“Thanks, Dad. It turned out to be a lot of fun.”
“I’m glad. And you didn’t sound half bad.”
“It helps when paired with someone who can sing.”
“I’m sure,” Dad says. “I came over to say goodbye. I’ve got a plane to catch so I’m leaving now.” He reaches out to shake Finn’s hand. “Finn, good to see you again. Thanks for watching out for my daughter.”
“My pleasure,” Finn says. “She’s watching out for me, too.”
“I’ve no doubt. Mind if I borrow her for a minute?”
“Not at all. Have a safe trip.” Finn lets me go, and my dad and I step away.
“I bought you a plane ticket for Christmas,” he says. “I’ll email you the itinerary. Your aunt’s healing slower than we’d like so I’ll be staying with her until then. My plan is to fly back home with you on the twenty-seventh.”
“Sounds good. Thank you. I’ll give you a call tomorrow morning. Make sure you got in okay.”
He wraps me in a side hug. “I love you, sweet pea.”
“Love you, too.”
“So…you and Finn.”
“It’s nothing serious.” I’m lying a teensy bit, but it’s to myself, too, so it doesn’t count.
“Good. I like the man, but he’s got a demanding job. One he’s strongly dedicated to.”
“You don’t need to tell me. It’s one of the things that makes him the great person he is.”
“You’ve crushed on a lot of baseball players over the years.”
“How would you know that?”
He gives me a look.
“Well, you don’t need to worry. I’ve got this.” I smile for emphasis. “You’re doing okay in the colder weather, right?”
“I’m fine. You don’t need to worry, either. Now give me a hug so you can get back to the party.”
My dad’s hugs always reassure me. We say goodbye, and I keep eyes on him until he’s out of sight. I’m a grown woman with her own life, but I miss my dad a lot when he’s not in the same city as me. Just knowing he’s close, even if we don’t see each other, is preferable to him being across the country. And with his illness… I blink the thought away. He can’t—he won’t—stop living his life the way he wants, and that’s a good thing.
Standing on the periphery of the room, I take in the reception. Candles, flowers, people laughing and talking. The gorgeous three-tiered white buttercream and fondant cake. Robert’s brother taking a turn at karaoke.
And then I see Finn. He’s seated at our table, looking at his phone. His chiseled jaw is smooth, his nose straight with a slight upward slope near the tip. The hair on top of his head is standing up in messy sophistication; the sides are neat. He presses his shoulders back, holds the position, then relaxes. It’s not the first time I’ve seen him stretch that way. He worked out hard this week. I know because I watched one morning. Dwayne is relentless. Meticulous. I rubbed lidocaine cream all over Finn’s upper back and neck afterward.
Funny story… I made the mistake of kissing the smooth skin between his shoulder blades right after I’d finished and my lips went numb and prickly! Yep, that medicated cream works well. For approximately thirty minutes when it comes in contact with your mouth. Finn thought it hysterical. I grumbled and made faces at him, but itwaspretty funny, so eventually I cracked up, too, and tried to kiss him on the mouth so he could feel the same sensation there. He avoided mouth-to-mouth contact, but kissed me in other places.
A waitress stops by the table. The same one who served us dinner. She hands Finn a piece of paper. He signs it with his usual geniality. She slips the autograph into the pocket of her black pants and moves on. Finn continues to scroll through something on his phone. He’s like a unicorn when it comes to his cell, barely on it, so whatever he’s checking out must be important.
Okay, creeper, quit staring at him and walk back to the table.
I’m not quite there when Finn turns his head. He watches me approach. I watch him watch me. I’ve never been so at ease with eye contact before. So secure in not looking away.
“Hello, handsome,” I say, taking my seat beside him. “Whatcha doing?”
He turns his phone to me. On the screen is one of the selfies we took earlier tonight. We’re making funny faces, our heads canted toward each other. And when I say funny, I mean I look ridiculous making fish lips and scrunching my nose, while Finn looks hot as hell sticking his tongue out a la Mick Jagger.
Basically, Finn looks hot no matter what he does.