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With a shrug, I answered, “Yeah. What’s the problem?”
She glared at me for a good minute before she burst out in a laughing fit. I had no idea what was so damn funny. All I knew was I loved the sound of Rory’s laughter and the way it rushed over my body and settled right in the middle of my heart.
It didn’t take long for me to start laughing right along with her, until I finally asked, “Why are we laughing?”
Wiping her tears away, she shook her head slightly. She placed her hands on my chest and grabbed my T-shirt. “Finn Ward, I need you to know I’ve never loved like this before. And it’s not just me loving you. It’s the way you’ve made me love life. The stolen moments that only the two of us will ever know about. The memories I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.”
I lifted my hand and tucked a strand of her brown hair behind her ear. “We’re going to make so many more memories, Éan.”
Her eyes searched my face, and she swallowed hard. “I love you, Finn. Thank you for bringing me to life.”
My heart dropped in my chest as I gazed into the eyes of the only woman I’d ever loved. The only woman I would ever love. Cupping her face in my hands, I softly brushed my lips against hers. “You’re my whole world, Rory.”
A single tear rolled down her cheek. I gently kissed it away and drew her in closer to me. Lifting her chin so that our mouths met. “My everything.”
Chapter 39
Rory
Breakfast with the family
The beat of my heart was pounding in my ears so loudly I could hardly hear myself think. The second his lips touched mine, I attempted to sear the moment into my memory. Finn’s whispered words caused my heart to soar and ache at the same time. I wanted desperately to tell him what my father had said, how he’d used Finn’s career as a bargaining tool for me to give him up. But I knew that if I told Finn, he would simply walk away from being a firefighter. And I knew that that was something I wouldn’t be able to live with.
“Damn, I love your kisses,” Finn said as he gazed into my eyes.
“I love yours.”
He winked and turned around again. “Jump on—I’m starving!”
I hopped onto his back and ducked when he slipped out of the large tent.
“Oh wow!” I gasped as I took in the site around me. “It’s beautiful here.”
“It wasn’t a bad place to grow up, that’s for sure.”
“I wish I could remember when we were little. My mother said you had a crush on me.”
Finn tickled my foot, and I let out a scream. “I had the crush? I’m pretty sure it was the other way around.”
Leaning in closer, I placed my mouth near his ear. “Aren’t you the one who declared to my father you were going to marry me?”
With a laugh, Finn nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. But hey, I was a smart kid. Knew something special when I saw it.”
My stomach dropped and I held on to him a little tighter. How am I ever going to be able to let him go?
The sound of a dog barking caught my attention. “Flash!” I cried out when I saw the Dalmatian running toward us.
“No!” Finn shouted. “Flash! No!”
Before I knew what was happening, I was on the ground and Flash was licking me like he hadn’t seen me in weeks. “I take it my father said you can keep taking Flash home with you?” I asked, laughing.
“Well, he hasn’t told me to stop yet.”
Finn pulled Flash off me, reached down, and picked me up. Our eyes met. My chest ached as I saw the concern in his. “Are you hurt?” he asked worriedly?
Yes. But not in the way you think.
“No, I’m okay.”
The tenderness in his voice was unmistakable. He loved me, and I knew deep in my heart Finn would never hurt me like my father insisted he would.
I almost blurted out for Finn to run away with me. We could go live on an island somewhere, just the two of us.
Together.
Forever.
“Let’s get some breakfast, baby.”
Smiling, I wrapped my arms around his neck as he walked toward the house. Flash was barking and running back and forth, too excited to hold it in.
“He loves it here,” I said.
Finn let out a loud laugh. “Hell yeah he does. He has room to run and isn’t locked up in a crate. Bastard hasn’t done one thing to the house. Nothing.”
With a giggle, I leaned my head into him. “I could get used to you carrying me everywhere. I may have to forget my shoes all the time.”
“I don’t need an excuse to hold you in my arms.”
