Sophie air-toasted. “We tried to keep it secret, she just needs to learn how to knock.”
“On the front door of her parents’ house at eight in the morning?” Asher nudged his shoulder into Sophie’s.
Pushing the pile of plates in front of Asher rather than taking them himself, Grady started collecting silverware. “At least Sophie was in on it. Claire came on to me before I even knew she’d dumped my brother.”
Cringing, Claire stole the handful of silverware from him. “I thought you knew. Can you imagine how much fun we could have had if you had known? I’ve been thinking about that pool table ever since.”
Finn tried to focus, but his wires weren’t just crossed, they’d turned into a pile up. Was this what a stroke felt like? Everyone else at the table seemed to be having a hell of a time. He’d been with Haley, what, most every night for two, almost three weeks? And had gotten close enough to know another week before that. Was it good luck that she hadn’t had her period, or were those condoms faulty? His skin drew pale, and spiders crawled all over his skin as sweat beaded from his pores.
Grady grinned. “That’s it, I’m buying a pool table.”
Asher popped up from the table and carted the massive stack of plates, Grady snagged the napkins and other debris, opening the door for Asher and Claire. The trio disappeared into the house. Clearing her throat, Sophie rose from her chair to join them.
Slipping his hand in Freya’s, Zane leaned back in his chair and settled in with his wife. Freya smiled. “You don’t think we should go in and help?”
“Nah,” he joked, “Finn and I are off the hook. We cooked.”
Snorting, Freya jabbed at him. “Nice excuse. I think Grady and Claire did most of the cooking, while you two stood all manly by the grill and burned our food.”
“Well if I messed that up, I really shouldn’t risk ruining anything else.”
Haley kicked Finn subtly under the table, eying him suspiciously. She mouthed,You okay?
Nodding, he rose from the table and led her down toward the bonfire. Not ready to sit back down, he paced for a minute. His pulse thundered in his veins, ice cold and anxious and terrified and… well, a little thrilled.
“Finn? What is up with you? You look like you’re on crack or something. Not that I’ve ever seen anyone on crack, but you look ill and won’t sit still.”
May as well rip off at least one band aid tonight. He glanced up the hill to make sure they were alone. Zane and Freya were far enough they wouldn’t hear.
“All that talk about Pippa got me thinking. You, uh, we’re, um… I mean, it’s been a few weeks and you haven’t…”
Haley’s sweet laughter trilled in the air. Or laughed her ass off, anyway. She grabbed his hand and yanked him close. “I’m on the pill and I take it obsessively on time. I only have a period when I feel like it. Trust me, nothing’s getting past the condomsandthe pill.”
His breath whooshed out in a cluster of relief and, well, something else he wasn’t willing to acknowledge. His swimmers were admittedly a little disappointed at the near miss. “Wow, okay, wow, that’s so good to hear.”
She released him long enough to snag another round of beers and sat on the blanket she’d laid out by the fire. It was roaring, a toasty orange glow of embers at the base.
He sat behind her, their backs to the others, and encased her in his arms and legs. Resting his cheek against her, he wanted to say something, but anything about to come out of his mouth was downright sappy.
Setting his beer on the grass behind them, he took advantage of their solitude. Grazing his fingertips along the smooth skin of her thighs, he scooted up the hem of her dress. Leaning into him, she closed her eyes and absorbed the moment. Trailing his lips across her shoulder, he was drowning in thoughts that were boiling over, begging for release. He stayed silent, swallowing the words that he couldn’t say out loud.
He didn’t want any lies between them. His history with Trace was already hanging over his head like a damn time-bomb, waiting to explode and ruin everything. And that wasn’t half as dangerous as the thoughts in his head.
HaleymeltedintoFinn,the scruff of his jaw massaging against her temple, the strength of his arms enveloping her. A novel sensation, overwhelmed with red hot arousal mixed with trust, exhilarated as she fell from the sky, already buoyed by the safety net that was Finn, steady and strong. One of those few moments in life where she wished she could hit pause and savor.
Claire cleared her throat, speaking loudly as she and Grady approached. “Beautiful night.”
Haley sat up a little straighter and fixed her dress.
Dancing from behind her, Freya caught up to Claire. “You picked a good birthday.”
“I totally planned it, too. Kicked my mother’s cervix and insisted this would be a good day to be born.”
Claire passed a blanket to Haley, then curled up by the fire with Grady’s and her blanket. Finn reached around and spread the plaid cotton blanket over them. Haley hadn’t even noticed the chill in the night air.
The rest settled around the fire, joking and teasing and, well, being normal. These people all liked each other. Not one hint of phony. Even in their teasing of Pippa, they cared.
“Haley?” Claire asked.
