Was he... blushing? All the way to his ears?
The very idea of this smooth-talking, confidence-wielding, swaggering man blushing over their kiss? It softened something in her. Maybe her gut hadn’t been so off the other night after all.
“Right.” His eyes narrowed for an instant before he looked away. “Well. There was a moment. A particular moment. Of... proximity.”
A laugh nudged its way into her throat, but she swallowed it down. “Proximity?”
“Yes. You know.” His attention darted to Jack’s and back, before he lowered his voice even more. “When two people occupy a shared... personal radius. And perhaps make impulsive facial decisions.”
Jack flinched.
The desire to laugh grew into a cough. “Impulsive facial decisions?”
Finn’s eyes narrowed the slightest bit as he studied her. “I’m apologizing for... any and all unplanned proximity that may have resulted in...”
Her brows rose in expectation.
All humor slipped from his face, replaced with something low and intense. “Hurting you.”
Oh.
Daphne searched his eyes, trying to read what he really meant. This wasn’t flippant or coy. It was... genuine.
“I was wrong, Daphne,” he said quietly. “Forgive me?”
The apology hit her somewhere deep. Her heart gave a traitorous thud.
Wrong?About the kiss?
Her throat tightened.
Or about his interest in her heart?
And then, like the perfect interruption of a Hallmark movie, his phone buzzed.
He held her attention for a breath longer before glancing down at the phone. “It’s Gavin.”
With another long look at her, he raised the phone to his ear and stepped back toward the front of the shop. And Daphne stood there, staring after him, wondering when exactly her revenge plan had become so... complicated.
Jack returned to the counter and then leaned forward. “What is going on between the two of you?”
His whisper breathed harshly across the short space between them.
She dragged her gaze back to her brother. “What do you mean?”
“Unplanned proximity?” Both his brows rose. “Impulsive facial decisions?”
The laugh-cough erupted for a short release. “It’s really nothing. A momentary... nothing.”
“Are you interested in Finn?”
Daphne let out a long breath, trying to exhale the knot in her chest. “He’s not my type.”
“Not my question.” Jack narrowed his eyes.
Heat crept up her neck. She turned back to her piping bag. “I’m not interested in his type.”
“Ahhh.” Jack stretched out the word. “So much clearer now.”
