by Claire Raye
“I’m not his girlfriend,” I chide, but she wrinkles her nose at me and she nods her head.
“You are,” she whispers, laughing as we both hear the front door open, the alarm chime ringing out.
“Erin, did you burn the pizza again?” Ryan calls out, his voice scolding, but the laugh that comes at the end tells us both he’s teasing her.
His relationship with Erin is something I never thought I’d see, but I’m so glad they found each other. Ryan is happier than he has ever been in his life, and with the baby on the way, I see things only getting better.
He pulls Erin into his arms after setting the ice cream down on the counter, pressing a kiss to her lips, he moves his way down to her neck, nuzzling against her.
“Excuse me,” I say, clearing my throat.
Ryan flips his hand at me and Erin giggles, shoving Ryan away as she moves to cut the pizza.
We sit down at the table, eating and chatting about the baby and Ryan tells us he has to spend some time at the pub tomorrow working on new menu items and testing out recipes.
Erin looks over at me, smirking a little as if to say there’s my opportunity to sneak away to see Finn. She then asks Ryan, “What time will you be done?”
“Not sure. Why?”
“I wanted to go to Gloucester to look at baby furniture. Can you be done around five? Then we can check out some furniture stores and have dinner.”
“Sure,” Ryan says, blissfully unaware that his baby mama is setting it up for his sister to hook up with a guy.
“We might even need to go into Boston,” Erin adds. “There aren’t many furniture stores around here.”
By now Ryan isn’t even paying attention, just nodding in agreement to whatever Erin says, and I remind myself to thank her later.
My night ends with me texting Finn.
Me: It’s Sarah. Still up for getting together tomorrow?
Finn: Of course. Thinking about you right now.
Me: What time and where?
Finn: My house? I’ll be off work around 6.
Me: I’ll be there.
Chapter Four
Finn
After confirming our hook-up tomorrow night, I store Sarah’s number in my phone, knowing I have a huge grin on my face that I can’t seem to wipe off. I’m glad no one can see me right now, because I must look completely whipped.
And truth be told, I feel like I am. What’s more surprising to me though, is how little I care. I’d always thought I wasn’t really into relationships or anything too serious, always keeping the few women I did hook up with at arm’s length. But as I grab the half-drunk beer I’d left on the kitchen counter earlier and wander back to my bedroom, sliding into sheets that still smell of her, I realize maybe I just hadn’t found the right woman to have one with.
And the thought that I now had, that I was actually seriously considering something so major with her; had even said the fucking R word out loud and right to her face, didn’t scare me at all.
“Jesus,” I murmur, amazed at the thoughts running through my head as I pull out a small black sock from beneath my sheets. Smiling, I throw it on the floor, wishing it was joining all of Sarah’s other clothes because she was still lying naked in my bed right now.
I’d meant it when I said I wanted her to sleep over, something else that joined the no condom thing and broke all my rules when I’d previously slept with other women. But Sarah isn’t just some other woman, I know that, no matter how new this thing between us is. And the idea of having her in my bed, of falling asleep beside her, waking up next her, maybe even during the night for a slow roll in the sheets, it all makes me feel…happy.
God, not even the thought of her brother and what he might do to me can wipe this fucking smile off my face. What the hell is it about Sarah Summers that is doing this to me?
Shaking my head, I finish off my beer before turning out the light. Rolling onto the pillow that still smells like her, I close my eyes and drift off to sleep.
The next day is spent dealing with the fall-out of New Year’s Eve. It’s not too bad, the cold keeping all but the biggest of idiots indoors and behaving themselves. But it doesn’t make my day any easier, especially when I get a call about some vandals graffitiing the fish and chips shop down at the pier.
“Fuck me,” I murmur, as I hang up the phone, knowing that’s the last place I want to go. I can only hope Carla isn’t there, even though I know the chances of that are slim.
“Sam?” I call as I walk out of my office.
The kid looks up at me, a half startled look on his face. “Sir?”
I offer a small smile, hold up my keys as if to say come with me. He scrambles to his feet and follows me out the door, always eager and ready to go.
He’s a good kid, even if he has spent the past six months or so trying to make up for the fact he let that asshole kidnap Kelsey one rainy night at her inn.
I know it wasn’t entirely his fault, that whole thing was beyond the scope of anything we’d normally see in this small ass town and he was as green as they come too. Still, it’s nice to know he’s genuinely sorry for his part in it all, even better that he’s actually learned from the whole experience.
“Got reports of some vandals,” I say as we pull out of the parking lot. “Down at the pier. You wanna handle it when we get there?”
Sam turns to look at me. “Yeah, thanks, Sir, that’d be great.”
I nod, glad that I can at least palm this off to him and he can deal with Carla. And really, it’s good for the kid to do this kind of stuff, and if he can help me out too, then bonus.
We pull into the parking lot of the shop and my gut tightens when Carla immediately walks outside, the look on her face suggesting someone has burned the place down instead of just spray painting a giant cock on the side of her building.
I have to stifle the smile when I see it, the positioning of the bright red dick making it look like one of the fish is giving it a blowjob while the others all watch. When I turn, I see Sam is also trying hard not to laugh and I get the feeling this might not go as smoothly as I’d hoped.
“Oh Finn,” Carla says, walking toward the car as soon as I get out. My skin bristles at her use of my first name, as though the fact we went to school together somehow negates my position as Chief. “Look what they’ve done,” she says, hands grabbing my arm.
I gently remove them, gesturing to Sam as I tell her, “Officer Corcoran will take care of it.”
Sam steps over to her, pulling out his notebook as he starts to run through a list of questions that I know will have no bearing on nailing whoever this creative genius is. Truth be told, there’s a part of me that would like to give the budding artist props for the idea. While Sam starts his questions, I move away, pulling out my phone and taking a few pictures under the guise of gathering evidence, but really so I can show them to Beck and Ryan over a few beers later on.
Eventually Sam comes back to me, biting his bottom lip when he gets another look at the artwork.
“All taken care of?” I ask, nodding in the direction the shop.
“Yeah,” he says. “But she wants to talk to you,” he adds. “Alone.”
“Shit,” I murmur, rolling my eyes. “One minute.”
I walk over, taking a deep breath as I open the door to her shop and step inside. “Ms. Robinson,” I say, making a point of addressing her formally as I stand just inside.
“Finn,” she says again, rushing over so she’s standing right in front of me now. “Do you think you’ll get them?” she asks, her hands once again grabbing mine.
I step to the side, pulling my hands from hers as I reply, “We’ll do everything we can, but in the meantime, can I suggest a trip to the hardware store and some paint.”
Carla moves so she’s standing in front of me again. “But who will paint it for me?” she cries, as though this is all too much for her. “Can you do it, please?”
I shake my
head. “Not in the job description, I’m afraid. But I’m sure you’ll find someone. Now was there something else you wanted to ask me?”
Carla stares at me, her eyes wide as she acknowledges my brush off. Then shaking her head as though it was all in her imagination, she smiles, biting her bottom lip as she says, “I hope you weren’t too hungover yesterday. I know I was. I spent the whole day in bed.”
I swallow hard as I remember back to the time spent in my bed yesterday. Amazing how the hangover was the last thing I was thinking about.
“Would have been nice to have some company,” she purrs, trailing her nails down my arm.
I step back now, pushing open the door. “If there’s nothing else, then,” I say, giving her a firm look. “I need to get back to work.”
Then I walk out the door before she can say anything else.
The rest of the day passes smoothly; everyone in the office getting a good laugh out of the newest additions to the side of Carla’s shop. Around five-thirty, I clock off, anxious to get out of here and home to what I know will be waiting for me.
On the way, I stop by the market and grab some food, hoping I can throw together something that resembles dinner before Sarah gets to my house.
As much as I can’t wait to get her naked again, I also want to get to know her. Find out more about the woman who I cannot stop thinking about.
When I pull into my drive and get out of the car, I hear a door slam. Turning, I see Sarah crossing the road and walking toward me, bags of what look like groceries in her hands.
“Hey,” I say, smiling at her.
“Hi,” she says, stopping in front of me.
I watch as she takes me in, her eyes roaming over my uniform, the badge on my chest, the gun holstered to my belt, the cuffs on the other side. When she looks up at me again, she’s got a half smile on her face and one eyebrow raised.
“Like what you see?” I ask, my voice low.
“I do,” she says, stepping closer and flattening her hand against my stomach. “Very much. The uniform looks good on you, Finn.”
I chuckle, lean down to press a soft kiss against her lips. “It’s good to see you too, Sarah,” I murmur.
She smiles against my mouth, her hands moving to the cuffs now. “You ever use these?” she asks, teasingly.
I grin, pulling back as we both head inside the house. “Yep.”
Sarah kicks of her shoes and we walk into my kitchen. “Purely for business?” she asks. “Or sometimes pleasure?”
I chuckle. “Business,” I tell her. “But I’d be open to changing that if you had something in mind.”
Sarah winks at me, a huge grin on her face as she says nothing and starts to unpack her bags. I watch as she pulls out containers of what looks like Chinese take-out, a six pack of beer and a tub of ice cream. Before I can do something ridiculous like drop to my knees and beg her to move in with me, I say, “I’m just gonna get changed.”
“Okay,” she says, moving about my kitchen to grab plates and cutlery.
But I don’t move. Instead, I watch her, my eyes wide and my mouth open as I try to absorb just how weirdly normal this all feels. How the sight of her in my kitchen, preparing us dinner doesn’t freak me the fuck out, but in fact feels one hundred percent right.
Eventually, I turn and head back to my bedroom, locking away my gun, cuffs and keys and swapping the uniform for a pair of sweats and a long-sleeve t-shirt. When I come back out, Sarah has the food on the table, an open beer in her hand, which she passes to me before grabbing one for herself.
“Shall we eat?” she says, gesturing toward the table.
I step closer, pull her into my arms and press a hard kiss against her mouth, her gasp allowing me to slip my tongue inside. I feel her arms wrap around my waist, her body pressing against me as I continue to kiss her.
Eventually I pull back, both of us breathless as we stare at each other.
“What was that for?” she whispers.
I grin, brush a hand down her cheek before pulling out her chair. “A thank you,” I say, taking a seat. “For dinner and for coming over.” Sarah blushes a little and it’s fucking adorable. “So, how was your day?” I ask, as I offer her the rice.
She shrugs. “Okay, just hung out with Erin mostly. How was yours?”
I take the rice she offers me and spoon some onto my plate, but her mention of Erin has me ignoring her question and asking another. “Where do they think you are right now?”
Sarah shifts a little in her seat. “Um, they’ve gone to Gloucester,” she says, not looking at me now. “Shopping for baby furniture and stuff. They’ll be ages too, because they’re grabbing dinner.”
“Nice,” I say, nodding. While it doesn’t get me an overnighter, it does buy me a few hours. “That was fortunate.”
Sarah says nothing and when I look up at her again, I can see her cheeks are flushed and she’s intently focused on the piece of chicken she’s now pushing around her plate with a fork.
“Sarah,” I say. “What’s wrong?” She shakes her head at me, but I can tell something’s bothering her. “It’s okay,” I tell her. “Talk…”
“Erin knows,” she blurts out, cutting me off.
“What?” I ask, freezing.
Sarah lets out a long breath, her body slumping in her chair as she finally looks at me. “She knows,” she repeats. “I’m sorry, she guessed anyway and when she did, I couldn’t help it, couldn’t lie to her about it. Fuck,” she adds, looking away. “I’ll get it if you want me to go.”
“Hey, hey,” I say, reaching for her hand and pulling her onto my lap. “It’s okay,” I tell her, nuzzling against her neck. “I’d never ask you to lie, Sarah, I promise.”
“I know,” she says, leaning her head against my shoulder. “She hasn’t told Ryan, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.”
“Do you want to tell him?” I ask. “I can talk to him,” I add, even as a niggling fear eats at me, and I try to picture exactly how that conversation would go down.
“You would?” she asks, pulling back as she looks at me, her eyes filled with sadness. “You didn’t seem to think Ryan knowing about us was such a good idea.”
I smile up at her now, brushing her hair back as I meet her eyes. “Telling your brother I’m getting naked with his baby sister is definitely not high on my can’t-wait-to-do list,” I say, smiling. “But telling your brother I’m crazy about his sister and can’t stop thinking about her, well that’s another story.”
Sarah stares down at me, not saying anything as her eyes search my face. Just when I think I’ve totally freaked her out with my words, she smiles a little. “You’re crazy about me?” she whispers.
I pull her closer, press a kiss to her lips. “I am, Sarah,” I tell her. “Crazy about you and serious about us doing this.”
“But Erin told me you don’t do relationships,” she says, a concerned look on her face again.
I can’t help but chuckle. “Oh, she did, did she?” Sarah nods and my smile widens. “Well, she’s right, in that I haven’t had a serious relationship with anyone in this town,” I say, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to have one with you.”
“Why?” she breathes out.
I shrug. “I don’t know how to explain it,” I tell her. “There’s just something about you; something that makes me want more. And I know it’s early and I know logistically there’s a million things in our way, but it’s true. I just can’t stop thinking about you.”
“I can’t stop thinking about you either,” she whispers, her eyes meeting mine.
“Well then,” I say, my fingers slipping under her top and brushing at the skin of her lower back. “I guess that means we’re doing this,” I add, kissing her harder this time.
“What about Ryan?” she mumbles against my mouth.
“Let’s worry about him later,” I say.
Three hours later, we
’re lying in my bed, tangled together when Sarah’s phone chimes out. We spent the rest of the evening chatting and laughing over dinner, Sarah getting a kick out of the photo I showed her from the fish and chips shop, before I eventually dragged her to bed.
“It’s Erin,” she says, leaning over the edge of the bed to read the message on her phone which is lying on the floor. “They’re leaving Gloucester in an hour.”
“Well then,” I say, grabbing her arm and pulling her so she’s lying on top of me. “I guess that gives us an hour till they’re back here.”
Sarah grins down at me. “So,” she starts, even as she squirms against me, my body already awake and raring to go again. “What should we do for the next hour then, Finn?”
I grin up at her, rolling us so she lies beneath me now. I pull her arms above her head, pinning her wrists to the pillow with one of my hands as I slowly kiss my way down her neck, loving the way she moves beneath me.
“Oh, I can think of a few things, Sarah.”
Chapter Five
Sarah
I’m lying in bed staring up at the ceiling wondering if I can really go back to Eddington after the few days I’ve spent here in Rockport with Finn. I know Erin has to go back to work soon; her break ending in a few days, and I can’t possibly survive without my stupid job at the bar.
It’s early, a just a little after seven in the morning when my phone starts to vibrate on the nightstand. When I glance at the screen it’s an unknown number and as much as I know nothing good usually comes from that, I answer it anyway.
Picking my phone up I answer with a clipped, “Yes, hello?”
“Um…” the caller pauses and then asks, “Is this Sarah Summers?”
“Yes it is. May I ask who’s calling?”
“This is James Miller from the human resources department of Bolton and Fisher. I’m calling in regards to the resume you submitted.”
