16. Red Zone #2
Sophie laughed out loud, covering her mouth as she swallowed her bite. “At a prenatal appointment then out for a quiet dinner.”
“What?” Haley nearly choked on her own bite. “I thought that was planned for year three of marriage.”
Biting her lip, Sophie shook her head, still trying to subdue her laughter.
“Pippa called yesterday, completely freaked that her period was late. She was in such a state, I picked up a pregnancy test and drove it over. Which, by the way, I have no doubt the entire county will soon be convinced I’m the pregnant one after that very public purchase.
Pippa will absolutely pay for that one.”
“Oh no.” Haley giggled maniacally, leaning up against Finn as she tried to maintain a shred of control. “When I was in third grade and she was in fourth, she made this comprehensive timeline of her life. From what it sounds, she hasn’t strayed an inch… until now.”
Grady nodded, his lips turned up in pure amusement. “I wondered why Lincoln was so irritable when he swung by Black Op yesterday. All he said was that Pippa had tossed and turned all night, grouching something about being late and saying that it was all his fault.”
Freya looked to be equally lost in a giggle fit. “I’m so excited we get to throw her baby shower,” she said, throwing her head back and slapping her knee. “After her wedding last year? Payback.”
“What happened at her wedding?” Finn knew Pippa was intense, but what was so funny about an accidental pregnancy? Shit, had Haley had a period? Oh shit. Was it hot out here? Finn tugged at the neck of his shirt and grimaced as he couldn’t slow his rapid breathing.
Asher groaned, “Bridezilla doesn’t even begin to explain it. Pippa likes to plan. When her plan is, well, strained, she sort of freaks.”
Rising from his seat at the table, Grady stacked plates. “That’s putting it mildly. I thought she was never speaking to either of you again when you hooked up and threw off her plans.”
Sophie air-toasted. “We tried to keep it secret, she just needs to learn how to knock.”
“On the front door of her parents’ house at eight in the morning?” Asher nudged his shoulder into Sophie’s.
Pushing the pile of plates in front of Asher rather than taking them himself, Grady started collecting silverware. “At least Sophie was in on it. Claire came on to me before I even knew she’d dumped my brother.”
Cringing, Claire stole the handful of silverware from him. “I thought you knew. Can you imagine how much fun we could have had if you had known? I’ve been thinking about that pool table ever since.”
Finn tried to focus, but his wires weren’t just crossed, they’d turned into a pile up.
Was this what a stroke felt like? Everyone else at the table seemed to be having a hell of a time.
He’d been with Haley, what, most every night for two, almost three weeks?
And had gotten close enough to know another week before that.
Was it good luck that she hadn’t had her period, or were those condoms faulty?
His skin drew pale, and spiders crawled all over his skin as sweat beaded from his pores.
Grady grinned. “That’s it, I’m buying a pool table.”
Asher popped up from the table and carted the massive stack of plates, Grady snagged the napkins and other debris, opening the door for Asher and Claire. The trio disappeared into the house. Clearing her throat, Sophie rose from her chair to join them.
Slipping his hand in Freya’s, Zane leaned back in his chair and settled in with his wife. Freya smiled. “You don’t think we should go in and help?”
“Nah,” he joked, “Finn and I are off the hook. We cooked.”
Snorting, Freya jabbed at him. “Nice excuse. I think Grady and Claire did most of the cooking, while you two stood all manly by the grill and burned our food.”
“Well if I messed that up, I really shouldn’t risk ruining anything else.”
Haley kicked Finn subtly under the table, eying him suspiciously. She mouthed, You okay?
Nodding, he rose from the table and led her down toward the bonfire. Not ready to sit back down, he paced for a minute. His pulse thundered in his veins, ice cold and anxious and terrified and… well, a little thrilled.
“Finn? What is up with you? You look like you’re on crack or something. Not that I’ve ever seen anyone on crack, but you look ill and won’t sit still.”
May as well rip off at least one band aid tonight. He glanced up the hill to make sure they were alone. Zane and Freya were far enough they wouldn’t hear.
“All that talk about Pippa got me thinking. You, uh, we’re, um… I mean, it’s been a few weeks and you haven’t…”
Haley’s sweet laughter trilled in the air. Or laughed her ass off, anyway. She grabbed his hand and yanked him close. “I’m on the pill and I take it obsessively on time. I only have a period when I feel like it. Trust me, nothing’s getting past the condoms and the pill.”
His breath whooshed out in a cluster of relief and, well, something else he wasn’t willing to acknowledge. His swimmers were admittedly a little disappointed at the near miss. “Wow, okay, wow, that’s so good to hear.”
She released him long enough to snag another round of beers and sat on the blanket she’d laid out by the fire. It was roaring, a toasty orange glow of embers at the base.
He sat behind her, their backs to the others, and encased her in his arms and legs. Resting his cheek against her, he wanted to say something, but anything about to come out of his mouth was downright sappy.
Setting his beer on the grass behind them, he took advantage of their solitude.
Grazing his fingertips along the smooth skin of her thighs, he scooted up the hem of her dress.
Leaning into him, she closed her eyes and absorbed the moment.
Trailing his lips across her shoulder, he was drowning in thoughts that were boiling over, begging for release.
He stayed silent, swallowing the words that he couldn’t say out loud.
He didn’t want any lies between them. His history with Trace was already hanging over his head like a damn time-bomb, waiting to explode and ruin everything. And that wasn’t half as dangerous as the thoughts in his head.
H aley melted into Finn, the scruff of his jaw massaging against her temple, the strength of his arms enveloping her.
A novel sensation, overwhelmed with red hot arousal mixed with trust, exhilarated as she fell from the sky, already buoyed by the safety net that was Finn, steady and strong.
One of those few moments in life where she wished she could hit pause and savor.
Claire cleared her throat, speaking loudly as she and Grady approached. “Beautiful night.”
Haley sat up a little straighter and fixed her dress.
Dancing from behind her, Freya caught up to Claire. “You picked a good birthday.”
“I totally planned it, too. Kicked my mother’s cervix and insisted this would be a good day to be born.”
Claire passed a blanket to Haley, then curled up by the fire with Grady’s and her blanket. Finn reached around and spread the plaid cotton blanket over them. Haley hadn’t even noticed the chill in the night air.
The rest settled around the fire, joking and teasing and, well, being normal. These people all liked each other. Not one hint of phony. Even in their teasing of Pippa, they cared.
“Haley?” Claire asked.
Haley blinked and looked over, wondering how long she’d been trying to get her attention. “Yeah? Sorry, I was enjoying the moment.”
“I’m glad you’re relaxing. When is your birthday?” Claire was leaned against Grady like he was a comfy armchair.
“December 8th.”
Grady frowned. “The last few years, it seems you always had other plans, so I haven’t gotten to celebrate with you in forever. We are definitely doing something this year.”
Sitting up a bit, Haley bit her cheek as she remembered.
“Last year actually wasn’t so bad. The year before, Nate threw a party for me.
All of our friends, his coworkers, a few clients he was courting.
I entertained seventy-five people I either didn’t know or didn’t care for, ate three bites of perfume-flavored white cake—which I hate…
okay, I’m not dwelling. But I had too many of those. ”
Sophie asked, “Then what made last year different?”
“Nate was going to take me out to this swanky club, undoubtedly so he could schmooze and mingle. But there was a blizzard in DC, and he got stuck there overnight. So, for the first time in my adult life, I sent the staff home, ordered pizza, and curled up in my pajamas on the couch in the living room and watched football.”
Chuckling at her back, Finn’s scruffy chin rubbed over the top of her head. “I remember that day.”
“It was the beginning of the end for Nate and me, or at least, when I started to realize I had forgotten who I was. Foolishly, I should have grabbed a firmer hold of that epiphany and done something with it. It wasn’t for another month that I caught him with Mariella.
Bitch. And she’d given me perfume that birthday.
Should have known then; it was the same stuff she wore.
” Scowling, Haley took a deep breath. “Sorry about that. Someone, anyone, please talk about something else. Sophie, what did you do for your birthday last year?”
Sophie leaned back and nuzzled into Asher. Raising his eyebrows, Asher grinned. “Me.”
From across the fire, Zane chucked a hunk of grass at him. Whacking it before it hit him in the face, Asher didn’t lose the grin.
The crew joked and chatted, thankfully moving on from Haley’s sad history. She needed more good stories. It would take time, but she was building more and more each day.
Finn nuzzled against her. “If we’re still doing what we’re doing by the time your birthday rolls around, let’s do something fun. No stress, no weirdness. Whatever you want.”
His hands still rested on her thighs under the blanket. She moved her hand over his and slid his hand higher.
Groaning silently, he gently caressed, whispering, “Let’s head home.”
Chuckling, she shifted her backside against him and whispered back, “May want to tame that first.”
Stilling his hand, he fixed her skirt and swallowed audibly. “Talk about anything else.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you when I first saw you. Last year on my birthday, they stopped you on the field and interviewed you.”
“My hair was longer then. And I had a beard. Zoe says I looked like I was going for that broody movie star look.”
“I liked it. A lot. Actually, I dreamed about you all night that night. Woke up that sex drive I’d lost.”
“That is a good birthday. Was dream me as good as reality?”
She shrugged. “Meh.”
Pinching her side, he growled, “Okay, let’s get going. I want to hear everything dream me did.”
Laughing, she sat up and turned. “Might take a while. You helped me get through my divorce.”
Groaning, he folded the blanket and held it in front of him while Haley picked up the rest of their stuff. He waved with his free hand. “Happy birthday, Claire. Night guys.”