“Sophia, pass the lasagna,” Cat called out from the other end of the table.
“I will as soon as Finn takes his fourth.” She paused, turning to Finn as the spatula with another slab of lasagna was suspended over his plate. “Third or fourth?”
“Third, thank you very much. And I can’t help it. What do they put in here?” he asked, a grin on his face.
“Love,” multiple family members chimed in and Sophia laughed.
It was Sunday afternoon, and when Finn didn’t have a game, he’d become a staple at their family dinner. Her parents had fully embraced him, as had the rest of her family. But who wouldn’t want to embrace the gorgeous man beside her. He ran his thumb over her palm under the table, his other hand occupied with the fork heading to his mouth.
“It’s just so good,” he mumbled.
She leaned in and whispered, “Stop sucking up. They already like you.”
“I’m not sucking up. We get leftovers, right?”
She laughed and shook her head. The last four months had been perfect. Better than she’d thought possible. His hand had healed, and he’d been back on the ice in time to play in Calgary. While the hometown fans had cheered for their team, when Finn’s name had been announced in the starting lineup, the crowd had cheered just as loud. He’d introduced her to his mother hours before the game. The tension between mother and son that Finn had feared hadn’t been there, and watching the game with his mother, Grace, and Molly had been hysterical.
Especially when Molly had shouted for Finn to kick someone’s ass after Finn had knocked one of Calgary’s forwards into the boards.
Finn had gotten an earful from his sister, later that night, after Molly had ratted him out, telling her mother that Uncle Ewic had told her not to tell Grace about the bad word he’d said.
“How’s school going?” her father’s voice cut through, and Sophia turned to face him, her breath catching as she took in his beaming smile. As much as he wanted her working at the restaurant, he had made a concentrated effort to support her need to pursue her degree.
“I forgot about all the reading,” she said, unable to stop her own smile. “But, it’s going really well.”
“And one day we’re going to call you Doctor Sophia,” her father said, that smile still in place.
“You still have to get that lab coat,” Finn whispered next to her ear, and her heart sped up.
“Stop it,” she chastised him. He didn’t know that she had one in the back of her closet, waiting for the perfect moment. And now she wanted nothing more than to ditch her family and practice playing doctor with him.
“Dirty girl, what are you thinking about?” he asked under his breath. She detected a hint of lust in his tone.
“Nothing. Now pass the lasagna,” she said, taking in a deep breath.
“We’ll have to explore the reason for those pink cheeks later,” he said, and then sent the lasagna pan down the table to her sister.
“You are trouble, and if you don’t stop tormenting me, I’m leaving the leftovers here.”
“You wouldn’t dare. I’ll stop cooking for you at home.”
Her heart would not flutter when he said home. She’d moved in last month, after the holidays, and she’d either woken up in his arms or to the scent of amazing pancakes more mornings than not.
“Doctor Sophia,” Elena said, pulling Sophia out of her inappropriate thoughts. Thoughts she shouldn’t have when she was surrounded by her family.
He’d pay for that later.
“Not yet, but I’m working on it.” She’d gone back to school last month and was already looking at bridge programs. A college in Southern Oregon had just started a new bridge program and it was closer to home than any other option. Finn was already talking about getting her an apartment up there and driving in whenever he could. Luckily, the program required her to be on campus only one week a month and some weekends. She could do clinicals in San Francisco, and she’d already reached out to Dr. Anders for a referral for another local sports PT office, and Dr. Anders had asked when and where to send the letter.
“And you are going to be amazing. You got me back on the ice in time and my ankle feels better than it did before I broke it,” Finn said, leaning in to press a kiss behind her ear.
Damn him. He knew that spot drove her crazy.
His payback was coming.
She shifted away from his lips to stop herself from climbing into his lap in front of her family. It was always a risk.
“So much trouble, you know that,” she muttered.
“Now, about that lab coat…” he trailed off.
“Finish your food and be happy that I don’t have to work here tonight,” she said, not missing the heat in his eyes. It probably mirrored hers.
“Love you, Sophia,” he said, and then shoveled in the rest of his lasagna.
“Love you, Finn,” she said, her heart racing as he tangled his fingers with hers, his thumb tracing her palm.
It may have taken a while to get here, but the delay had been worth it.