“Well, probably because I’ve been keeping our relationship a secret.”
“For how long?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. A month, maybe close to two…ish.”
“Two months? Oh Lord. You’ve been lying to us for two months?”
I took a step back. “I haven’t been lying, and I said almost two months!”
“Really? So all those times we asked you over for dinner, were you with Finn?”
“Maybe once or twice.”
She rolled her eyes while tossing her hands up in the air. “Rory Adams. You’re going to have to tell your father now.”
“What? Why?”
“Why in the world not?”
“Please don’t tell Daddy. I’m not ready yet for his reaction.”
She brushed me off with a wave of her hand, and anxiety instantly took ahold of me. “That’s silly. He’s going to be happy for you.”
“Mom. Look at me.”
She did, and I took her hands in mine. “Dad is not going to be happy I’m dating a firefighter. Nor is he going to be happy I’m dating a firefighter from his station.”
She frowned. “And it’s Finn.”
“What does he have against Finn?”
In a poor attempt to hide her smile, she looked over at the flowers and then back at me. “When you kids were little, maybe five or so, Finn would follow you everywhere when we would visit his parents. It was the cutest thing. Of course, Jenn and I thought it was adorable. Finn even pushed Wes down once for standing too close to you.”
I smiled. “Really? I don’t even remember Finn.”
Her smile faded some. “No, you wouldn’t. You were so young.” She released a breath and looked out the window. “One day Finn announced to your father that he loved you. Of course, your father told him he was too little to know what love was and that Finn couldn’t have you because you belonged to him.”
My stomach flipped. Maybe Finn and I were meant to be together. Destined from the very beginning.
With a giggle, I asked, “What did Finn say?”
She peeked back over at me and grinned. “Told your father he didn’t know what he was talking about and that someday he would marry you. Well, you know your father. He didn’t take that very well. He told Finn it would be a cold day in h. e. l. l.”
My head pulled back in question. “Why are you spelling it?”
My mother laughed. “Because your father spelled it. Jenn and Mike thought it was funny, but your father didn’t. Of course, I thought at the time that he was just being overprotective and silly. Then, when you kids started getting older, your father stopped wanting to go to the Wards. He would meet Mike all the time at their normal hangout, but we never did get together again as families.”
“That’s so sad,” I said, wrapping my arms around my body. “All because Finn told Daddy he liked me?”
She lifted a brow. “He told him he loved you and was going to marry you.”
I rolled my eyes and sat at my chair. “Mom, you do see how silly that is, right?”
With a shrug, my mother blew out her cheeks. “I do. But when your father found out Finn was at his new station, I thought he was going to have a heart attack. He came home that first day and told me Finn was like his old man. A lady magnet. Mentioned something about him making out with an EMT or something behind the station.”
My heart dropped to my stomach at the idea of Finn kissing another woman. Trying not to let it bother me, I stood up and gathered my things.
“Well, I can’t help that Daddy had his feelings hurt by a five-year-old. Or that Finn happens to be a firefighter.”
“With a reputation.”
My eyes lifted and caught hers. “If I remember right, didn’t Daddy have a bit of a reputation before he met you?”
“Touché.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m dating him, and I’m going to keep dating him.”
“And your father, Rory? How long am I supposed to pretend like I don’t know about this?”
Twirling a lock of my hair, I pondered her question. “I’ll tell Daddy at the firefighters’ gala.”
Her expression turned to one of horror. “If you think by telling him in a public place it will lighten the blow, you are sadly mistaken, my child.”
If I wanted to be Finn’s date for the gala, I knew I was going to have to come clean. “I’ll think of something.”
My mother walked up and placed her finger on my chin. “I hope so, because if he finds out from someone other than you…he’s going to be even more upset.”
Chapter 33
Finn
I’ll fight for her
I took a deep inhale of air and blew it out, trying to dispel my frustration. Damn Zeb for making that damn pasta dish. The cheese was burnt on the casserole dish and I was having a hell of a time getting it off.
It had been my rotation to clean up after dinner. Well, mine and Colton’s. He was summoned off by the captain, though, and I knew the cap had done it on purpose to leave me stuck with this mess.
Flash lay at my feet, waiting for some crumbs of food to fall at my feet. Suddenly, he jumped up and started wagging. When I glanced over my shoulder, I sucked in a breath. Captain Adams’s wife was standing in front of me.
“Mrs. Adams, is there something I can help you with?”
Her smile was tender. “No, but I need a moment of your time, Finn. If you don’t mind.”
My gaze moved toward Cap’s office.
“He’s occupied for the time being. I only need five minutes.”
I nodded and tossed the dishrag into the water. “Of course.”
She turned and headed into the one and only conference room we had. Wiping my hands on my pants, I took in a slow deep breath.
She knew. And if she knew, did Captain Adams know?
I walked in and took a seat at the table as she shut the door and walked around to the other side.
“Yesterday I discovered something pretty interesting that involves my daughter and you.”
Fuck. My. Life.
“Rory?”
She nodded. “Would you like to tell me yourself?”
I lifted my brow. “Um, not really, ma’am. Honestly, I think I’m actually more scared of you than I am of Cap.”
With a lighthearted laugh, she shook her head and sat. “Finn, I’m going to be direct with you. My daughter seems to think she is falling in love with you.”
I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face, nor could I deny the warmth that spread through my chest.
“By that reaction, I’m going to safely assume you feel the same way.”
“Yes ma’am, I do.”
Her grin appeared to grow bigger, yet it didn’t reach her eyes. “I’ve been asked by Rory to keep this information to myself, and I have agreed to until Saturday morning. At that time, if she has not told her father, I will. Now, I know what you’re thinking—she’s an adult and deserves to be treated as such. And I partly agree with you. I also agree with my husband. I remember sitting and listening to the calls come in and panicking because I was scared to death my husband wouldn’t come out of that burning building alive. I don’t want that for my daughter. That worry and stress.”
I moved about in my seat some when she looked at me with sadness in her eyes.
“Do you understand how I worry for my daughter? I see the way her eyes light up when your name is mentioned. I hate the idea of her holding her breath and worrying every time you go out on a call.”
“Forgive me, Mrs. Adams, but may I speak openly with you.”
She motioned for me to speak.
“I don’t see what the difference is if I was a cop, a banker, a bartender, a pilot, or a teacher. None of us is guaranteed anything. Does my job contain more risk? Yes, but did that make you love your husband any less? Would you have stepped back and let Captain Adams walk away merely to keep from worrying about him, or do you cherish every day you wake up next to him?”
&nbs
p; She narrowed her eyes at me, as if I was calling her bluff. “I did walk away from him. Once. But, yes, it only took me a few weeks to realize he was my everything.”
My brow lifted. How could she sit here and preach to me about me and Rory when she knew what it felt like to be in love?
Letting out a frustrated sigh, she looked out the window again before focusing back on me. “Finn, a couple of months is not a very long time to date someone and think you are in love.”
“Why not?” I asked.
“Excuse me?”
“Why isn’t it? Why is it so strange for me to know that when Rory touches me a weird feeling rushes over my body. Or that when she smiles at me I’d give my life to see that smile every single day. When she laughs, I experience a high so unbelievable I often think I’m addicted to it. The rush I get when I go into a burning building used to be my adrenaline rush. Now she is. Rory makes me want things I’ve never desired before in my life. I have dreams of her walking down the aisle toward me. The thought of her carrying my child…”
I stopped talking to regain a bit of my composure. This was the first time I had admitted these feelings out loud to anyone, including myself. “It’s something I never thought about before, until she first looked into my eyes. This is not a crush, Mrs. Adams. This is not about lust. This is about a woman I long to have in my life…forever.”
Mrs. Adams sat across the table with tears building in her eyes. Glancing away and out the window, she nodded her head. I was hoping that meant she understood, and that when the time came for her husband to find out, she’d be on my side.
Someone knocked on the door and she quickly stood. “It was good seeing you again, Finn.”
I stood too, and asked, “That’s it?”
With sadness in her eyes, she moved around the table and walked toward the door, but stopped next to me on her way.
“He’s not going to give her up that easy.”
I stood taller. “Then I’ll fight that much harder for her.”
With the first real smile I’d seen since she’d approached me, she placed her hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
“That’s what I wanted to hear.”
And like that…she was gone.
I stepped out of the conference room right in time to see Colton and another firefighter emerge from the captain’s office. Turning, I headed back to the sink to finish this evening’s dishes. Zeb grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop. “What in the hell are you doing, man?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re still fucking the captain’s daughter.”
Rage instantly filled my body. “Don’t you talk about her that way, Zeb, or I’ll pound your damn face in.”
He laughed and shook his head. “Did this start with a bet between you and Colton? To conquer the one thing you couldn’t have?”
Flash growled at my feet until I reached down and scratched the top of his head. “Who is this guy standing in front of me? Because it sure as hell doesn’t sound like one of my best friends.”
Zeb sighed while pushing both hands through his hair in frustration. “Finn, if he finds out you’re gone. He’ll either transfer you or make it so miserable you’ll quit. I don’t want to see you lose the one thing you love.”
With a wide grin, I slapped him on the arm. “I appreciate you trying the tough-love approach, dude, but what I have with her is so much more than sex. And trust me, I have no intentions of losing Rory.”
His face constricted as confusion swept over it. “Dude, I was talking about your
job….Oh, holy shit. Ward. Are you saying you love Rory?”
With a wink, I gave him a nod and got back to my chores.
—
“How was dinner?”
Rory rubbed her stomach. “Amazing! I love Italian food.”
My thumb gently ran over hers as we walked toward Christopher Columbus Park. She turned and walked backward. “Are we going to the trellis?”
With a wink, I nodded. “We are.”
A full-blown smile erupted on her face. “I love that place. I’ve seen so many proposals there.”
“I’ve seen a couple.”
She ran her tongue along her lip. Damn, she looked adorable. The blue knit hat she wore made her eyes stand out even more than they normally did.
I stopped walking and cupped her face within my hands. “Do you have any idea how you make me feel?”
Rory giggled. “Warm and fuzzy?”
My brows pinched together. “Um…no. I was going to say my body ached for you always.”
“Oh. Well, that’s a lot more romantic than my ‘warm and fuzzy.’ ”
Laughing, I kissed her on the forehead.
Soon, Rory and I were walking hand and hand through the lighted trellis. She talked about Flash, how the case she was working on kept getting delayed, and how much fun it would be to go ice-skating. I made a mental note to take her ice-skating this winter at Frog Pond.
When we reached the end of the trellis, we stopped and faced each other. Her eyes were dancing with desire.
“Finn,” she whispered as I drew her body against mine and kissed her.
“Get a hotel!” some kids yelled as we both laughed.
I lifted my brows. “That sounds like a good idea.”
She tilted her head and gave me a questioning look. “A hotel?”
Nodding, I took her and headed toward a taxi.
“Finn! Where are we going?”
“I have to be inside you. Now.”
Twenty minutes later I was opening the door to the hotel room and pulling her in. It was like we couldn’t move fast enough. Our hunger for each other was growing each time we were together. Which was every chance we got.
Rory took her jacket off while I pulled my sweater and the shirt I had under it over my head and tossed them to the floor.
I watched as she stripped herself completely naked.
“Fucking hell, I want you.”
“Then take me, Finn. I’m yours.”
I picked her up and she wrapped her legs around my body. My hard dick pressed against her entrance, and it was then I remembered I didn’t have any condoms.
“Shit. I don’t have any condoms.”
Her fingers laced through my hair. “Do you have to wear one?”
My eyes widened in shock. “You want to make love with no protection?”
“I’m on the pill.”
I stared at her in a stunned silence.
“It’s okay, Finn. It was stupid for me to even suggest it.”
I smiled. “Do you have any idea how desperately I want to make love to you without a fucking condom separating us?”
A small grin tugged at her lips. “You’re not angry I suggested it?”
I grabbed her hands and pushed them over my head against the wall.
“I could never be angry about that, Rory. You mean everything to me, and for you to want this too, it makes me feel things I’ve never felt before.”
As a tear slipped out and rolled down the side of her face, she said, “I believe that feeling is love.”
I searched her eyes as I slowly pushed inside of her and said, “I believe you’re right, Éan. It’s love.”
I made love to her against the wall, then carried her to the bed, laid her on it, and made love to her again, pouring everything I had, everything I felt, into her.
—
My body was craving to touch Rory as we texted back and forth. Tonight was my last night on shift and then I’d be off for the entire weekend. She didn’t know about the camping trip I had planned for after the ball on Friday. I was tempted to tell her, but I kind of liked how she kept trying to guess.
Rory: So you won’t even give me a hint?
Me: No. Stop asking.
Rory: What if I promise you things?
That got my attention.
Me: What kind of things?
Rory: Are you busy?
Me: Never too busy for you…
/> My phone rang less than thirty seconds later.
“Hey,” I softly spoke into the phone. I had been standing outside of the firehouse enjoying the crisp fall evening.
“I miss you,” she whispered.
My chest squeezed. “Fuck I miss you.”
“So do you want to hear about my dress for the gala?”
The firefighters’ gala has been held for over 130 years. It had always been a big deal for my mother and sister. My brothers and I, on the other hand, could have cared less. This year, though, I was on pins and needles for some reason. Maybe knowing I’d be in the same room with both Rory and her father had something to do with it. Plus, the idea of dressing up for an entire evening was not my idea of fun. The last six years I had volunteered to work so others could go. “I thought you were going to tell me about it only if I told you about our weekend plans.”
“Then I would be teasing you…and it wouldn’t be very nice of me to tease you.”
There was no doubt I could hear the smile in her voice. “I’m a big boy—I think I can handle a bit of teasing.”
“Okay…if you insist. Well, for starters, I’d make you sit while I slowly took off my red dress—did I mention my dress was red?”
My heart pounded in my chest. “I believe you’ve mentioned it was red.”
“Hmm, what about my lingerie? Have I mentioned anything about that yet?”
Swallowing hard, I shook my head. “No…you haven’t.”
Her silence had me anticipating her response. “Probably because I haven’t decided if I’m going to wear any or not.”
My dick pressed against my pants. “Jesus, Rory,” I whispered.
“Then after I get undressed, my hands may wonder over my body.”
The thought of seeing Rory get herself off was tantalizing. “Keep going.”
“My hands will slowly move down to my—”
An alarm suddenly went off, for a two-alarmer. Rory instantly stopped speaking. “Finn,” she whispered.
“I’ve got to go, Éan. I’ll text you in a bit.”
Her voice cracked as she replied, “Stay safe, okay?”
“Always, baby. Always.”
“See ya later—right?”
I swallowed hard. Knowing she would be sitting and worrying about me did something to my chest. It felt as if a weight was sitting on it.