Page 35 of Your Two Lips
“I brought a protein bar.”
“Come on. I’ll introduce you to some good food.”
We walked across the lawn, past the farmhouse, and between two sizeable gardens, one for vegetables and another that beautifully highlighted the colors and types of flowers grown here. Finn opened the door to a large barn past the neat fence rows.
There were three sets of long tables set up in the open space. One was piled with food and sweets. The other two each held about a dozen people smiling and talking. Finn waved to folks and hugged one man before turning back to me.
“Luis, this is Emily. We’re training for a bike race next weekend. Em, this is Luis Gonzales, our master grower. He’s responsible for the flower display gardens out there.”
The man held out his hand with a warm smile. “A pleasure.”
Another man appeared. “Dad, this is Emily.”
Mr. Bakker stood tall and broad but with a little more around the middle than his sons. He reached out his hand. “It’s good to meet you, finally.”
“You too, sir.”
He grinned. “Please, call me Bob.”
“Your farm is beautiful,” I said. “And the display gardens. Wow.”
“Thank you. We’re proud of it.” He slapped a hand on the shoulder of a smiling Mr. Gonzales. “I was raised on this land, raised my kids here, and one day, they’ll take the reins so I can retire a happy man.”
“Me too,” Mr. Gonzales added with a wink at Finn. “Amelia is planning a pilgrimage to Mexico to trace our ancestry.”
“I’ll be ready, but I have a few things to do first, so ask her to hang tight,” Finn said.
“I don’t know, boy. Amelia says jump, and I say how high.”
“Smart man,” Bob said.
“What are you men talking about?” A lovely woman with hazel eyes and olive skin gave Bob a side-eye.
“Our beautiful brides, my dear.” He leaned in with a smacking kiss on the cheek.
“Mom, this is Emily.”
“Oh, Emily. So nice to meet you. I’m Donna. Are you hungry?” She didn’t wait for me to answer. She led me toward a display of warm, pulled pork in two large crock pots, multiple varieties of coleslaw in bright-colored bowls, and three trays of brownies, cookies, and sliced fruit. Yum.
Donna leaned in. “Eat, my dear, and whatever they told you about me, it isn’t true. Anytime they refer to Amelia and me as their beautiful brides, it usually means trouble.” I looked down to hide my grin. These were the family influences in Finn’s life. No wonder he was a good man.
My heart did that flip again, and it was so clear. I wanted him, needed him, even if it was only for a little while.
24
FINN
“You’re doing well,”I said. The training was making a difference. Emily had more stamina, and was able to ride the technical trails and obstacles with me, which was sexy as hell.
“Thanks. You’re a great teacher.”
For this Saturday’s ride, our group selected a new trail near the Nooksack River on the way to Mount Baker. I didn’t work with the team who designed this one, but I knew who did and was anxious to test it out. It was farther away than our usual locations, so I picked Emily up at her house to make the hour-long drive to the trailhead together.
I wanted a tough ride. I needed the challenge to distract my thoughts.
Since the boat race, I’d barely thought of anything other than Emily’s silky lips and the slide of her velvet tongue against mine. Memories of her body clinging to me and the sultry request in her eyes were only periodically interrupted by fantasies where I punched that dickhead in the face and spent the rest of the night learning her curves, her taste, and the sounds she made when she came.
She was a hard-on-inducing vision, didn’t fall for my brother’s flashy swagger, and got mud-in-your-face dirty, hopping her bike over logs on the trail. Whatever fragment of resolve I had was close to snapping. I barely made it through our conditioning ride yesterday without kissing her again. She said we were friends. I was ready to break all my rules and say screw being friends.
