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“But what if that’s all I can give you?”
Releasing my hair, Finn tugs my body towards him. “For now.” He groans, brushing his lips against mine.
Unable to control the feelings swirling in my body, I lean forward, pressing my lips softly against his. Both of us moan as he grips the back of my neck, pulling me tighter into his body. He dominates our kiss, nipping and sucking my lip between his before thrusting his tongue into my mouth. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him closer to me. Nothing but pure, unadulterated desire courses through my veins.
But as quickly as it starts, it’s over, and we break apart with a gasp.
“Wow,” I whisper softly, brushing my fingers across my lips.
“I second that.” Finn chuckles softly before planting a kiss on my forehead and pulling away from me. “I better get back on my side of the table before I get carried away again.”
“Yeah. That’s a good idea.” I unwrap my arms from around his neck, scooting away from him.
Holy fucking shit. I agreed to come to lunch with Finn to allow him to thank me for doing my job and to convince him he can chase me all he wants, but I won’t be caught.
I’ve partially accomplished one of those things. The verdict is still out on the second.
CHAPTERTEN
FINN
“What are you doing here? Didn’t you have a date with your dream girl?” Nolan shouts from behind the bar as he wipes down the countertop.
Nolan has been working at the bar since I went away to college. I had helped my dad at the bar every day after school, on holidays, and even on the weekends, so when I left for college, my mom and I hired Nolan. He had just moved to town and was looking for a job, and the rest was history.
It took a little while for the rest of the town to warm up to him, but his hardest sell was my dad. However, you’d never know that he had any reservations about Nolan. Now, he’s part of the family. He was there for my dad when he needed him the most, and I’ll never be able to repay him for the things he’s done for my family.
“Why hasn’t my father fired you yet?” I scoff, dropping onto the barstool in front of him.
Crashing and burning is not the best explanation for what happened between Marissa and me today. After our kiss, she closed in on herself. No more snarky comments or witty banter. It was in that moment, I realized I pushed her too hard. It was a risk for sure, and this time, it didn’t pay off, but I’m not giving up. There’s something there between Marissa and me. I just need to get her to open up to me long enough so I can see it.
“Did you crash and burn again, Boss Man?”Shelly giggles as she places a plate of chocolate cake in front of me.
Shelly has been the cook during the lunch rush ever since I came back to town after Pops’s stroke. We’ve always had a small kitchen in the back just in case someone needed to rent out the place for an event, but Pops was adamant we didn’t need to serve anything besides peanuts. He always claimed this was a bar, not a restaurant, but business had been slowing down as people moved out of town. We needed to figure out something to breathe some life back into the business. Adding a lunch and happy hour menu was the easiest option.
“What’s this?” I slide the plate closer.
“Think of it as a new menu item,” Shelly responds with a smile before leaning on the bar, waiting to hear my opinion on the cake. Too bad for her cake is the last thing on my mind right now.
“More like she wanted to give you some comfort food in case you crashed and burned with your lady love again.”
“I don’t know why I told either of you about my lady problems.”
After a few beers one night after the bar closed, the two of them managed to pry some information out of me. Both had been wondering why I was still in town, since my father was doing so much better, and I needed some advice on what to do next.
“Because it was either us or your mother,” Nolan responds before grabbing a glass from under the bar and filling it with my favorite beer. “You look like this might be more your speed.”
“Sorry, Shelly.” I wink at her before grabbing the glass and drinking almost half of it down at once.
“Damn. That bad, huh?” Shelly snickers as she slides the cake back toward her, grabs the fork, and shoves a large bite into her mouth. “Just means more for me.”
Nolan bumps Shelly’s shoulder, motioning with his head to the right. “Finn, since you’re here, why don’t we get started on the inventory count?”
“Can I bring my beer?” I respond, taking another healthy pull from the glass.
“You own the place.” He chuckles before disappearing into the stock room behind the bar.
“Don’t mind me. I’ll just be sitting here, eating my cake all alone.” Shelly stuffs another bite of cake into her mouth as I walk around the bar to follow Nolan. “Just try to talk a little louder so I can hear what’s going on. A woman’s opinion never hurt.”
