14. Kate
Kate
Irealized we had a problem halfway through putting Noah down for the night.
“There’s only two diapers left,” I muttered, staring into the nappy bag like more might magically appear.
Finn looked up from the couch, one arm stretched along the back cushions while some action movie played quietly in the background.
“How’s that possible?” he asked.
I blinked at him. “He’s a baby?”
Finn frowned like Noah had personally betrayed him. “That kid weighs maybe twenty pounds.”
I laughed before I could stop myself. Finn’s eyes flicked towards me, something softer moving through them before he cleared his throat and stood.
“Come on then,” he said, grabbing his keys from the counter. “We’ll go.”
“You don’t have to?—”
“I do.”
Ten minutes later, Noah was bundled into his car seat while I climbed into Finn’s truck, nerves tightening my chest. It was stupid. We were only going to a store, but going out in public felt scary.
Finn must’ve noticed because the second we pulled into the parking lot, his hand landed briefly on the back of my neck.
“Breathe.”
“I am breathing.” Which was a lie, because the feeling of his thumb rubbing up and down my neck stole my breath.
“Barely.”
I glared at him weakly as he climbed out. By the time I got around the truck, Finn already had Noah in his arms. My eyes welled on their own as I watched Noah immediately grab onto the front of Finn’s kutte.
“Traitor,” I muttered under my breath.
Finn smirked.
The grocery store was bright and loud and too full of people. I stayed close to Finn automatically, my eyes flicking toward every voice that got too loud, every man that walked too close.
Without saying anything, Finn moved closer too. One large hand settled against my lower back as he guided me around a woman blocking the aisle with her trolley, and warmth spread through me.
A teenage employee stocking shelves looked at Finn’s kutte once before suddenly becoming very interested in the cereal display.
We went straight for the diapers and Finn stood in front of the wall of boxes like he was facing some kind of tactical nightmare.
“There’s too many,” he muttered.
I folded my arms, trying not to smile. “You survived biker wars, but Pampers is where you draw the line?”
“These all look the same.”
“They’re not.”
“Kate, they’re diapers.”
I laughed again and Noah immediately squealed like he wanted to join in.
Finn looked down at him, completely helpless against the tiny grin Noah gave him. “Don’t encourage her,” he told him seriously.
An older woman passed us with a basket hooked over her arm and smiled warmly. I’d seen the looks people gave Finn, so her smile surprised me a little.
“That your first?” she asked Finn, nodding towards Noah.
Finn froze.
I opened my mouth automatically, ready to explain, but before I could, Noah slapped Finn’s cheek and giggled.
The woman laughed. “Oh, he’s already got you wrapped around his finger.”
A smile broke out on Finn’s face and his thumb brushed absently over Noah’s back. “Yeah,” he said roughly. “Guess he does.”
The woman smiled at me next. “You’ve got a good one there, honey. Most men don’t look at babies like that unless they’re all the way gone already.”
Heat rushed into my cheeks.
Finn muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, “Jesus Christ.”
The woman wandered off, smiling to herself.
I turned away quickly, pretending to study formula because suddenly looking at Finn felt scary.
Even though I liked hearing it and liked standing there beside him while strangers assumed we belonged together.
Judging by the way Finn kept Noah tucked securely on his hip the entire time we walked through the store, maybe I wasn’t the only one.
Finn wandered towards the end of the aisle still holding Noah while I stared at the wall of formula pretending I understood any of the labels.
I heard them before I saw them. A couple of younger guys turned into the aisle laughing loudly between themselves. One of them noticed me almost immediately and slowed slightly.
“Well, damn,” he muttered, nudging his friend. “Didn’t expect to find someone so gorgeous alone in a grocery store.”
Heat crawled up my neck, and I kept my eyes fixed firmly on the shelves.
The second guy grinned. “You shopping alone, sweetheart?”
I shifted uncomfortably, tightening my grip on the formula tin.
“C’mon,” the first one said, stepping a little closer. “Lemme get your number. Maybe I’ll buy you dinner instead of baby formula.”
His friend laughed. “Pretty girls always got expensive taste.”
Before I could answer, Finn stepped back around the end of the aisle. Noah rested calmly against his chest.
The younger men saw him at the same moment they saw the patch on his chest. Both of them went silent.
Finn’s expression didn’t change, but the warmth disappeared from his face completely. His eyes moved from them to me, then back again.
One slow step forward. “She’s with us,” Finn said calmly.
The taller guy swallowed hard, hands lifting slightly. “Shit, man, we didn’t know?—”
Finn stared at him for a long second before adjusting Noah higher against his chest. “Now you do.”
The second guy grabbed his friend’s arm immediately. “Yeah. Sorry, man.”
They disappeared from the aisle almost fast enough to trip over themselves.
I looked over at Finn, my pulse still racing.
Noah blinked sleepily against his chest completely unbothered while Finn reached over, took the formula from my hands, and dropped it into the trolley.
“You done here?” he asked.
I nodded and followed him. I didn’t know what scared me more—how dangerous Finn suddenly looked, or how safe I felt standing beside him.