Page 42 of Work and Play
After Victoria, I was flying high for over a day. I felt closer to Finn after just over a week of dating than I did with Tyson after six months of dating, hell, even after a year of being together. It’s overwhelming, exciting, and confusing. Because at the end of the day, there’s a deadline looming. In another month, maybe less, the tasting room will be finished, and I’ll be…well, that’s the question. What will I do when this job is done? I still don’t have anything else lined up on the mainland, but I haven’t exactly spent much time looking for clients, either. Tom’s offer to work with him over here has been on my mind a lot. I love it on the island. I love the slower pace, I love the friendly people, I love the community. I love walking into The Nutty Muffin and being greeted by name, not just by the staff, but by some of the locals who recognize me. I love the small grocery store, with its single cash register, and the old couple who run it. I love the gazebo in the center of town, where kids play, and sometimes musicians set up to serenade everyone.
I love everything about this town. But my dad is on the mainland. Never once have I considered moving far away from him. And okay, Dogwood Cove isn’t that far, but a two hour ferry ride isn’t something to dismiss.
My relationship with Finn adds a layer of complexity to it. Every time I go to talk to him, ask him where he sees things going, I panic. It’s too much, too fast. I can’t stay here. He doesn’t want anything serious. All the excuses, some real, some probably not, fly through my brain at a million miles an hour and I freeze.
Tonight we’re all back at Hastings again. But this time, it’s different. Finn isn’t at the other end of the table scowling at me. He’s beside me, his arm wrapped around my shoulders and his thumb drawing circles on the side of my arm. Also, this time the bar owner Dean and his wife Riley have joined our group. Riley’s a beautiful woman, full of vibrancy, and all glowy and happy with the cutest little baby bump that she can’t stop rubbing. Mila filled me in on how Jackson freaked out one day, thinking Mila was buying pregnancy tests for herself. In actuality, she was picking them up for Riley when Riley’s car, which has special hand controls for her to use, was in the shop. Riley came over in her wheelchair just as Mila was telling me this, and the two women hugged, showing just how close they are.
“I’ve heard all about the tasting room you’re working on,” Riley says with excitement. “I can’t wait until this baby is born and I can visit the winery!”
Finn leans in front of me and gives her a smile. “I’ll make sure to have a special bottle chilling for your first time.”
“Hey, Prince Charming, quit hitting on my wife,” Dean calls out as he walks to the table with two pitchers of beer and I face Finn with a raised eyebrow.
“Prince Charming?”
Finn shakes his head and laughs. “Yeah, only Dean calls me that. All because of one time —” he raises his voice so Dean can hear “— one fucking time I hit on a woman in the bar.”
“And she shot you down!” Everyone starts to laugh and I pat Finn’s cheek and smirk.
“Her loss, my gain.”
Good Lord, the smoulder he gives me is so damn hot I want to check to make sure my panties aren’t on fire. They aren’t…but they are damp. He kisses me, a long, slow, deep kiss that only ends when someone catcalls from the other end of the table. When we separate, I’m blushing. Finn strokes my cheek and presses one more quick kiss to my lips before turning back to the table and taking a drink of his beer.
“Okay, okay, enough you idiots.”
“Ashley, have you ever been snowshoeing?” Summer asks from across the table.
“Yeah, a few times I went up the coast mountains with some friends, and last year my best friend Sarah and I did a trek out in Manning Park. Why?” I reply.
“There are some amazing trails up Mount Washington. When Finn’s knee is healed, we should plan a trip.”
“I’d love that. There’s something about walking through a fresh snowfall with no one around. It’s incredible.”
Finn leans over to whisper in my ear, “You know what would make that even better? If there was a cabin at the end of the trail, and I could peel off each layer of your clothing until you were bare. Then it would be just me, you, and a bottle of wine I would lick off your skin.”
Electricity runs up and down my spine, and I shift in my seat to try and ease the arousal his words and that fantasy ignite inside of me.
He kisses my neck, and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to stop from moaning. I’ve never been this openly intimate and affectionate with a man in public before, and the allure of Finn is making it hard to resist.
“Someday we’ll make that happen, sweet girl,” he says quietly. I can’t look at him right now, especially not after he calls me sweet girl. It turns my insides to mush, and I’m not entirely certain I’ll be able to stop myself from climbing into his lap right here, in front of everyone.
A little while later I get up to use the ladies room. When I come out, I find Mila, Riley, Summer, and Serena waiting for me. Only Paige and Abby are missing.
“Umm, hi guys,” I say cautiously. They’re all smiling, but it’s still strange.
“Hi. So. You and Finn. This is amazing!” Summer claps her hands together excitedly, but Mila reaches over and shushes her.
“Stop, Summer, don’t freak her out.”
“Freak me out how?”
“We’re really excited you guys are together now, that’s all,” Riley chimes in, her eyes dancing.
I arch my brow at them and fold my arms across my chest. “And this required all of you to ambush me outside of the bathroom why?”
“Because the last time we talked about you and Finn, you were pretty set on there not being anything between you. Clearly, that’s changed and this is the first chance we’ve had to talk about it,” Serena states, as if it should be obvious.
I guess I’m not used to this kind of oversharing. Sarah and I talk a lot, but I’ve never had a group of friends like this, who all know each other’s business so intimately. It’s strange, but not entirely unwelcome.
