Fin rubbed her hand, and Hailey blinked.
“It’skept you safe from Cobon and the others all these years,” he said in a low voice, “so quit saying you didn’t kill him, okay?”
Hailey nodded slowly.
“And no matter what happens, no matter what I say to you, no matter what I…do…” He shook his head as he spoke. “…promise me you’ll always be the fiery Irish-American girl, who slaps me in the face and tells me to go to Hell whenever I act like an ass.”
“I promise,” she chuckled, looking at her hands in his. “But if you’re free now, and they can’t control you, what are you afraid of?”
“They still get in my head, Hailey. Especially Cobon. If he makes me break up with you—”
“Break up? Am I one of your women now?” she said smiling.
“What? No.” He almost yelled it, but Hailey couldn’t stop grinning. “Why are you smiling?”
“I’m just glad you don’t think I’m disgusting.”
“Nobody thinks you’re disgusting, Hailey, half the hockey team asked for my permission to date you.”
“What?”
“You have no idea how attractive this cute, disheveled, athletic, nerdy thing is,” he told her, gesturing at her with both hands.
“No, I meant, why are they asking for your permission to date me?”
Fin sat back in his seat and chewed his lip for a few seconds.
“Alright, look, I’m not gonna lie to you—I haven’t always been the kind and gentlemanly specimen you see before you. I used to date a lot. A LOT. And until I ended things, which was usually very quickly after things started, the guys on the team would respect the relationship for however long it lasted—”
“You mean however short it lasted.”Pig.
“AND they would wait until I was…” He hesitated before he spit it out. “…done…with whoever I was seeing, before they moved in on her.”
“You guys are pigs.”
“Were…No, they were respectful. I was a… I was fickle.”
Hailey curled her lip.He was a pig.
“But those days are over,” he said quickly. “They were over the day I met you, and in fact, I haven’t been with another girl since the day I met you—since my first day as a bartender.”
“I’ve seen you, Fin.” Hailey could name ten off the top of her head.
“What you saw was me tying up some loose ends and letting those girls know that I’d met someone.”
Fin shifted in his seat and changed the subject. “Listen, Cobon thinks he can make me hurt you…emotionally. The little pervert’s been watching my dreams about you.”
“You dream about me?” This was news.
“Don’t you dream about me?” Fin pulled his cheek back as if he couldn’t imagine that shedidn’tspend her nights pining after him, and since he was sharing his innermost thoughts…
“I daydream about you,” she admitted.
“Yeah? Tell me more.” He leaned forward, looking wolfish.
“In my daydreams, you never kick me out of your room when I show up naked at your door.”
“Go on…”
