CHAPTER THREE
Jackson
" at Beatrix again?" I asked.
Finn nearly jumped out of his skin. "Fucker, aren't you wearing clogs?" he demanded. "How'd you sneak up on me like that?"
I suppressed a laugh. Finn didn't like when people laughed at him. Which was fucked up because I pretty much laughed at anything. "I didn't sneak," I said instead. "You were just too wrapped up in staring at your baker."
"The hell you talking about?" he scoffed. But he backed away from the window anyway.
"Hey, I don't blame you," I told him, going to the window myself. I couldn't see into her shop from this angle, but I knew she was there because her beat up Taurus was parked in the alleyway, its rear end covered in bumper stickers. I liked how she wore her ideals out in the open like that. Like she wanted to waste no time in letting the world know who she was. "Beatrix is a cutie."
Finn had been leaning up against the window pane, smudging his face against the glass, which made me wrinkle my nose and look around for the glass cleaner. But when I said that, he launched upright. "How do you know her name?" he asked.
I licked my lips. There was no way I was answering that question. "I have my ways."
"You're creepy, dude."
I spread my hands. "I'm proactive."
"So..."
"So... what?" I prodded. I knew where he was going with this. Hell, it had been on my mind ever since the first night I saw his head whip around when he heard her car pull up.
"Are you...?" I could tell he didn't want to finish that sentence.
I didn't really want him to finish the sentence either. Once he put it out in the open like this, it'd be a done deal. We had an agreement.
"Am I going after her?" I chuckled, then looked back out the window. "Haven't made up my mind yet," I lied. "I was going to ask you the same thing."
He licked his lips.
"Aha!" I crowed, pointing at him. "You're thinking about it too! Good. That's great."
"Why is it great?"
"Because," I said, grinning. "I was worried your dick had fallen off."
"Fuck you," he sighed, rolling his eyes. "You're the one with the hang-ups."
"It hasn't been that long," I protested.
"Since Mercy," he interrupted. "Mercy the Merciless."
"Yes," I gritted, trying not to sound annoyed and failing miserably. "Since my fiancée."
"Ex-fiancée."
"Yes, Finn. I know. It's really not necessary to remind me every damn day."
"I want to make sure you never go back to that bloodsucker." He looked back out the window. "And if making sure of that means I'm gonna let you have this one, then I'll do it."
"Excuse me? Let me? You're the one who gets so wrapped up in work he turns into a monk."
He cupped his groin. "I'll show you a monk."
I smiled, happy to see him all riled up like this. If nothing else, at least he was thinking of something else besides work. Even if that something else was punching me in the face.
"I don't need you to do me any favors, buddy," he seethed. I couldn't keep the smile off my face, which only got him more worked up. Finn Walker was usually unflappable, cool under pressure. The kind of guy who got shit done. He didn't get riled easily.
It was a matter of knowing what buttons to press. "I know you've been out of the game since coming up here," I went on. "Thought I'd back off and see if you still have any game left."
Finn looked like he wanted to strangle me. "I do just fine on my own."
"Oh really?" I raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Then why have you been staring at her for the past few weeks but you didn't even know her name?"
He opened his mouth, ready to fire back some smartass answer. I waited, honestly eager to hear whatever excuse he was trying to make. Yeah, the restaurant was taking up all our time. Yeah it was a bitch to get everything perfect. But that was no excuse. Finn was good at this shit. Too good. He lost himself in the details, needing to control every second of his life. I'm sure he took a look at Beatrix and penciled down a note to himself in his planner to chat her up between 5:45 and 5:57 PM on a Tuesday three months from now.
He blinked at me, his nostrils flaring. I crossed my arms over my chest and waited some more. "Okay fine," he finally exploded. "I'll go for it." Then he looked at me askance. "And you're cool with that? We have..."
"An agreement," I finished. "I know." I was starting to regret pressing him so hard.
"Last time you and I went for the same chick..."
"I punched you in the face," I said. "I know."
"You broke my nose," he pointed out.
"It's really not necessary to remind me every damn day.
He grinned. "Touché. We're better as a team than as rivals anyway."
"For whatever reason, you're right," I agreed.
"So?"
I looked up at him and shrugged. There was this weird sinking feeling in my chest. I flexed my fingers, feeling like something was slipping through them and I closed my fist before I lost hold of it completely. When I opened my mouth to tell him that it was fine, I was fine, go for it, I was surprised to hear what came out instead. "Let's see what happens, huh?" I said slowly, as casually as I could.
Over my shoulder, the light in the back of the bakery flicked on. I could see Beatrix's head bobbing. If her body was as half as incredible as the curves of her silhouette advertised, I was in deep fucking trouble. "We have enough shit to figure out without making this complicated too," I said to Finn, as carefully as I could.
He dug the heels of his hands into his eyes again, suppressing a yawn. "You're right," he said.
I nodded, feeling relieved. "I am."
"But you're also an asshole," he pointed out.
"I am that too."
He looked up at the ceiling in defeat. "Why the fuck do I put up with you?"
I shrugged again with a grin. "Because I'm Jackson Nye. I'm a fucking genius."