Her own eyes took him all in. The light was on because his knock on the door earlier had interrupted her putting away clean laundry in the bedroom.
From up close, she could see every new line on his face, the beginning of brackets around his mouth. He was even more beautiful to her now than he had been years ago. It defied logic, but with every passing year, she loved him more, not less. Distance, time—these things operated backward when it came to him.
She watched as his gaze slid down her body and a little smile appeared on his face when he caught a glimpse of her sunflower tattoo that was half-covered by his pelvis. He brought his eyes up, and their gazes locked.
Wordlessly, Finn leaned in and kissed her. Their kiss grew deeper, and he grew harder. He took one of her hands in his and intertwined their fingers, pinning their joint hands at the side of her head. He then sank into her and slowly, longingly, they moved in synch, their gazes anchored together, until Finn picked up the pace some and bent his head to kiss her neck and the dent at the base of her throat. From there, he kissed his way down to her breasts and took each in his mouth, sucking and licking her. She raked her fingers in his hair, and when they were both close, they looked into each other’s eyes. Seeing the love and yearning reflected in Finn’s eyes did her in. With their lips hovering close, breaths exhaled in unison, her eyes flickered shut only at the end when she called out his name.
Wrapped in Finn’s arms, Anne rested her head on his chest.
Finn. This was Finn’s heart thumping under her cheek. If this were a dream, she didn’t want to wake. Though she had always tried hard not to think of him while she had been with others, there had been times when tears prickled the back of her eyes when a sudden, frightening emptiness filled her. An emptiness that she knew, deep down, would always be there as long as she wasn’t with him.
But now, now it was him holding her, and the only thing scary about it was to think that she would have to let go of him again soon. It was unfathomable.
He held her tight because he, too, couldn’t let go. She closed her eyes and just listened to his heartbeat. Then his voice rumbled in his chest, as if he heard her unspokenthoughts.
“We’ll find the way. I’ll find the way. Because now there’s this. Us.”
She tightened her lids, wanting to believe him, but she knew the main characters in their play. They were already present in this little haven and weren’t going anywhere.
“Jane,” he said when she didn’t say anything. “Now there’s us.”
She tilted her head up, and they looked at each other.
“I don’t want more regrets; I can’t take them, Jane. I’ve already spent enough time regretting a big portion of my life. And it’s hard for me to say that because it sounds like I regret everything, but I don’t. I don’t regret Max.”
“I know.”
With his forefinger and thumb gripping the sides of her chin, he held her gaze.
“I never regretted you, Finn. Despite everything. I never will,” she breathed out. “I loved you too much to regret you.”
“Loved?”
She lifted herself and leaned a forearm on his chest. “Love. I love you, Finn. So damn much.”
He caressed the side of her face. “I waited so long to hear you say this again that once or twice isn’t enough.” He smiled.
“Loving you has never been the issue, Finn.” She bit her lip. “Where is Max?”
“At Avery’s. Until tomorrow.”
“Good thing I live too far for him to come trick-or-treating here.”
“Are you testing me?” he asked, the blue in his eyes steeling. “Because if you think you can scare me off with this …”
“I wasn’t trying to, but you should be scared,” she said. “You know what’s at stake, especially for you.”
“I know, but I meant what I said—we can find a way. Max is not the problem. I know my kid.”
“So, it’s everyone else?”
“Yes.”
She took a deep breath. Everyone else was still a lot—an entire family—but Max was the most important, and they couldn’t be happy if it affected him.
“Right now, it’s just you and me. I still can’t believe I’m here, with you.” Finn’s gaze caressed her face. A careful smile spread on his lips. “My Jane. All this time …”
She leaned in and kissed him. Tilting her head back, she caught a glimpse of his tattoo, and her breath almost hitched. Finn followed her gaze.