Chapter 31
Riley
I ’m scrambling because Finn is supposed to be here in about an hour for his make up dinner from when I was upset about my mom’s necklace. That was the night there was a big shift between us. We defined what we are, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit scared still, but no one has ever made me feel the way Finn Hart has. He makes me feel cared for and protected and cherished. The way he puts up with me freaking out and helps to talk me down from my sometimes irrational thoughts is amazing.
I lost track of time, sitting here working, making a list of all the last-minute touches I need to put on the project before the opening party this weekend. For the first time in my life, I actually love what I’m doing for work. I was able to hire someone that I think is going to be a really great fit for my position at the store, so I can be fully in design after this project is done in a couple of days. I also have a couple of inquiries for jobs to work on after I put out some advertisements that Evergreen Hardware is offering interior design services.
So, here I am, with my hair in a haphazard ponytail that my hair is too short to contain, sweatpants, and a shirt that is stained with pasta sauce. I smile as I have a flashing thought that this is what our future could look like together. Being at home and comfortable, no need to impress the other because we know each other so well. One of us is making dinner for the other after a long day of work. It was incredibly sexy that Finn was able to make that recipe perfectly the first time he tried it. As quick as the thought comes, I push it out of my brain because I still can’t allow myself to think of us being that long term. I know that I’ll set myself up for disappointment if I convince myself that he’s going to stay, and I just don’t think I could handle that right now.
I don’t love that I still think this way, but I know I’m trying and this is a big step for me to be in a committed relationship with a label on it. So I keep telling myself that it’s one thing at a time. It’s only been four weeks since we became officially boyfriend and girlfriend, so I know over time I will learn to trust it more and more.
The doorbell rings right as I’m about to serve up our plates, and I run to the door and fling it open. The sexiest man I’ve ever seen is standing there, with the biggest grin on his face, and I can’t help but leap into his arms. He catches me in said strong sexy arms, and he slams his lips on mine as I wrap my arms around his neck. He kicks the door closed and moves me deeper into the house, propping my back against a wall in the hallway. Maybe the living room? I don’t know. My brain is in a haze of wanting him, but then I remember our dinner and I pull away from him, panting.
“Hello to you, too, mister. As much as I would love to continue this right this second, this is my make up dinner, and I will not have it going cold.”
He kisses my neck and murmurs, “That’s what microwaves are for.”
He really is close to making me give in, but I want this date night in to be perfect. Who am I, being excited about a date night? Here I am, though, and I’m not going to let this dinner go to waste, no matter how good it feels having his body pressed against mine right now. “We can continue this after dinner. I worked hard on it for you, and it’s not as good reheated,” I say with a pout.
He kisses the pout and sighs dramatically, setting me gently back on my feet, and I instantly miss the feel of him. “Fine, if we must.” He motions for me to lead him into the kitchen and swats my butt on the way, and I yelp. It really is amazing to feel this carefree with someone.
I serve up our plates, and I can feel his eyes on me. I may or may not add a little extra swish in my hips as I move around the kitchen. After I pour us each a glass of red wine, I set us up at the bar, so we can sit next to each other. Another thing I didn’t think I would enjoy. I admittedly used to judge couples who sat next to each other at a restaurant. Like you really can’t be apart from each other for an hour to eat food? But I see the appeal. I like having him close, the resting of his leg against mine, the brushing of our arms as we eat and drink.
We eat for a couple of minutes in comfortable silence before Finn starts a conversation, like he always does. “So, I went by the project today and talked to Mason.”
“Oh yeah? What about?”
He smiles and says, “He finally decided on a name for the apartments.”
My fork clangs on the plate as I drop it from my excitement. I have been waiting to be able to put a name to the thing we’ve all been working on these past months. “What is it?”
“Are you sure you want to know?” He makes a circling motion at my face. “Your face doesn’t really look like it wants to know.”
I flip him off. “It’s just my face, it just looks like that.”
He laughs and pulls me into his arms, giving me a light kiss on my forehead. He murmurs, “Evergreen Flats.” He pulls back and looks at me, and I can’t tell if the smile on his face is in response to my excitement or his own. He has already had a long career, he can’t be that excited about a project in a small town when he’s used to working on huge sky rises in Seattle.
“It’s perfect. Of course, it has to have ‘Evergreen’ because everything in this town does, if you haven’t noticed.”
“Hmm, no, I can’t say I have,” he jokes, and I hit him playfully on the arm. He grabs my hand and places a light kiss there.
“And ‘Flats’ makes it sound so posh. I love it so much, and it’s so amazing to finally put a name to it. To think, I designed the interior of ‘Evergreen Flats’. It’s going to sound mighty fancy in my portfolio.”
He grabs my chin and kisses my lips this time. “I’m really proud of you, Riles. I always knew you could do this, but I know you were pretty apprehensive at first, and I hope you can see how amazing your work is. Mason has been singing your praises so much, I was getting a bit jealous of another man hyping up my woman that much, but I know you deserve it. It looks amazing. I know you have to put some finishing touches on it, but you would never know because it looks so phenomenal right now, so I can’t even imagine what it’s going to look like when it’s truly done.”
I can feel my cheeks are aflame, and I don’t know why I still get so shy about stuff like this in front of Finn. Maybe because he’s someone whose opinion I truly care about. It means that much more coming from him. “Thanks, Finn, you have no idea how much that means to me. It’s still hard for me to acknowledge my talent, but it’s getting a little easier the further along I get on ‘Evergreen Flats’. I hope that, with more experience,” I nudge his shoulder, “and more praise from you, I’ll gain more confidence.”
“I hope so, baby, because you really are incredible, and this dinner was incredible,” he says, patting his stomach. “Want to get comfy on the couch while we finish this conversation?”
“Sure, sounds goo—” I squeal as he lifts me up out of my chair and carries me over to the couch. He sits down and sets me next to him with my feet in his lap. He starts kneading the bottoms of my feet, and I let out a moan.
“I can’t have you making that sound, baby, if you want to talk. It’s too distracting.”
“Sorry, it just feels so good,” I say, moaning again to get a reaction out of him. This time, he tickles the bottoms of my feet, and I let out a yelp and scowl at him. He chuckles and continues to massage them.
“So, before I was so rudely interrupted, I wanted to talk to you about something.” My body tenses, and I don’t even mean it to. I know he can sense it because he rubs up and down my leg soothingly. “It’s nothing bad, I promise, so get that out of your head. I’ve just been thinking more about our conversation from a couple of weeks ago, about what I’m going to do after the opening party.”
“Okay…” I say cautiously.
“Well, I was thinking of just doing nothing for a while.”
“Nothing? What do you mean, nothing? You have to do something.”
“Says who?”
“I dunno, everyone?”
“Well, hear me out. I’ve worked my butt off for years to get where I am, and I have more money than I need. My vacation rental barely costs anything, and I talked to the owner today and he’s willing to rent it out to me long term. I can sublet my place in Seattle and take all the time I need to figure out next steps.”
I’m nervously biting the corner of my lip. “I don’t want you to give up all that for me. We just started dating.”
“I know, and I don’t want to put that kind of pressure on you. I also want to do this for myself. I’ve fallen in love with Evergreen Ridge. The slower pace, the nature, the fresh air, the people, even though they are busybodies.” I let out a giggle, and he squeezes my foot. “I became a contractor to stick it to my parents, and I really do love what I do, but the workload I was taking on… I realized I was doing it in part to still prove something to them, even though I know that I would never gain their approval in the job I’m in.”
I squeeze his hand. “You don’t have anything to prove to them. You’re an amazing man, Finn. You are caring and smart, and protective and loyal, and anyone would be lucky to have you as their son, and if they can’t see that, screw them.”
“Whoa, I like it when you get all fiery, especially on my behalf.”
“I am serious, though. You should be so proud of all you have accomplished, and if you feel like you want to slow down, I fully support that. You just have to promise it’s not because of me.”
“I will never lie to you, Riles, so all I can say is that it’s not all because of you, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to see where this goes. I think we have something really great.”
“Oh yeah, you think so?”
He’s looking at me with hungry eyes again. “I know so,” he says, then claims my mouth with his. Every time this man kisses me, my mind goes quiet. It’s a sweet relief from the barrage of thoughts that are always ruminating in my mind. He brings me a sense of peace that I have never experienced before. I know I’ve been feeling it for a while now, but I just don’t know if I’m fully ready to admit to myself just how much I am falling for Finn Hart.