Totally His

by Erin Nicholas

  Frank saw him coming in the rearview mirror. He looked resigned as he got out.

  “Frank.”

  “Finn.”

  Frank leaned against the side of his car, and Finn leaned beside him. “Hear you’re leaving town for a while.”

  “Yeah. Thought I’d see someplace new.”

  “I think that’s a really good idea,” Finn told him.

  “I suppose you’re here to get Joey’s money back,” Frank said.

  “I’m not worried about the money. I’m not even really worried about Sophie’s money.”

  “No?”

  Finn took a deep breath. “Thing is, Frank, I’d pay you to stay away.”

  Frank didn’t say anything to that. Finn glanced over. Rather than the calculating look on Frank’s face that he’d expected, Frank looked a little sad. So Frank didn’t want to stay away completely or indefinitely. Finn had suspected as much.

  Finn tucked his hands into his front pockets. “This isn’t about the money you took. This is about Sophie.”

  Frank was quiet for a moment. “I don’t know how to be a dad,” he finally said.

  “Yeah, I kinda got that.” Finn took a deep breath. “So, here’s the deal. I don’t know if you really intend to just travel the country in your RV or if you’re on the lookout for a new victim or if you don’t really know what you want or where you’re going to go, but there’s something you should know.”

  Frank nodded. “Okay.”

  “In the past, the people you’ve walked away from have been happy to see you go. They’ve wanted nothing more to do with you. You’ve never met someone who wanted to stay in your life.”

  Frank said nothing.

  “But you need to realize that you’re about to have a cop for a son-in-law,” Finn went on, “and I want to be involved. I want to know everything you’re doing, every person you meet, everything you try. I’ll follow up on you; I’ll keep tabs on you; I’ll always know where you are. And if you think I don’t have the time or the energy or the brains for it, you really aren’t that good at reading people. You’ve just met the one man with the right motivation to make you suffer if you don’t toe the line.”

  Finn pushed away from the car and turned to face Frank, his hands still tucked casually in his pockets. “I’d rather you just left and never came back, but there’s a part of Sophie that wants you around. Sometimes. So, if Sophie wants you here, then you’ll come. And if Sophie wants you to stay away, you’ll stay away. She’s in charge now. Not you. And if you make Sophie cry ever again—I’ll make you miserable.” He met Frank’s gaze directly. “Am I clear?”

  Frank nodded.

  Finn turned on his heel, strolled to his car, got in, and drove toward the police station where the woman he loved was sitting in an interrogation room because she’d set Tony and Angel’s living room on fire.

  He shook his head. He’d been right that very first night—she was a little crazy.

  He was going to have his hands full with her.

  And he couldn’t wait.

  * * *

  It seemed fitting that Frank Birch’s daughter would end up in jail. Sophie really should have been expecting this.

  She folded her arms on top of the table in the interrogation room and laid her head on top of them. She closed her eyes and decided that there were probably worse things. This way she could avoid Frank. The theater would close, and Frank would stay away. Or if he didn’t, she could put him on the list of the people she didn’t want to have visit. At least that’s how she thought it worked. She’d probably seen that in a movie or something.

  She had no idea how much time passed before she heard the door open. She looked up, expecting one of the officers who had brought her in. But it was Finn. She sat up straight, blinking at him.

  He closed the door behind him and then leaned against it with one shoulder, his arms crossed. He looked so hot in his uniform, those thick arms bulging with muscles, the belt around his trim hips…

  Sophie shook her head. He was hot in uniform. But that uniform was a cop uniform and she was now a perp.

  “Hey, Soph.”

  She tucked her hair behind her ears. “Hey.”

  “What’s going on?” It almost looked like there was a smile teasing his mouth, but he was clear across the room and there was a shadow and…he wouldn’t be smiling about this.

  “Frank,” she said simply with a shrug. “He always brings out the worst in me.”

  “Frank, huh?”

  “Yeah. I’m tired of being soft and sweet. Sorry.”

  He pushed away from the wall and came to stand across the table from her. “Don’t be sorry. I like this side of you, remember?”

  She sighed. “I know it’s your job and everything, but you wouldn’t be the one to officially put me under arrest, right?” she asked. “I just feel like that could be a little awkward between us.”

  “You’re not under arrest.”

  “I’m not?”

  “No.”

  “But I’m”—she looked around—“In here.”

  “Yeah, they thought this was maybe a good place for you until I could get here. Evidently they felt there was a risk of further…feistiness. And they didn’t even know about your kickboxing.”

  Sophie slumped back in her chair. “I vandalized the set and lit the couch on fire. Isn’t that arson or something?”

  He braced his hands on the back of the chair across from her, his forearm muscles bunching. And for a second, Sophie lost her train of thought again.

  “It was a couch,” he said simply. “And it was your couch. And I assume you’re not going to turn in an insurance claim and try to profit from it. So I think you’re safe from any arson charge.”

  She pulled her gaze back to his face. “You can set your own stuff on fire?”

  He shrugged a shoulder. “Within reason.”

  “What about the vandalism?”

  “It was a wooden play set, Soph. And again, yours. You’re going to have to try harder if you want to get arrested.”

  She rolled her eyes. “If Frank stays in town, that could be arranged.”

  He frowned slightly. “He’s heading out of town right now, as a matter of fact.”

  There was something in his tone that made her look at him closer. “Did you see him?”

  He nodded. “Yep.”

  “And told him to get lost?”

  “Encouraged his idea of getting lost. For a while.”

  She shook her head. “He’ll be back.”

  “I know.”

  “And I’ll…be like this.” She spread her arms, indicating her present situation.

  “Well, that’s where I think you’re wrong.” He pushed up to his full height.

  And again, Sophie couldn’t help but let her gaze track down over his long, lean body. Damn, she was going to miss that. And him. And the theater. And everything else that Frank had ruined. Again.

  She thought about what he’d said about Maggie but quickly pushed it out of her head. No sympathy. She was done trying to be soft and sweet. Screw that. She was feisty all the time from now on.

  “I’m going to encourage kickboxing your frustrations out instead of burning stuff after this. But I get it. And I think you’re going to be fine,” Finn went on, “because Frank isn’t going to be taking anything away from you anymore.”

  She looked up. “He always takes everything away.”

  Finn shook his head. “Not me. He can’t take me, Soph. And I’m going to make sure you have whatever you need.”

  Her heart flipped a little, and she instantly felt the sting in her eyes. “We had a fight.”

  “We did. That’s what families do sometimes. But, with the Kellys, anyway, it doesn’t mean anything but that we’ve all got tempers and don’t see eye to eye all the time. That’s it.”

  “I told you I didn’t think we should see each other anymore,” she reminded him.

  “I’m hoping to change your mind about that.”

/>   “I already changed my mind.”

  He gave her a little grin. “Glad to hear it.”

  “So that’s that? We fight, then we make up?”

  He lifted a shoulder. “Pretty much. Though in our case, we get to have makeup sex.”

  Her heart thumped, and she felt some tingles begin. “I’ve never done that before.”

  “Stick around. I have a feeling we’re going to get good at it.”

  She couldn’t help but smile, but she did say, “It will be about Frank again in the future.”

  Finn nodded. “That’s okay. We’ll get through it.”

  Sophie sighed. She loved the idea of getting through it with Finn. “That’s sweet. But these fights could be big. He already took advantage of you being a great guy once. He’ll do it again. And if he can’t get you to give him stuff—which he clearly can,” she added with a little frown, because really, Finn should know better, “then he’ll just take it.”

  “You’re right. He might talk me into something. He might take something of mine—money, my truck, my TV. But I don’t care. The only thing that I need is you and my family. And he can’t take that.” Finn moved around the edge of the table and squatted next to her. He turned her chair so she was facing him. “Tell me he can’t take that, Sophie. Tell me that no matter what he does, you believe that you’re a part of my family and nothing is going to change that.”

  The stinging in her eyes intensified, and Sophie sniffed. But she still shook her head. “People have loved me before, but he still manipulated them and hurt them, and eventually, it didn’t matter how they felt about me.”

  “Sophia Isabelle,” Finn said firmly, “I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to be here for you. Forever. And I’ve never not done something I said I was going to do.”

  Sophie felt hope bubble up. That was true. Finn was always honest.

  “And,” he went on, “I’m not afraid of Frank. I’m not intimidated by Frank. I’m frustrated by him, and I feel a little sorry for him. But I think he needs to know that we’re going to be here no matter what too.”

  She groaned and dropped her head into her hands. “Finn. You have to stop feeling sorry for him.”

  He pried her fingers away from her eyes. “Soph, he’s not going away for good.”

  She nodded, wanting to cry. “It will make you crazy.”

  “No. I was…not completely right…to assume I could change him.”

  She blinked at him. “You mean you were wrong?”

  He gave her a tiny smile. “I’m still working on that.”

  The bubbles of hope got a little bigger.

  “I tried to fix him too,” she admitted. “Or tried to fix our situation. I just have to let it go.” That sounded easy, but she knew it wouldn’t be.

  “I love that about you,” Finn admitted. “I mean, neither of us should be trying to change other people, but I love that he hasn’t ruined your soft and sweet side.”

  “He might. If your family keeps inviting him to barbecues when he’s in town,” she said, her tone accusatory.

  “No, you’re going to be fine,” he told her. “Because the soft and sweet you have in you is in spite of everything, and that means it’s way stronger than some con-man dad and the guy who can’t quite kick wanting to save the day. Your day.”

  “Which means you’re still going to invite him to barbecues,” she said.

  Finn nodded. “Everyone needs a place to belong.”

  She narrowed her eyes, but her heart was thumping with what she knew was crazy, over-the-top love. Because how could she not love this man? “I think there’s such a thing as too nice of a guy.”

  Finn lifted a brow. “Well, I have to be nice. My girlfriend burns shit down when she gets mad.”

  Sophie grimaced. “Sounds like a problem.”

  He leaned in, put his hands under her butt, and pulled her onto his lap and into his arms. “Nah. If she was soft all the time, she’d never be able to handle the Kellys. Turns out, she’s just feisty enough to fit right in.”

  She couldn’t help it. She wrapped her arms around his neck, needing to hold on. “You really think so?”

  “Sophie, you were made for a big family. You see everyone individually—their strengths and what they need—but you can also bring them together into a big, productive, happy group. It’s kind of amazing, actually.”

  “You think I do all of that?”

  “It’s like you’re the director we’ve been waiting for,” he said.

  And she felt the tears well up. She loved him. She loved his family. And she wanted to be a part of it. “I ruined the set. We can’t do the show. Everyone’s going to be upset.”

  “They get it. They think it’s great.”

  “That I had a tantrum and trashed the place?”

  “That you stood up to Frank.”

  She pulled in a deep breath. She could actually believe that. The Kellys would want her to be strong and happy first. “Well, I’m sad we won’t get to put it on.”

  “Why can’t we put the show on?”

  “Uh, no set. No couch. Smoke in the theater. Some water damage to the stage. Again,” she finished on a sheepish mutter.

  “Piece of cake.”

  She gave a little laugh. “Sure.”

  “Everyone will head over tonight, and we’ll get it back together. There’s no way I’m letting a blackened couch and some red spray paint keep Tripp from getting up onstage.”

  “They’d do that?” she asked, her heart pounding. “Even though I’m the reason it’s all a mess? For a little show that none of them really wanted to be in from the start?”

  He smiled. “They’d do it for you anyway. But—don’t tell them I told you—they’re looking forward to the show. They’re proud of it.”

  Sophie saw the sincerity in his eyes and grinned in spite of all her swirling emotions. It was just like how Angie had taken care of her when she’d been drunk. The Kellys were going to be there for her, even if she didn’t really deserve it. Because they loved her.

  “Told you that you’re good at all of this,” he said, squeezing her butt.

  She nodded. She was still going to have to process the fact that even though she could cause them trouble, they’d still want her around, but being in Finn’s arms was making everything feel very good—and very real.

  He stretched to his feet and then let her slowly slide down his body until her feet touched the floor.

  “Finn?”

  “Yeah?” he asked gruffly, taking his time releasing her and stepping back.

  “I love your family and I love the craziness and I love…being part of it.”

  He lifted a hand to her cheek. “Good thing. Because it’s where you belong.”

  She belonged. The idea rocked through her, and she was suddenly sure she wasn’t going to be setting anything else on fire because of Frank.

  She was going to stick with kickboxing.

  “By the way, I love you too,” she said.

  He nodded. “That’s also a very good thing.” He cupped her face and kissed her long and deep and sweetly.

  Then she let him lead her out of the room and down the hall toward the front doors. “And maybe we can get your dad to come around and he could be here for Thanksgiving…”

  She gave a little growl, and Finn stopped.

  “Too soon?” he asked.

  “Way too soon.”

  * * *

  The show went on as planned four nights later.

  The set was simpler than it had been before the, ahem, accident. The theater smelled faintly of smoke. There were missed entrances and botched lines.

  But it was perfect.

  The guys had put a fireplace into the new living room set and insisted that the smoky smell added to the ambiance. Everyone covered for everyone else when things were flubbed. And the firefighters and cops quickly realized that all they really had to do was flash their smiles and flex their muscles and the audience was happy.

  And t
he most obvious of the issues caused the biggest cheers. When the door in the new set stuck and two of the guys had to put their shoulders into it, the audience hooted and whistled. When the window Sophie was supposed to climb through wobbled and threatened to collapse and three of the guys had to rush to keep it upright, the audience applauded. And when Finn spun Sophie around the living room and her elbow hit a candle and knocked it over, lighting the new couch on fire, and two of the firefighters rushed onstage with extinguishers, the crowd was brought to its feet.

  Overall, it couldn’t have gone any better.

  Sophie slumped onto the smoke-and-fire-free sofa in the greenroom and propped her feet on the coffee table, feeling an incredible sense of satisfaction.

  A moment later Angie handed her a cup of coffee and took the seat beside her. “Well done.”

  Sophie grinned at her. “You don’t care that your beautiful love story turned into a romantic comedy?”

  Angie laughed. “It was perfect. My life with Tommy was big and loud and fun. Just like that show.”

  They clinked their cups together and sipped.

  Sophie rested her head back on the cushion behind her. “I just…Wow. They were amazing.”

  “They were amazing,” Angie agreed. “I was so proud of everyone.”

  “Are they still out front signing autographs?” Sophie asked.

  Angie laughed. “And loving every minute.”

  Sophie grinned. She could imagine. And good for them.

  “Oh my God, I am truly brilliant!” Maya exclaimed as she swept into the room with Alex and Alex’s daughter Charli behind her.

  Sophie bounced up as Kiera and Zach also stepped into the room. “You are,” Sophie agreed, hugging Maya. “Firefighters and cops onstage…who’d have thought that was the recipe for success?”

  “Uh, everyone,” Maya said. “At least everyone female.”

  Sophie laughed and hugged the rest of her friends. The room continued to fill up as members of the Kelly family came in to congratulate both Sophie and Angie. Soon it was hard to move without stepping on toes or bumping up against someone.

  But finally she bumped into the hard, warm chest she’d been hoping for.

  Strong arms wrapped around her as his voice rumbled in her ear, “Good show, Feisty.”