I didn’t mean to leave him hanging, but his proposal had taken me by complete surprise, and my voice had yet to catch up with myheart.
Fear washed over his gorgeous face. “Look, I know you probably have valid points why we shouldwait,but…”
I stopped his sentence with akiss. “Yes.”
* * *
We barely madeit back to my condo before the clothes came flying off. Finn guided me backward toward the bedroom, his mouth never leaving mine. Cynthia, hearing the ruckus, unsuspectingly strolled down the hallway togreetus.
“Out of the way!” Finn yelled at him, as our entangled bodies nearly mowed him down. The cat shrieked as hescrambledaway.
“Sorry Cynthia!” Icalledout.
“Theo,” he corrected, between scattering my tingling skin withkisses.
Seriously? Was he still challenging my authority on that? Finn turned me around, pressing up against my back, as one hand reached around and started caressing my breast. I moaned as his fingers found my nipple and circledthetip.
I threw my head back. “Okay, Theo,” Iconceded.
Finn laughed but didn’t take his focus away from what mattered most to him at that moment: engagement sex. Because of my rapidly growing belly, the poor guy was forced to get creative. Laying me down on the bed on my side, he glided in behind me like a runner sliding into home plate. I could feel his hardness pressed against me and encouraged his efforts by grinding my hips. Finn groaned, rubbing his hand over my ass, as he entered me frombehind.
His strokes were unhurried and tender as his hand rolled down from my breast to my stomach, twirling sensuously as he traveled below. Suddenly Finn parted my thighs and I arched in response as his finger danced over me. I could feel his breath heavy on my neck as his hunger grew. Finn worked his fingers on me to the rhythm of his thrusts, bringing us both to the brink of rapture. I reached my hand to the bed and squeezed tight onto the sheets, trying to keep myself still as an orgasmtauntedme.
Finn gripped my hips tighter and traded the gentle lover for an aggressive, powerful one. That was it for me. My legs shook wildly as shock waves of electricity traveled through my body. Finn was not far behind, bucking out a few final thrusts before he too was in the throes ofecstasy.
Satiated, I turned my body to face my fiancé and gently glided my fingers through his hair and kissed the tip of his nose. Feeling overwhelmed in the moment, I stared deep into his affectionate eyes. He was all I’d ever wanted but never thoughtpossible.
And tonight the words did not fail me. “God, Iloveyou.”
24
Finn: TheFixer
It needed to be done,but that didn’t make it easy. Emma had taken the step to make amends with her mother, and now it was my turn to confrontmyown.
Emma sat beside me in the passenger seat as we drove down the street leading to Perryland. I had a plan, and she’d agreed. After all, the decisions we made now had to be joint. We’d learned the hard way what it meant to actalone.
“When are the dumpsters coming?” sheasked.
“Soon.”
“How do you think Gigi willreact?”
“She’ll be pissed, but I’m not going to give her the option. This has tobedone.”
Emma leaned over and kissed me. “Yes. For all the future Indiana-Joneses outthere.”
“You ready for the fireworks?” I asked, taking her hand in mine as we pulled up thedriveway.
In a few hours time, Perryland would be getting a makeover, whether the adult occupants wanted it or not. I’d secretly been saving for years for this, and with the sudden influx of money from my first acting gigs in years, I finally had the cash necessary to make life better for the kids wholivedhere.
First and foremost, the garbage had to go. Dumpsters and tractors were on the way. So were roofers and carpenters. Emma had insisted on pitching in some of her own money, and after the trash was removed, a playground would be erected in its place. This was my amends. Maybe I couldn’t save them all, but at least I wouldn’t leave them wallowing in filth as I had Rocky all thoseyearsago.
Part of being a pleaser was also being a fixer. The problem was that some people – my family, for instance – only knew how to be ‘fixed.’ And by me always coming to the rescue, I was doing them no favors. I knew I needed to cut the cord… with a little upfront capital first, ofcourse.
My decision to dig Perryland out from a pile of trash, to buy Shelby a mechanically sound car, and to fix Gigi’s crumbling walls was not to perpetuate the neediness but to give my relatives a fighting chance. I had my own little family now, growing by one in only a month’s time, to protect and support. It was no longer feasible or wise to drag the leeches with me. Don’t get me wrong, I still wanted them in my life, I just no longer wanted to pay for theprivilege.
Emma and I stepped out of the car. She was eight months pregnant now and looking every inchofit.
