Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 118693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 593(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 593(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
Four simple sentences. That was all it took for me to fall even more completely and utterly head over heels in love with Finn Ward than I already was.
I dropped onto my bed and dreamed about the first time we ever made love under the lights in his bedroom.
My father’s voice on the other side of the door jerked me from my daydream.
“Leaving in five minutes, with or without you, Rory.”
I inhaled deeply as I made my way into the giant ballroom. My parents had ended up leaving before me. My little crying jag forced me to redo my makeup, and my father refused to be late.
Our eyes met and cut a path across the room. Heat instantly swept over my body, yet I shivered when he smiled. I’d never had a man look at me the way Finn did.
He slowly made his way across the room before stopping directly in front of me.
“My God,” he whispered as he let his eyes roam my entire body. “You look beautiful, Rory.”
Butterflies took flight in my stomach, and I’m pretty sure I had to force myself to breathe while I gazed at him in his formal dress uniform. With a slight grin, I replied, “And you, Mr. Ward, look devilishly handsome.”
He laughed as he clasped my hand and led me to the dance floor. “An appropriate use of words.”
He took me in his arms, and we started dancing. I lifted my brows and asked, “Why is that?”
His tongue swept across his lips, causing my lower stomach to tug with desire. “The things I’m thinking I’m going to do to you tonight would have me on the naughty list for sure.”
With a chuckle, I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Care to share?”
“Yes, care to share my daughter with me, Ward?”
Finn immediately dropped his hold on me and took a step back. Little did I know this moment was going to shape the coming days.
Finn
No more hiding
My heart jumped the moment I heard Captain Adams’s voice. Then it sank in: I realized Rory hadn’t told him about us yet.
With a quick glance over my shoulder to look back at Rory and her dad, I made my way to the bar.
“Hey there, handsome, what can I get ya?”
I forced a smile and answered the blonde bartender. “Jack and Coke please.”
Turning, she quickly got to making my drink, set it in front of me, then laughed. “You look like your dog just died.”
With a fake chuckle, I shook my head. “Nah. Just my girlfriend’s father hates me.”
Her left brow raised. “Really? Seems to me like you need to convince him to like you.”
“I left out a part. He’s my boss.”
She crinkled her nose and said, “Yikes. That’s gotta suck.”
This time the laugh was real. “Yeah, it does.”
Her eyes lifted and she glanced over my shoulder. “I’m going to guess your girlfriend is the drop-dead-gorgeous lady in red.”
Smiling, I turned and looked at Rory on the dance floor. She was staring over at me, and I instantly knew what she was thinking. I smiled back and lifted my hand to her. She barely raised hers from her father’s back.
“You know what I think you should do?”
Without taking my eyes off Rory, I asked, “What?”
“Go cut in.”
“He just cut in on me,” I responded with a gruff laugh.
“Here, take another shot and then go take what you and she both clearly want.”
Spinning back around, I gazed at the bartender with a stunned expression. If a complete stranger could see what I felt for Rory, clearly so could her father. I reached for the shot glass and swallowed the whiskey she had set down a second before. “Fuck it. What do I have to lose?”
“That’s right!” she cheered. “Go get her, because I can guarantee a woman that beautiful won’t be left alone for too long.”
Gathering up my nerve, I got up and headed back over to Rory and Captain Adams. Someone grabbed my arm, bringing me to a halt.
“Dude, don’t do it.”
Looking down at the hand on my arm, I lifted my eyes to Colton’s. “I’m tired of hiding it.”
Colton shook his head. “Finn, I think this is a mistake. Don’t do this here.”
I jerked my head back and laughed. “What better place to do it. Cap won’t want to make a scene. Not here.”
With a quick yank of my arm, I loosened Colton’s hold on me. “Finn!” he said in warning before I headed back to Rory and her father where they stood off to the side talking to a few people.
My heart hammered in my chest when her eyes met mine. Rascal Flatts’s “I Melt” started playing right as I stopped in front of her. I reached my hand out for hers, which she placed gently in mine as I led her to the dance floor. Drawing her in to me, I quickly got lost in her eyes.