Finn’s expression flashed with something raw. Affection. Pride. Something else.
His undisguised reaction hit her in the chest and twisted, making it hard to breathe for a second. She’d seen glimpses of the boy she used to know, but for the first time since finding him again, she felt that tenderness from him.
And that stirred something much more dangerous in her. Something she wasn’t going to stop herself from feeling but that scared her more than all the other stuff added together.
His throat bobbed. “Liv, I—”
She squeezed his hand. “Don’t. Please. I’m not telling you all this for any other reason than that I’m tired of playing it safe. I don’t want to play games with you or be coy. Here’s the truth. I loved last weekend. Hanging out. Taking pictures. Sharing a bed with you. I’ve missed you this week, and I’m sorry I didn’t call. I didn’t call because you scare me. I know you’re leaving, and it will hurt me when you do. But I’d rather have a summer with you and my friends and my camera than walk away now and never have had it happen. So here I am.” A shimmer of nerves rippled through her. “Trusting that I’m tough enough to handle it all and that my savings account will keep me afloat until I figure out what I’m going to do with my life.”
Finn pulled off on the shoulder of the road and brought their joined hands up to kiss her knuckles. “Not that you need my stamp of approval, but I am ridiculously proud of you. Here I was, dragging my feet all morning because I didn’t want to deal with an awkward visit home, and meanwhile, you were setting a bomb off in your life and going balls out with all of your worst fears. You amaze me, Olivia Arias,” he said softly. “And I missed the hell out of you this week, too.”
The words sent curls of warmth through her chest. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He leaned forward and kissed her.
She gave over to it immediately, her lips softening against his and opening, welcoming him in. His fingers slid into her hair, and he held her just where he wanted her, gentle and sweet.
When he eased back, he ran his thumb over her bottom lip and smiled. “I guess if you’re going to be ballsy enough to quit your job, I probably need to grow a pair and deal with my family, huh?”
“You have a pair. I fully inspected them. But let’s just get your family drunk and see what happens.”
He lowered his head and touched his forehead to hers. “Bad things, Arias. Bad. Things.”
Her lips hitched up. “How about for every classist, racist, or asshole comment your dad makes, you owe me an orgasm?”
Finn lifted his head and grinned. “I fear that you are going to be one very satisfied lady.”
“I think I win either way,” she declared. “So, what am I going to be? Fiancée? Knocked up with triplets? One of an illicit ménage relationship you’re in?”
He laughed, settled his hand back on the steering wheel, and pulled out into traffic. “Let’s not give my mother a heart attack. How about we go with the truth? We’re dating.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “We’re dating?”
“Yes. If that works for you. I have no desire to share you this summer. I’m morally loose but very traditional,” he said with a half-serious tone. “Plus, you’re supposed to be helping me with my violent tendencies.”
“Violent tendencies?” she said drolly.
“Yes, violent tendencies, as in I feel the deep inner need to break things when I imagine some other guy touching you.”
“I see. That is very caveman of you.”
“I realize this.” He checked the rearview mirror and exited the highway. “I apologize. I’m not as evolved as you.”
She pulled her lip gloss out of her purse and smoothed it on. “Oh, I’d cut a bitch who came near you so…not that evolved.”
A sharp bark of a laugh burst out of him. “Why do I find this vicious side of you weirdly sexy?”
“Duh, because that’s my secret agent name now. Plus, you were dating an imaginary felon who attacked for love. Maybe you’ve developed a kink.”
His dimple appeared. “Oh, I’m developing a kink, all right. Her name is Olivia.”
“So, dating?” she asked.
He nodded. “Dating.”
The word settled into a more comfortable place in her head than she expected. She knew that this was temporary, that they had an expiration date, and that it would hurt like vinegar in an open wound when it was done, but for once, she wasn’t running from the thought.
If she’d learned anything from coming back to Long Acre and reading her letter, it was that you didn’t know what tomorrow would bring. You had to live for today. Enjoy the moment.