“See ya later,” I replied before hitting End and hustling to the truck.
Chapter 34
Rory
A letter and dancing
With a smile on my face, I stood in front of the mirror. If this didn’t make Finn’s mouth drop open, nothing would. The plunging neckline showed enough cleavage to make it likely my father would try to cover me up, but it was worth the risk. The waist-high slit added the perfect amount of sexy. Turning, I giggled when I saw the open back.
My eyes closed as I thought about Finn’s hands softly moving against my bare skin. Trembling, I opened my eyes and bit down on my lip. My heartbeat increased, and I knew there was a look of anticipation on my face.
The knock startled me. I quickly made my way over and opened my bedroom door. My mother stood before me with a huge smile on her face. “Well, now I see why you asked if you could get ready here. You were trying to give your father time to recover from his heart attack when he sees you in this dress.”
Heat swept across my cheeks. “Very funny,” I replied with a fake laugh.
She lifted a brow. “You know I’m being somewhat serious.”
With a nod, I turned and headed over to the dresser, where I grabbed a pair of silver Kendra Scott earrings to adorn my ears. I wore them often, and loved the way they looked against the red dress. They didn’t draw too much attention, yet added just the right amount of shimmer.
“Less is always best,” my mother whispered as she looked at my reflection in the mirror.
My eyes roamed my body before they met my mother’s. “Do you think he’ll like the dress?”
Her smile grew bigger. “Oh, my darling, I think he is going to love your dress. He won’t be able to take his eyes off you all night. Which is another reason you need to talk to your father.”
A tightness in my chest took ahold of me, and I pulled in a deep breath of air. “I will. I promise you.”
Her smile faded some. “You know what he is going to do, don’t you?”
“Freak out?” I answered with a halfhearted laugh.
“That’s one thing he’ll do. Then he’ll probably curse some and forbid you to see him. Tell you Finn is not the right guy for you and remind you what being with a firefighter is like.”
My eyes filled with tears, and I desperately tried to keep them contained. “I love him, Mom. And that scares me. A call came through when I was talking to him on the phone, and I was a basket case until he sent me a text saying they were heading back to the station. But the idea of not having Finn in my life…I can’t even imagine it. My feelings for him grow stronger by the day. That’s not my biggest fear right now, though. My biggest fear is Daddy telling me he won’t give me his blessings.”
Resting her chin on my shoulder, my mother reached around and handed me a small envelope as she gently smiled at me. “Then you need to decide what’s worth fighting for.”
“I know,” I softly replied as I took the envelope.
The only thing it said on it was:
To: You
From: Me.
“What is this?”
She grabbed my shoulders and gave them a tight squeeze. “It was delivered to your office today right after you left, along with a dozen roses. I had them leave the flowers on your desk and I brought this home to you.”
I ran my fingers along the front and whispered, “Finn.”
“Don’t be too long. Your father won’t want to be late.”
Absentmindedly nodding to her, I walked over to the chair in the corner and carefully sat down. I turned the envelope over and read what was typed on the envelope.
When we first met…
My hands shook as I opened the letter.
Dear Rory,
I’ll never forget the moment when our eyes first met across that room. The way it made me feel was something I had never experienced before. That day changed my life forever.
Thank you for waking up my heart.
Love,
Finn
My hand covered my mouth as I fought to hold back my tears. Clutching the letter to my chest, I closed my eyes and let them free.
Four simple sentences. That was all it took for me to fall even more completely and utterly head over heels in love with Finn Ward than I already was.
I dropped onto my bed and thought back to the second time we made love. It was a stolen moment that had been fueled purely by passion.
The knock on my door startled me. Who in the world could that be? Making my way to the door, I opened it to see Finn standing there with a bouquet of flowers.
“What are you doing here? I thought you had a class.”
He grinned, and those dimples of his popped out. “I sweet-talked the nice teacher into letting me go early so I could go visit my old grandma in the nursing home.”
I gave him a confused look. “I thought your grandparents lived in Florida.”
A wicked grin moved over his face. “They do.”
Making his way in, he had my shirt over my head within seconds. His mouth covered one nipple while his hand masterfully worked the other.
“Finn,” I gasped as he ripped my lace panties off and turned me around.
My breast hit the cold granite counter and my libido was instantly kicked up ten notches.
“Yes. Finn, yes!”
He pushed in and fucked me hard and fast. It wasn’t long before his name fell from my lips and he poured himself into me.
My father’s voice on the other side of the door jerked me from my daydream.
“Leaving in five minutes, with or without you, Rory.”
—
I inhaled deeply as I made my way into the giant ballroom. My parents had ended up leaving before me. My little crying jag forced me to redo my makeup, and my father refused to be late.
Our eyes met and cut a path across the room. Heat instantly swept over my body, yet I shivered when he smiled. I’d never had a man look at me the way Finn did.
He slowly made his way across the room before stopping directly in front of me.
“My God,” he whispered as he let his eyes roam my entire body. “You look beautiful, Rory.”
Butterflies took flight in my stomach, and I’m pretty sure I had to force myself to breathe while I gazed at him in his formal dress uniform. With a slight grin, I replied, “And you, Mr. Ward, look devilishly handsome.”
He laughed as he clasped my hand and led me to the dance floor. “An appropriate use of words.”
He took me in his arms, and we started dancing. I lifted my brows and asked, “Why is that?”
His tongue swept across his lips, causing my lower stomach to tug with desire. “The things I’m thinking I’m going to do to you tonight would have me on the naughty list for sure.”
With a chuckle, I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Care to share?”
“Yes, care to share my daughter with me, Ward?”
Finn immediately dropped his hold on me and took a step back. Little did I know this moment was going to shape the coming days.
Chapter 35
Finn
No more hiding
My heart jumped the moment I heard Captain Adams’s voice. Then it sunk in: I realized Rory hadn’t told him about us yet.
With a quick glance over my shoulder to look back at Rory and her dad, I made my way to the bar.
“Hey there, handsome, what can I get ya?”
I forced a smile and answered the blond bartender. “Jack and Coke please.”
Turning, she quickly got to making my drink, set it in front of me, then laughed. “You look like your dog just died.”
With a fake chuckle, I shook my head. “Nah. Just my girlfriend’s father hates me.”
Her left brow raised. “Really? Seems to me like you need to convince him to like you.”
“I left out a part. He’s my boss.”
She crinkled her nose and said, “Yikes. That’s gotta suck.”
This time the laugh was real. “Yeah, it do
es.”
Her eyes lifted and she glanced over my shoulder. “I’m going to guess your girlfriend is the drop-dead-gorgeous lady in red.”
Smiling, I turned and looked at Rory on the dance floor. She was staring over at me, and I instantly knew what she was thinking. I smiled back and lifted my hand to her. She barely raised hers from her father’s back.
“You know what I think you should do?”
Without taking my eyes off Rory, I asked, “What?”
“Go cut in.”
“He just cut in on me,” I responded with a gruff laugh.
“Here, take another shot and then go take what you and her both clearly want.”
Spinning back around, I gazed at the bartender with a stunned expression. If a complete stranger could see what I felt for Rory, clearly so could her father. I reached for the shot glass and swallowed the whiskey she had set down a second before. “Fuck it. What do I have to lose?”
“That’s right!” she cheered. “Go get her, because I can guarantee a woman that beautiful won’t be left alone for too long.”
Gathering up my nerve, I got up and headed back over to Rory and Captain Adams. Someone grabbed my arm, bringing me to a halt.
“Dude, don’t do it.”
Looking down at the hand on my arm, I lifted my eyes to Colton’s. “I’m tired of hiding it.”
Colton shook his head. “Finn, I think this is a mistake. Don’t do this here.”
I jerked my head back and laughed. “What better place to do it. Cap won’t want to make a scene. Not here.”
With a quick yank of my arm, I loosened Colton’s hold on me. “Finn!” he said in warning before I headed back to Rory and her father where they stood off to the side talking to a few people.
My heart hammered in my chest when her eyes met mine. Rascal Flatts’s “I Melt” started playing right as I stopped in front of her. I reached my hand out for hers, which she placed gently in mine as I led her to the dance floor. Drawing her in to me, I quickly got lost in her eyes.
“Do you know what you do to me when you look at me like that?” I asked.
Rory smiled, and my knees went weak. “Like what?”
I lifted my hand and ran the back of it down the side of her soft face. “Like you can’t get close enough to me.”
Her eyes closed as she leaned into my touch. Gazing back up at me, she replied, “Hmm…That’s funny, because you were looking at me the same way.”
“I can’t.”
She stopped dancing. “You can’t what?”
With a smile, I leaned down and pressed my lips to her ear. “Get close enough to you…deep enough inside of you….I can’t tell the world I love you.”
Rory gasped and grabbed onto my jacket. “Finn,” she whispered as I gazed into her tear-filled eyes. “I’ll tell him, I swear to you. If you want me to do it right now, I will.”
When I looked over her shoulder, I caught Captain Adams glaring our way. “I’m pretty sure he already knows, Éan.”
Glancing to look behind her, Rory sighed. Mrs. Adams was standing next to her husband and gave me a soft smile. I was praying like hell Rory couldn’t hear the pounding of my heart. The way Cap was looking at me had me just about fearing for my life.
“I should go talk to him.”
My hand wrapped around her waist tighter, drawing her attention back to me. “After our dance. Besides, I’m pretty sure once you speak to him I’ll be running for my life.”
Rory laughed and nuzzled her face against me. “Finn?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you too.”
—
The air in the ballroom felt so heavy it was an effort to breathe. I glanced around and watched as everyone went about their business. Not one of them knowing that any minute a deranged man was going to come after me.
I lifted the beer to my lips and took a long drink.
“Looks like your evening is going well.”
Colton stood next to me, but I didn’t bother to look at him. He had seen the way Captain Adams was watching Rory and me dance. I was taking a risk by holding her so close…touching her the way I was, but damn it if I didn’t care. I was in love with her, and I’d never felt this way about a woman before. I didn’t give a shit who her father was.
I drew in a deep breath and pushed it out. “It’s going fine. Where’s Melissa?”
“Said she needed to use the ladies’ room.”
My eyes scanned the room for Rory. She and her parents had walked off together and I’d lost sight of them when a few fellow firefighters walked up to me to shoot the shit. I hated how controlling Rory’s parents were, and I fought to keep my mouth shut on it all.
“Are you two official now?” I asked.
Colton laughed. “By ‘official.’ what do you mean?”
Turning my head to look at him, I watched for a few seconds as he glanced around the room. “I mean is she your girlfriend? Are you exclusive? That kind of official.”
He shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t really know. Melissa thinks we are.”
“And you don’t?”
Pressing the beer bottle to his lips, he drained it. “I don’t know, Finn. Maybe.”
His eyes lit up, and I followed his gaze. Melissa was walking back, with Rory next to her. One looked happy as hell, the other looked like she was on the verge of tears.
I walked up to Rory and took her hands in mine. “What’s wrong?”
A single tear rolled down her cheek, and my world came to a crashing halt. I wanted to hurt the person who’d caused her to cry.
“Take me out of here.”
Jerking my head back in surprise, I looked behind her to see her father glaring at me. “What happened, Rory?”
She shook her head and attempted to not fall apart. “Please, Finn. I need you to take me out of here.” Our eyes locked, and I’d never felt so helpless in my life. But if leaving with her would help, I’d do it. No matter how wrong it felt.
Wrapping my arm around her waist, I turned to Colton. “I’ll see ya Monday.”
He nodded and flashed Rory a smile. “It’s going to be okay.”
I couldn’t help but notice how sad her eyes got before she forced a smile. “I know it will.”
With a quick nod of my head to Colton, I ushered Rory out of the room and the hotel. The moment we hit the cold fall air, Rory drew in a deep breath.
“Baby, tell me what happened.”
She shook her head. “Not here,” she whispered, and covered her mouth to keep from crying.
I handed the valet my ticket. “If you could hustle and get me that car as soon as you can, I’ll make it worth your while.”
He took one look at Rory and sprinted off. I couldn’t help but keep checking over my shoulder for Captain Adams to come walking out. It was pretty fucking obvious that things hadn’t gone well.
Rory grabbed my hand and turned to me. “Where are we going?”
I had planned on taking her camping. Wes was in town for a few days, and had set everything up for me.
“Um, I was going to take you camping, but if you want me to bring you home…”
A look of horror washed over her face. “No! I want to be with you. I need to be with you, I don’t care where. Should I change?”
Reaching my hand to her face, I gently brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled. “If you want to stop by your place first and change…All I really know is I want to slowly take that dress off you.”
Her eyes lit up and she gave me a real smile that caused my damn stomach to drop. “I want that too, but I want it where you were planning on surprising me.”
The valet pulled up and jumped out of the car. I quickly opened the passenger door and helped Rory in. I shut the door, pulled a hundred out of my wallet, and handed it to the kid.
“Dang, dude, thanks a million, but this is too much.”
A quick slap on his back, one more “Thank you,” and I jogged around the front of my car. When I got in, I turne
d to see Rory full-on crying.
Putting the car in drive, I headed to my parents’ place. I hadn’t wanted to risk the chance of being at a campground and a storm blowing in. It was the end of October; a cold front would have made camping miserable. Besides, what better place to camp out than the woods I grew up in? I reached for Rory’s hand and kissed the back of it.
“Everything’s going to be okay, Éan.”
She turned to me and smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I know,” she whispered.
My chest ached knowing I couldn’t take the pain away. I’d have done anything to keep her from crying.
When I pulled out onto the highway, a strange feeling washed over me.
Nothing was okay.
Chapter 36
Rory
Difficult choices
AN HOUR EARLIER
I followed my parents out of the ballroom and into another room. Holding my breath, I heard the door shut and my father inhale deeply, then somberly speak.
“You knew?”
Spinning around, I saw he was glaring at my mother. I instantly regretted asking her to keep my secret from my father. She lifted her chin and replied, “I did.”
My stomach dropped when I saw my father’s face turn red. Swallowing hard, I took a step toward him. “I told her and asked her to not say anything. I promised her I would tell you, and I was going to tell you earlier, but I didn’t get the chance to.”
His hands rubbed at his face as he let out a frustrated laugh. “That’s great. You know how I feel about this, Chelsea, and you kept it from me.”
“Rick, you are being stupid about this.”
“Stupid!” my father shouted, causing us both to jump. I don’t think I’d ever heard him raise his voice to either of us. “My daughter is not only dating a firefighter—which, I might add, I specifically told her she was not allowed to date—but she’s dating him!”
Anger rushed through my veins, igniting my rage. I balled my fists and walked up to my father. “I’m not sixteen years old! You cannot tell me who I can and can’t date, Dad. It’s my choice.”