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F O R T Y F I V E
- Maeve -
I admired the roses on my coffee table, my eyes feasting on their deep red color. They were so perfect, so beautiful, so…unexpected.
I knew I wanted to spend Valentine’s Day with Finn, but I hadn’t anticipated he’d go to any trouble. I figured I’d just swing by the bar, watch him play his set, and then go back to his for takeout and a cuddle with Otis. Nothing crazy. Nothing that screamed Be My Valentine?
But that’s exactly what it said on the small white card that came with the roses, which he’d signed Xx Finn.
It was such a sweet gesture, and, of course, the answer was yes. Too bad part of me wished I could be more than his Valentine, wished I could choose him. Choose us. Put this baby stuff on hold and see where our relationship went if I gave it room to breathe.
Unfortunately, the other part of me wouldn’t even humor the thought. After all, I couldn’t afford to waste any more time if I wanted a family. Yes, my feelings for him were hard to ignore, but I’d wanted a baby for much longer than I’d wanted Finn. Plus, if I put off my dream again, I’d only grow to resent him, and then there’d be no hope for us at all.
That’s why I took the earlier appointment when the clinic called. There was a cancellation at the beginning of next week, and I agreed to take it before I could chicken out since, as the old saying goes, the best time to plant a tree was yesterday and the second best time was asap.
I was going to tell Finn tonight. He would want to know, would want to send me good vibes during the procedure. He’d been more invested in helping me make this happen than anyone.
Or maybe he’d ask me not to go through with it.
What then? Would I wait for him? Hope he’d eventually come around to the idea of having a family? I didn’t want him to do anything that would crush his creative spirit, and I’d never ask him to sacrifice his dreams for mine.
My phone rang on the coffee table, and I smiled when I saw his name on the screen. “Of course I’ll be your Valentine,” I said, getting straight to the point.
“Well that’s a relief.”
I laughed. “As if you had any doubt.”
“Doubts, no, but still. I’d hate to be in the lobby of your building only to discover you didn’t want to see me tonight.”
“What?”
“I’m on my way up,” he said. “Do me a favor and start taking your clothes off.”
I leapt off the couch and looked down. I was still in my work clothes and hadn’t even thought about what I was going to wear tonight. “I thought I was meeting you at the bar?”
“A crafty cover story,” he said. “Designed to keep you from making other plans.”
I couldn’t just get naked. That would be outrageous. “I’m…”
“Overdressed,” he said. “I can hear it in your voice.”
“Finn.”
“Pressing the elevator button,” he announced. “Take off anything you don’t want me to rip off with my teeth.”
My adrenaline spiked with my heart rate, and I couldn’t help but be amused by how hunted I felt. By how happy that made me.
I pulled the clip from my hair and shook it out behind my back until my loose curls fell over my shoulders. Then I took off my pantyhose because they were so sheer he’d probably tear through them with his eyes.
What was he doing here? I thought it would be hours before he jumped my bones. Wasn’t he supposed to wine and dine me first? Was I really complaining? No man had ever spoken to me like that, and I was desperately curious to see what would happen next.
So I did as he asked. Or at least, I tried to, pulling my silk blouse off before pinching the zipper at the back of my pencil skirt the moment Finn’s knuckles announced his arrival.
“Ready or not,” he said. “You’re about to come.”
My cheeks were on fire before I even got the door open. “Would you keep it down? I have neighbors, you know.”
His eyes smiled like he couldn’t hear over how happy he was to see me, and he stepped inside quickly so I could close the door. When I turned around again, his gaze was dripping down my body like hot sap, lingering on my chest and then smoothing over my hips.
