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His calloused finger traced the outline of the tattoo, blistering her skin, teasing her with his tentative touch. She pressed his hand onto her needy flesh, yearning for more. His heated brown eyes locked on hers, arousal reflecting back.
He wanted her, didn’t he? Finn’s eyes dropped to her growing belly, and he winced before he dropped his hand, severing the connection.
“I don’t remember it,” he confessed.
She pushed away the disappointment, not willing to give up so quickly. “I have an idea. Why don’t we start from the beginning?”
He took a sip of the coffee and nodded. “Alright.”
Charli smiled. Sharing memories with Finn might help him remember. Maybe she could still get her old Finn back. Perhaps their fairy tale had a few chapters left before they got to the happily-ever-after part.
5
Finn
Finn followed Charli to the couch with his cup of coffee. Her amber scent danced on muted tones in the air around him. The sway of her hips drew his attention to her voluptuous backside. He swallowed, his eyes dropping to her bare legs, accentuated by the linen shorts that hugged her ass to perfection. She might have been small, but her legs seemed to go on for days in those tiny bottoms. What color panties is she wearing today? Gah! He hadn’t been able to get her out of his head since catching a flash of pink lace under the T-shirt earlier.
Charli sat, placing her cup of tea on the rectangular table. The bedding he’d used last night was nowhere to be seen. He took the empty place beside her, taking one last sip of his coffee before setting it down. He shifted back to get comfortable. A strand of raven hair fell in front of her face, contrasted by her porcelain skin like his very own modern-day Snow White.
Charli tucked one bare foot under her and angled her body towards him. He jerked his head in the other direction, afraid to get caught staring like a pervert. But if she was his wife, wasn’t he allowed to ogle her?
Finn turned back to her. Charli’s light brown eyes studied him—the same color of the smattering of freckles across her cheeks and nose. It was cute. Everything about her seemed soft.
“Why don’t you start by telling me what you do remember of me?” Charli suggested.
He nodded and cleared his throat. “There was a bonfire at the beach with the boys. Bently showed up with you, and we all thought you were his date. But then he, uh, pulled me aside and told me to help look out for you.”
Her brows creased. “Bently said that?”
“Yeah. He just explained you needed a few friends to have your back. But I don’t remember why?”
Charli tucked a piece of wavy black hair behind her ear. “You’d think this would be easy to talk about, having already had this conversation with you, years ago.” She cleared her throat, her eyes searching the room as if she’d find the right words somewhere around them.
“I was in a pretty bad place when we moved to Shattered Cove. My mother was neglectful and pretty extreme in her religious beliefs. We didn’t have money for basic necessities, so I didn’t have much for clothing, food, you name it. Bently noticed me slipping into the nurse’s room window at school one evening.” She took a calming breath and smiled. “He followed me in and scared the shit out of me.” Charli laughed before her face grew serious. “He caught me trying to steal pads and tampons. It was mortifying as a fifteen-year-old girl. But he warned me away from doing that again. If I got caught, I’d get into so much trouble. Instead he promised I wouldn’t have to worry about it. The next day, I found a whole box in my locker.”
She paused, settling her hand on her chest. “He invited me to hang out at the bonfire with you guys. At first I was terrified. Here was this popular guy asking me to chill with his friends and buying me tampons. I didn’t know what to make of him. I was a far cry from the girls he usually had on his arm.”
“You’re beautiful,” Finn said.
Charli’s gaze snagged on his. Her pink lips parted and closed before she smiled, lighting up her whole face. Happiness glowed from her expression as gratitude flashed in her gaze. “Well, back then I was gangly and way too skinny with all these freckles. I felt like the ugly duckling.”
“Didn’t I have Laura with me at the bonfire?”
Charli’s face fell. “Yeah. She was there. But you broke up soon after.”
“Why?” He leaned closer.
“I walked into the library and found her and another guy huddled together in a corner, kissing. I knew you and she were together, so I asked Bently about it. He brought me to you and we let you know.”
Her words were a fresh punch to his gut. “What did I do?”
“You asked me for details, and then you got mad and went after Ricky.”
“Ricky Emerson?”
She nodded.
Finn shook his head. “Captain of the football team and girlfriend stealer.”
