“I would.” I cross my arms. “Why me, anyway? Why not Gracie? She looked like she was trying pretty hard to get your attention.”
“And as you saw, when you were pretending not to notice me, she didn’t have it.”
“I still don’t understand why you’re wasting your time with me.” I put a hand up to add, “I’m not fishing for compliments. I genuinely don’t get it.”
“Why you?” he muses as he looks at me. I hold my breath. Finally, he shrugs. “I have no fucking idea.”
That makes me laugh. I know I said I didn’t want a compliment, but what the hell? I open my mouth to respond just that, when someone bumps into me from behind, making me crash into Finn. We both inhale sharply as my hands land flat on his chest, and he puts his hands on my elbows to steady me.
I push away, inhaling his delicious cologne as I fully straighten and look into his smoldering eyes, committing the brief moment to memory. One day, I’ll think back on this as “that time Finn Barlow propositioned me and then caught me when I was falling.” As jarring and memorable as the experience might be, it solidifies one thing…
“I definitely can’t have sex with you,” I say shakily once I take a step away and find my voice.
“I definitely shouldn’t want to have sex with you.”
“Joss, we need to go.” The voice comes from my stepbrother, who breaks the weird spell I seem to be under.
I turn my face and watch as he does a double-take when he sees Finn standing there. When he reaches us, he wipes his left hand on his black slacks in front of Finn.
“Sorry to interrupt. Damian Fletcher.”
Finn looks at his hand for a moment before shaking it. “Finn Barlow.”
Damian chuckles. “Yeah, I know. We met at The Stable. Well, more like you obliterated the team I was rooting for.”
“Fletcher,” Finn says, almost to himself, as he appraises him again. “You’re the one who was being recruited for football and hockey. You were the youngest one on that team, right?”
“On every team,” Dame says, and I stifle an eye roll as he does little to hide the smug expression on his face.
Finn is a much more skilled hockey player, but my stepbrother has reason to be cocky about his athletic prowess. Finn doesn’t seem very impressed by him, and just nods before he turns to me again. With the weight of his full attention, my heart skips so many beats, making it hard to breathe. He’s searching my face like he’s looking for something to say, but I beat him to it.
“It was great to finally meet you, Finn.” I smile wide because I really mean it. It was intense and strange and wonderful. “Congratulations on your success.”
“Yeah.” His gaze drops to my lips briefly. “It was nice to meet you as well.”
I turn toward Damian and slide my hand into the crook of his arm to hold myself steady as we walk away. We’re a few steps away when Finn calls out my name. I stop walking, forcing Dame to stop as well and glance over my shoulder. Finn’s expression is unreadable, but the way his eyes rake over me sends a thrill up my spine.
“Fuck divine timing.”
We stare at each other for a second, until I can’t take the fire in his eyes a moment longer, and force myself to walk away.
“What the fuck was that?” Dame asks.
“I have no idea.”
“How was he?”
I glance up at Dame. I know he’s asking because he’s been a fan of Finn’s for years. “Intense.”
“Yeah, Will Hamilton introduced us once, so I know for a fact he knows who I am,” Dame says.
“Why didn’t you say that then, you weirdo?” I shoot him a look.
“I didn’t want to be the loser who remembered everything about our past interaction.”
“Who cares?”
“It doesn’t matter,” he says. “He was trying to make a point by introducing himself and acting like he didn’t know me.”
