Oh my god.
No, Millie.
The line! Youaren’tcrossing it.
Quit thinking like a lady starved for an orgasm. You can handle that yourself later.
I plant my feet firmly back under me and practically jump out of his grip, needing to derail my brain. I will not havethosethoughts in this man’s presence. That is so far past appropriate it might as well be in another world.
“I keep crashing into you,” I say, smoothing out the nonexistent wrinkles in my jeans as I attempt to rein my hormones back in.
“I don’t mind,” he replies smoothly. “Come on in.” He motions for me to walk through the door first, and Avery and Eloise run into me in greeting.
Avery pulls my arm until I crouch in front of her, and she whispers in my ear, “Uncle Finn was worried you couldn’t find our house.”
I look up at Finn, but he’s fiddling with Eloise’s hair and not paying attention. “I was a little nervous, so I was driving slowly.”
She nods, squinting at me like she totally gets it.
Eloise grabs my hand, pulling me into the living room. “Uncle Finn was helping us make spaceships,” she says, dragging me to a corner littered with Legos. “And this is where we color.” She points to a child-sized table cluttered with crayons and open coloring books.
Avery plops onto the midnight-blue couch that has no less than fifteen stuffed animals piled on one side. She holds up a small moose. “This is Moosey.” Then she picks up a giraffe. “And this is Giraffey.”
A smile blooms on my lips at their name choices. “Nice to meet you, Moosey and Giraffey.”
“And, Millie,” Eloise says, drawing my attention away from the animal introductions. She stands in front of the brick fireplace and points to a black vase with intricate gold designs on the sides. “That’s where Mama is now.”
Realization hits me, and my eyes burn as tears rise to the surface. Framed images sit on either side of the urn, of a stunning woman with raven hair and blue eyes. The picture on the right was clearly taken after she had gotten sick—the deep, dark circles under her eyes a stark contrast to the girls’ bright faces as they smile at her. Another was taken in happier times—the girls coming down a slide with their mom, laughter on everyone’s faces. Behind the framed pictures are the butterfly canvases from this afternoon.
Avery and Eloise have already jumped to the next thing, trying to pull me toward the Legos, but my heart is snagged on the sweet and devastating mantel.
My gaze meets Finn’s where he’s standing behind the couch. His fingers dig into the back of it as he looks at me with a quiet grin that seems to say,Welcome to the chaos.
Chapter 11
Finn
“Alexa, play pizza music,” El calls toward the speaker.
Somehow Alexa understands what she wants, and soft Italian music starts drifting through the kitchen. Avery and Eloise cackle with laughter on either side of Millie while they knead their pizza dough on the counter, flour flying in every direction.
I didn’t expect having Millie here to be so unsettling. Walking through the house and watching the girls show her every detail was unnerving. I feel like I’m opening a door into our world, and I don’t know if I thought through all the side effects.
And hell, no matter how hard I try, I haven’t been able to stop myself from checking her out. Her white shirt is slightly lower cut than what she wears to work, and my eyes keep straying to the creamy skin there, like they have a mind of their own.
“Come here, Finn,” Millie says from across the kitchen island. “You didn’t think I was going to do all the work, did you?” She smiles at me as she scoots El over to make room next to her.
I slide between them, and Millie drops a chunk of dough in front of me. The flour puffs up into the air, landing on my black shirt and glasses.
“Oops,” she says, observing the spots on my lenses. She puts her delicate hand on my arm and leans toward me on her tiptoes.My heart speeds up. I watch her perfect mouth as she puckers her lush lips and gently blows the flour from my glasses.
When her breath runs out, she looks into my eyes with a startled expression, and I stare back at the glittery, golden flecks in her deep-green irises. I let my gaze fall to the freckles sprinkled across her nose and cheeks, and my fingers itch to touch them.
She sucks in a breath as she seems to realize how close we are and drops back onto her heels. “Okay.” She shakes her head. “The first thing you’re going to do is spread it out like this.” Millie uses the tips of her fingers to press her dough away from her gently, while I try to copy her movements with my own. “Then you’re going to bring that far side up and fold it over, followed by a ninety-degree turn, and repeat.”
She dusts her hands where my black apron sits on her hips and waits for me to start.
“I have to be honest. I have no idea what you did there,” I say, turning to give her a sheepish grin. I was too distracted watching the graceful movements of her fingers and the smooth way she rolled the dough around. It’s hard to concentrate on kneading when I’m soaking in every detail ofher.
