My lips parted. The sun had barely risen, and he was suggesting hard liquor? “You carry alcohol around with you?”
Finn cradled the cup in his elbow while unscrewing the flask, not looking the least bit bothered. “It comes in handy.”
“Hold up. How old are you?”
“Nineteen.”
“That’s not legal… Wait, I wasn’t talking about alcohol!” I took a calming breath before opening my fist and showing off the sugar packets. “I meantsugar.”
Finn’s eyes lit up. “Good call. That’s even better.”
I tried to shake off the unease at seeing the flask and ripped off the corner of a packet while cradling the travel cup in the crook of my elbow until I could get the lid pulled off.
“Guess we don’t need this after all.” He tucked the flask back in his pocket, as if he hadn’t just pulled out alcohol before most people left for their morning commute. “Where’d you get those?”
“I always carry extras with me.” I smiled and tried my best to wink. “Just in case. You never know when you’ll need a little sugar.”
Finn’s dumbfounded gaze shot back to mine from the cup, and I couldn’t suppress a snort at the way his jaw dropped comically.
“You… I… sugar…” Finn trailed off, at a loss for words as he wiped a hand over his mouth. His head turned, eyes darting all over the surrounding area before his incredulous gaze turned back to mine.
I started to feel concerned, wondering if this was the part where I called 911 because he was having a stroke.
“Will you marry me?” Finn asked abruptly. He looked as straight-faced and earnest as I’d ever seen him.
I froze, the smile fixed on my face as my hand held the now empty packet of sugar over my steaming cup of coffee.Did he seriously just—
Finn sucked in a sharp breath and smacked a hand against his forehead. “Shit. I forgot to get down on one knee.”
I snorted before covering my mouth as he scratched the back of his head. The laughter started deep in my belly and completely caught me off guard. It rose quickly, and I was in a fit of giggles before you could’ve spotted the flush washing over my cheeks.
“Hey, it’s rude to laugh when you’re being proposed to,” Finn said before sniffing in affront. That dimpled smile spread across his face as he watched me try to tame my laughter—which was futile. “Pretty sure you should be crying happy tears and hugging me and talking about flower arrangements or something. But never mind that, we can save it for later. Now about those sugar packets…”
The giggles only grew as Finn sat his cup on the van’s bumper and nabbed a packet from me. I watched in unbridled amusement as he ripped it open before pouring the sugar contents straight down his throat.
Not exactly what I’d had in mind…
“Hey!” a gruff voice called behind us, followed by thebangof a door swinging shut. I tried to smother my laughter. A glance over my shoulder showed Mr. Everton jogging over with a frown gracing his weathered face.
“Think on it,” Finn murmured in a rush. His lips twitched into a shameless smile as he winked. I was at a loss for words, but he was already backing away toward the sidewalk without breaking eye contact with me. “I’ll see you around, Cupcake.”
He was gone before I could wave, disappearing like a magic act while I was left with a grumbling Mr. Everton approaching my side.
“Bye, Finn,” I whispered before my boss sidled up beside me. He crossed both arms over his chest. His eyes turned to me with a gravity I didn’t expect.
“You seem like a nice girl, Emma,” Mr. Everton said, but he let out a heavy sigh. “And I want to keep you nice. So, do me a favor and stay away from Finn, okay? It’s for your own good.”
I frowned. A sense of unease crawled across my skin as I shifted my weight to the other foot. He knew Finn?
“We were just drinking coffee.”
Mr. Everton shook his head. “Please trust my judgement on this one, okay? That boy is bad news.”
He offered me a sad smile before opening his mouth, then he hesitated before closing it again. Without another word, he grabbed a box of muffins and headed back toward the building.
I gazed at the sidewalk Finn had disappeared down, wondering what could possibly be so bad about a boy who loved cupcakes and snuck up on van unloaders in a non-nefarious way. With no answers in sight, I found a renewed strength that helped me haul an entire bag of apples into the company building.
When I left less than an hour later, I searched for my bookbag and found it settled nicely between the two front seats. Odd. I could’ve sworn I’d left it in the back.
