Page 53 of Making Home with You

She damn well better be on his side, if there’s even a side to take since I don’t really know what’s going on.But she works at the bar he owns, and then I begin to wonder if anyone has quit since this whole thing started up.

I glance around the room and it’s slow, but there are still customers.I know this shit that is going down could not only ruin Finn’s career, but now I realize that it could also take the bar down with it.

People are petty, and when they get something in their head, they’ll stop at nothing to get what they want.

Do people want Finn fired?Do they want to see their local watering hole go under?For fuck’s sake my brother would lose his job.Beck would lose everything.

Oh my god, I’m fucking out of control.

I need a Xanax.

I grab for the water glass the waitress set down, and chug it, but Finn is watching me.

“You going to order?”he asks, and he’s smiling, but it’s forced and I know he can sense my anxiety.He looks at me like he’s trying to read my thoughts and I curse myself for having the worst poker face in the world.

I notice the waitress is waiting on me and luckily I know this menu like the back of my hand, but for all I know she has been waiting on me for a while.So I order quickly and Finn and I get back to sitting in silence.

I know he doesn’t need to talk to me.He’s the type who could sit silently for hours and not feel uncomfortable, but I’m not and the stillness of everything is killing me.

But it’s Finn who’s the first to break through, telling me, “There’s someplace I’d like to take you when we’re done here if you’re up for it.”And this time when he smiles at me it’s genuine.

I love a good surprise, and I’m intrigued by his comment.It quiets the chaos in my head and he reaches across the table, taking my hand in his.

“Okay,” I say, smiling back at him, returning his enthusiasm that seems to have grown at my response.

The conversation comes easy now and we chat about how Finn used to have a cat named Lisa, named after Kelly LeBrock’s character fromWeird Sciencebecause besides his mother, she’s the only girl he’s ever loved.His story makes me laugh, even down to the moment when he admits to me that Lisa is stored in his garage in a silver urn.

He watches me wipe the tears from my cheeks, his face still lit up from our conversation, and he pauses for a second, and then opens his mouth but says nothing.

He shakes his head, his smile growing, and he says, “God, Sarah, you make things so fucking simple, so easy.”But I get this feeling that wasn’t what he wanted to say.

“So do you,”

We leave the bar hand in hand, and the air is cold so I lean into Finn’s side.Even with the nagging feeling that I have to return to work tomorrow, I feel happy.I’m happy just being around Finn.

We climb into Finn’s SUV and without telling me where we’re going, we leave and heads toward the water.Pulling off to the side of the road, he shifts the car into park and flips off the headlights.

Everything around us is dark, and when I look out the windshield, the ocean looks like a black abyss, endless and cold.But even with the cold chill of the wind and shore of the frozen sea, there’s a warmth and comfort in what we are doing.

“Put your hat on,” Finn commands and I smirk at him.

“Why?”

“Because I told you to.”

“I don’t do everything I’m told,” I flirt back and Finn grabs my hat and slips it onto my head.

“Now, put your seat back,” Finn simply states, but it’s more of a demand than a request and again I smirk at him.

“You’re being a little bossy, aren’t you?”

He narrows his eyes at me, but the cheeky smile on his face gives away that he loves this banter between us.

“Just do it, Sarah.”

And when I don’t move, Finn reaches across me and presses the button, my seat moving back now, but Finn’s body is still resting against mine.

As he pulls away his lips brush mine, teasingly and this time when my heart starts racing I don’t want it to stop.But he doesn’t kiss me, letting his thumb drag along where his lips once were and everything in me is screaming for him.