Page 48 of Stirring Up Love
“Sunshine and light, Finnegan. Believe me, if you deprive this girl of a soft bed and a full night’s rest, you’ll regret it.”
He grinned like a wolf. “Far be it from me to deprive the lady of a good night’s sleep.” Then he winked, the reprobate. “You’re gonna want the left lane.”
She flicked on her blinker, jaw clenched, as he took a sip of Coke like he was whetting his throat for a speech.
Putting the drink back, he said, “Okay, so here’s me: I got my GED at twenty-one, I aspire to own a ridiculous number of cats someday, and I’ve never been out of Illinois until now.”
Easy. “The cat one’s true.”
“How do you know?”
“Because you said you gravitate toward people who aren’t emotionally available. Cats are snobbish, uptight, and evasive. Therefore, you love them.”
A beat wherein Finn clearly tried to come up with a rebuttal but ended up saying, “Also because they’re really cute.”
“Dogs are cuter.”
“I notice you said cuter.” Astute, this one.
“Because kittens are kind of cute,” she said. “And I don’t hate cats; my eyes are just open to their devious nature.”
He laughed. “So you’re a dog person?”
“I’m an equal-opportunity animal person.”
“Me too.” Finn’s smile warmed the whole car. Made it too hot, in fact, despite the blasting air-conditioning. “But a houseful of cats seems way more reasonable than a houseful of dogs.”
“How many cats, though?” She checked her blind spot, switched lanes to pass a slow car.
“A least three but no more than eight.”
“Eight and you’re definitely veering into wearing-a-bathrobe-to-the-opera territory.”
“I can tell you’ve given this a lot of thought,” he said, earning himself a shove. A mistake, since touching the rounded ridge of his shoulderwas enough to bring to mind how he’d gone still and taut underneath her touch earlier. “Two or three would be nice, though.”
“And at least one dog.” Why was she building an imaginary menagerie with this man? Physical separation couldn’t come fast enough.
“Do you have any?” he asked.
“Cats?”
“Dogs.”
She shook her head. “I barely have time to ride my horse. If I got a pet right now, it wouldn’t be fair. You?”
“No.” He hesitated, and she looked over to find him palming his neck. “I kind of need a more permanent housing situation.”
“Your apartment doesn’t allow pets?”
“Technically my apartment has four wheels and a license plate.”
It took her a second to make the connection. “You’re living out of your car?”
“It’s not as bad as it sounds. I don’t have a permanent address, but my best friend flips houses, and he lets me sleep in them during construction.” He picked up his drink. “I told you, I’m all in with this business. When I said I’d do whatever it took to succeed, I wasn’t lying.”
She admired that. Which meant it was time to change the subject, because admiration and Finn didn’t go together.Shouldn’tgo together.
The light turned green, and she accelerated. “I’m going to say the second truth is that you haven’t left Illinois before, because you’ve been drooling over the scenery ever since we stepped out of the airport.”
