Page 36 of Off-Limits Love
But what did he say? It was late. Emi should be in bed. Mak might be busy. Or tired.
She was a single mom caring for her daughter. Maybe she was in bed too?
He squeezed his eyes shut and groaned again at that mental image. She was the kind of woman a man wanted in his bed. Soft, curvy, caring. Not to mention an itty-bitty bite-size snack.
He inhaled and found himself reliving that kiss in the hallway of the party barn. The way she’d smelled, the feel of her hair sliding over his fingers as he’d held her head to support it due to their height differences.
His phone buzzed, and it was Hudson again. Only this time he sent a photo of Mak taken at the party—during their kiss.
Finn sat forward abruptly and wished Hudson was standing in front of him so he could pound him.
The hallway kiss hadn’t been as private as Finn had thought. Hudson had apparently caught the moment, even though he was supposed to have been dancing with the birthday girl.
But like it or not, Finn pinched his fingers to blow up the image and zeroed in on Mak. On how sweet and beautiful and sexy she appeared. Despite their size difference, she looked good in his arms, protected. He liked that. He’d protect any woman who needed it, but something about the look of Mak in his embrace…like she fit. Like she was made for him.
Wishful thinking.
But that was probably the point Hudson was trying to make. That if Finn felt nothing for her, why had he kissed her?
Life’s short. You really want to spend it alone?
The text from Hud surprised him. Or maybe it was the sentiment in the weighted words. The rescue Hudson, Luke and Jameson had performed had stirred something in Hud. Something big.
All day, his kid brother had been off, seemed different. More serious than his normal, devil-may-care self. But in a good way.
Hud hadn’t been old enough to remember much about their parents. He knew the details of the accident, but other than the chaos in the aftermath, Finn wasn’t sure Hud had all that many actual memories of their parents. It was good to see him opening his eyes to serious things. Finn just hated that Hud felt the need to endanger himself as a result.
Finn downloaded the image and even went as far as to set it as his screensaver. He’d get an earful if anyone saw it on there, but—he was leaving it. At least for now.
That done, he tapped out and opened up Mak’s contact info once more to send a text.
But what do you say when you’re not sure what to say? In person, he had the excuse of his speech to stay quiet but not when he could text whatever he wanted. It had to be good.
He closed out the message before groaning and opening it a third time.
Hey.
Yeah, brilliant there, Sherlock.
He scrubbed a palm over his eye and tried not to ground it down to the socket in his frustration.
Hey yourself. How was your day?
Finn nearly dropped the phone trying to read it because he’d rubbed his eye so hard everything was blurry.
He blinked a few times, thumbs hovering over the keys.
Busy.
No, he deleted that.
Had a trail ride this morning and in the afternoon. You?
That sounds fun. Emi had school, and I puttered around the house. Not quite an exciting life.
Maybe not exciting, but it sounded like a good day. Did she want excitement? To go out and—do whatever women did during the day if they weren’t tied to a job? Did she like to ride? She hadn’t seemed afraid of Pepper at all. And she’d held Dash like a pro.
You should come riding sometime when you’re free. I’ll take you and Emi. No charge.
