“I really do.” I pressed my head against his shoulder and stared at the tree that taunted me with its emptiness. “I can’t make up for the lost memories, and I know there are a million different things that I can’t even remember, that were just life, that were a random Tuesday in a random March in a random year… but I can bring stuff up?”
“Like what?”
“Star started a curse jar for Kat. And Shay just brought up the one we had. Have to figure he inspired her... Wanna hear that story?”
The damn tree could wait.
His arms tightened around my waist as he sank us deeper into the cushions for our very own impromptu storytime. “You know I do.”
FOUR
I sawhim from the back office.
At least, I saw the top of his head.
The spike in my hormones deduced the rest—I’d concluded a while back that some part of my hindbrain, that Neanderthal who prepared woolly mammoth for her caveman mate’s breakfast, sprang to life whenever Finn neared me.
The notion had a smile dancing on my lips.
The only caveman-like aspect of Finn’s nature was his attitude. Every other inch of him had the whole “city slicker” image down pat.
Which was ironic on all its own. My husband was a shark. Pure and simple.
I whistled under my breath. “What a way to go though…”
“Ugh, don’t tell me. Finn just showed up?”
“Don’t judge. Like you don’t drool over Luc.”
Jen, my BFF, studied her manicure. Somehow, she managed to maintain the sass over a video call. “He drools over me.”
“It’s a mutual drooling. Admit it.” At her sniff, I pointed at her. “Aha! There. Right there. You were thinking of him and making doe eyes.”
She rubbed her middle finger over her nose, but I only caught half of the show as more of Finn’s head came into view.
“Ugh, I’m going. I refuse to watch you stalk and eye-fuck Finn long distance.”
“Talk later?” I didn’t even bother looking at her.
“After dinner. I still want to talk to you about…” She heaved a sigh. “Never mind. We’ll discuss it when you’re actually listening, bish.”
I wafted a hand at her in farewell, confirmed that she’d ended the video call, then pushed my desk chair back and strode over to the wall of windows.
Unashamedly doing exactly what Jen had said—I stalked my DH through the two-way mirror setup that let me watch over both the shop floor and the bakery out back.
His movements were relaxed. Easy. A hand tucked into his pants pocket as he joked with Freddy, one of my apprentices who had a natural gift with sourdough starters. The gleam of his watch peeped at me, but it wasn’t ostentatious. Just matter-of-fact.
He rarely left the city but had crossed into Jersey for a meeting today. Clearly, it had annoyed him—his hair was more rumpled than usual and he’d worked the knot of his tie loose.
I bit my lip as Betty, one of my newer employees, handed him an iced tea. Betty, uncaring that Finn owned parts of Manhattan and could bankrupt billionaires for shits and giggles, patted his cheek. Finn just blinked at her but accepted the iced tea and made a swift retreat.
I snorted when Betty lowered her head to check out his ass, then pursed her lips before shaking it off.
I called it “The Finn Effect.”
Or maybe it was just Aidan Sr.’s genes—God knew, all his sons had inherited that “wow” factor.
Certifiable the man might have been, but he was undeniably more handsome than the devil.
