Page 30 of Never Too Late

“I guess so.” I took the plunge and reached across the table to cover Finn’s hands with mine, the warmth of the hot chocolatespreading from his to mine. “I’m suggesting whatever keeps you in my life.”

“And what are we to each other, exactly?”

Whatever you want us to be.I didn’t say that. It was too pat, too easy to force the ball back into his court, and he deserved better. “Boyfriends,” I said, making it sound definitive rather than adding the question mark I wanted to add.

Finn’s “hmm” in response wasn’t that promising.

“If asked,” I continued, “I want to say that I have a wonderful boyfriend who currently lives in Paris, and that it’s not the ideal scenario, but that we’re making the best of it until we can work out a solution that works for both of us.”

“And what am I supposed to say?”

I let go of his hands to wrap them around my mug. “That you’re currently shackled to an absolute pain in the arse who doesn’t deserve you, but that we all have our crosses to bear, and that’s yours.”

Finn laughed, the sound giving me hope. “What about if I say a handsome pain in the arse instead?”

“That makes you sound shallow. Like you’ll put up with being treated like shit for a good pair of cheekbones. And we both know that neither of those things is true.”

Finn rolled his eyes. He lifted his mug to his lips and regarded me over the rim while he took a drink. “I must be mad to even consider saying yes to this. But then…” He shook his head wearily. “I was mad to give you the time of day when you turned up out of the blue. I was mad to go on a date with you. And I was mad to spend the weekend with you, so I don’t know why I’m surprised. You even made me dance.”

He said the last bit with such disgust that I couldn’t help but smile. “You enjoyed it.”

His nose wrinkled. “Maybe.”

“Definitely.”

“If you’re leaving tomorrow,” Finn said slowly, “you should come home with me tonight, so that we can say goodbye to each other properly.”

“There is nothing I’d like more,” I said, my voice raw with emotion, “than to strip you out of your clothes and kiss every single inch of bare skin I uncover.” When Finn shifted uncomfortably in his seat, I smiled. “But I haven’t earned that right yet. Something that precious should take more than five days of being on my best behavior.”

“It’s not a test,” Finn said, his expression disgruntled. “And maybe I don’t want to be something precious. Maybe I just want to be held down and fucked. It’s been a while.”

Now we were both horny. “How long?” He didn’t even need to verbalize his answer, his expression bringing a smug smile to my lips. “Really?”

“I’ve been busy! I moved to a new country, started a new job, and I had the flat to sort out.”

I held my hands up in mock defense, still grinning from ear to ear. “You don’t need to make excuses.”

Finn shook his head, his cheeks flaming. “Shut up.”

“If it helps,” I said, “that was the last time for me as well.” I took a swig of hot chocolate. “It’s almost like we were still hung up on each other.”

“Or I was busy.”

“Or you were busy,” I parroted. “Andstill hung up on me.” Finn shook his head, but there was no disguising the slight twitch of his lips. I leaned over the table to bring us closer. “I’m gonna be the best damn boyfriend you’ve ever had.”

Finn gave a little laugh. “Words are easy. Backing them up with actions is far harder.”

Part Three

Finn

Chapter Twelve

“So you didn’t have sex?” Laurent asked, my friend having dragged me away from our place of work to subject me to an inquisition that even the finest of torturers would have been proud of.

“I said so, didn’t I?” I wasn’t about to apologize for the waspishness that had crept into my tone. I also wasn’t about to admit that any abstention had come from Cillian either. What Laurent didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. I took a seat on a park bench—the park just down the street from where we worked, and far more scenic than hanging about in the smoking area.

Laurent twisted his body round to face me. “What is your definition of sex?” he asked. “Perhaps it is different in England than here.”

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