Page 100

He placed the ointment on her wound next, then wrapped a small piece of gauze around her thumb, his fingers long and capable.

“You’re unnervin’ me with that stare o’ yours,” he said, breaking through her thoughts.

So he’d noticed. “I’m just thinking.”

“’Bout what exactly?”

“You.”

He peered up at her, his eyebrows high. “Are you now?”

She nodded, and he wrapped the gauze around her thumb once more. A simple band-aid would have sufficed, but at least a larger bandage would ensure more cleanliness as she cooked.

“What about me?” he asked next.

Maisie hesitated, but she couldn’t hold it in any longer. “About how troubled you looked when I first came up the stairs.”

He didn’t respond for a minute, his eyes remaining on the dressing. “I guess I was troubled. I’m just wonderin’ if the food is gonna be any good.”

He gave her a cheeky look, then peered back down at the thumb.

Obviously, he wasn’t in the mood to open up. That was fine by her. She still had things she kept close to her heart, too.

“Alright,” he said, finishing up as he wound another layer of gauze around her thumb. He paused, his hands still holding hers as he looked across the counter, then opened the mirror cabinet.

“What?” she asked as he continued his search.

“I can’t find the scissors,” he said.

He pulled his lips to the side, staring at the gauze, then shrugged, lifting her hand to his mouth.

He brought the end of the gauze to his teeth, biting into the material to cut off the end. His chin brushed against her hand, and his eyes found hers as he completed the motion.

If Maisie hadn’t been able to breathe before, she was moments away from passing out right there on his mother’s pink bathroom floor. The motion had been innocent, but the look in his eyes was anything but, and her head spun.

“There,” he said, his voice taking on a husky tone. He lowered her hand though still held it between his. “How was that for knightly behavior?”

“Very…knightly,” she said, unable to think of any other response.

With their eyes still sealed together, silence settled around them, and the space between them hummed. A voice of warning whispered to Maisie, something about being smart and careful, but when Finn stroked the back of her knuckles with his thumb, the warning grew faint before disappearing altogether.

It was just as well. There wasn’t room for anything but Finn in that moment.

She watched him closely, his eyes caressing her features as he took a step towards her. His free hand lifted, and she drew in a deep breath, anticipating the feel of his touch once until finally, he brushed the back of his fingers softly down her cheek.

Maisie was gone at the motion. Her eyes fluttered to a close, and he drew nearer.

All thoughts fled but one. All desires fled but one.

She needed Finn to kiss her.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

But the kiss never came.

Finn pulled back, and Maisie opened her eyes with a drooping sensation in her heart and a sinking in her stomach.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, regret filling his eyes.