Page 20 of Rules in Love
“Well, Evie is about half my size but twice as loud and can take me down in a tackle faster than you could with one of those smiles… That’s the one.” He winked when my lips curled at the corners. “And Jocelyn Austen Magarey White Crane is my late dad, Russel’s, sister. Here’s where it gets interesting. When he was twenty, he fell in love with a broke but beautiful nineteen-year-old Irish backpacker—my mum, Saoirse. My grandparents liked Mum as a person; Nan loved her. She was impossible not to love. But the hippie-surfer-farmer life they fell into wasn’t what they expected for their private-boarding-school-educated son.”
“Ooh, la dee da!”
“That’s right. They were very fancy for farmers. So, yeah, they disapproved. Dad walked. And he and mum bought our little farm. Luckily, they did it before Byron became Byron Bay, home of the Hemsworths. With Dad gone, Jocelyn was left to inherit and run the family farming empire. She did it brilliantly too.”
“Sounds like a movie plot. We need to throw in a bit of sex and a car chase, and we could sell it.”
“Sex?” Finn’s eyebrows twitched with pure cheekiness. “That can be arranged. Just say the word.”
“In the movie, smart-ass.”For now. “And you still haven’t told me when Jocelyn came to live with you.”
Color drained from Finn’s face, and in a heartbeat, his whole demeanor changed. “It was kind of my fault, really. The day before my seventeenth birthday, Mum and Dad—” He took a sip of his drink before continuing. “They were going to pick up a gift for me and died in a car accident. Aunt Jocelyn was our only living relative and gave it all up—the house, the trappings… Just like Dad had done all those years ago, she walked away from Sydney to live with us on our little farm.”
“Finn. God, I’m so sorry. For your loss, for the grief and unnecessary guilt I can hear in your voice, and because I shouldn’t have pried. ”
“Hey, no, it’s fine. Please don’t feel bad. I think I’ll feel guilty about it for the rest of my life, but honestly, I like talking about them with you. It helps keep them alive.” He continued to smile and chuckle, his dimple popping and his eyes shimmering as he talked about surfing, camping trips, and his neighbors that were more like family. It may sound weird or selfish, but I was almost envious. I, too, knew the pain of losing my parents, but that was where our similarities ceased. I rarely talked about them. Even to Ben or Teddy. For me, there was no point in dwelling on what I could never change. And even if I wanted to reveal my own childhood loss, I knew I’d say something stupid or spill about Ben. I wasn’t ready for that, and besides, I was enjoying getting to know Finn.
To stop myself from talking, I plucked my lime from the side of the glass and placed it between my lips, casually chewing and swallowing the juice that was refreshing and tart and made one eye squint. It was something I did all the time in front of Teddy with no reaction at all, so I didn’t give it a second thought.
Until I heard what sounded like a little moan. My eyes lifted from the citrus wedge and found Finn watching my lips and licking his own like he wanted to eat me alive. He shifted in his seat, his hand moved toward me in slow motion, and his thumb began to caress my face.
I almost climaxed right then and there. But I also remembered the last time this happened. I’d had a noodle on my face then. What now?
“Pip.” His eyes slowly rose to mine. “From the lime. You had a pip—or do you call it a seed?—on your chin.” Teddy was right. I would leave a whole chicken on my face to be touched like that again. Luckily, that pip seemed really stuck as his thumb continued to sweep between my lip and chin for quite some time. It was warm and lovely. The temptation to suck his thumb into my mouth was strong. But then, some clumsy oaf of a waiter—who I wanted to track down later and kill—dropped a tray of glasses. We both jumped, and his thumb fell from my face. “Shit! I…umm. Red. I…umm…let me get you another drink. You want more lime too?”
“Yes. Please. Limes are good.”Limes are good? You’re a complete tit.
“Great. I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.”
He almost ran to the bar and left me kicking myself under the table. I also used the time to scan up and down, side to side, over his body. Especially that peachy ass. Could he feel my gaze burning through him? Did he know I wanted to jump his bones that very second? Was he clenching? I was trying to determine just that when he turned his head, winked, and smiled.
Yup, he knew.
Waiting for Finn to return was like waiting for winter to end. My body craved the warmth of his eyes, the heat from his touch.
The depth of my attraction to this stunning man hit me. So did the fact that apart from the potato boob and bringing up dead parents, things were going well… too well. He was too sweet, his ass too perfect. What the hell would he want from me? He was too good to be true. Could I ever make a man like this happy?
The longer he was gone, the faster my heart raced—and not in a good, this-hot-guy-felt-my-thigh kind of way. This was terror, and I knew I was in trouble when I lost all feeling in my lips and fingertips. Seventh-grade first aid came flying back to me. I pushed myself away from the table and dropped my head between my legs, sucking in several slow, deep breaths.
Finn seemed like a great guy, incredible perhaps, even if he got work via his wealthy aunt. But he would also have to be a freaking saint to hang around for this. Panic attacks on what may or may not be the first date were hardly enticing.If he’s not pointing and laughing at me, he’ll be gone by the time I lift my pathetic head.Also, why was he taking so long? Did they have to climb a tree for the limes?
I was convinced he’d take one look at me and run. So, you could imagine my surprise when he ducked beside me, and I felt a large hand span the small of my back and the other caress my knee.
“Scarlett. Are you okay?”
Shite! He was still here. Is that good or bad? “You’re still here?” I mumbled, my body compulsively leaning into his.
“So, it seems. As are you. Now we’ve established we’re both here. Can you please tell me what’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. Everything’s fine. I’m fine. If you could just leave now, I would greatly appreciate it. I can get a cab or just roll home from here.”
“Oh, so you are planning on moving from between your legs at some point, then? That’s good, because I’d like to keep my job, and I really do think I can’t do that without you. I need you, Scarlett.”
“You need me?” I squealed, bolting upright and knocking him onto the lovely arse that got me in this position in the first place. “Shit, shit, I’m sorry. I’m such a clumsy idiot,” I stuttered and leaned down to help him to his feet.
“Don’t worry. I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’ll let you know tomorrow if I sustained any nasty bruises or scratches. Maybe you can kiss it better for me.” He winked.A flash of blue warmed my heart. Something shifted internally, and a sense of calm washed over me. “You may lean into the clumsy side of things, but you are most definitely not an idiot. And yes. I do need you. I mean, the whole firm needs you, but especially me.”
“Promise?”
