Irritation flashed across her face but she quickly covered it with a fake and beaming smile. “Of course, absolutely. And if this house isn’t suitable for your forever home, please do give me a chance to talk through a few other options on the market right now. Am I to assume you’re going to be playing…?”
She paused and checked over her shoulders. “Locally next season?” The stage whisper was back. “And you’re clearly looking for a…” She dragged her eyes over Molly from head to toe and back up again. “Family home.”
Finn draped his arm around Molly’s shoulder, ready to out their fake-relationship toMandythe nosy realtor as they’d talked about. But before he could open his mouth, Molly was already stepping forward out of his grasp with a hollow laugh.
“Oh, we’re just friends.” She patted his chest. “I’m here to make sure he doesn’t just buy the first shiny thing he sees. You know how they can be.”
“Men?”
“Rich hockey players.” Another eye roll from Molly.
Mandy chewed on the end of her pen, and her eyes danced like all she saw when she looked at Finn was dollar signs. And while there was talk of him staying in Minnesota to play pro after graduation, they hadn’t yet made an offer.
“Well, let me know if there’s anything…” Mandy puffed out her chest. “Anything at all I can help you with.”
“We will, thanks.” Molly mirrored Mandy’s smile with a fake one of her own.
When Mandy left, Molly jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “She’s nice.”
Finn groaned.
“What a catch.”
It was his turn to roll his eyes.
“A real keeper. I feel like she’s already spent your first NHL paycheck.” She shuddered.
Sliding his arm around her waist, he tugged her to him, burying his lips into her hair. “Well, if you’d stuck with the plan, Miss Thing, she wouldn’t have turned on her… eh… charm.”
“What if she tells someone she saw us together and it somehow gets back to Will?”
“We could have just told him you were protecting me from the predatory blonde who saw dollar signs when we walked in the door.”
“And how, exactly, would we explain to him why we were even here in the first place.”
He stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “Okay, fine. Good point. Up you go.” He ushered her forward with a smack on her ass as she passed. “Let’s see if this place is our forever home.”
At the top of the stairs was a huge den area. While there was no furniture in the space, it was easy to picture. “That’s where the widescreen would go.”
“For NHL on the PlayStation?”
He nodded. “And game night – y’know, when we aren’t on the ice. And over here, we’d put an air hockey table.”
She laughed. “You’re off to the races with the décor on this place, Finny.”
“Little known secret, MoMo.” He swallowed, knowing it would probably put the fear of God into her, but also needing to be fair to himself, to both of them, and tell her upfront. “Despite my rep as a player, I can’t wait to settle down.”
To her credit, she didn’t faint, stumble, or visibly react, she just walked the perimeter of the room. Was it something she’d thought about? If not settling with him, with someone, anyone else? Or would her flighty soul never let her tether herself to another person?
He ached to press the topic, to ask her whether it was something she saw herself doing in the future. But it was too much, too fast. He had to let her come to terms with the fact they’d opened the door between them, and had slept together before suggesting something quite so long term.
If he pushed, she’d spook and he’d lose her. She’d either want to settle down, or she wouldn’t, all he could do was own his truth and tell her what he wanted. It was out there now, hanging between them as they walked through the bedrooms, and into the master bathroom, and unless he was sorely mistaken, it hadn’t gotten weird.
“Holy crap! That bath is huge.”
He closed the space between them, pressing himself against her ass. “All the better to fuck you in, my dear.”
She giggled, but tipped her head to the side, granting him access to her neck. “Yes, please.”
