by May Sage
"Sure thing," Anna replied.
It wasn't like the frail seventy-something year old could carry many boxes anyway.
"Where do you want this, miss?" Arnold asked, a boxed marked with an R in his arms.
"In the main bedroom, please—through this corridor and on the right."
She was showing him the way when the intercom rang—as they weren't expecting anyone yet, Anna and Finn frowned.
"I'll get it," she said, as he was untangling the TV's cords.
She answered the phone to right of the entryway. "Hello."
"Miss Bullen? It's Veronica—one of the concierges. I don't think we've met yet."
"No, not yet," she replied.
"I have six gentlemen requesting access to your property. They say they're with...Platinum Removal?"
Glancing to Finn, Anna frowned.
They'd rented a van, and spent all of Saturday packing and loading their things. Finn hadn't mentioned he'd hired anyone to help them move back.
"I think..."
The phone was yanked out of her reach by a perfectly manicured hand.
"Yes? Yes. Of course, please let them in."
Anna stared in disbelief, and Arabella rolled her eyes. "Don't look so startled, it's insulting. You know what I think of unnecessary manual labor."
Arabella had bought them a lot more than an extra six pair of hands, as it turned out.
Before helping with their van, they unloaded a set of furnishings that matched their new blue sofa, and then came the Christmas tree, and the many decorations--all red and gold.
Finn and Anna had planned on shopping for kitchen appliances on Sunday, while she worked on the wedding registries. Now they wouldn't need to.
They sat down and opened a perfectly chilled, freshly delivered bottle of champagne.
"This will do very well for a few years, I think. Of course, you'll want a bigger place when you have children, but for now, you couldn't wish for a better view."
Finn looked away, smirking. Anna became fascinated with her hands. They'd never discussed their change in dynamic with Arabella, but since the beginning of the week, her usual chat had switched gears; she didn't talk about their becoming a couple anymore. Now, she talked of children.
Anna wondered what was worse.
She didn't even know if she wanted kids. Probably not. They were a long, long way away from discussing it in any case.
After Platinum Removal was done with the place, they returned to the Johnsons', and Finn cooked them dinner. He came back to the lounge as his mac and cheese was baking, and kissed her forehead.
She definitely was getting used to this. Enjoying it. She just wasn't trusting it.
Finn had never had a long relationship; she hadn't either. He'd had a new woman every other week through most of their adulthood. They had no idea what they were doing. She was trying to just go with the flow, enjoy it, but it was concerning. What if things became awkward between them when it ended? Was it truly worth the risk?
Chapter 22
Anna was freaking out. How could he blame her, really? He was freaking out.
Not during sex, not while she slept next to him at night—but each day when he came back from work, he saw it in her eyes. Shit, what was he supposed to do about it? Finn found himself wishing Wren was at the bar with his college friends—but instead, he only had Caleb Holt, Christian Daniels, Mike Owens and Jacob Whyte drinking beer with him the Friday night before his brother's wedding.
None of his four closest buddies had had one successful relationship in their lives, although Christian had been married and Jacob had two kids.
He was desperate enough to ask anyway.
"So, you're saying Anna—we're talking about the same Anna here—is being weird about you guys having sex?"
"Anna, the woman who had lunch delivered for you at school during your exam?" Caleb asked.
"Anna, who files your taxes at the same time as hers?" Mike added.
"Anna, who buys you condoms when she picks up groceries?"
The guys exchanged amused glances like they were getting something that completely went over his head.
"So, what?"
He was seriously getting frustrated.
"So, has it not crossed your mind that, given the fact that she knows you better than anyone else in the world, she might be a little wary of your reputation with ladies?"
He blinked as Jacob rolled his eyes. "You've never expressed an interest in a relationship. Not blaming you—me neither. But she knows you like chasing skirts. Maybe she's just wondering when you'll get tired of her."
The notion was ridiculous—Anna wasn't a skirt he was chasing, she was Anna, his dudette. He opened his mouth to say just that, but the words didn't come out.
Shit. They might have a point. How many times had he said he was happy as he was? That he liked sampling different women and all that. All his life, he'd talked to Anna like she was just one of his friends. Of course she'd heard it all before.
The word that came out of his mouth was, "Shit."
Of course she was wary of him—how could she not be?
"What do I do?"
The guys didn't know—he didn't know.
"You can try telling her she ain't no pussy to you, but well...the words of a player." Caleb shrugged. "Let's just say I wouldn't believe it. As a rule, women never believe a word out of a player's mouth. It's the actions that matter."
He'd know. Caleb was a player in every sense of the word. Not only did he fuck just about anything—women, men, of any shape, color or height—but he also played hockey professionally. That was another level.
Finn sighed. "I'm fucked."
How the hell was he supposed to dig himself out of that hole?
Mike shook his head. "Not especially. She'll just need time to relax and see that you're serious, that's all."
Time. He could give her that.
"There's another way, of course," said Christian.
Finn was all ears. "You could just put a ring on it." He shrugged.
"That's why your dumb ass is divorced," said Jacob, rolling his eyes. "No one pops the question after fucking for two weeks."
"There's at least two dozen Hollywood celebs who have."
"Yeah, and look how it ended up going for all of them," Mike replied.
Jacob stood with Chris. "It's Anna. You know you'll do it eventually."
Did he? Fuck, Finn had never once in his life thought about getting married. That was the thing people did before settling down and getting kids, and a house, and...
That was when it hit him. He was getting a house. And he didn't want Anna out of his life, ever. Was there any other ending he'd imagined, any other way this story could go?
"It's too soon," Finn said, resolutely.
But he thought about the conversation that night, and the next morning. He certainly was thinking about it as he watched his brother waiting for his bride at the end of the aisle.
Trick and Carter's wedding was, of course, absolutely perfect from start to finish, to his mother's great frustration. The woman would have loved a bit of chaos, to be allowed a stern "I told you so," but Bobby, the wedding planner, had been a true miracle worker. The bridesmaids and groomsmen did their jobs well, performing a number of tasks to take the load off the happy couples' shoulders. Anna set up the wedding registries, Finn booked the band, and carried the wedding band.
On the day, everything went smoothly.
They'd booked the reception room in an elegant hotel, as neither couple had wished to tie the knot in a church. The wedding list was relatively small—a dozen guests per person, roughly, but as there were two weddings, that translated to over forty people.
Finn smiled as the first lady of the wedding procession appeared, a little basket of flowers in her hand. Maya Lucy Stone-Kennedy had started a Sailor Moon phase the last time he'd seen her, over the that summer, and apparently it wasn't over yet, because the seven year old's hair was in two familiar buns high
on her head. She wore a white dress with a blue skirt, and a big red bow on her chest like her hero.
Finn laughed. "You guys are raising an otaku," he whispered to Bennet, who shrugged.
"Whatever makes her happy."
Maya took her job very seriously, taking some rose petals out of her basket to cover the brides' way in flowers.
Next came Cassie and Lucy, at the same time.
No wonder his mom was smug, sitting from the front row. They both looked fantastic. Lucy's dress was an off white backless sheath that highlighted all her curves, while Cassie wore a simpler knee-length silk number with a white petticoat underneath. It truly suited both of their styles. Finn only paid them a second of attention, as Anna walked in behind them.
Shit. He'd left early to meet his brother, so it was the first time he saw her in the blue-green satin gown, with her hair in an updo and her mouth painted pink. Fucking hell, she looked like she belonged on a red carpet. He couldn't look away, through the entire ceremony. Finn almost missed the moment when he was supposed to hand his brothers the rings.
Just when the grooms kissed the brides, Anna looked right at him and grinned, visibly delighted for her friends.
Finn couldn't smile back.
"Did you cry?"
"Why would I cry?" Anna rolled her eyes at Finn on their way to the main table.
It fit a dozen people—the two couples, Carter's mom, Piper, Maya, Bennet, the two of them, Arabella, and Arnold.
"Isn't that what women do at weddings?" he teased.
"Well, you cry when you watch Disney movies, so you're one to talk."
"Lies!" Finn protested. "Libel! Defamation."
"You cried when you watched How to Train Your Dragon with me," Maya interjected.
"Onions. I was cutting onions."
With the great company, a fair amount of champagne, and Maya, who was always an endless source of entertainment, they enjoyed five courses of delicious food, and then Finn got up for his speech.
Anna knew it was entirely improvised, like every speech Finn had ever made. One did not become such a good lawyer without an uncanny ability to speak in public.
"I want to tell you about Trick's fifteenth birthday. He had a huge party, invited most of the school, because Trick being Trick, he'd gotten great grades the previous year and mother wanted to reward him. I won't mention the cake, or the pool party with Californian senior girls in bikinis, although at the time, I paid attention to little else. I will tell you where Trick was, during most of the party. In our father's study. It had the best chessboard, you see, and his idea of fun was playing, against a little girl who was the only person who could really challenge him. Fast forward four years, and we were all on our way to the East coast. I won't lie, at the time, like everyone else, I thought that was the end of it. But last year, when he told me he wanted me to meet his girlfriend, and I recognized her, I knew we'd end exactly where we are now. Lucinda, you're crazy, and smart, and beautiful, and there just was no one else for my brother."
Some applauded, others cooed dreamily. This was exactly the kind of speech everyone liked at weddings—sweet and to the point.
Piper was next, and after her speech, the two newlywed couples went for their first dance, bypassing the father of the bride’s turn, given the fact that Lucy’s father wasn’t alive.
“Dance with me.”
Anna rolled her eyes. “I have two left feet.”
“Who cares? It’s not a TV show. I’m asking you to dance with me because I want to hold you.”
She wouldn’t have hesitated if it had been a normal song, but the band had been asked to start with some classical stuff for the older guests. Arabella had probably bribed the band.
“I really can’t waltz. How about the next dance?”
Finn nodded. “All right. Fancy checking out the gardens? We’ve been sitting for a couple of hours.”
He seemed a little fidgety. “Sure.”
Stretching her legs couldn’t hurt.
He led her out the doors using the French windows behind the main table. Anna hugged herself, wishing she’d taken her shawl with her.
“Cold?”
Before she had time to reply, he wrapped his tux’s jacket around her shoulders.
“Thank you.”
“Did you get your coat to the dry cleaner yet?”
She winced. That kind of errand so easily went out of her mind. “Not yet. I will before it snows, I promise.”
Finn rolled his eyes. “No, you won’t.”
He was probably right.
“But that’s fine, because you got me a new one for Christmas,” she said, confidently, although they hadn’t opened their presents yet.
Finn glared. “Did you cheat?”
“Nope. You’re just that predictable.”
“Am I, now?” he asked. “What do you think I got you, then? Other than a coat.”
There had been five presents from him under their gold and red tree. Anna tilted her head.
“Something to do with Fantastic Beasts.”
He laughed. “All right. Two out of six. Go on.”
“Six? I only counted five.”
“The last one is small,” he replied.
She took a moment to think it through. “A new pen, a bookmark, books, and a new game.”
Finn grinned. “All right, you’re good. Very good. Five out of six.”
She frowned. “Which one did I get wrong?” He bought her a pen every year, because she always lost it. Books and games were a given. “The bookmark?”
“Yes. It’s a little smaller. Slightly more valuable too.”
She bit her lip, thinking hard. The next instant, Anna blinked, then her eyes widened, and she gasped in shock.
"What are you doing?" she whispered in panic, but she could see what he was doing. Getting to his knee. In front of her. Then, he pulled out a black box, and opened it.
Inside, there was a replica of Nenya, the ring of Adamant, in white gold with a large diamond nestled inside.
"What do you say, dudette?"
Holy fucking shit.
At first, she was entirely silent, entirely shocked.
"I had my own Lucinda next to me for years. Took me long enough, but Trick is the smart one. All I know is, when life gives you a love that strong, you hang on to it. I didn’t know how to tell you this at first. That I want to spend the rest of my life with you. That I love you, and that I’ll never let go.” He shrugged. “Then I figured, this was an universal language. Marry me.”
There was only one thing she could say to Finn Johnson.
* * *
The End
* * *
Some Girls Do It Book Six
Note from May:
* * *
I wanna tell you about Regina Croft.
When I first started writing, I did want to write everything—and I didn’t have any experience, so my first book was contemporary, then modern fantasy, then sci-fi romance, and paranormal romance.
I went all over the place, all under May Sage.
Now I’ve done this for a lot longer, my one regret is to not have set up a separate pen name for my contemporary romance work.
I always say it’s too late now—but I’m not sure that’s true.
While it’s certainly too late for my existing series, I think I may be able to fix it in the future.
So, Regina Croft. That’s my new contemporary pen.
I will continue to write Some Girls Do It and King of the Towers as May Sage, and my upcoming contemporary work will mention both pen names as the writers, to familiarize my readers with the name. In the future, I hope to concentrate on fantasy, sci-fi and paranormal under May, and publish contemporary romance under Regina.
