6. Finn

Chapter 6

Finn

The crowds stay consistent throughout the day. As soon as the first little boy asked me for an autograph, it became unspoken permission for everybody else to ask for it, which I don't usually mind too much. However, I'm worried about Lola and want her to have my undivided attention.

When I heard how she found her boyfriend in bed with another woman and how she talked about herself, I had to forcefully calm myself down because I wasn't joking about getting on a plane and heading to the States to kick his ass. How an asshole like him could do such a disgusting thing to a woman like Lola is beyond me. She's perfect, the whole package.

It's the realization I came to last night. Shannon hurt me badly, but it's been a few years, and I need to move on. But what I realized last night wasn't that I needed to move on exactly. I've been waiting for Lola. This instant connection to her isn't something I've ever felt before. I always thought it was a joke when people in the pub mentioned how they met their significant others, but now I know exactly what they've been saying is true because Lola brings it out in me.

Then, when she heard her sister's house burned down, she panicked. I was ready to fix it and ensure she had nothing to worry about. I had no problem flying to America to make sure her sister was safe and settled. She's obviously important to Lola, which means she's important to me.

"Oh my gosh. You look so adorable." Lola giggles as she puts a sunflower hat on my head, and I can't help but maintain my scowl as I hold on to her bags as she shops around. But I don't mind because seeing her smile and laugh after this morning, I want her to be bubbly and carefree like when I first met her. She even grabs her phone and takes a selfie of us with me in the ridiculous hat.

"I can't wait to show your mom. She's going to get a kick out of this."

I grumble as I follow her around the shop with the hat still in place while she puts sunflower-framed glasses on me and fake feather boas. She dresses up, too, and takes more pictures. I don't smile because it seems to make her laugh harder when I keep a serious look on my face. I quickly realize there isn't much I probably won't do for her. And I figure it'd freak me out, but I'm not even hesitating.

Even my mother adores Lola and thinks we should be together. My mother never liked anybody for me, but from the moment Lola walked into our lives, she's been pushing us together in not-so-subtle ways.

The best part is that Lola adores my mother in return. My mom is a hard worker and raised me on her own. She's a strong woman, so sometimes other women have a problem with her because she's not the girly feminine that most of them are. She's been behind a bar her whole life and will die behind it, too.

"Lola, are you about ready? I need to get to the pub and help Ma for the night shift."

Lola instantly puts the shirt she's holding down, comes over, takes everything off me, and puts it back where it's meant to go in the store. I smile to myself, as she doesn't want to make more work for anybody else.

"Yes, I told her I would help her tonight, too. Thank you for showing me around. It's been a lot of fun." She straightens my shirt and clears it from the stray feathers that came off the boa.

"I had fun, too."

"You did?" She smiles.

"Yes, I did." With my hands still full of carrying her bags, I kiss her forehead even though I want to pull her in against my body and kiss her like she's never been kissed before. I want her to be debauched just by my lips and tongue alone, but now is not the time and definitely not the place.

Lola gasps as she looks at my face. Her cheeks redden, and the red goes down her neck and gets lost in her t-shirt. I want to see how far down it goes. The mystery has me panting.

I hold back a growl but say, "And you're not stayin' at a hotel. Ye belong in the pub."

With me.

Lola sucks in a breath and lets out a little breath. "Okay, no more dilly-dallying. We got to get to work, no more time a-wastin. Don't want your mother wondering where we're at." She winks and then dances her brows at me, but it doesn't work so well, and she looks ridiculously adorable as she laughs at herself.

We begin walking back to the pub, and I think about how, on Sunday, it's supposed to be a nice day. I'm going to get my motorcycle out, and I'm going to show her more of the countryside of Ireland.

Well, that is, if we're still here. I'm not joking about flying out to her sister if she needs to.

"Can I ask you a question?" She's hesitant, which in the short time I've known her isn't like her.

"You can ask me anything."

"You're going to regret telling me that."

I nudge her dreamy plump butt with the bags in my hand, and she giggles. "I don't think I will."

Lola eyes me over her shoulder flirtatiously for a second. Then she grows serious.

"Why does Shannon still say you're engaged?"

Lola quickly looks away from me and continues to walk, but I don't let her get far. I stop her and plant myself in front of her. "Hey, look at me."

Lola lets out an exhale but lifts her gaze to mine.

"Shannon has always wanted what she can't have. Word around town has gotten out about you, and obviously, I didn't hide my desire for you as well as I thought, because everybody's been spreading the word. She heard it and had to stake her so-called claim. But we're no longer engaged. I'm not with her, and I won't ever be with her again. I have my eye on someone else for once."

Lola sucks on her bottom lip. "What happened between you two?"

I sigh. "She broke my heart. Or at least I thought she did. I was making it big in rugby, making a name for myself. I became a pro early on, and she was in the stands. After a game one night, she came right up to me, and let's say she's very forward and gets what she wants. We dated for several years, and I proposed. Then I got injured, and the league wouldn't let me play until a doctor would sign off. No doctors would sign me off to play, which was the right thing to do. I can't play without destroying my body and compromising my team. So I retired, but Shannon couldn't accept that. She wanted to marry a big name and have all the fame and fortune, so she left me for a soccer player. Let's just say it didn't work out for her with him, either."

As I tell my story, Lola's beautiful face gets angrier as I talk, and when I finish, she's seething. "That bitch. I can't believe she did that to you."

I smile as I watch Lola get worked up. "What are you smiling at? That's horrible."

"Ye. I'm smiling at ye. Ye're so adorable when ye're pissed."

She scoffs and plants her hands on her hips. "When you commit to somebody, when you're engaged, just because you didn't say your vows yet doesn't mean you don't stick by your partner through all the hard times. What a manipulative user she is. I can't believe you went through that, and then she comes around acting like you two are still engaged when it probably just puts more salt in the wound. It's a good thing I didn't know about this last night. She would've gotten a piece of my mind."

I keep smiling as I watch her, and now her irritation is directed at me. "Knock it off. I'm mad, and you're making it worse. Don't you know it's rude to be entertained when a woman is angry?"

I let out a big laugh and throw my head back, as it doesn't surprise me that this slip of a woman can get behind my defenses and get me to feel light again. Yes, what Shannon did was horrible, but losing her didn't hurt as much as losing my career. I lived and breathed rugby. I wanted to make it in the long haul. The forced retirement crushed me, but being here with Lola, I realize it's only part of my story. It's what brought me to her.

Unable to wait, I lower the bags to the ground.

"What are you doing?"

I cup her cheeks in my hands, and I descend upon her mouth and kiss her with every ounce of pleasure I have inside me. I don't touch any other part of her body. Still, I worship her mouth and hopefully convey the seduction I'm going to entice out of her later tonight when we're alone, because now that I have her taste in my memory bank, I'm never going to be able to let her go.

Easing off on the kiss, I pull my mouth slightly from hers and give her several small pecks to lower my heart rate. Lola's hands grasp onto my forearms, and when I pull away and look at her, her eyes are still blissfully closed, and her lips are swollen and a little puckered as she waits for another kiss. I chuff and lick her bottom lip with the tip of my tongue and then kiss her again. A smile plays over her lips, and she opens her eyes. They are the most erotic bedroom eyes I've ever seen.

"Now, we better get to the pub to help out Ma. Then, when the pub closes, I'm going to drag you upstairs, strip you naked, and what my tongue just did to your mouth? Well, I'm going to do it all over your body. Starting with that tight little pussy that's begging for me to own it."

Lola gasps and blinks several times as her mind tries to keep up with what I say, and then a wicked smile appears on her face.

"The sooner we get to work, the sooner we get to the bedroom." She winks, bends down, grabs some of the bags, and walks in the direction of the pub. "Hey, move it, buddy. Time's wasting. And I'm holding you to our later activities. No backing out."

Another massive grin springs on my face, and I pick up the rest of the bags and follow after her as her ass wiggles in front of me. I can't keep my eyes off it, so I happily follow her while I imagine bending her over and sinking far inside her body.