Hot Mess - Elise Faber Page 0,42
smile.
“It’s definitely something,” he muttered, caging her in against the railing, his body flush against hers, making heat cascade over her body again, only this time it wasn’t due to embarrassment. He dropped his head, ran his jaw along hers. “Because you’re doing that sad smile again, and I fucking hate that sad smile.” He nipped, and she jumped. “Also, I’m pretty sure I know why you’ve got sad written all over you, and it fucking pisses me off.”
“Finn.”
“Shannon.”
She sighed. “I can’t do this.”
“I’m not your ex-husband.”
“Finn.”
“Shannon,” he repeated, taking them right down the same pattern.
“We don’t make sense.”
“I stopped worrying about things making sense the first time I saw you, Blue Eyes. You’re special. You’re mine,” he said, and her heart skipped a beat. “I’ve been trying to go slow because you’re not officially divorced and need time to heal, because you’ve been hurt too many times, because you’ve got Rylie and need to make sure she’s good. But let me make this crystal clear for you. You’re. Mine.”
Her head dropped to his shoulder. “Finn.”
He wove his fingers into her hair, held her there. “Shannon.”
She sighed.
He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Come inside. Let’s make breakfast. I want you to meet my sister.”
“She probably thinks I’m a lunatic.”
“She took one look at me and knew you’re more important to me than any other woman has ever been.”
Shannon’s breath caught, and she leaned back to meet his gaze, the intensity in those honey-colored eyes making her heart skip a beat. “Finn,” she murmured, blurting his name like an idiot. Again.
“Shannon.” He grinned.
“I don’t think—”
“Good. Stop thinking. Just come alongside me on the feeling thing, okay?”
She nibbled at the corner of her mouth, wanting to go alongside with him more than anything, but also . . . fucking terrified what would happen if she did.
He didn’t press, just waited as she ran through all the possibilities and ways things could end in disaster through her mind. There were a lot of freaking ways this could all go wrong—the media and the frightening multitude of ways they may infiltrate her and Ry’s life, Finn being away on films and being tempted by women much more beautiful than her, falling in love with him only to find out he’d not fallen alongside, or worse, to risk finding out one day that he might fall out of love, like Brian had.
But . . . were any of those scenarios scarier than the possibility of never seeing where this might lead?
Of living her whole life knowing she’d had a chance at something that made her feel all of these big things and not having found the courage to reach out and grasp on to it? To jump in and live?
What would she miss out on?
What kind of example would she be setting for her daughter?
Too much. And the wrong one.
She released a shuddering breath. “I’m putting my heart into your hands,” she said.
“Mine is already in yours.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ve shared more with you than anyone on the planet, Blue Eyes. I’ve trusted you with everything when I’m in a position where that can be a very dangerous thing.” He cupped the side of her neck. “I’ve done that because this connection between us is different, is more than anything I could have hoped for. I’m falling in love with you, Shannon Torres, and I’m going to do everything in my power to not fuck it up.”
Was it hot in here?
Out here?
Either way, his words made her knees weak, equal parts incredible and terrifying, and Finn knew that because he tugged her close, held her tight. “See? This is why I’ve been moving slow.”
She chuckled, leaning heavily against him. “I think it’s so scary because if I look at all the pieces, they don’t seem to fit. I’m not even divorced yet! But then I spend time with you, I see you with Rylie . . . and it’s just everything I’ve ever wanted and everything I’ve been terrified to hope for.” She swallowed hard. “Because once upon a time, I thought my future was figured out.”
“And he hurt you.”
She nodded. “You know what’s scarier, though?”
A shake of his head.
“Imagining how sad and pathetic the rest of my life would be, knowing I had a chance to see where things went with us but was too terrified to actually take the leap.” She touched his cheek. “I’m falling for you, too.”
He released a breath,