered, “The whole truth.”
“Charlotte—”
“I’m going for a walk,” I said, lifting my wine glass in a toast.
Finn nodded. “I’ll go with—”
“No, thanks. Just a few minutes so I’m back before dinner’s ready.”
Jake’s mouth opened in surprise and then closed before he smiled. “I really don’t think…uh. Is that all right if I go with you?”
I nodded amiably, touching Paige’s shoulder as I passed and ignoring the wide-eyed look she gave me. “Sure.”
Finn ground his teeth behind me but didn’t say a word. He took over at the grill as I retrieved my jacket from the closet in the hallway. I met Jake at the door, and he opened it for me.
“Don’t you need a jacket?” I asked, gesturing with my wine glass.
“Nah. Real men don’t wear jackets.”
Laughing, I stepped onto the porch. There was enough light left to guide us down the flagstone path and to the gravel road.
No running. No hiding.
That’s what I’d told myself and that’s what I was going to do. I wasn’t going to miss out on a beautiful evening because I was scared about someone who was hundreds of miles away.
“It was Tracy,” I said by way of explanation. “On the phone.”
Jake took a long swallow of his beer before answering. “I see.”
“I’m lost. Either I know nothing about a man’s mind or Finn’s just an asshole.”
Jake choked on a laugh. His boots crunched on the gravel as we continued down the road. “Maybe a little of both?”
“The diplomatic answer. So that’s how it’s going to be.”
He chuckled. “Okay, I’ll translate for you. Because if I was in Finn’s position, this is what would be going through my mind. You’ve gone through hell these last several months. Finn didn’t exactly make things easy for you way back in the day either. So, his reasoning? Make things easier for you now. If it’s going to cause unnecessary problems, table it for now. Tracy is an unnecessary problem. She…clings to things. It’s…whatever. It’s not your problem and that’s how Finn sees it. If he can take any burden from you—the stress, the irritation, whatever—he’s going to do it.”
“Whether I like it or not.”
“Whether you like it or not. That’s right.” Jake lifted his beer and I clicked it with my wine glass. “Here’s to the opposite sex.”
I sighed and then turned a smile in his direction. “Speaking of the opposite sex…”
He hooked his arm around me and turned me the other way. “It’s getting dark. Let’s go back. And I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“That could be true—we just established I don’t understand men well. However, you’ve been flirting all night.”
He grinned. “That’s what most men do best. That and fish. So, I expect you up at sunrise for your first lesson.”
I groaned. “Please, flirt and fish with Paige. I’m sure she’d love that.”
“You think?”
“I know. Ask her. Let me sleep.”
He squeezed his arm around me briefly. “I guess you deserve it.”
“I guess I do.”