Chapter 5

Five

The sounds from the bar faded as Jess stood and stared at Finn. Why was this happening to her now?

Why was he turning up when she didn’t want him to?

His friend looked between her and Finn, as if he could work out what was going on between them.

No doubt her castmates were, too, and Kaley probably had a million questions. Questions Jess didn’t want to answer, because she didn’t know how to.

“I’ll leave you to your friends,” Finn finally said, and took a step away from her.

Her hand fell to her side.

How long had she left it on his chest?

Jess hadn’t been aware she hadn’t moved it after she’d poked his chest. A chill swept through her when he took another step away. “No!” The word came from the depths of her soul.

Forgetting that she was with her group of friends. Forgetting that she was about to make a spectacle of herself. Forgetting the hurt their last encounter brought her, she launched herself at Finn, hooking her arms around his neck.

His arms came around her automatically, and everything in her settled.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered in his ear. “Don’t go. I don’t want you to go.”

His arms tightened around her, and she snuggled closer to him. “I got you, popsicle.”

Jess heard the deep baritone of Finn’s friend as he spoke to her castmates, but all of that faded into the recesses of her mind as she absorbed the feeling of rightness that being in Finn’s arms brought her.

“Do you want to get out of here?” His lips brushed against her ear.

All she could do was nod against his neck.

A chuckle rumbled through him. His chest vibrated against hers, and Jess committed the sound and feeling to memory.

“You gotta let me go. Unless you want me to carry you out. Which I’m totally fine doing.”

It was as though from the time he’d walked away from her on the dance floor in New York until now, every single emotion she’d experienced had surfaced from where she’d buried them. They held her immobile. Her arms were stiff, like petrified wood, and lowering them seemed impossible.

“Jess?” Finn asked again.

Somehow, she forced her limbs to move, and she released her gorilla grip on him. Jess took a small step away from the warmth of his body. “Sorry.”

Finn smiled, the smile that always lit the flame of happiness—and now, as an adult, desire—within her.

“Nothing to be sorry for. Do you want to tell your friend that we’re leaving?”

The fog that’d shrouded her the second he’d uttered that he was leaving lifted and the sounds of the bar registered. Jess winced. Had it got louder?

Probably, and if she was being honest, even if Finn hadn’t been here, she would’ve wanted to go. The noise, after performing, was too much. “Yeah, give me a second.”

“Not going anywhere.”

She squeezed past two of her dancer friends, reaching Kaley’s side and going up on tiptoe to talk to her bestie. Jess didn’t want to yell it out, so everyone heard what she was doing. “I’m leaving with Finn. I’m safe with him. He’s a family friend.”

“Are you sure?” her friend asked, looking over Jess’s shoulder to where Finn stood.

“Hive’s a good guy. Your friend is safe with her.” the guy who had been standing with Finn injected into their conversation.

How the hell had he heard what she’d said? It wasn’t as though she’d hollered. Or maybe he’d just picked up in the unspoken body language between her and Kaley.

“I’ve just met you,” Kaley fired back. “How can I trust what you say?”

“Oak, right?” Jess asked. When he nodded, she continued. “Are you on the same SEAL team as Finn?”

“Yes, ma’am!” He winked and a flirty smile stretched his lips. It did nothing for her, but she didn’t miss the way Kaley gave him a second look, especially when she’d obviously heard what his occupation was.

“Kay-Kay, I’ve known Finn for years. I’ll be safe with him.” She grabbed her friend’s hands and squeezed.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

“Yes. Have fun with everyone else. I’ll see you at the hotel later on.”

After a few seconds, Kaley gave a short nod before pulling her in for a tight hug. “This is him, isn’t it? The one you crushed on when you were a kid?”

The second Jess had said Finn’s name, it wasn’t a shocker that Kaley would eventually put two and two together. They were best friends, after all, and, while she hadn’t told Kaley about that night in New York, her friend knew about Finn and how they’d grown up together.

“Yeah, it is.”

“Be careful.”

“Always.” Jess released her friend and picked up her bag.

“I’ll make sure she gets to where she needs to go safely.” Finn’s friend touched her lightly on the arm.

“Thanks.”

After a quick round of goodbyes, she made her way to Finn. He’d stayed close enough to show he hadn’t left, but far enough to give her privacy to do what she needed to do.

When Jess reached his side, he placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her through the crowd of people. The second they stepped outside, and the door closed behind them, shutting out the noise, she relaxed.

“Where are you staying?” he asked.

“The Marriott, but can we go for a walk instead?” The last thing she wanted to do was be locked in a hotel room with Finn, where a bed was a temptation she wasn’t confident she could ignore.

Mentally, Jess scoffed. There might’ve been plenty of times after their kiss when, against her better judgment, she’d fantasized about her and Finn in bed together. His hands roaming her body. Her hands on his. Then, them joining as one, Finn never taking his eyes off her.

A shudder of desire swarmed through her bloodstream, and wetness coated her panties.

“Are you cold?”

“No, I’m fine.” He hadn’t answered her question about going for a walk. “So, a walk?”

Finn studied her for a few seconds longer before holding out his hand. “Sure.”

Without allowing herself to think too much about everything, she slipped her hand into his and prayed she hadn’t made a big mistake in begging him not to leave.

There was something absolutely natural about having Jess’s hand in his. The night was beginning to cool down and Finn didn’t want to keep her outside too long, but he also didn’t want his time with her to end.

What are you doing?

The question thrummed through his mind, and he studiously ignored it. He didn’t have an answer. For so long, he’d fought against letting himself think or feel anything for Jess.

Back when they’d first met, when he’d been eleven and she was eight, he’d loved spending time with her. That first visit with his Aunt Poppy had been more fun than he’d expected, and it had all been due to Jess.

Her happiness had been infectious, not to mention her complete adoration for his aunt. When the time had come, he’d been sad to say goodbye to Jess, but it turned out that wasn’t going to be the last he saw of her, because his aunt and Jess’s dad had gotten married and started their own family.

“How are Sawyer and Paula?” he asked after a while.

“Last time I spoke to Mom and Dad, they were good. Sawyer’s on the junior varsity football team, and Paula is saying she wants to try out for the cheerleading squad. Sawyer doesn’t want that. Said it would cramp his style with the cheerleaders if his sister was on the team.”

Finn laughed. “I thought Dad was going to have a heart attack the first time he saw Primmy in her cheerleading outfit. I happened to be home when it was the high school’s season opener, and Primmy got the call up to the main squad when one of the girls got hurt. Mom scolded him for his reaction.”

“Yeah, I can imagine my dad will be the same, although he was always cool with my dance costumes when I was a kid. He told Sawyer he had to watch over his sister and make sure his teammates didn’t so much as blink an eye in her direction. And this is all hypothetical, by the way, because Paula hasn’t even made the team yet.”

They’d made their way to a park, and Finn led them over to a bench. He brushed away the leaves that had fallen from the tree and sat. “It’s probably better that Slick is telling Sawyer this now. He’ll have to tell him a few times before it really sinks in. Although, I’m sure the first time someone looks at Paula and Sawyer sees it, he’s going to get in that guy’s face.”

Jess sighed. “Probably, as much as they bicker, they’re close, as if they’re twins, which is good. I’m sure Sawyer will watch Paula like a hawk and vice versa. Trust me, you don’t want to get on Paula’s bad side. She can be downright scary sometimes if she thinks someone is treating anyone from the family in a way she doesn’t approve of.”

There was a hint of wistfulness in Jess’s voice. She loved her siblings, but Finn could tell she wished for the closeness that Sawyer and Paula shared.

There was a big age gap between him and his sister, Primrose, but he’d always been there for her when she needed him, even if she called him in the middle of the night when he’d been on leave, and she’d forgotten the time difference.

He made a mental note to give her a call and find out how she was doing. She’d be getting ready to start college tours.

She wanted to be a doctor, one who specialized in women’s medical conditions, particularly fertility issues, considering their mom had had so much trouble staying pregnant. There’d been countless times they’d all cried together as a family after she’d had yet another miscarriage.

After Primmy was born, there hadn’t been any more pregnancies, because Dad hadn’t wanted Mom to go through the pain of loss.

It’d often bothered Finn that Primmy didn’t have another sibling closer to her age, but she assured him she was happy it was just the two of them.

“Remind me not to get on Paula’s bad side,” he drawled.

Jess made a noncommittal sound, and he could’ve kicked himself for what he’d said.

How many invitations had he knocked back where he could’ve spent time with both Jess and her siblings?

A lot, and he’d heard his own mom’s disappointment when he made up yet another excuse as to why he couldn’t attend an event. That was before he was a SEAL—now he had a legitimate reason not to go. Not that too many invitations had been handed out as of late. And not that Finn blamed them for that.

The silence stretched between them, and he kept scanning the area, looking out for any danger that could be lurking in the shadows.

They were in a park late in the evening, the perfect time for nefarious things to go down.

“How long?—”

“What are your?—”

They both laughed as they spoke at the same time. “You go,” Finn said.

“I was just going to ask how long you were going to be here for. Will you be leaving soon?”

“I think we’ll be here for a little bit, but that could change in a matter of hours.”

“Do you like it? Being a SEAL, I mean. I was surprised when Mom told me you were going to be one. I thought you liked being a medic.”

“I love being a SEAL, and particularly on this team. These guys are great to be with. I liked being a medic, but I just—” He shrugged. It was hard to explain why he’d changed his focus and became a SEAL. “I needed more of a challenge, I guess.”

“And treating people’s wounds while stuff is being blown up around you wasn’t a challenge?” Jess asked. There was no malice in her words. Even in the dim light, he could see the sparkle of mirth shining in her blue eyes.

“I get that now. I didn’t so much before.”

Immediately, her smile died. “Oh.”

Finn grabbed her hands and held them tight. “Jess, I have a whole team at my back, keeping me safe, and I keep them safe, too. We’ve been trained to do what we have to. To expect the unexpected.”

“I guess.” She paused, then swallowed before starting again. “I mean, I know that being a SEAL is dangerous, but you seemed so casual when you answered.”

“I suppose I was, but I don’t let myself think too much about what’s going on around me. My focus is on the task at hand. Whether it be helping to breach a building, helping people get to safety, or treating one of my teammates. If I hesitate in doing any one of those things, then the consequences of that hesitation could be deadly.” Finn hated that they were having such an intense conversation, but it had to be had between them.

Jess needed to know what his job entailed. Needed to know the dangers. Needed to know that he could get hurt, or worse.

And he needed her to know this because, now that he’d reconnected with her, he couldn’t let her go.