Finn tossed a set of keys to Silas. “The truck is out front. Do you need anything before you leave?”
Silas raised his eyebrows at the dismissal. “I should be asking you that. Need me to bring you anything from the house?”
Do they live together?
Jaime wanted to sink into the floor.
“I’ve got my go bag from the truck. Thanks, though.” Finn lifted the duffle bag he was holding, seeming to deflate from whatever had riled him up outside.
“Call me if you need anything. I mean it. Anything,” Silas said, pointing at Finn in emphasis.
“I will, Si. Talk to you soon.”
Silas hummed, and then left. Jaime noted the empty driveway as Finn once again shut the door and threw the locks into place.
Feeling awkward at having witnessed their goodbye, Jaime made his way back toward the kitchen. “I’ll need to go to the grocery store later today. I usually put in an order ahead of time for pickup; if there’s anything you’d like to get, let me know and I can add it to the list.”
Finn’s heavy steps followed him into the kitchen. “Thank you, yes. I’ll write some things down for you. Do you mind if I use your kitchen while I stay here? I’ll stay out of your way and do my own dishes.”
He leaned back against the island the same way Silas had, and even cocked his head in the same way, as if listening to the truck start up outside and drive off.
They are so similar, even down to their mannerisms.
Well, similar in the sense that they behaved the same and spoke the same, but they didn’t look very much alike. Finn’s skin also had warm undertones, but it was several shades lighter and his sandy blonde hair shone golden in the light, curling around his ears in a short, shaggy cut.
Sure, they were both on the taller side compared to most, but where Silas was a true giant of a man, Finn was a brick wall. He looked like a linebacker with a dark green henley pulled tight across his broad shoulders, and his rolled up sleeves revealed heavily muscled and corded forearms.
Jaime didn’t realize how much of a thing he had for forearms until right now. And hands. What would it feel like for those arms to crowd him up against the kitchen counter? For those hands to bracket his hips, while Finn leaned over and brushed his lips against his neck, grinding into Jaime where they were both hard…
Ok, so maybe he just had a thing for Finn.
“Of course, please use whatever you like. Do you cook very often?” If his voice cracked a bit he blamed it on the rough morning.
Finn’s mouth turned up in a half smile. “I do. I’m actually pretty good at it, if I can say that. What about you? What are your go-to meals?”
Jaime tried not to picture Finn moving about his kitchen in socked feet while he chopped and stirred things in relaxed, sure movements. Would he hum to himself while he cooked? Would his biceps flex as he reached up into the cabinets? Would he cook shirtless? Maybe with just an apron on…
Jesus, pull yourself together.
“What?” he asked, blinking at Finn.
His half smile turned into a smirk, eyes twinkling. “I asked what your favorite things to cook are. If you have standard go-to’s, I’ll work my list around that.”
Jaime’s face flushed all the way to his ears.
You cannot get caught daydreaming about your bodyguard—who’s very much involved with your other bodyguard—cooking in your kitchen, only wearing an apron!
The apron would say, ‘Kiss the Cook.’
Jaime choked on a cough. “Oh. Right. Um, well, I’m not much of a cook to be honest.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Sam used to bring around take-out quite a lot. Since he’s stopped coming over I mostly eat frozen meals. A lot of frozen pizza and chicken pot pies,” he chuckled sheepishly.
A muscle flexed in Finn’s jaw. “Your brother doesn’t come visit you anymore? Why? Do you go and see him?”
The abrupt shift in conversation caught Jaime off guard, even though he was the one that mentioned Sam in the first place. “Um, he just doesn’t. He was around for me a lot at the start, right after all this happened. Probably too much. Even before then, too. I think I told you about how our mom died young and our dad checked out, so Sam basically raised me. I imagine it was quite a burden to be a young college student stuck worrying about your teenage little brother.”
Deeply uncomfortable, Jaime shifted on his feet, fingers tangling in the hem of his shirt. “I don’t blame him for needing space from it all. From me. Always having to take care of someone else is a lot. And I can manage on my own, I’m really not as much of an idiot as I made myself look when you got here this morning. I’d just gotten off the phone with the detective, and everything built up and I needed to go talk to Sam, and I forgot about everyone outside. It won’t happen again.”
Fuck, he’d worked himself up again. He could feel his cheeks go red with anger and embarrassment.
