“Oh, he absolutely is. Uncle Jimmy looks like he’s contemplating homicide.” Jason’s eyes danced with mischief. “Should I go rescue him? Or should we let nature take its course?”
“Let Uncle Jimmy suffer,” Alex decided with the first real smile since we’d broken apart. “He voted for that solar panel ordinance anyway.”
Chapter 17
Pre-approval by the under-ten demographic required
Alex
My brain was spinning at hyperspeed while my body lagged behind, still humming from Finn’s touch. The way his hands had felt against my back, how his growl had sent heat straight through my core, the way his eyes had gone dark when I’d tugged at his hair. The shocked expressions on my aunts’ faces. My mom’s serene satisfaction.
My skin still felt too warm, my heart still hammering against my ribs like it was trying to escape.
“Earth to Alex,” Jason’s voice cut through my spiraling thoughts. “You’re doing that thing where you look like you’re solving complicated puzzles in your head.”
Before I could deny it, Finn’s hand moved over my back, up and down. “She does do that,” amusement threaded through his voice. “It’s very intimidating. I like it.”
I shot him a look.
Tony’s booming voice cut across the yard. “Jason! I need another set of hands over here, mijo. This brisket isn’t going to move itself!”
Jason rolled his eyes. “Duty calls. Try not to scandalize any more aunts while I’m gone.” He headed toward the grill, leaving us alone.
“Your thoughts are loud,” Finn whispered, close enough to my ear that only I could hear. “What’s going on in there?”
“Nothing,” I responded automatically, then caught myself. “I mean, everything. Too much everything.”
His thumb traced a small circle against my back. “Better or worse than Catalyst?”
The comparison made me pause and consider the question instead of just deflecting. Work stress felt manageable because I had systems for it, protocols and procedures, and Tabitha to help me organize the chaos. This felt different. More personal. Less controlled.
“Different. More... unpredictable variables.”
“Like what?”
I glanced around at my family. Enzo was still talking about the wedding venue while my aunts interrogated Dom about his skincare routine. Tony had gone back to manning his grill. “Like whether Aunt Margaret is going to corner you alone and ask about your financial prospects while my mom demands to know how many kids you want. Or if Graham is going to say something that makes me want to throw him into the sound system.”
Finn’s mouth twitched. “Those are your biggest concerns right now?”
The way he asked it made me realize those weren’t my biggest concerns at all. They were just the ones I felt comfortable acknowledging out loud. The real concern was the way my body was still humming from his touch, the way part of me wanted to pull him into the house and forget this was supposed to be fake. The growing fear that I was getting too attached to someone who was just being kind, just playing his part perfectly.
“No,” I whispered. “But they’re easier to solve.”
We stood there watching everyone, including the chaos machine rolling our way.
“Aunt Sasha!” I looked down to find Madison, Marcus’s seven-year-old looking up at me. Behind her trailed what looked like the entire under-ten contingent, including her twin sisters, Sadie and Rose, and brother, Carter, clutching a juice box, along at least three kids I didn’t immediately recognize but who were probably second cousins or neighbors’ children swept up in the excitement.
“Hey, Mads,” I shifted into kid-management mode. “What’s up?”
“Is this your boyfriend?” She pointed directly at Finn.
“This is Finn,” I said carefully, needing to put distance between my heart and that term for a minute.
“Are you gonna marry him?” Sadie piped up, sticky fingers wrapped around a half-eaten cookie.
“Are you rich?” One of the unidentifiable horde added, apparently having overheard some adult conversation. “Mom says Aunt Sasha needs someone rich.”
I felt heat creep up my neck, but Finn crouched down to their eye level. “I’m rich in personality and have excellent scrambled egg skills. Also, I know all the words to all the songs inMoana.”
