Page 15 of Chasing his Ex

He doesn’t answer. Instead, he seizes my hips in his large hands, scooping me until I have no choice but to fold my legs around his waist and circle my arms around his neck. I hold on tightly as he strides toward the window and backs me against the cool glass. And that should have had me thinking of danger. But neither of us does and as the kiss gets more hungry, passionate, and dangerous. Finn attacks my mouth and it’s like we’re making up for the years of lost kisses, both breathless, wild and out of control.

I moan and clutch fistfuls of his shirt, wanting it gone between us. Our kiss is even more reckless, but beautiful, too. The need between us is powerful.

He lets out the softest sigh when I give up on tugging at his shirt and slip a hand under the hem, resting my fingers on the warm, hard ripple of muscles across his stomach. The sound of his affected breath shoots straight through me.

He stops once again and rests his forehead on mine. His eyes meet mine. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” I admit.

“Would it be too quick to take you to dinner after work?”

I chew on my lip. Dinner with Finn would be lovely, catching up with him. But I like to get home before Emmy goes to bed.

It’s a one-off.

“Dinner would be good. Old times’ sake.”

Finn takes me to a fancy French restaurant after work and that surprises me. He wasn’t normally into being showy, but it’s been nearly four years since we’d previously dated.

Is this a date? Has he changed?

No, this is a catch up, just to find out how our lives have moved. The type of people we are now.

I called my sister Stella to explain my date and that I would try to get home on time. But her insisting I enjoy myself and Emmy is already tired, and she’s going to bathe her and put her into bed early anyway makes me feel so much better.

As we walk behind the server to our table, I can’t help but notice how handsome and confident Finn looks in a suit. Not that it’s the first time, but his fitted three-piece dark gray suit is befitting for a lawyer.

He takes off his tie and rolls it, placing it in his pocket and undoing two buttons at the top of his shirt. My eyes pop, seeing his throat as if somehow it’s something erotic, and I mentally give myself a telling off.

The conversation is light, and the food is amazing. He tells me what his family is up to and I do the same—to an extent.

We both start with snails baked in little pots with garlic butter, and topped with puff pastry lids. Finn orders an eye fillet steak with a rich creamy sauce where I order the seafood bouillabaisse. It sounds fancy but is a fisherman’s soup. Though the seafood is succulent, as are the smells of tomato, fennel, and saffron. Tiny crunchy croutons finish my dish.

“Have you worked for your father since graduating?” I ask as Finn dabs the sides of his mouth, dropping the napkin.

“No, I traveled the world for a year, did some charity work in Asia, then worked in the US.”

“Oh,” I whisper.

“You?”

“I moved to Manchester, got a training contract with a small family law firm while I did my LPC. All with goals to be self-employed by thirty.”

“And now you’re in mergers and acquisitions.” He leaves the unending question hanging.

“Yeah, I changed my mind, thought jumping on the corporate ladder was the secure route.”

“Secure.”

“Mmm. So you traveled the world, broke some hearts I expect,” I say, sipping on my wine, wondering why I need to know.

“No broken hearts. I spent most of my time with one girl,” he says, and my heart sinks like a pebble in the sand. I try to look indifferent and unaffected, but a little yip leaves my throat. Totally unexpected. “We spent six months traveling the same journey.”

I swallow silently as I glance at my watch, six thirty, open my purse and take out my credit card. “I need to get going, before the Tube service slows at seven. Thanks for the catch up.”

The Tube continues running on a regular service, but there’s no way I want to hear of Finn’s romantic jaunts with other women.

“I asked you to join me. I’ll get the bill,” he says, tilting his head to one side when I go to protest. “And then I’ll drive you home.”

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