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My eyes nearly fall out of my head.
Finn notices and laughs. "They're my MC brothers, pretty baby. I'm an only child."
"Oh. Me too. I was adopted."
"Me too."
"Really? I didn't know that."
"Mmhmm. My parents adopted me from foster care when I was two."
"Wow," I whisper. "Um, I was adopted as a newborn."
"You lost your parents?"
I nod. "In a house fire my first year of college."
"Damn, pretty baby," he whispers, wrapping his arms around me in a tight hug. "I'm sorry."
"Me too," I whisper, clearing the lump from my throat. I still miss them like crazy. My mom was my best friend, and my dad was my hero. They would have done anything for me, no questions asked. I don't think I'll ever stop missing them or that my heart will ever be entirely whole without them. They gave me the world. "Um, what about your parents? Are you close?"
"No." His expression tightens, his jaw hardening. For the first time since I met him, I see actual anger in his green eyes. "I was a show pony to my parents, not a child. They wanted a prop, and I fit their plans perfectly, especially once they realized that I was smart."
"Oh, Finn." My heart cracks down the middle for him. I throw my arms around him in a fierce hug, willing peace onto him. Far too often, people adopt kids for the wrong reasons, leaving them with lifelong trauma. I hate that Finn experienced it firsthand. He's too damngoodto feel like he was only a prop for the perfect family. If anyone deserves to know what it's like to be loved, it's this man.
"It's okay, pretty baby," he murmurs, running a hand down my back. "It was a long time ago."
"That doesn't mean it doesn't still hurt."
He tips my head back, his gaze running across my face. He's so somber, so serious. And then he smiles. "I'm going to make you fall in love with me, Scarlett Crawford from Gatsby Books."
You already have, super-spy Finn Taylor.
I don't say that. Luckily, I don't have to say anything.
"Excuse me? I'm ready to check out now."
"Shoot!" I whisper, squirming out from between Finn's body and the bookshelf as the impatient voice reaches our little corner of the store. My cheeks blaze with heat. I forgot we weren't alone in the store. Oh, my goodness. Finn Taylor is dangerous.
"Hey." He grabs my hand before I can scurry away. "I've got to head out to take care of some shit. I probably won't make it back before you close. Have dinner with me?"
"I can't," I decline regretfully. Every part of me wants to say yes. "I can't leave Aunt Ophelia alone after dialysis."
"Bring her," he says with a shrug. "We'll go to the Broadway Steakhouse. I know the owner. If she's banned, I'll make sure they unban her. He owes me a favor."
I do not even want to know what my aunt could have possibly done to get banned from a steakhouse. Actually, yes, I do. Her life is way more interesting than mine. I make a mental note to ask her about it.
"You're sure?" I ask Finn.
"Bring her, Scarlett," he growls at me, smiling.
"Okay."
"What the heck?" I whisper, staring in shock as the same odd man from the other day steps up to the door as I flip the lock at closing time. Like the last two times I saw him, he's dressed in a fancy suit, his salt and pepper hair carefully coiffed.
"Hello, Ms. Crawford," he calls through the glass, smiling at me.
My blood runs cold. I never gave him my last name. It's not on my nametag either. In fact, I don't even think I was even wearing my nametag the day he came in here. I usually throw it in my bag on the way out of the house in the morning, only to find it when I clean out my purse at night. I put it on the table with my keys and promise myself I'll do better tomorrow…and then do the exact same thing again. It's a vicious cycle. Luckily, Maddie is still on her honeymoon. And she doesn't mind anyway. She's a good boss.
