5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Finley

I watch as Cyrus walks away, unable to keep my eyes from drifting to his ass. The man is an enigma. Hot and cold. But, oh, so fine. I thought he wanted to murder me when he first saw me, but after that little encounter… maybe he'd be more up for sex than I thought.

"Yoo-hoo, earth to Finley." Jess waves her hand in front of my face.

"Sorry." I snap back to attention. "I keep zoning out. Jet lag, you know?"

"Riiiight." Her arm loops around mine, and she steers me toward the food table. "Anything you want to tell me, because I'm pretty sure you were just checking out my brother-in-law's backside."

"Backside? Really, Jess? "

"Don't deflect."

"I'm not. I have no problem admitting the man has a nice ass." The cream puffs call to me and I pop one in my mouth and continue talking around the bite. "Don't worry, though, I'm not interested." Even if my pussy doesn't seem to agree.

Midas walks up to us, carrying a glass of water he holds out for Jess. "Here." He studies her for a minute, then adds, "Go sit."

The firmness in his words makes me study my sister more closely. There are circles under her eyes and she's paler than normal. It's still weird to see her knocked up and waddling like a penguin. They both assure me it's not twins, but the massive size of her belly is even more alarming if it's only one kid in there. That's gotta be one big baby.

"You really should get off your feet," I echo her husband's concern.

"I'll rest after I introduce you to all the guests." She turns to her husband. "And shouldn't you be talking to Cyrus?"

Midas gives his wife a rare smile. "I'll talk to him later. Right now, I'm taking care of my wife."

Jess raises her eyebrows in challenge. "And I'm taking care of my sister. "

"I'm an adult, Jess." I wave a meatball on a toothpick at her. "I can fend for myself. I did it in a foreign country for three fucking years."

"Language," Jess says automatically, and I laugh.

"No way, mom. I can cuss as much as I want now."

"Sorry. Old habits." Her smile is soft as she pulls me into a hug. "I've really missed you."

"I've missed you too."

"Well then, let me show you off. I want you to know who to call if you need anything while I'm gone."

"You're forgetting my best friend still lives here."

"How is Sora?" Jess's voice drops and her forehead wrinkles in concern. The last time I was in New York, it was to pack up Sora's things after she divorced her husband. She lost most of her friends and even her parents in the divorce. They all had too much of a religious stick up their asses to support her. It was messy.

"Better. She's living in a cute little place in Brooklyn."

"Brooklyn?" Jess's concern swings from my best friend to me. "You need people closer."

"Stop being such a worrywart. I can take care of myself. "

"But you—"

"Enough." Midas puts a hand on Jess's back. "Time for you to sit down."

"No." My sister glares at her husband. I'm not sure if she's just worked up over our tiny spat, but I suspect there's more to it than that. Maybe she's getting a taste of her own overprotectiveness.

There's a low rumbling sound, almost like a growl, coming from somewhere. I turn in a circle, looking for the source of the noise. When I face my sister again, she and her husband are in a standoff.

He breaks first. He always does. The man is immovable and intimidating as hell, but Jess has had him wrapped around her little finger since the first day they met. I have no idea how she did it. Sometimes I think she hypnotized him. Other times I wonder if she just has a magic pussy. Wish I had one of those. Maybe then Tim wouldn't have left me.

Not that I really care anymore.

He was a crappy boyfriend. I followed him halfway around the world, and he didn't even want to live together. One second, he would be passionate and all in, the next, he'd be ignoring my calls. He strung me along. I can see that now.

"You have twenty minutes," Midas says to Jess. "Then I'm kicking everyone out and taking you to bed."

"You do that, and I'll never get any rest." Jess smiles back at her husband, and his eyes shine in a weird way I've gotten used to over the years. Pretty sure it's some kind of birth defect that makes his eyes look like there's a spark inside them when the light hits them just right. I've never asked him about it, though.

"Isn't the fire supposed to die down after you've been married a few years?"

"Never," Midas says, cupping my sister's face in his palm.

She blushes and whispers, "Maybe I'm ready to rest now, after all."

"Ugh, you two are disgusting."

Jess smirks at me. "You're just jealous."

"Damn right I am." I cross my arms over my chest, trying not to think about how long it's been since I've had sex. "This is the longest dry spell I've ever had. I'm about ready to hump your couch to get myself off."

"I really wish you wouldn't be so crass," Jess whispers. "But I did have an idea for how to make it up to you that we're gonna be gone over your birthday."

"What did you do? "

"You'll see." She grins from ear to ear, and Midas shakes his head, an amused smile playing at his lips. "It's a surprise."

"I hate surprises."

"Even if it involves hot eligible men?"

"Depends on what they're doing."

"Doting on you, of course."

"Jess, please tell me you didn't really plan something for my birthday. I don't want to entertain people—even hot men. I'm not looking for a relationship right now."

"You're turning twenty-three. It's a big deal."

"Um, no. It's not."

"In my culture," Midas says slowly. "Your twenty-third year is when you become an adult."

I grab another meatball and stick the whole thing in my mouth at once before answering. "Aren't you from New York?"

"Not originally." Midas looks out the window at the crowd of people gathered on the balcony. "Jeslyn isn't trying to pressure you into anything. You can spend your birthday however you want."

"No, she can't." My sister tries to cross her arms over her chest, but between her massive belly and full breasts, it just looks comical. When I laugh, she glares at me. "If I leave you to yourself, you'll wallow. I know how you were on your last birthday."

"I'd just broken up with a long term—"

She stops me with her hand against my lips. "Trust me, Fin. All I did was arrange a few blind dates. They're good guys. At the very least, it'll get you out of the house. If you're really uncomfortable, you can bring Sora. Give it a chance. I think you'll have fun."

"Who are these guys?"

"That, I'm definitely not telling you." She smirks. "I want you to be surprised."

My mind conjures an image of Cyrus in a nice suit taking me out to dinner. Cyrus, in jeans and a fitted tee, taking me to a dance club. Cyrus, with a picnic basket, taking me to lunch. Cyrus, making me pancakes.

I'm probably a masochist for hoping that her hot-and-cold brother-in-law is one of these birthday dates, but I can't help it. The man is like a flame that keeps drawing me in, even though I'm pretty certain he's the kind to leave third-degree burns. I should know, I already dated one guy who gave off mixed signals .

I sigh. Whatever Jess has planned, I can tell she's not gonna let it go. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to meet some people."