AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yeah. But this vanilla ice cream is blended with the sweetness of caramel, and the salt kicks up the flavor. Now, try it,” he said, putting his hand over hers and lifting the cone up to her lips.
Colleen licked the top of the ice cream, her tongue catching a hunk of caramel that pulled out in a gooey string. She swiped her tongue over her lip, catching Finn’s wide smile as he kept his eyes on her.
“Did I make the right choice?” he asked with a raised brow.
“It’s delicious. I have nothing else to add, so if you don’t mind, I’m going to stuff myself.”
Colleen and Finn were quiet while enjoying their ice cream. Finn finished first and waited for her.
“How are your feet?” he asked. “I’d like to show you something if you’re up for a short walk.”
Colleen got to her feet. “They’re okay.”
Finn reached for her napkin and their fingers brushed against each other. He took the napkin out of her hand and tossed it in the trash can. They only touched for a moment, but Colleen had hoped for more.
Finn glanced over at her a few times. “Um…it’s right this way,” he said, leading the way through the park.
CHAPTER 13
FINN
Shit. This was the second time tonight Finn almost held Colleen’s hand. Maybe it was the playful teasing and easy banter they shared that lowered his guard but reaching for her hand had been an instinctive response. He had to remind himself that she had just arrived in New York. She needed some time to acclimate and he had to slow down.
When he last spoke to Colleen after her father’s funeral, he tried to explain why he never contacted her. That didn’t go so well. He wanted another chance to tell her what happened after he and his mom came home. It probably wasn’t necessary, she must know most of the story, but Finn wanted to tell her himself.
Walking side by side down the sidewalk, they fell into an amicable silence. Although there were fewer people on the street, the clubs and restaurants were packed. The sound of tinkling glasses, piano music, and laughter spilled out onto the streets.
He sneaked a peek at her as he guided her throughthe brick arcade of New York University. Her eyes were wide with curiosity as she took in every detail.
“Why are we here?” she asked, taking a look around. “You didn’t go to law school here. You went to CUNY with Sean.”
“My father wanted me to go to NYU. He said CUNY was for working-class losers.”
He found an empty bench and Colleen took a seat. Finn sat by her side. Except for a few students rushing by, they were pretty much alone. Memories of being in the park with her ten years ago came rushing back. He’d been dying to kiss her that night and wanted to do so much more. If she had been any of the other girls he dated in those days, he would have driven somewhere where he could fuck her. But this was Colleen. She deserved more respect than those girls.
He threaded a hand through his hair while he considered what to say to her.
“My life changed the night my mother and I left Los Angeles and came back to New York and that disgusting man.”
Finn had never described his father that way before to anyone. Patrick O’Connor was known for his fiery temper and his alcohol excess, but there was a more sinister part of his father’s personality that few people knew.
Colleen remained quiet with concern in her eyes, bolstering his confidence to reveal more. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.
Finn gave her a nod, relieved that she was willing to listen. “We flew back on my father’s jet. It was a horrible flight. The weather was bad, and the jet had a mechanical problem. We had to make an emergency landing. To this day, I hate flying. I avoid it whenever I can.”
“But you flew out to my father’s funeral.”
He turned to Colleen. The kindness in her eyes encouraged him to continue. “I would have risked everything to get on a plane and fly there.”
Colleen blinked away a few tears. She had only the vaguest idea how much her father had meant to him.
“Anyway, by the time we arrived home, my father was furious. He was drunk and having a tantrum. He accused my mother of betraying him and slapped her. I’d never seen him hit her before. I got to my feet and punched him as hard as I could. I think I broke a few of his veneers,” Finn said, recalling with pride that he’d been able to stop his father from hurting his mother even more. He would never let that happen again.
“What happened next?”
“I convinced my mom to leave the city. The press had stalked her for years, so there was no way I was going to allow them to get near her. We stayed in her aunt’s vacant cottage in Stony Brook for days. We made a plan to move there and start a new life. I transferred from Columbia to Stony Brook University. I love New York City, but we needed to be in a quiet place where people would leave us alone.”
Colleen remained silent, keeping her eyes focused on his. He had no idea what she was thinking, but he knew he didn’t want her pity. He gave up a lot after his father’s conviction, but he also gained more freedom than he ever thought possible.
