Page 31

CHAPTER 31

Skye

H olding two steaming Cremora-filled coffees, I teeter into our room and my jaw drops. The Styrofoam cups almost slip out of my hands. Finn, with just a skimpy towel wrapped around his waist, stops dead in his tracks. Our eyes lock. The shocked expression on his face mirrors mine.

Hastily, he checks his towel, making sure it’s secure. “Shit... I mean, good morning. I thought you were still sleeping.”

My breath catches in my throat. “I woke up while you were in the shower and went to the lobby to see if there might be some coffee.” I hold out the cups. “Bingo. I got you some. Lots of cream... two sugars... the way you like it.”

“Thanks.” Striding my way, he takes one of the coffees. “Do you think it’s safe to drink?”

“I tried it. It’s not exactly Starbucks, but it’s drinkable.”

My gaze stays on him as he takes a sip. Straight out of the shower, his thick dark hair glistens and is slicked back. My eyes travel down his torso. Finn always had an amazing body, but I don’t remember it being this gorgeous. Chiseled like a Greek statue that belongs in a museum. Thank God, he’s wearing a towel.

He takes another sip of the brew. “You’re right... it’s not bad. How did you know how I like my coffee?”

Because that’s how you drank it every morning of our seven years together . I falter for a response. “Um, just a hunch.”

“A good one.” He grins. “You sleep okay?”

“Yes.” Truthfully, I hardly slept a wink, not dozing off until the wee hours of the morning. I tossed and turned, thinking about him. Thinking about Maddie. Thinking about this awful predicament I’m in... and why I’m in it.

He fiddles again with his towel. “You should take a shower. It’s actually pretty good.”

“What about Norman?” I joke though I’m half serious.

He laughs. “Don’t worry, he’s nowhere in sight. Plus, I’ll be here to protect you.”

I can’t help but smile as I sheepishly pad past him, feeling his eyes on me.

He’s absolutely right about the shower. It’s surprisingly good. Hot and forceful. Only one thing would make it better—having him share it with me. Like we used to do every morning. Soaping myself up, I turn to face the back wall and my head lolls back, letting the fierce spray cascade over my hair and shoulders. For a good ten minutes.

I turn around again and I blink my water-soaked eyes several times. Then freeze. There’s a man staring at me! No, it’s not Norman, but Finn. How long has he been in here? Watching me? With the pelting water, I didn’t hear him enter. I suddenly feel more naked than I am though I must look like a blur through the frosted glass door and cloud of steam. Holding me in his unblinking gaze for a second, he quickly retrieves the clothes he left in the corner and dashes out.

Questions linger. Why was he watching me? And why did he look so shocked? Then it hits me like a tsunami. Could he have possibly seen all my scars through the mist? And the flower tattoo etched on my rear? I turn off the shower hoping he didn’t, hoping he did.