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Shit, he was tired of hearing those two words over and over from her. Especially when he knew it wasn’t true. She wasn’t fine and they both knew it.
Knowing that a fair bit of his irritation was also due to his ridiculous physical response to her didn’t help either.
“Bullshit,” he said shortly. “You’re not fine.”
She turned and glanced at him. “I’m absolutely—”
“Yeah, and you said that yesterday after I caught you puking your guts out in the gallery, right before nearly fainting in my arms.”
Color tinged her pale cheeks.
With the morning light coming through the windows and making her white-blond hair glow and her eyes seem green as grass, she looked almost ethereally lovely.
“You’re not fine, Beth,” he repeated for emphasis. “So why do you keep pretending you are?”
“So I don’t get stubborn assholes all up in my grill telling me what to do.” She crossed her arms, sans bracelets today, her jaw getting a mulish cast to it. “Anyway, you’re a fine one to talk, acting so calm and sure of yourself. You can’t tell me you’re any more fine with this than I am.”
“Not especially, but there’s nothing we can do to change it. The only thing we can do is handle the situation the best we can.”
Her chin lifted. “Oh right, so I guess ‘handling it’ involves telling everyone and me moving in with you, right?”
Clearly, she did not think much of this idea. At all. Which wasn’t a surprise. It was plain he was going to have his work cut out for him convincing her it was a good idea, which was fine. He liked a challenge.
“Yeah, that’s right.” No point beating about the bush with it.
“And what about me? Do I get a say in all of this?”
“Of course you do. It’ll be your decision, Beth. I’m not that much of a dick.”
She eyed him balefully. “That’s debatable.”
Finn didn’t respond. This whole situation was going to require tact and care, especially given how upset she was. Getting all hard-line about her moving in wasn’t a great plan, but she had to know he was serious and he had good reasons for it too.
He let the silence hang there a moment, then asked, “Okay, so what do you want, then?”
“What do you think? For everything to carry on as normal. Me living in the farmhouse. You living in your house and taking tours and whatever touristy stuff you do.”
“So what happens when you start to show? When people start asking who the father of your baby is? What are you going to do then?” He kept his voice very neutral, betraying nothing of the protective, possessive feeling getting stronger inside him, urging him to start striding around and making all kinds of pronouncements that would only enflame the situation.
She bit her lip and glanced out the windows again. “I…don’t know. Maybe I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”
There was the issue right there, wasn’t it? For him it was “we.” For her it was “I.” As if he had no responsibility, no role to play in this at all.
Part of him wanted an argument, to tell her in no uncertain terms that he would be part of this whether she liked it or not. But again, not helpful.
“Right,” he said, still calm and measured. “So here’s what I want. I want to be involved with your pregnancy every step of the way. I want to make sure you’re okay, that you’re happy and safe and well looked after.”
She glanced back at him again, frowning. “You can do that while living in your own home, Finn.”
“And I want that,” he went on as if she hadn’t spoken, “because I lost my wife. She was ill, and for a long time she pretended she was fine, that there was nothing wrong. And I believed her. And I didn’t see how sick she was until it was too late.”
The frown faded from Beth’s face. “Oh, Finn…I…”
“She was trying to protect me,” he continued, because this was how he’d tackle it. With honesty. So she’d understand why he was being such an insistent asshole. “She didn’t want me to worry about her, and while I disagreed strongly with her decision, I understood it. And I’m at peace with it. But I’m not doing it again. I need to know you and the baby are well. I need to know you’re protected and looked after, and I need to see that with my own eyes.” He paused, holding her gaze. “So you can live with me at my house, or I’ll move into the farmhouse, your choice. But I’m going to be there, Beth. Whether you like it or not.”
Chapter 10
Beth was sorely tempted to first punch stupid Finn Kelly in the nose and then to put her arms around him and give him the same hug he’d just given her.
