Page 103 of Molly's Mr. Wrong
“What does it feel like, Finn?”
He gave her a long narrow-eyed look. “It feels as if I have to fight hard for everything I want.”
“Do you keep fighting?”
“Well, I tried to drop this English class once, but the instructor wouldn’t let me, so I fought on.”
She gave a nod. “Anything else?”
“There was this woman...”
She couldn’t help it. Her insides tightened at the mention of “this woman.” “Yeah?”
“She gave me all kinds of hell.”
“What did you do?”
“I tried to fight on, but eventually honored her request to be left alone...hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
Molly stroked the kitten, who continued to purr close to her ear, drawing strength. “She needed you to do that.”
“So I hear.”
“I kind of fell in love with you, Finn.”
He didn’t move. “That doesn’t matter unless you let yourself do something about it.”
“Like telling you that I’m done huddling on the safe side of life? That I’m not looking for a guy who fits my cookie-cutter mold so that I’m not forced into taking a calculated risk?”
“Something like that.”
“It scares me to love you.”
“What are you going to do about it?”
What was she going to do? The only thing she could do. “Make the leap.”
“Can you?”
She took a step toward him—it wasn’t a leap, but it was a move in the right direction. “You aren’t Blake. And I’m not the Molly who loved Blake and was taken in by him.”
“You’re honestly ready to take a chance?” His tone was still less than convinced. Well, she hadn’t expected this to be easy. Not when she’d shot him down in so many ways. Not when she’d worked so hard to build the barrier between them that she now wanted to obliterate.
“Look at me,” she said softly, setting Buddy on the sofa so that she could move closer, slide her arms up around his neck, press her lower body against his and feel his rather gratifying reaction. “I’m stepping right up to the edge.”
A small smile started playing on his lips.
“Look at you,” he murmured. His hands came to her waist. “You feel good up against the edge.”
“I’d feel better underneath you.”
His eyebrows lifted and she leaned back, keeping her hands around his neck. “More than that, I want to be with you. Build with you. Believe that even though we’re different we can tackle things together.” She drew in a deep breath. “I want to take a chance on us.”
His hands tightened on her waist. “I’d like that. I love you, you know. I have for a while now.”
She rose up on her toes and kissed him, welcomed him. Into her life, into her heart. She jumped a little as something brushed her leg and she looked down as Buddy threw himself against her ankle. She laughed and reached down to pick him up, cuddling him between herself and Finn.
“Good job, Buddy.”
