Page 21 of Work and Play
“I’d love that.”
Eventually we pay the bill and head our separate ways. And the entire drive back to Dogwood Cove, I can’t help but imagine staying here, making a new life in this small town with all these people I’m starting to love.
And Finn.
When I stop at the winery to drop off the samples I picked up, the man in question is walking around the corner of the tasting room building just as I pull up. He stuffs his hands in the pockets of his jacket and shifts from one foot to the other.
I get out of my car and give him a small wave. “Hi.”
“Hey,” he says gruffly. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine.” God, why is this so awkward? “Thank you for last night.” Shit, that sounds worse. “I mean for driving me home and the juice and…yeah.”
“It’s fine.” His answers are just as stilted as mine, and if anything, it seems like it pains him to be polite right now. Lord, this man confuses me.
“Right. Well, still, I appreciate it.”
He gives me a crisp nod, then walks away without another word.
Alrighty then. Thoughtful Finn is gone, scowly Finn is back.
Chapter eleven
Finn
“It’ll be fun. And probably the only way a city boy like you will ever get to wield an axe.”
I glare at Ethan over the top of my treadmill as I slow down from my sprint.
“Thanks, asshole.” He steps onto the machine beside me and matches my pace. We’re at the gym together, which is rare seeing as Ethan’s more into outdoor activities than the gym. But the weather sucks right now, typical January, wet and cold. So he decided to join me this morning. Of course, he was late, and came in with a stupid grin on his face that made it perfectly clear why he was late. Perk of a solid relationship, I guess. Morning blowjobs on demand.
I’m in a bad mood. The last thing I want to do is hang out with one of the happy couples. It’s been a few days since I drove Ashley home from the bar, and I can’t stop thinking about her. It was too much, seeing her all soft and relaxed in her bed that night. It was way too tempting. I know I have to dig in and hold my ground, keep my distance. I need to remember she’s here to do a job and that’s all. She’s not staying, and while that might normally be a good thing, the problem with Ashley is that I’m starting to see she’s the kind of woman I would want for more than just a night or two.
I can’t pinpoint exactly when that feeling first hit me. Was it watching her with my friends and seeing how easily she integrates into our group? Was it listening to her hum her favourite songs under her breath while she works? Or was it that fire I saw in her eyes way back on the morning when she saw me naked in the shower. I don’t know when, but at some point, I stopped seeing Ashley as just a sexy woman I wouldn’t mind getting into bed with, and started seeing her as an incredibly talented, smart, funny, and kind woman who I wish I had met under different circumstances.
“So you’ll come?”
I tune back in to whatever Ethan’s been saying. Summer and Mila apparently planned a double date at some axe throwing place down in Victoria, but Jackson’s stuck with a work emergency, so Ethan invited me instead.
“So it’ll be me and Mila against you and Summer? That doesn’t seem fair,” I reply.
Ethan’s steps falter slightly. “Ah, yeah, not Mila. Umm, Summer said you should bring Ashley.”
I step off to the side edges of my treadmill and stare at my friend. “What are you guys up to?”
He holds his hands up, and shoots me an apologetic look. “Nothing, I swear. I don’t know why you’re being weird about her, she seems like an awesome girl, but that’s not my business. Summer just figured you guys made sense, seeing as you live together and everything.”
“We don’t live together, we share an Airbnb,” I mutter, stepping back onto my treadmill. “And I’m not being weird about her. What about Paige? She’s gotta have some pent-up aggression to take out on an axe.”
“Nah, not her vibe.”
“Serena?”
“Dance class.”
“Reid and Abby must want a night out.”
“No babysitter for Layla. Come on dude, just come! It’ll be all four of us, so not like a date or anything.”
