The Secrets She Must Tell - Lucy King Page 0,10

briefest of moments Finn toyed with the idea of telling her that he could easily take Josh without her. That he had the power and resources to remove her from the picture altogether, especially in view of her straitened circumstances, and could do so with a click of his fingers.

But he knew what it was like to grow up without a maternal figure and the gaping hole that had left in his life. The man he’d considered his father had done his best, but Finn had no doubt that much of the trouble he’d got into as a teenager had been an outlet for the delayed rage and injustice he’d felt at his mother’s loss.

And then there was the situation he was currently in. He’d been denied the truth about his parentage and as a result now seethed with resentment and frustration. He wouldn’t wish the torment he’d experienced as a boy and was now experiencing all over again on anyone, least of all his own child. Therefore, while Georgie was an added complication, she was a necessary one.

‘Alright,’ he said. ‘You come too. Get what you need for tonight and I’ll have the rest of your things moved to my place in the morning.’

‘For how long?’

‘Until we figure out what happens next.’

‘We?’

At the question in her voice, Finn inwardly tensed. He’d never been part of a ‘we’ before. He’d never had to be, never wanted to be, had no clue how to be. But so much of his life had become uncharted territory recently, what was one patch more? ‘We,’ he confirmed with a brief nod before stalking over to the cupboard and reaching up to pull down a bag that had been stashed on top of it. ‘Start packing. You have five minutes.’

Since her bedsit was minuscule and the possessions she had with her meagre, Georgie took only four minutes, and one of those she spent arguing with herself.

The old her would have protested loudly at being ordered around in such an autocratic fashion. She’d have demanded to know who Finn thought he was and what century he was living in before telling him where to go and shoving him out the door. But, while part of her wished she had the energy to conjure up that version of herself, the other part of her, the current Georgie, the one that was exhausted and desperate, whose judgement was skewed and who couldn’t trust herself, was too grateful to put up any kind of a fight. To have someone else make the decisions and take responsibility was such a relief. Finn’s authority and decisiveness imbued her with the confidence that if something should happen to her, her son would be safe. After months of not being able to make choices, she’d finally made the right one. She and Josh badly needed rescuing, and Finn being the one to do it was absolutely fine with her.

Besides, he clearly wasn’t planning to leave without them and the last thing she wanted was a stand-off leading to more time spent in this place. The flat was small enough without Finn in it. With him in it, it felt even more claustrophobic. There was just so much of him too close. His size and proximity and sheer presence made her aware of him and the narrow bed in a way she hadn’t expected and definitely wasn’t comfortable with. When he’d lifted Josh out of the cot, and held his son’s tiny body against his big, broad chest, her stomach had clenched and her entire body had flushed.

Now, as she moved around the space, around him, gathering the things she and Josh needed, she could feel his cool, assessing eyes on her, and his scrutiny caused her skin to prickle and a strange heat to seep through her. Not that it mattered how Finn made her feel. Even if he had been interested in her in the way he once had been, which clearly and thankfully he was not, she was far too fragile for that sort of thing these days, so it was just as well her libido had gone AWOL. And, besides, she had other, far more important things to focus on now.

Zipping up the bag, Georgie handed it to Finn and went to pick up their son. From above there came an ominous thud followed by a loud crash that made her jump. And as she locked the front door of the bedsit and followed Finn down the dimly lit stairs