Totally His

by Erin Nicholas

Finn’s whole body tightened. He was already suspicious of Sophie’s father, and with the discovery that Sophie had some pain in her past and that she tried to avoid family involvement, he was having a hell of a time tamping down his curiosity and his protective urges. Hell, she was also a suspect in a possible arson. He shouldn’t be feeling anything like that for her.

  “I can’t just be her friend?” He could do that. He could just…be there. And want to kiss her every time she smiled. Dammit.

  Angie gave him a seriously? look. “I’ve got the friendship thing handled.”

  Finn regarded his mother for a moment. “You’re protecting her.”

  “Yes. She needs a mom more than she needs a guy.”

  He stared at his mother for several long seconds. He swallowed hard. Angie was taking care of Sophie. And his urges to take care of Sophie made no sense. Stepping aside and letting Angie be the one to protect Sophie was the right thing to do.

  “So I just need to let it go,” he said.

  “That would be wonderful.”

  He started to nod. His gut twisted with the idea of letting Sophie go, but his brain was telling his gut to just chill out. Fine, he’d let her go. He’d finish the theater repair for his mom’s sake and then walk out and forget about Sophia Birch. Unless, of course, he was sent to arrest her for setting the theater on fire.

  He shoved a hand through his hair. She hadn’t done it. He had no proof one way or another, but he had his gut, and it was telling him that Sophie would never do anything like that. Sure, she had a feisty side and, apparently, a past with some darkness in it, but no, her love for this place was evident.

  Speaking of the theater and people loving it…

  “Okay, so let’s talk about this theater thing,” he said.

  “What theater thing?”

  “That this place is really important to you and yet you’ve never invited any of us to get involved or help out or even see a show. Sophie needs help getting this place back on its feet, but you were fighting me about coming down here. That’s ridiculous. We have the manpower and skills to get this done.”

  Angie crossed her arms. “I didn’t think you would really care.”

  “Well, that’s bullshit,” he said easily. “You got interested in rescuing miniature dachshunds. I ended up with seven dogs in my house. All at the same time. You got interested in an after-school sports program for kids who have parents in jail. I coached three seasons. You got interested in making your own whiskey. I still have supplies in my basement.”

  Angie didn’t deny any of that—she couldn’t—but she stubbornly refused to agree with him.

  “Mom,” he said, his voice gentler, “why haven’t you asked me to be involved here? And don’t tell me it’s because I suck as an actor because I acted interested in dachshunds, after-school sports programs, and whiskey.”

  “You still have one of the dogs,” she finally said. “And you liked that sports program.”

  He smiled. He did have his Rosie, and he loved her. “You’re right. But you didn’t know that before you got me into all of it. So you really wanted to keep me away from Sophie this badly?”

  “When she said that she wasn’t interested in making this a family affair, I agreed,” Angie said. “It came up the first time that I invited her over for a family dinner.”

  “She actually asked you not to invite any of us to shows?” Finn asked.

  “No, not that,” Angie said. “She didn’t want to get involved in our family stuff. But, of course, she would have been fine with you all coming to shows.”

  “So what gives?”

  “I just…” Angie took a deep breath. “This just isn’t your thing. Even more than dachshunds and whiskey. And,” she added when he started to protest, “honestly, it was nice having something that was just mine. In this family, that’s pretty hard to find. I could just come here and there were no interruptions, no extra opinions, no crazy questions. I could just be here and…not share it.”

  Finn frowned. “You didn’t want to share it?”

  “Not really.” Angie gave him a smile.

  Finn wasn’t sure what to do with that. He got it. Alone time, having something that was just hers, was understandable. It was easy to lose yourself in a big, dynamic group like the Kellys. But it was strange for him to think of his mom having things—projects and people—he wasn’t involved in.

  “I don’t like that you would keep our help from Sophie when she obviously needs it,” he finally said. He hated the idea of Sophie doing it alone. Or having her doors unlocked. Or having sex-only dates. And it was absolutely crazy that he cared.

  Angie nodded. “Okay, I might have been wrong there.”

  “But I really don’t like that you didn’t think you could trust me to be a good guy.”

  Angie frowned. “Of course I trust you to be a good guy.”

  “But you didn’t think that telling me to stay away from her would be enough.”

  His mother studied his eyes, clearly trying to gauge his sincerity. And Finn really wanted her to see it. To see that he understood that she and Sophie both had good reasons for him to keep his hands to himself and that he could respect that because he was a good guy. Who could probably not pull off a sex-only date with his mother’s best friend…because he wanted to feed her and make her laugh and listen to rock and roll with her. Even if she’d set her theater on fire.

  He ran a hand through his hair and then down over his face.

  “Is it enough?” Angie asked then. “Now that you’ve met her? This is drywall and brickwork only?”

  Sure. It could be drywall and brickwork only. It should be. He could help his mom’s favorite place get back on its feet and ignore the blue-eyed blonde who made every protective instinct he had flare to life in spite of the fact that she ran her own business, kickboxed, and completely owned her sexuality. It didn’t matter that she had no family to speak of, wanted a dozen kids, and made the most amazing sounds when licking chocolate frosting off her fingers.

  But then a cheer went up from the front of the theater…and Finn’s life got more complicated.

  He pivoted in time to see his brother take Sophie’s hand and pull her to the center stage, where he proceeded to twirl her around, then fold her in his arms, as Van Halen belted one of its greatest love songs. As Colin sang along. As they danced. In the spotlight. As if they were in some damned romantic movie and this was the scene where the guy finally gets the girl.

  And that unfortunately mattered.

  He just stared at the sight for three seconds and then said to his mom, “Okay, it might be a little more than drywall and brickwork.”

  He heard her mutter, “Dammit” as he started for Sophie.

  CHAPTER SIX

  His mom was right on his heels as Finn stomped to the front of the stage and planted his hands on his hips. The song ended, and Colin stepped away from Sophie with a huge grin.

  “How’d I do?” Colin asked.

  “That wasn’t exactly what I was expecting,” Sophie told him. But her cheeks were bright pink.

  “I told you I’m perfectly comfortable in the spotlight,” Colin said.

  Sophie nodded. “You did say that.”

  “What’s going on?” Finn scowled at his brother.

  “Maya is a brilliant woman,” Colin said.

  “That’s Sophie,” Finn said, pointing at the blonde his mother had just warned him away from. Who was also not going to date his brother.

  “Yes, but the idea for a play starring firefighters and cops to raise money for the theater was Maya’s,” Colin said.

  A play? With these guys? Finn looked around. It was a horrible idea. “Cops and firefighters can’t act,” he said. “Who wants to see that?”

  “Everyone,” Maya said with a grin. “Cute guys onstage hamming it up? Oh yeah, big-ticket money.”

  Finn looked at her. “Seriously?”

  “People pay stupid money for firefighter calendars,” Maya pointed out.

&
nbsp; “And at the bachelor auctions,” Kiera added.

  “But they’re just standing there. They don’t have to have talent for that,” Finn said. He hated this idea, but he wasn’t entirely sure why. It probably had to do with the idea that Colin might be dancing with Sophie again.

  “That’s what makes it fun,” Kiera said. “This theater is known for amateur productions and people discovering the theater for the first time. This is perfect. It will highlight the guys who saved the place, who are working to restore it, and the mission of the theater all at once.”

  Finn’s frown deepened, but he didn’t have a great argument against it.

  Finally he looked at Sophie. He hadn’t made eye contact with her since seeing her reaction to his brother twirling her around like they were freaking Fred and Ginger. He’d known that, if he looked directly at her, he’d want to grab her and show her that Colin wasn’t the only one who could get her heart racing.

  And he’d been right. The second their gazes connected, he wanted to get his hands on her. But he didn’t dance. He tended toward more horizontal activities.

  Sophie pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, but her eyes met his directly. Finn felt his jaw tighten and then relax. “You okay with this?”

  “It’s a good idea, if they’re willing,” she said. “I could use some extra money for everything. And the guys…” She trailed off.

  “The guys what?” Finn asked.

  “Look good onstage and are fun,” she said with a shrug.

  “So what play are we going to do?” Colin asked.

  Finn looked over to find Colin looking back and forth between him and Sophie.

  “I don’t know,” she finally said. “What do you all think?” She looked at Angie as his mom came to stand beside him in front of the stage.

  “Something with a lot of parts,” Angie said.

  Sophie nodded. “A lot of male parts.”

  “Something big,” Colin said. “A popular show. Something people really want to come see.”

  But Sophie was already shaking her head by the time he finished. “No, it can’t be something big.”

  Colin frowned slightly. “But you want to sell a lot of tickets. If we do something…like Beauty and the Beast or, oh! The Book of Mormon, that has a lot of male parts.”

  Sophie shook her head again. “No way. For one, we can’t afford the rights to those shows, and two, this theater is known for small, independent plays.”

  Colin stepped closer. “But we want this to be huge, right? A big success? Lots of money coming in?”

  “We’d love to make a little profit on this, and I appreciate all of you being interested in helping. But I’m not going to change what we do here.” Sophie looked at Angie again. “For one, the people who know us and come here for the type of experience we provide would be disappointed. For another, the people who come to a big, popular play would later be disappointed to find out that’s not what we really do here. It’s better to stick with what we know.”

  “But I just think we need to—” Colin tried again.

  “If we use firefighters, get some news coverage, and do a romance, we’ll be golden,” Angie interrupted her son.

  Sophie’s smile was bright. “I agree.”

  “You like the idea?” Maya asked Angie.

  “I have to admit, it’s pretty great. We could use the extra money for sure.”

  Her use of we didn’t escape Finn’s notice. She really was involved here. He hated that he hadn’t known how much. Then he glanced at Sophie. Something had gone on with her in the past that made Angie protective of her. And damned if he didn’t want to know all about it.

  Of course he did. He hadn’t wanted the dogs. Yet he now had a cupboard full of toys, and dog food was a regular item on his grocery list. He’d wanted Sophie almost on sight. So of course he’d dive right into everything going on with her. And he wanted to make it all better.

  Dammit.

  “A romance?” Colin asked with interest.

  Angie nodded. “Everyone loves a romance. Especially our female patrons. And who brings the most people to the theater? Women. They’ll bring their husbands, their friends, their sisters. We put on a grand romantic show with a bunch of good-looking firefighters running around and we don’t have to worry about whether people have heard of the show before.”

  Sophie’s smile grew, and Finn shifted his weight as his palms tingled, remembering how it had felt to hold her. Was it weird that her smile seemed to trigger a reaction in his hands? Yeah, it was. But he was beginning to think weird was par for the course.

  “Okay, I’m game,” Colin said.

  “You’re game?” Vince, another of the firefighters, asked.

  “Sure,” Colin said. “We want this show to be a huge success, and we don’t have much time. Makes sense that I play the male romantic lead and Sophie does the female part.”

  “How does that make sense?” Michael asked.

  “I’m the most comfortable onstage,” Colin said. “And Sophie and I clearly have some chemistry.”

  Finn narrowed his eyes, but his brother wasn’t paying any attention.

  “And I’ve been in more plays than all of you,” Colin went on. “I did a bunch in high school, and oh yeah, I did that one commercial that one time.”

  A bunch of the guys groaned at once. Colin had been cast in a local commercial for a blood drive over the holidays two years ago, but you would have thought that it was a starring role in a blockbuster movie the way he wouldn’t shut up about it.

  “You smiled at the camera and let the nurse poke a needle into your arm,” Dan said with a laugh.

  Colin gave him the finger and then turned his charming smile back on Sophie. “We’ll probably need some one-on-one time,” he said. “And I just want you to know that I’m willing.”

  “Gee, thanks, Colin.” She was blushing again.

  “You don’t even know what the play is,” Vince said before Finn had to chance to interrupt. “What if it’s a gay romance?”

  The guys all laughed, but Finn was watching his mother and Sophie. They were plotting. By only exchanging looks…and apparently reading one another’s minds. It was spooky. And fascinating. He knew Sophie made his mom happy, and he’d been grateful to her even without knowing her. Now to put a face—a gorgeous face—with the name and knowledge was…strange. But he was quickly adjusting. One of his mother’s best friends was a young, beautiful blond woman who smelled like lemonade. Who no way had tried to burn down this theater.

  He knew, somehow, watching Sophie and his mother silently communicating, that the show was going to be some big, full-blown, sappy romance, gay or otherwise. His mother was a huge, hopeless romantic who still loved the only man she’d ever given her heart to, even though he’d been dead for sixteen years. And if Sophie was close enough to Angie to share her love of theater and art, then chances were Sophie was equally starry-eyed.

  “I know the perfect show,” Sophie announced to the group. “It’s a brand-new, never-before-seen independent script that is the most beautiful love story I’ve ever read.”

  Nailed it.

  “With one male and one female lead?” Colin asked.

  Everyone laughed again. Sophie nodded. “Yes.”

  “And kissing? Will there be kissing?” Sean, another of the firefighters, asked in a singsong voice.

  Sophie grinned. “There will be kissing.”

  Colin reached for Sophie’s hand and twirled her around again. “I can’t wait for rehearsals to begin.”

  Sophie blushed but smiled. And pulled her hand away.

  “So no auditions then?” Finn asked. “Colin just gets the part?”

  Everyone, every single pair of eyes, focused on him. The ones he could feel most were his mother’s, Tripp’s, and Sophie’s. Not necessarily in that order.

  He didn’t look at his mom or Tripp. It wasn’t as if he wanted to be in the play. But, well…no one else was going to be touching Sophie Birch. She was his.
As stupid and strange and out of character and risky as that sounded.

  “Does someone else want to audition for the part?” Angie asked Finn, giving him a look that said, “It better not be you.”

  “Yes. I’m auditioning,” Finn said, earning him a scowl from his mother that was on par with the one he’d gotten the time he’d confessed to wrecking her brand-new car two days after she’d gotten it home.

  He’d been in a hell of a lot of trouble with that stunt. She’d been upset with him for days.

  He had a feeling that was nothing compared to this.

  “I think I should handle this one,” Colin said. “The sooner we open the show, the sooner we’ll have money to cover what we’ve paid for repairs and supplies.”

  “We’ll have insurance money to get started, and we’ll be doing most of the work, so costs will be low,” Finn said. Well, they’d eventually have the insurance money. Provided Frank Birch hadn’t set the fire. And yes, he had said “we.” As if this was all his concern as well. He was aware. And if he hadn’t been, Tripp’s gaze boring into the side of his head would have reminded him. He couldn’t meet his partner’s eyes. Because he had no idea what he was doing right now either. “And I thought all the fireflies here were going to be helping out too? Unless you can’t handle swinging a hammer and learning your lines at the same time?” Finn asked, looking the group of firefighters over.

  What was he doing? Challenging them? Really? Over a play no one had heard of that was going to be performed at a theater that almost no one had heard of? Why? He needed to shut the hell up.

  Colin straightened to his full height, which was still two inches shorter than Finn’s. “We can handle whatever you throw at us,” he said. “And you know it.”

  And they were officially in a pissing contest. Over a woman Finn had just met. Who his mother had practically begged him to leave alone. The only thing he really knew about Sophie was that she smelled good. And that she was kick-ass behind closed doors. And that she didn’t have a family. And that that bothered him more than it should. And that he wanted to kiss her.

  “Good,” Finn said, also drawing to his full height. “The sooner we get this place back together, the better.”