Page 44 of The Valiant Knight (The Ravensmire Chronicles #2)

“I’m going to say something, and I’ll apologize in advance. I’m glad he was horrible. If he wasn’t, I wouldn’t have you. Forgive me.”

She kissed him softly.

“Yeah, you would have. The heart knows when it knows,” she said. “I would have found you.”

Oh, that was another miracle.

“I love you, Lass. I really do.”

She nuzzled him.

“And I love you, Fineas.”

When she rested her head on his shoulder, he let her take her time. Breakfast could wait. These moments couldn’t. He wanted the memories of his lass and their courtship so that he could tell his children one day when they asked about how their mum and their father got together.

When she was finally ready, she slipped from his lap, and he waited for her to buckle into the seatbelt.

Then, he was tucking himself away.

She didn’t miss that he was still hard.

And for her.

God.

It was a good day.

“After we eat, we can head to the church, and see if we can get information,” he offered. “The tattoo place doesn’t open until noon. We have some time, Lass.”

She didn’t mind.

“Okay, Finn. I think I want to get something different than what I said yesterday,” she admitted.

“What?” he asked.

She smiled.

“It’ll be a surprise. I know what I want to put on my body.”

He was curious.

“Really?”

“Yeah, and you can’t be there. Is there any way you can give me a few minutes alone to get it done? I want to do it for you.”

That touched him.

No one had ever gotten a tattoo for him on their body, and he was curious.

It also gave him the opportunity to sneak out and get a ring for her. He was thinking about what Elizabeth said, and he wanted to find her something unique. It would be special like his woman.

Oh, and she was absolutely that.

“I can do that. I can’t wait to see what you get.”

Oh, she knew he’d like it.

Gabby was going to get a heart on her chest, and in it, a pretty F.

For Fineas.

As they pulled into town, he knew they might be getting to Mick’s later than his sister.

But that blowjob had been worth it.

When he found a spot, he parked and then got out to help his woman. Together, they walked hand-in-hand toward the place.

As they were going in, they heard someone shout.

“Fineas!”

When he turned, he saw his sister.

The pretty woman jogged to him, and then jumped on him. He caught her and spun her around.

“Catherine,” he said, kissing her on the forehead. “You get uglier every day,” he joked, as she smacked him.

She loved her baby brother.

All of the sisters did.

“You’re a jerk as always. You think with having sisters you’d be better with women. Oh, wait. It’s that tiny dick that scares them away.”

He laughed.

Then, did the introductions.

“Catherine, this is Gabriella. She’s the woman I’m in love with,” he said, hoping his sister took it easy.

She was a lot.

Gabby held out her hand.

Only, Catherine wasn’t having it.

She grabbed her and hugged her. The woman’s joy was infectious.

“Hello, Gabriella! It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Whatever you do, make him wear a rubber. We don’t need little Fineases running around in the world,” she teased.

“Oops. My bad,” she said. “Next time. Maybe. Or not and his dick is anything but small. Just saying.”

Finn laughed.

Yeah, that was his girl.

She could hold her own with Catherine—that was for sure. She’d have to because again, his sisters were A LOT .

When his sister set her free, Finn tucked his girlfriend under his arm possessively.

“Let’s get some food, troll.”

She snorted.

“Ah, I miss you when I don’t have to smell you,” she said, busting his ass.

Gabby didn’t have siblings, but she’d seen Elizabeth bust Duke’s ass, and Ivan ride hers. It seemed like this was normal.

It was interesting to her, since she had no one to bust.

Or call when her husband hurt her.

Or to ask advice from.

Finn was a lucky man.

They went in, and took a seat. When Finn went to sit by Gabby, Catherine pulled her down to sit by her.

“Oh, no. I get to spend some time with her. I want to make sure you don’t have her brainwashed. She’s too pretty for you. There’s witchcraft afoot or she’s being held against her will. No pretty girls like an ogre like you.”

He snorted.

“It was an offering to Satan,” he joked. “If you need to know the details. I offered up your youth—which explains your face.”

She snorted, and winked at Gabby.

They waited for the waitress, and ordered breakfast. They all got the same thing, minus the haggis.

Apparently, neither liked it, and she was trusting their judgment.

“So, tell me about you,” she said, and when Finn opened his mouth, she pointed. “Not you, Leprechaun. Her. Hush. I have six other sisters to report in to, and this matters that I learn everything on this fact-finding mission.”

Gabby laughed.

Finn was giving his sister the look, and she knew he was silently pleading that he took it easy on her.

Well, she could hold up.

“Now, Gabriella,” she began.

Only, she stopped her.

“You can call me Gabby. Or Gabs. Only my mother calls me Gabriella and only when I’ve done some shit. I think it’s sexy when he says it.”

Catherine laughed.

“Gabs it is. I like it. It’s a good, strong name. To be with him, you have to be strong. Well, except for your sense of smell. Do I have stories about the teen boy years before he discovered deodorants.”

Finn wasn’t having it.

“HEY!” he said, laughing.

Catherine ignored him, and instead, she kept pushing.

“We’ll play a speed round. I ask, you answer, and if you can make my wee brother blush, you get bonus points.”

Gabby sipped her coffee.

“Yes, yes, his dick is amazing, I’m crazy about him, I had five orgasms, and I gave him head in the car here.”

Well, he blushed.

And Catherine laughed her ass off.

She hadn’t even asked a question, and Finn was flushed red—and she didn’t think in embarrassment but because of that last part.

“You marry this one. I like her.”

Gabby grinned.

“Seriously, go ahead. What do you want to know?” she asked.

“What do you do for a living?” she asked.

Gabby reached into her pocket, and pulled out her badge. She placed it on the table, and flipped it open.

Catherine’s eyes went huge.

She looked between her and Finn, and then back to the badge.

“Oh, lordy. An FBI agent?” she said. “When you go hard, Fineas, you go hard.”

Gabby laughed.

“Worse. I’m a computer scientist. I’m an ethical hacker. I stop data breaches and get into places that I’m needed to go. My last hack was to take down a bunch of pedophiles who were sharing kiddie porn amongst themselves.”

She looked at her brother.

“She has letters after her name, Fineas. She’s smarter than you. There’s hope for this gene pool. I take it back. Have lots of babies.”

He snorted.

“I know. That’s my hope. Your kids are dumb as mud.”

Catherine kicked him under the table, and Finn yelped from the shin assault.

Catherine smiled.

“I blame my husband.”

She focused on Gabby.

“Are you moving here? Because he can’t leave. Then, we sisters won’t have anyone to beat on.”

Gabby sipped her coffee and smiled.

“I can work remotely. I’m coming here. Now, I have a question.”

Catherine waited.

“Does he own a computer?”

He actually laughed.

It was a deep, rich, and whiskey warm. He knew why she was asking, and it amused him.

“For?” Catherine asked.

“His porn,” she joked.

Catherine didn’t miss a beat.

“No, he keeps it under his bed with the crusty sock like he did when he was fifteen. It’s disgusting.”

Finn stared at her.

“CATHERINE!” he said, horrified. “There’s no sock! I use tissues like every other man.”

His sister snorted.

“That’s the shade for the blush. See it? Get him to that color for bonus points.”

Gabby laughed.

Only, Catherine didn’t join in all of a sudden, and the look on her face said there was trouble coming. Finn had seen it before.

Finn sat up straight, and went on alert. His sister was staring past him, and she looked pissed.

Like ‘punch someone in the face’ angry, and it took a lot for his sisters to get angry.

“Oh, I’ll kick her ass,” Catherine said, making Finn turn around.

That’s when his worst nightmare walked through the door. Of course, this was going to happen to him today—on the day he planned on proposing to Gabby.

Rosie.

Was.

Back.

And like the plague, she was going to inflict some damage. She was spoiled, and believed everyone was at her beck and call.

Talk about brainwashing.

She’d convinced him he had been.

“Oh, Jesus,” he said, as the woman headed his way, and she was smiling at him.

Like she hadn’t bailed and stole his cat.

And toaster.

When she sat beside him, she gave him a kiss on the cheek, and took his coffee to have a little sip.

“I was looking for you. My key doesn’t work anymore,” she said.

He.

Was.

Appalled.

Gabby was looking at him, and he knew everything in his world was about to go topsy-turvy. His ex had just rolled back into the village, and was getting up close and personal with him.

All the while the love of his life was watching the interaction.

If he lost Gabby because of Rosie, he swore to God, he’d lose his mind. It was wild how something could go to shit so fast.

“That’s because we broke up when you left,” he said. “I changed them because we weren’t a couple anymore.”

Catherine tried to get up, but Finn put his foot up on the seat between her and Gabby. So she couldn’t. His sisters hated this woman after what she did to him, and there would be a bloodbath.

Catherine liked to think she had to protect him like she did when he was a kid.

Rosie was dead if Catherine got up. It was a good thing Gabby was blocking her in.

“Oh, well, I’m back. It was boring without you, Finny,” she said.

He prayed for patience.

Until it escalated.

Rosie was now focused on Gabby. He swore to God, he’d lose his mind if Gabby walked away from him. He was finally happy, and at a good place in his life.

“Who are you?” she asked.

Finn took this.

He wasn’t putting Gabby in the line of fire. Rosie had that Irish temper that could erupt.

And it was scary.