Page 27 of Rules in Love
“No, you were horrible to me today, Finn. I want to know why, but I don’t need to. We work together. Whether or not you’re a good guy doesn’t matter. Thanks for the offer, but I think it’s best if I walk.”
“Please, Scarlett. I’m sorry for being such a dick. I am the man who ate your olive and then drove you home, I promise. I just… I forgot about him for a bit today. Forgive me, please.”
Pride demanded I tell him and his wriggling eyebrows to fuck off. To flip him the bird and keep on going. But I was quickly discovering I was vain as hell. He looked so freaking good. His loose blond curls turned to ringlets that framed his face, and his blue eyes shone even brighter under the streetlight. And his shirt. His shirt was white and, just like mine, transparent. I could see the defined lines of aone, two, three…eight-pack, the curve of his pecs, the shape of his nipples.Shit, my boobs!I crossed my arms over my chest, dropped my head to avoid his gaze, and watched the filthy water swirl down the storm drain.
A warm hand reached out to mine and squeezed it gently. “Shit, you’re freezing.” He shifted his grip from my wrist, snaked his arm around my waist, and pulled me closer to his massive, hard body, warming me instantly. His free hand cradled my chin and raised it till my eyes met his. “Please, Red. I am a good guy, I promise.”
I watched night become day in his eyes as a fork of lightning lit the city. I jumped, Finn held me tighter, and my treacherous body molded to his. I swore I could feel his heart beating through his chest. “’I’m sorry, Red. Please don’t be stubborn. Get in the car and let me take you home.”
He did look sorry. Sad, too. And I had the power to make it better, even if only temporarily.
You’re a bloody full-breasted doormat, Scar.Teddy’s loving barb whistled through one ear but blew straight out the other.
“Well…okay, then. But if I end up chopped to pieces in the back of your Jeep, I will be really pissed.”
“I’ll try to keep that in mind.” Smirking smugly, he rushed to open my door while blatantly checking out my bra and its contents through my see-through shirt. I could hardly point it out as I was doing the same to him.
My ass squelched into the seat, and my hair dripped water all over his lovely leather upholstery.Good. I hope it ruins it.I sat quietly, adopting the classic angry-woman car pose—looking out the window my body was turned to, arms crossed around my waist.
While I may have caved and gotten into his car, I was at least proved right by the awkward silence. In my periphery, I watched Finn looking my way and nodding, which was annoyingly cute. “This is fun.” He smiled. It wasn’t fun. I had run from the office to avoid this very thing and began to consider fleeing at the next red light. Perhaps he sensed it. “Why don’t I put on some music?” A song I couldn’t quite put a name to started playing, and my fingers absentmindedly tapped along.
“You like INXS?” Finn asked, pumping the volume and singing along.Of course he has a great voice. What the fuck can’t he do?
“INXS? Is that what this is?” I pointed to the Apple CarPlay screen. “I think Teddy likes the singer. He has long hair, right? Kind of sexy and curly like yours?”
Shit.
“Yeah, he does.” He snorted. Again, it was super cute. “Michael Hutchence was his name. The band is INXS. They’re Australian, kind of old school, but one of my favorites. My dad’s too. He used to play this album in the car or when we worked out.”
Aww. He worked out with his dad. Shit. Be angry.
“Hmm. It’s okay, I suppose.” We continued driving, and despite myself, I continued tapping along.
After a street or two passed us by, I noticed it was the same street, the same stores, and the same signage. He was driving in circles. For a moment, I feared I had manifested the whole serial-killer thing, but then, a more logical conclusion came to mind. The man who couldn’t wait to be rid of me wasn’t ready to let me go. A giggle of joy slipped from my lips.
“What? What are you laughing at?”
“Nothing. Just enjoying the fun ride. And about that…why drive? The traffic is hideous, there’s no parking…ever. I don’t get it.”
He shrugged his shoulders and smirked annoyingly. “Just like it. Reminds me of home too. I had the same car, you see.”
“Well, that sounds reasonable, I suppose. Give it a few weeks, and you’ll be bitching about the subway and blisters like the rest of us.” I then made the mistake of looking at him and paid the price. His eyes met mine, and he winked. My thighs spontaneously clenched, and I think I sighed out loud. Those winks of his were not only a direct hit to the hoo-ha, but they also seemed to unfreeze my heart and mouth.
“Do you like cricket, Scarlett?”
Random, but okay.
“I do. We English created it, remember. Teddy and I used to go to a test match every summer. There’s nothing like a Pimm’s at Lord’s.”
“I’m sure that’s true. But never forget, the English may have invented the game, but we Aussies perfected it.”
I scoffed and rolled my eyes. “I’m pretty sure a New Zealander would say the same.”
He wet his lips and flashed a devilish smile, “You know, some blokes back home would call you a ripper Sheila for going to a test match.”
“And that’s a good thing? Being a ripper Sheila?”
“It’s a very good thing.” He nodded, stole a glance toward my still-damp chest, and then licked his lips again. Oddly, when Old Man Time did it, I felt like gagging on my vomit. But with Finn, I wanted to rip my shirt off, grab his head, and shove it between my boobs. I realized then that I was officially un-mad at Finn.
