Finn bit her lip to keep from smiling. “Oh, he’s a very in-demand date. And he loves going with me to the charity galas because they’re such great places to meet guys.” She watched Tom closely in the light of the lantern and saw one corner of his mouth hitch upward as he processed what she’d said.
Those dimples. Those dimples were going to kill her.
He relaxed back into the couch, stretching his arm along the back. “Great places to meet guys, huh? So who has better luck at these fund-raisers, him or you?” His amber eyes were warm on hers as he waited for an answer.
“Him, definitely. I’m bad at chatting up men.”
“I would disagree.”
All possible responses fled amid a storm of flutters in her stomach. Luckily, she was saved from responding when her phone chirped with a text. She leaned forward to pluck it off the table.
Josie:Still alive?
Finn:Barely. We lost power.
Josie:Yikes. You doing okay?
Finn didn’t even hesitate.All good! Thank God for Richard’s lantern.
Josie:Richard thanks God for his lantern every night, if u know what I mean. Hey, did u see a note for me lying around anywhere on Thursday?
Now she hesitated. Josie had to be referring to a possible note from Tom, but Finn didn’t relish explaining the current situation over text. So she kicked the can down the road for Future Finn to deal with at a later date when Tom wasn’t quite so… present and touchable on her couch.
Finn:Nope, no note.
Technically true.
Josie:Dammit. Okay, I’m off to prowl the strip. Return flight Monday night. XO
Well, look at that. Finn had escaped without mentioning her houseguest. Josie was due back two days from now, which gave the city plenty of time to clear the streets and sidewalks. Tom would leave and go back to being part of Finn’s past, and she’d never have to explain that she’d spent a few strange days repairing old hurts with the man who’d walked Josie home on Wednesday night. Unless…
What if Tom decided he didn’t want to be a monk anymore? He could easily take the note with Josie’s phone number and call her sometime. What if he came by the apartment to pick her up for a date? Oh God, what if he stayed overnight for nonchivalrous reasons and Finn bumped into him in the morning over coffee?
This is where her plan-happy brain was a curse. She leaped ahead to future possibilities, and in this case, they weren’t pretty. Imagining Tom and Josie together…
“Hey, everything okay over there?”
Tom’s words interrupted her runaway worst-case-scenario musings, and she forced a smile.
“Yep. My mom asking how the storm is.” That was also technically true, as she had a dozen concerned-mom texts on her phone, requesting a status report. She swiftly tapped out “All good here! Snug inside!” and hit Send. After all, she didn’tneedto remind Tom about her vivacious, attractive roommate, right?
With that thought, a yawn overtook her, likely the result of an overly emotional day. “I should head to bed.”
“Me too,” he said. “What do you think about my chopping up your coffee table for kindling? We could make a fire in the bathtub to keep us warm.”
Finn hopped to her feet. “Pretty sure Richard doesn’t have an ax in his supply stash.”
“That’s a shame. As a dude, I’m not allowed to admit that extreme temperatures bother me, but damn, it’s getting cold in here.” He shivered again, then shot her a sheepish smile, and her brain shouted,Body heat! Body heat will keep us warm!
Once the thought popped into her head, she struggled to think of anything—anything—other than her big bed.Tomin her big bed. But of course that wasn’t on the menu. He had a bed he was sleeping in, so she’d go to her corner and he to his. Still, no reason for them to unnecessarily suffer. She shuffled to the linen closet and pulled out the extra blankets they kept in the house. It was a pitifully small pile, and Tom selected the thinnest one.
“It’s fine,” he said when she protested. “Can’t have the delicate lady catching a chill.”
“How positively Victorian of you. Do you swear you’re not planning to sacrifice your toes to frostbite out of misplaced nobility?”
“Absolutely not. I’m fond of my toes, and they’re currently covered by your ridiculous fuzzy socks. I’m not worried.”
With that settled, they took turns in the bathroom, then Finn retreated to her room and did her best to make a nest of the blankets to trap whatever warmth she could. The snow might have stopped coming down, but subzero temperatures had taken over during this wretched weather weekend, and even bundled up she felt the chill creeping through the single-pane window in her bedroom to wrap its tentacles around her limbs.
