“I’m ready to go when you are,” I tell Finn, no longer capable of watching this really sweet moment in front of me.
He nods as he stands up, sending one last smile to Ollie before looking over at me.
“After you, sweetheart.”
I head out the door and can feel his warmth on my back as he trails behind me, closing the door and locking it behind us. I reach as far as the end of the path when I stop, feeling the lack of heat and the loss of Finn’s scent.
I turn to see him frozen on my doorstep, watching me like some kind of predator. His eyes are firmly planted on what is now the side of my ass and I smirk and put all my weight onto one leg.
“Like what you see, Southwick?” I tilt my head in a silent taunt.
It seems to snap him out of his daze, and he stalks toward me, a man on a mission. He’s all hard lines and deep frowns until he reaches me, and then it all changes. His expression softens, his hand gentle as it tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. He bends down and steals my breath as he leaves a lingering kiss on my cheek, leaving it glowing bright red.
He pulls away enough to whisper, “Always do, Michaels.”
It’s a good thing he takes my hand and leads me the rest of the way to the car, because otherwise I’d be stuck in place just like he was.
God, I might actually…likethis man?
Finn opens the passenger door for me and I hop in silently, lost in thought due to the mere possibility of seeing my best friend’s brother as anything other than annoying.
As soon as he gets in, we head off, to where exactly I’m not sure.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
He shrugs off my question with a smile and I appreciate the action as it pulls me back to a headspace where I find Finley to be a major inconvenience to my life.
He flicks his gaze over to me before going back to the road. He chuckles softly. “Not the Locke, I can tell you that much.”
“No. No, you made that very clear last week.”
“Problem, Cherry?” Finn smiles.
“I just don’t understand what was wrong with it?”
Finn shrugs. “I don’t know. When I take a woman on a date, I prefer to take them to places that show them that I put thought into it. I want them to know that they are worth the time and the effort it takes to plan a date.” He turns to me after putting the car in park. “I want you to see that you’re worth it.”
Oh.
The most I can do is nod and wait for Finn to open the passenger door. Lately, he’s been telling me off if I so much as lift my hand to reach for the handle.
He holds out his hand to me and I place mine in his, using it for support as I climb out of the car and onto the sidewalk. We’re a couple of roads away from Main Street before Finn plants a chaste kiss on the back of it and lets go of my hand.
This man is seriously pulling out all of the stops. I just wish I knew if this was all part of the bet, or some secret new agenda I’m not aware of.
I follow him to a small restaurant called Thompson’s, a quaint little cottage-esque building with flowers covering the archway as you enter and exposed brick all over the front.
“The food here is amazing,” Finn says as he opens the door for me. “Mickey really is a genius. He did the food for your birthday.”
The minute we step inside, all eyes turn to us. Whispers float through the air as customers point in a way that is so far from subtle. I want to shrink behind Finn, but he holds me in place with a firm hand around my waist.
“Finn, my main man!” A handsome guy with blond curly hair strides over to us from what I’m assuming is the kitchens, if the chef’s uniform he has on is any indication.
“Mickey,” Finn smiles, stepping into the chef’s arms to give him a manly hug involving two heavy slaps to the back. “How are you?”
“Amazing! Things are back up and running thanks to you.”
A pink tinge dusts Finn’s neck and cheeks. “Happy to help.”
