Yours After Dark

by Marie Force

  “I’m not being clever. I’m being practical. And I’m being self-serving. I want forever with you, Chloe. I want everything with you—the good, the bad, the healthy, the sick, the ups, the downs. I’ve never wanted that with anyone, but I knew about two days after I met you that if I let you get away, I’d regret it forever.”

  “I’ve never known anyone like you.” She flattened her hand on his face, feeling the prickle of his late-day whiskers against her palm. “You’re so certain about what you want.”

  “I’m sure about you, but I haven’t been sure about anything before now. Just ask my boss in Connecticut. I’ve given him whiplash with my indecision. I kept thinking I had to go home to figure out my life, but it turns out my life was right here, waiting for me to find it. Two years I was on this island, and you were right here all along.”

  Smiling, she pushed the hair back from his forehead. “I was waiting for you to need a haircut.”

  He barked out a laugh. “I needed a haircut months before I got one. And P.S., your fingers combing through my hair made me hard in your chair.”

  “No way.”

  “Yes way.”

  A throat clearing reminded them they were not alone. “Sorry to interrupt, but dinner is ready.”

  “Bring it on, Pops.”

  Kevin brought out a salad, salad dressing and a bowl with steaming potatoes and corn on the cob. Then he went back for a platter to get the lobsters from the pot on the grill.

  “Allow me.” Finn took one of the lobsters and cracked open the shells for Chloe, then handed the plate over to her. “There you go.”

  “Thank you.”

  “So,” Kevin said after a long silence while they ate, “it seems to me that you two may not need my help after all.”

  “I think we might be good,” Finn said, gazing at Chloe.

  “I think so, too.”

  “If I may make one suggestion,” Kevin said. “Find out everything you can about RA. Join the online forums, get all the support you can. Things are less frightening when you have all the info and you’re well supported.”

  “She’ll be very well supported, but I agree with you, Dad. We need to get all the info we can so we can be prepared for whatever might happen.”

  “Even with the info, there will be obstacles and difficulties and things you don’t see coming. Maintaining communication will be key to getting through it together.”

  Chloe put down her fork, took a sip of water and summoned the courage she needed before glancing at Kevin. “Could I ask you one thing…”

  “Anything.”

  “Are you okay with Finn being with me, knowing what you do about my condition? I mean, if we stay together, someday in the not too distant future, I may be reliant upon him, and I’d totally understand if you didn’t think it was fair for me to get involved with him, knowing that.”

  Kevin propped his elbows on the table.

  Chloe resisted the urge to squirm while she waited to hear what he would say.

  “We learned when our Finn was very little that when he sets his mind to something, get the hell out of his way. When he played Little League baseball, he was determined to be an all-star, and damned if he didn’t make that happen. He wanted to be class president, ran a professional campaign that would’ve made the pros weep and was elected class president all four years of high school. If Finn wants something, really wants it, he finds a way to make it happen. And if there’s one thing I knew after the first time I saw the two of you together, it’s that Finn wanted you as much as he wanted to be an all-star and as much as he wanted to be president of his class.”

  “More,” Finn said, his eyes sparkling. “I want her much, much more than that.”

  “I know my son, Chloe, and I’ve never seen him glow the way he does when he’s with you. So if you’re asking for my approval, you have it. You have my approval and my support and my appreciation for making my son so happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for him and his brother. And if the time comes when you need additional support because of your condition, you’ll have it—from me and our entire family.”

  Overwhelmed by Kevin’s heartfelt words, Chloe used her napkin to dab at her eyes. “I see that you come by your charm naturally, Finn.”

  Both men laughed.

  “It’s a McCarthy family trait.” Kevin placed a hand on her shoulder. “But I mean every word, Chloe, and I appreciate your concerns about how your condition might impact Finn.”

  “I don’t care how it impacts me. I’ve spent a lot of time online this week, reading about it, and I have a much better understanding of what we’re up against. I firmly believe it’s nothing we can’t handle. I even joined a support group for partners of people with RA. They talk about everything. There’s a whole thread about the best ways to have sex with someone who has aching joints.” He waggled his brows for effect. “They’re very inventive.”

  Flabbergasted, Chloe could only stare at him.

  “What?” Finn asked after a long silence.

  “Just when I think I’ve seen the full extent of your fabulousness, you go and top yourself.”

  Finn flashed a cocky grin. “Like I’ve said before, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

  “Is he for real?” Chloe asked Kevin.

  Kevin beamed at his son with fatherly pride. “Very much so. In my completely unbiased opinion, he’s one of the very best men I’ve ever known.”

  Chloe looked at Finn. “I couldn’t agree more.”

  “Aww, shucks, you guys. My head is swelling.”

  Chloe laughed as she rolled her eyes at his predictable response. “Doesn’t take much.”

  “You know it, baby,” he said on a dirty laugh.

  Her face burned with mortification as she glowered at him. She couldn’t believe he’d said that in front of his dad! Well, yes, maybe she could…

  “On that note,” Kevin said, his lips quirking with amusement, “who wants dessert?”

  Chapter 28

  Riley had planned this evening down to the last dinner roll. Everything had to be perfect, and by seven thirty, he was ready. The dinner he’d picked up at Domenic’s was in the oven to stay warm, champagne was chilling in the dining room, where Nikki wouldn’t see it until he wanted her to, the kitchen table was set with her grandmother’s china, and vases of red roses had been strategically positioned.

  He wanted this to be the best night of her life—and his.

  And he was so fucking nervous, he was afraid he might puke before he got to the main event.

  He checked the time on his phone for the eighteenth time.

  She’d be home any minute.

  He’d showered, shaved, ironed a shirt and put on the cologne that she said drove her crazy. Driving her crazy had become his favorite thing in life, and if the cologne did it for her, he wore it. Whatever she wanted was what he wanted, too.

  And yes, it had occurred to him on more than one occasion over the last few months that she’d made a hot mess of him, and he couldn’t bother to care. He loved her madly, passionately. He loved her in a way that he hadn’t known existed until he came to fix her roof and ended up losing his heart.

  Shortly after they first met, she’d left the island with her troubled identical twin sister, Jordan, leaving Riley to wonder what might’ve been if only she’d stayed.

  Then she came back.

  Thank God she came back.

  Riley looked around at the sparkling new kitchen they’d installed together, working side by side to get it just right. It was gorgeous, if he said so himself. Knowing they’d done it themselves was incredibly satisfying. Eastward Look had been Nikki’s grandmother’s summer home. She had told them to make it their own, and they were working room by room to update and renovate.

  One nail at a time—no pun intended—Nikki had become his partner in every possible way, and he couldn’t imagine a single day without her in it. Last month, she’d gone to LA for three endless days to visit her sister, and he’d about gone mad w
ithout her. Their reunion had been thermonuclear.

  Riley smiled thinking about it. They’d spent an entire day in bed after she returned. He loved everything about their life together and couldn’t wait to make it official by asking the most important question of his life.

  He checked the time again.

  She was officially late for a very important date.

  Riley was about to call her when he saw headlights coming down the driveway.

  Showtime.

  He lit the candles and shut off the lights in the cozy kitchen where they’d spent at least half of their relationship. The other half—perhaps more—had been spent in bed. He kept thinking they would reach a point where they weren’t jumping each other every five minutes, but if anything, the longer they were together, the more he wanted her. With other women, he’d gotten bored after a month or two. With Nikki, he became more curious and interested in her with every passing day.

  As their time together ran through his mind like the best movie he’d ever seen, he found himself relaxing, the nerves disappearing in a wave of certainty. He had absolutely nothing to worry about where she was concerned.

  The front door opened and closed, the distinctive sound familiar to him after months of living here.

  “Hello?”

  “In here!”

  Riley took a deep breath and released it slowly. By the time she appeared in the open doorway to the kitchen, he was ready for her.

  “Whoa, this is nice.” She took in the candles and the table. “What’s the occasion? Did I forget our anniversary or something?”

  Riley chuckled at her confused expression. They celebrated every month they’d been together. “You didn’t forget anything. Come here, and I’ll tell you what the occasion is.”

  She walked tentatively into the kitchen, which further amused him. His Nikki was never tentative, not with him anyway.

  Riley relieved her of the heavy messenger bag she’d brought home almost every night as the Wayfarer opening drew closer. Maybe this wasn’t the right time to throw one more thing at her, but he simply couldn’t wait another day.

  “You’re acting weird.”

  “Am I?”

  She nodded. “You’re making me nervous.”

  “We can’t have that. I never want you to be nervous around me.”

  “Usually, I’m not, but I’ve never come home to candles and china and roses before.”

  “That’s a damned shame. I need to up my game and do this more often.”

  “If you upped your game any more than it already is, I wouldn’t be able to walk, so please don’t do that.”

  Riley laughed as he put his arms around her. “Relax, okay? It’s all good. In fact, it’s so damned good that I wanted to plan a special night to tell you just how good it is for me.”

  “How good is it?” she asked with the saucy grin he loved so much.

  “It’s the best thing ever to happen to me. You are the best thing to ever happen to me.” He’d planned to feed her first, but now that she was here, he couldn’t bear to wait. “In fact…” He released her and dropped to one knee, reaching for her left hand as her right hand flew up to cover her mouth. Tears filled her eyes as she finally understood what was happening. “I wanted to be right here in the kitchen we rebuilt together when I told you how you’ve totally rocked my world and given me things I didn’t even know were missing until I had you.”

  A sob escaped from her sweet lips, and tears ran down her face.

  “I love you more than anything in this life, Nicole. I love the life we’re building together, one piece of tile at a time. I love every second I get to spend with you, no matter what we’re doing. Will you please do me the incredible honor of being my wife?”

  “Yes,” she said on a hiccup. “Yes, Riley. Yes, yes, yes.”

  He got up to hug and kiss her. “That’s a whole lot of yes.”

  “Yes times eleventy trillion. I love you, too. So much. I wake up some days, and I still can’t believe this has happened. That you happened.”

  “We happened, and it’s the best thing ever.”

  “I am so very, very thankful for my leaky roof.”

  Riley smiled and kissed her again. “So am I. Oh shit! I knew I was forgetting something.” He dug into his pocket where he’d stashed the ring earlier and withdrew it, reaching for her left hand. “I stole your emerald ring to check the size, but I put it back in your jewelry box.”

  “You’re very sneaky,” she said, sniffing as he settled the gorgeous ring on her finger.

  “Do you like it?”

  “Oh God, Riley. I love it. It’s stunning.”

  “It’s got nothing on you, babe.” He kissed the back of her hand. “I like the way it looks on you.”

  “I love the way it looks.” She hugged him so tightly, she nearly shut off his air supply, but he didn’t care. He loved being hugged to death by her. “Holy shit, we’re engaged!”

  “Yes, we are. I want to make it official as soon as we can. Pull some strings at the Wayfarer and get us on the calendar for the fall.”

  “Oh jeez, you’re kidding me, right?”

  “Would I joke about something this important?”

  “So while I’m managing a brand-new business for my future husband’s family, during the busiest season of the year, you also expect me to plan a wedding?”

  “I’ll plan it.”

  She laughed—hard. “No, you won’t.”

  “It’s not that funny.”

  She went weak with laughter. “It’s hysterical. We’d end up with beer and pork rinds and bowls of peanuts on every table.”

  “I don’t know what you have against pork rinds.”

  “They’re disgusting, and we’re not having them at our wedding.”

  “Fine. Be that way. We can do it in the late fall, after the season is done, but that’s my final offer.”

  “Or we could elope.”

  “Really? You’d want to do that?”

  “If it meant I didn’t have to plan my own wedding on top of the other twenty I’m overseeing this summer at the Wayfarer.”

  “I’m intrigued.”

  “Your family would murder us.”

  “Nah, they wouldn’t care. They’ve been to so many weddings the last couple of years, they’d hardly notice if we didn’t have one. But… And I absolutely cannot believe I’m saying this when you offered me an out… But… I think I might want that moment when you walk toward me in your stunning white dress and blow my mind.”

  “I would blow your mind for sure.”

  Riley growled and nibbled on her neck.

  “I have an idea,” she said, sounding breathless.

  “I’m listening.”

  “Let’s have it at the Chesterfield and let Lizzie plan the whole thing. We’ll just show up and get married.”

  “Yes. Let’s do that. Excellent idea.”

  “That’s why I’m the brains of this operation.”

  “Yes, you are. Let’s make an appointment with her tomorrow and see what they have available.”

  “I’ll call her in the morning.”

  “We have people we need to tell about this development,” he said.

  “Yes, we do, but first we need to celebrate.”

  “Oh crap. I forgot the champagne. Hold on.”

  She grabbed his arm. “I’d love some champagne, but that’s not the kind of celebrating I had in mind.”

  His mind went blank as every blood cell in his body headed south. That tended to happen whenever she looked at him that way.

  “Will dinner keep?” she asked.

  “Uh-huh.”

  She took his hand and led him to the sofa, gave him a gentle push to seat him and then crawled on top of him, straddling his lap and framing his face with her soft hands. “Before I forget to tell you, this just became the best day of my life.”

  Cupping her ass, he pulled her in closer to him, as close as he could get her. “Mine, too, sweetheart. Mine, too.”
r />   * * *

  “You really joined an online forum for partners of people with RA?” Chloe asked Finn when they were back at her house. She still couldn’t believe he’d done that.

  “I really did, and I spent hours reading the various threads. It was very informative. And in case you’re wondering, I didn’t see or hear anything in there that scared me off or made me think twice about what I’m ‘getting myself into.’” He used air quotes to make his point and then put his arms around her and kissed her. “My eyes are wide open, and I love what I see.”

  “I’m still trying to figure out what I did to get so lucky to find you.”

  “You opened a hair salon on an island that didn’t have one and made yourself essential to everyone who lives here, including me.”

  She rolled her bottom lip between her teeth.

  “What’re you worrying about now?” He recognized the signs by now.

  “I’m not worrying for once. I’m excited about renovating and designing the space for the spa.”

  “I’m glad you’re excited. Riley and I will do all the work, and we’ll do whatever you want.”

  “Does he know that yet?”

  “He’ll find out soon enough. He owes me his left nut after all the time I gave to him and Nikki this past winter.”

  “That’s gross, Finn.”

  “It’s true, Chloe.” He walked her backward toward the bedroom, always mindful to be careful with her, to go slow, to let her set the pace.

  “So what did you learn about how to have sex with someone who has RA?”

  “Um, quite a few things, actually.”

  She reached up to unbutton his shirt. “What was your favorite?”

  His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. “Like my own personal favorite?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Um, well, if I’m being entirely honest—”

  “I’d never want it any other way.”

  “It went something like this…” He was like a man possessed removing her clothes and then his own with a frantic haste that made her giggle.

  “There is nothing funny about this, Chloe.”

  Making an effort to curb her amusement, she said, “I’m sorry, Finn.” She loved saying his name, and apparently, he loved saying hers, too.