Page 66 of Just Do It
‘Not at all. Just make sure you look after her. She’s very precious.’
Yep. Definitely not her first champagne.
I felt Finn’s eyes on me and looked up. ‘I promise,’ he said, his gaze hooked on mine.
‘Awww!’ Colette and Greg cooed at the same time. Finn threw them both a look, grinned, then slipped his hand around mine and led me away.
‘What would you like to drink?’ he asked.
‘Anything with alcohol.’
Finn looked round at me, half smiling, half bemused. ‘Everything OK?’
‘Yeah.’ I tried to laugh it off. ‘Just more people than I thought and…’
‘And?’
I faltered in my words. ‘Nothing.’ Suddenly my insecurity felt silly.
Finn waited a beat, poured me a champagne and then led me through to a quiet spot in the entrance hall. My eyes drifted from the black and white tiles to the large gilt-framed mirror which was reflecting a huge bunch of white lilies, their scent filling the space. I took a sip of my drink.
‘So, what’s up?’
‘Nothing, honestly,’ I said, looking up at Finn. ‘It’s just nerves.’
‘Is it about Alice?’
My treacherous cheeks flamed, giving him an answer.
‘What’s the problem?’ There was a hint of defensiveness in his voice and the usual warmth in the blue eyes cooled. My free hand reached out to touch his hand.
‘There isn’t one, honestly. I just…’
He waited while my mind scrambled around trying to find the best words to put in the right order.
‘I just wish you’d been able to teach me a couple of signs so that I could have said hello and happy birthday.’
‘Alice lip reads.’
‘Yes, I guessed that but… I would have liked to have made the effort. She’s been kind enough to invite me to her birthday party so it would have been nice if I could have signed a few basic words as a thank you.’ I raced through the sentence then downed a good portion of the glass for Dutch courage. Then slugged a bit more for good measure.
Finn’s eyes were still fixed on me. Suddenly the warmth I was used to flooded back in as his fingers took my drink and placed it on a side table before wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close.
‘Believe me, nothing you could do would make them like you more.’
‘They haven’t even met me properly yet,’ I said, feeling myself relax within his embrace.
‘They will be as nuts about you as I am.’
I tipped my head back, feeling more comfortable now, although whether that was from the sudden hit of alcohol or the feeling of security from being wrapped in Finn’s arms and pressed against his muscular body. Possibly both.
‘I think you’re just nuts.’
‘Not the first time I’ve had that accusation levelled at me, but this time I’m in a position to accurately refute it.’ He shifted position and his smile faded a little. ‘It didn’t occur to me to tell you about Alice because it’s not something any of us think about and neither she, nor the family, want her to feel she’s being treated any differently.’
‘No! That’s not what I meant. I—’
‘I know,’ he said, squeezing me a bit tighter to reinforce his words. ‘I realise that now. And, if you want to learn some sign, I’m more than happy to teach you.’
