Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 78807 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78807 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
“This last week has been one of the happiest weeks of my life.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Seriously? You’ve been spending most your time planning this wreck of a party. How are you going to pretend like you’re happy about that?”
“The party planning has been miserable,” he admits, but he’s still staring at me. “It’s the other stuff I love. It’s coming home to you, kissing you, cooking for you, taking you to bed. You realize that we’ve been acting like…” He trails off, licking his lips.
“Like we’re together,” I finish for him. “Yeah, I noticed.”
“We haven’t talked about it.” He brushes a knuckle across my cheek. “Is it okay? Is it good?”
“I think it’s good,” I whisper, heart racing. “It feels good, doesn’t it? Kathryn keeps telling me that I can let myself enjoy this, you know, being with you, and I’ve been trying to take her advice.”
He laughs and kisses me. “Genna’s been telling me the same thing.”
I smile at the thought of our best friends giving us essentially the exact same advice. “We’re pretty obvious, aren’t we?”
“Yes, we are. But I don’t give a damn. I like this too much to care about anything else right now.”
“I like this too,” I say, kissing him, running my fingers through his hair, feeling that buzzy little spike in my stomach when he gives me that deep, piercing look of his. “I still have, uh, concerns, but I’m not letting them rule me.”
“Concerns?”
“Like we still haven’t discussed how our life is going to look. Will I go back to work? Do I even need to?”
“You don’t,” he says with a shrug. “But you also can if you want.”
“You’re not the stay-at-home wife sort of guy? You don’t think I need to be in high heels with dinner on the table at seven?”
“I would love to come home to you in high heels, but we can save the cooking for a personal chef.”
I grin at him, batting at his chest. “I’m being serious.”
“I expect you to be loyal to me. I expect you to be the best mother you know how to be, with the understanding that we’re all flawed and trying to figure it out. Beyond that, I don’t care what you do, Dara, so long as you’re happy.”
Relief floods over me. I’d been so worried that he would be some crazy controlling mobster asshole, but I don’t even know why that kept crossing my mind. Finn is possessive of me, and he definitely gets jealous, but he seems open to letting me do whatever so long as I’m not in danger. Why did I think our life would be any different?
“I’m happy to hear you say that,” I admit, kissing him again. This time, I hold the kiss a little longer.
“Easy, girl,” he whispers, voice husky with desire. “Can’t start doing that right now, unless you’d like to retire to my office. The door locks.”
“A locking door, you say? How fancy. You know how to romance a lady.”
“I am truly a gentleman.”
I lean my head against his for a moment. “How about you take me home? Let’s have dinner together and spend the night in bed.”
“That’s exactly how I’d like to prepare for tomorrow.”
“We’ll face it together, Finn.” I squeeze his hand tightly. “Me and you, I promise.”
“I promise,” he echoes, squeezing back.
Chapter 35
Finn
The old fucker’s birthday party is a banger.
He doesn’t deserve it.
But Robin put most of it together, using my money, manpower, and contacts, of course. “No expenses spared,” she says to me as we stand near the entrance watching as guests stream into the club. She’s in a chic black dress, looking formal, like she was born to play the hostess role.
“Yes, I’m aware, I saw my credit card statement.”
“Oh, don’t act like it matters to you, Crowley.” She punches my arm playfully. “This is great. Seriously, Dad looks happy.”
I follow her gaze. Her father’s standing with a group of other old white guys, business magnates or politicians, hard to say, all of them drinking good whiskey and laughing at something, their faces flushed red from alcohol and high blood pressure.
“He fucking better be.” I lean closer to her. “Have you spoken to him? Will our deal hold up?”
“It’ll hold up,” she assures me, patting my arm. “Just play nice, make the silly little announcement, and eat your discomfort. Then it’ll all be over. Got it?”
“Whatever you say.” I scan the crowd until I spot Dara standing near the bar with Kathryn and Genna. Shane’s lurking nearby, playing security. “I’d better go make sure my wife’s having a nice time. If you’ll excuse me?”
“Good luck,” she says happily before walking off to greet more guests.
The Hazard is the perfect place for a party like this, especially after the renovation. It drips class and wealth, and the rich people love the contrast between the expensive-looking chandeliers and the more club-friendly bar area.