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And mothers the world over would roll their eyes at me, but I knew it to be true.
Finn’s soul spoke to mine.
That went deeper than love.
When I looked into his eyes, I saw a man who was capable of violence. One who would do things most would shy away from. I didn’t mistake him for a good man—our first meeting proved that. But I considered him a decent man. He had standards and morals, but they didn’t fit the current status quo.
He’d never beat me.
He rarely evensworearound me outside of the bedroom. If he was on the phone and he started cursing, he’d head into another room, for God’s sake, and apologize after he returned.
He’d look after me. Keep me safe. Protect me.
I’d considered all that when he’d proposed.
Yes, he was a mobster.
He covered it up behind expensive suits and a penthouse that would make any millionaire cry with envy. But deep down, I saw the boy Fiona had told me about all those years ago. I didn’t remember him well. How could I? I was two. But I remembered her love for him. I remembered how she’d marveled over how smart he was. How deeply she’d mourned him.
Finn was one of the most complicated men I’d ever met, and me? I was a sucker for a puzzle.
“Next Tuesday...” His words petered off.
I patted his lap. “I’m telling you this as your fiancée, Finn. I know full well how this could wreck Alan’s career, and I also know that if you told Aidan, he’d probably use it to cripple him. Or try to, at any rate. Alan is a very stubborn man. It’s where I got it from I think because,” I said on an exhalation, “he’s my father.”
Whatever he’d expected me to say, I doubt it had been that. He rolled my fingers in his and asked, “Your mother raised you alone?”
“No. Not until I was twelve. My stepfather died, but he wasn’t much of a loss if I’m being honest.” It was a cruel thing to say about a man, but it was the truth. “He drank too much, wasn’t interested in me or Mom, and while he worked, Mom paid for everything. His money went to the pubs and the bookies.”
He squeezed my hand. “I understand more than you’d think about feckless fathers.”
It would have been a good time to segue into my knowledge of his past, but I doubted Finn would want to know about my connection with his mother.
Maybe one day, I’d feel comfortable opening up to him about Fiona. But as it stood, it wasn’t alie. It might have been considered faintly duplicitous but, to be honest, my knowledge of his history was the one reason I was so comfortable with this whirlwind relationship.
For that, he should have been grateful.
“I’ll have someone pack your things tomorrow and bring them to the penthouse.”
His words were out of the blue, especially when I’d expected more questions about Alan. Still, I wasn’t about to complain. I didn’t exactly want to pass up the chance of help, and truthfully, I liked waking up in his bed.
In four weeks, I’d grown to like having him at my side. I rarely woke up without one of his fingers inside me, and even when he wasn’t awake before me, I enjoyed the way he curled into me.
Because, for all he was a big, burly brute of a man, Finn was a cuddler in his sleep.
My lips curved at that, and he grumbled, “You’re not going to argue?”
“Argue? About what?” I blinked at him.
“Moving in with me?”
“I agreed to marry you, Finn. I didn’t expect you to move in with me, or for us to live separately,” I joked. “Plus, you’re mad if you don’t think I want some help. I have a lot to clear up, but I want to be involved. Some of the stuff can go in storage,” I explained before he could argue. “Then there are personal things from my family that I need to figure out where to put.”
“Do you have any pieces of furniture you want to take with you?”
At that, I laughed. I had to give him credit for maintaining a very straight face. “You think I’m going to mess up your pad with my crappy stuff? Don’t worry, Finn, most of it can stay for the next tenant.”
He chuckled. “Good to know.”
