“Wait here.”
He runs back inside and a few seconds later, returns with the waffles in hand. He grabs my hand once more and we continue toward his car, which is parked beside Bash’s on the side of the road. I never even noticed.
Bash is deep in a conversation with the bald guy outside the gate.
“Before I forget,” I whisper to Finn. “That guy hit on me first chance he got.”
Finn halts completely, letting his head fall in a circle. He turns. “Benny?”
Bald guy, Benny, I guess, turns to face us. “Yeah?”
“You’re fired.”
As if nothing happened, Finn opens the passenger door to his car.
In a panic, Bash rushes over. “Woah, hey, you’re working, let me drive her back.”
“I’ve got her. I need to make sure she gets some sleep.”
“Was firing him really necessary?”
Finn shrugs, the only sign of his frustration in the stiffness of his shoulders. “No, but I’ll hire him back when I return. I just want him to panic a little. I need everyone to know you’re mine.”
I chuckle wryly. “I already let him know I’m yours.” I take a seat in the car and goosebumps trickle across my skin as Finn groans.
“Please don’t make me have to put you to sleep a different way, Cherry.”
Heat blooms inside me and I find myself shifting in my seat, trying to force some of the tension out of my core. Finn shuts the door, completely ignoring Benny as he stalks over to the driver’s side. He mumbles some things to Bash who nods and jumps in his truck. Finn grabs a shirt from his trunk before slipping into the driver’s seat.
Bash waits for us to drive off before following closely behind. Finn notices the cup of coffee I have placed in the cup holder.
“Is that for me, too?” he asks.
“Yep. A Jamie special.”
“You goddamn angel.” He groans as he takes a sip of his coffee. “That man is an artist.”
“So are you from the looks of things.”
He chuckles lowly. “I wish. Architecture would be a dream, but I’ve been in construction for so long that I’m not sure I could really let it go.”
“Well, why not do both?”
He frowns for a second, as if the thought never even occurred to him. Other than that, he doesn’t respond, and I don’t force him to. I simply allow him to linger in his head as we drive back to Eaglewood.
At some point, I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I know, I’m feeling my whole body sway, my head resting on something hard but soft at the same time. I hum as I shift from my current position.
“Shh, Cherry, I’ve got you.”
That’s all I need to know before I doze off once more.
* * *
Now that I’m waking up, the first thing I’m noticing is that it’s dark outside. Holy shit, I must have been asleep for hours.
Groggy and slow, I sit up in bed. My scrubs are no longer on my body, Finn’s T-shirt replacing it. I gather the cotton fabric in my hand and take a sniff. It still smells like him—minty, peppery. A smile rests on my face while I let the smell wash over me. It’s comforting.
I get up out of bed and stretch my overworked muscles. Every one of them protests and resists as I do but it’s necessary if I even want to stand up straight. Everywhere aches and it’s not pretty what’s going on with my thighs right now, but I shove on some pants and head out to the kitchen.
