Page 41 of Finn's Future

I barely made it halfway across the bar to get another drink before Lucy stepped out, blocking my way. Arms crossed, eyes glaring at me.

“Lucy—” I started, but she cut me off.

“Don’t bother. I saw her face.”

I scrubbed a hand over the back of my neck, heat crawling up my skin. “There’s nothing going on between us. She’s Caleb’s girl.”

Lucy’s gaze didn’t waver. If anything, it sharpened. “She was never my brother’s girl.”

That stopped me cold. “What?”

“They hooked up once,” Lucy went on. “Caleb cared about her, sure, but he wasn’t in love with her. He came back because of Noah. Because he wasn’t the kind of man to walk away from his responsibility.” Her eyes softened just a fraction. “He wanted to make sure she was taken care of. That the baby was safe and cared for.”

I’d built a wall around myself, telling myself she was off-limits, that wanting her was betrayal, and Lucy was kicking that wall down, brick by brick.

“She needs someone like you, Finn,” Lucy said. “I’ve seen the way you look at her. At Noah, too. The way you protect them both.”

I shook my head, throat tight. “I did that because it’s my job. She’s been through hell. She doesn’t need me complicating things.”

“No,” Lucy said, her eyes fierce. “What she doesn’t need is to think she’s alone. Caleb’s gone. But you? You’re still here, and maybe that’s what she needs most. Admit it, Finn, she’s no longer just a job.”

Her words hit deep, a weight I didn’t know how to carry settled on my shoulder. I looked past her down the bar, at the front door, I needed to find Kate and explain.

Chapter 18

Kate

Seeing Finn with the club girl hit me harder than I thought it would.

The last month with him always trailing behind us had been good. More than good. For the first time in a while, I’d felt safe, and not just safe, but happy.

Lucy and Reaper had surprised me and Noah with a day out, insisting on driving us into town. I’d protested at first, tried to argue that I didn’t need anything, but Lucy was relentless.

Two prospects had trailed us around and I was on guard the whole time, but I found myself actually enjoying the time spent with them and Reaper wasn’t as bad as I’d first thought. By the time we came back, my arms were loaded with bags full of new clothes for me and Noah, toys, even a stroller.

I’d told her I’d find a way to work it off, maybe behind the bar or helping Maria in the kitchen, but she’d just laughed and shook her head.

“It’s the least I can do for my nephew,” she’d said, smoothing a hand over Noah’s dark curls.

Reaper had let his walls down just long enough to hold my son again. His whole face had changed in that moment, thehard lines softening into something almost tender. It had felt like family. The kind of family I’d always dreamed of. Loved. Supported. Protected.

For a few hours, it had been perfect, but then I walked back into the clubhouse and saw her sitting in Finn’s lap, laughing, her hands roaming over him like she owned every inch. His jaw was tight, his eyes dark, and I couldn’t unsee it. Couldn’t stop the ache that tore through me. I couldn’t stand there and watch it, so I did what I do best. I ran.

Maria and her husband, Riot, had brought me home in the truck. They’d offered to stay, but I couldn’t face them. I needed time just me and Noah, but I heard the sound of a bike pull up, and when I peeked through the curtains, I saw a prospect outside the house. Always watched.

I told myself it didn’t matter. That it shouldn’t matter. Finn would never want someone like me. I was bruised, broken, a mess of scars inside and out. Caleb had seen that, and even though he’d stood by me for Noah’s sake, it had never been for me. Not really.

But the last few days, I’d let myself imagine—just a little—what it might be like if Finn looked at me the way he looked at Noah, like I was something precious, worth guarding. What it might be like if he touched me with that same steady care.

Whilst shopping, I’d found myself missing him. Turning around to talk to him or ask his opinion before I caught myself and remembered he wasn’t with us.

I’d let myself believe, just for a heartbeat, that maybe I wasn’t too broken to be wanted.

After seeing what I had in the bar, I knew better, and it hurt more than I could stand. I really was just a job to him.

Noah stirred in my arms, little fists curling as he whimpered in his sleep. I pressed a kiss to his soft hair and tucked himinto the cot, smoothing the blanket over his tiny chest. For a moment, watching him breathe calmed me.

I turned, intending to crawl into bed and shut the world out, when the door creaked open.