Page 11 of Making Home with You (The Rockport Beach #3)

Sarah

I’m pretty sure the next time I speak to my parents will be when they tell me they’ve sold the house and are moving to Florida.

I have plans with Finn tonight, so it wasn’t just my parents that were happy to know my visit was quick. Now that Ryan knows about us, there’s no reason to hide the fact that we’re spending time together.

I had sent Finn a text as I was leaving, letting him know what time I would be back in Rockport, but with his work schedule, he’s on tonight until eight p.m.

I stop off at a couple of stores on my way back, killing time and picking up a few dresses, a skirt, a couple of pairs of shoes and far too many shirts, but given this new job, I’m going to need the clothes.

I arrive back in Rockport around six and knowing Finn won’t be off work for a while, I stop off on Main Street in downtown Rockport.

Although it’s bigger than Eddington, it has the same small town appeal and quiet atmosphere.

I walk along the street, window-shopping before ducking into a small boutique to check out a cute dress in the window.

The shop is busier than I would have thought with a group of women who look to be a little older than me.

They’re at the back of the store chatting and laughing and I don’t really pay them any mind.

I walk right to the rack where the dress is and take a look at the price tag.

It’s cute, but not for the price they’re asking.

Just as I’m getting ready to leave, one of the women says Finn’s name and I freeze.

I can’t leave now, and after what Erin’s told me about the women in this town and their interest in Finn, I’m not going anywhere.

Staying out of their line of sight, but close enough to hear their conversation, I stand next to a rack of skirts, pretending to look.

“Oh my god, I was walking my dog the other night and I passed by Finn’s house and he was kissing some girl on his front porch.

” She lets out a disgusted sigh and flips her brown hair over her shoulder.

“She nearly ran into me as she was leaving, all disheveled and filled with that false hope that Finn was interested in her,” the brunette says, and when she turns toward me she looks like she’s been hitting the Botox a little too hard.

I step a little closer because I really need to hear what these women are going to say.

“Word around town is that he’s been screwing around with someone who’s ten years younger than him,” the next woman says. She’s at least somewhat cuter than the last, but that really isn’t hard.

“I’m sure she’s a slut.”

“A total whore.”

I’m not at all concerned with what these women are saying about me and realizing these are his dating options in this town, now I know exactly why Finn is still single.

These women are just horrible. There isn’t a single one that seems to have any redeeming qualities other than their ability to gossip, and that is certainly not redeeming.

“I just don’t understand him. He has his pick of women in this town and he chooses some floozy tourist.”

Floozy? Who the fuck uses that word? I don’t know what comes over me, well, I do, but I don’t care and I stalk over to where these women are standing.

“Hi, ladies,” I say in my nosiest voice. “I couldn’t help but over hear your conversation and thought I’d contribute.”

They all stare at me, one of them actually gaping at me with her mouth open.

“I’m the floozy and yes, you saw me kiss Finn on his front porch, but even better, I fucked Finn O’Loughlin, in his house, in his bed, in his kitchen, in his shower, and I’ve even fucked him in the bathroom at O’Loughlin’s.

” I stop and wink at them, each one more shocked than the next.

“And he plans to keep fucking me because I’m a great lay and I give amazing head and,” I whisper the next part just for pure shock value.

“He says my pussy is the sweetest he’s ever tasted.

” I glare at them with a wicked smile on my face, but none of them say a word.

I turn on my heel, making my hips sway as I walk away with a satisfied smile on my face. Just as I hit the door, one of them hisses, “What a bitch,” and my smile grows even bigger.

Feeling pretty good about what just happened, I head back to Erin and Ryan’s house to drop off my clothes. I hate that I’m once again using my brother’s house as a hotel, but at least this time I’ll have the money to pay him rent.

When I walk in the front door, my arms bogged down with piles of clothes, Erin jumps up from the couch grabbing the clothes from me.

“Let me help you,” she says, taking what she can and bringing it into the bedroom. After we have all my clothes and the few tubs of stuff I packed up in the bedroom, we both flop down on the couch.

“I go back to work on Monday, and I’m not sure I’m going to be able to do it,” Erin says, yawning. “I’m so tired. This baby is sucking the life out of me. I took a nap at noon today and I feel like I’m already ready for bed.”

“I’ve heard that,” I respond, knowing the few friends I have that have gotten pregnant complained about the same thing.

“You start Monday too, right?” Erin asks and I nod my head. “That’s a good thing. I think you’ll be happier working in Boston.”

“I’m going to start looking for a place in Boston soon, I promise,” I say, even though neither she nor Ryan has made me feel like I’m not welcome.

“Oh, Sarah, that wasn’t what I was saying at all. You are more than welcome to stay as long as you want.”

“I know you weren’t, but I don’t want to intrude. You guys will be having a baby sooner than you think.”

“Maybe you could move in with Finn and commute to Boston?” Erin suggests, shrugging her shoulders, but acting like this is really a viable option.

“We barely know each other. I don’t think he wants me to move in with him.”

“I would beg to differ. I told you, you’re his girlfriend whether you believe it or not. Trust me, even the whole town thinks you’re his girlfriend.”

“I met some of those women today, and they didn’t seem too happy about it.”

“All the women in this town think he wants someone barefoot and pregnant, making dinner and fucking him once a month out of obligation. They’re horrible,” she says, a disgusted look on her face as she rolls her eyes.

“Okay. So you really don’t think he’s just killing time with me?”

“No, not at all. Finn could kill time with anyone in this town or within a ten-mile radius of this town, for that matter. Look at that boy. He’s gorgeous. And word is he’s got a huge cock.”

“Erin!” I shout and clamp my hand over my mouth immediately, realizing how loudly it came out.

“What?” she asks, acting innocent. “Your brother’s not suffering in that department, but Finn… holy shit.”

“Stop! You’re going to make me gag. Don’t talk about my brother’s penis.”

“Oh my god, I can’t believe you just called it a penis! And I’m sure Finn will make you gag,” she says, opening her mouth wide.

“Erin, for fuck’s sake!”

By this time the two of us are laughing so hard tears are streaming down our cheeks. I’ve missed just being able to chat with someone like this. Living with my parents has been quite lonely.

Around eight, I head over to Finn’s house, but when I get there he’s still not home. Sending him a text, he tells me to go in through the garage and the key to the house is in the top drawer of his toolbox.

Finding the key, I let myself in and begin to rummage through his freezer and refrigerator looking for something to cook for dinner. It’s late, but I can’t imagine he’s eaten.

I quickly throw together some tacos with what I find in his fridge, which isn’t exactly a simple feat.

He has a head of lettuce, a jar of salsa, flour tortillas, a pound of ground beef, some cheese and a random assortment of condiments that by the looks of the containers have been in his fridge for a while.

He truly is the epitome of a bachelor and it’s even more glaringly obvious that he doesn’t invite women back to his house, let alone have one stay over.

I hear the garage door and the slam of his car door, and as he walks in, Finn calls out, “Sarah, oh my fucking god it smells amazing in here. I haven’t eaten all day.”

He comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, he kisses my neck, and whispers, “I’m so glad you’re here.”

I turn in his arms and push up on my toes, giving him a soft kiss on his lips, but Finn pulls me closer and deepens the kiss.

“You are amazing,” he murmurs and I smile against his mouth. “Thank you for cooking me dinner.”

“It wasn’t that easy, but because I like you I persevered,” I respond jokingly and Finn swats me on my ass.

“And I like you too.”

We eat and chat about his day and me starting my new job. The conversation is easy and when there’s a lull, I ask, “Do you ever worry about our age difference?”

It takes Finn by surprise, cocking his head to the side, his eyes flashing with what appears to be anger. “No, why? Did someone say something to you?”

“Not really, well, not directly to me, but I overheard some women in town talking about us today.”

“The women in this town need to mind their fucking business,” Finn spits out harshly. “I hope they weren’t bothering you.” He reaches across the table and takes my hand in his, pressing a kiss to my palm.

“Nothing I can’t handle,” I tell him, winking and he chuckles.

I then fill Finn in on my run-in with the ladies of Rockport and their opinion on our relationship, leaving out nothing.

Finn laughs, and jokingly tells me not to get them fired up.

But even behind our joking, I get a sense that Finn does worry about these women.

He has an image as the chief of police to uphold and as much as he says fuck their gossip, he does have this professional persona to maintain.

I don’t ever doubt that he’s as professional as they come, and even when these women are throwing themselves at him, I’m certain he’s respectful.

It’s the reason he’s never found himself in a relationship with any of them, and it’s why he did choose me.

I’m an outsider, and I’m someone who hasn’t created this glorified version of him in my head. Around me he can be himself.

We finish up dinner and settle on the couch, with me leaning against Finn as he wraps his arm around my shoulders.

“Are you staying tonight?” he asks, his eyebrows raised and a mischievous smile on his face. “No reason for you to go sneaking around anymore.”

“Are you inviting me to stay the night?” I ask, tossing it back to him, not wanting to seem like I’m desperate.

“Yes, Sarah, I am.”

“Then yes, Finn, I am.”

He kisses my temple and turns on the TV. Scrolling through the channels he stops on a house flipping show, where we both begin to comment on how the people on the show have no idea what they are doing. It’s entertaining and the two of us are laughing as we watch multiple things go wrong.

When the show ends, Finn glances at his watch and says, “I gotta be back at the station early tomorrow.” We both let out a tired sigh, and then Finn adds, “Don’t let the women who live in this town bother you, okay?”

“I’m not. Why would you think I would?”

“I don’t know. They can be pretty brutal and while I know you can hold your own, I just don’t want it to wear thin.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Finn.”

“Neither am I.”

He smiles at me and shakes his head. I have no idea what he’s thinking, but the way his eyes never leave mine makes me believe he’s thinking about what our future might look like.

“I’m going to take a shower,” Finn says, his eyes now raking over my body. “Care to join me?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

But just as Finn leans down to pull my shirt over my head, his phone lets out a soft chime. He exhales hard and runs a hand through his hair.

“That’s my work phone,” he mutters, the annoyance in his tone obvious. “But don’t move.” He holds up his hand as he begins to leave the room, searching for his phone.

“This is Chief O’Loughlin,” I hear Finn bite out from the other room and the harshness in his tone doesn’t fade even as he walks back into the room and sits down on the couch next to me.

“Tell her I’ll deal with it in the morning,” Finn snaps, but it’s obvious the person on the other end isn’t taking no for an answer.

“Listen Sam, this fucking town doesn’t know the difference between an emergency and wanting attention. I will deal with it in the morning.”

He hangs up and tosses the phone onto the coffee table in front of us as he mutters a for fuck’s sake and rolls his eyes.

Without missing a beat or filling me in, Finn looks over at me, desire back in his eyes and says, “Now, where were we?”