DAKOTA OPENED HER FRONT DOOR to find Finn standing on her porch. It was a little after seven in the evening. She and Finn had managed to catch the four-thirty flight out of Las Vegas, which meant she hadn’t even been home an hour.
“I know, I know,” he said, shuffling his feet. “You have stuff to do. I shouldn’t bother you.”
“Yet here you are,” she said with a smile. “It’s okay. I didn’t have any hot plans.”
She wasn’t sorry to see him. As for hot plans, he certainly qualified.
He stepped inside and handed her a bottle of wine. “I come bearing gifts, if that counts.”
“It does.”
“I’m spending so much time at the wine store, the guy there wants to know if he and I are planning to run off together.”
She laughed. “You know he was kidding, right?”
“I hoped he was. People don’t joke like that in South Salmon.”
“Then people in South Salmon need to work on their sense of humor.” She led the way into the kitchen and set the wine on the counter. “Is wine enough or do you want something to eat, as well?”
“You don’t have to feed me,” he told her.
“That wasn’t the question.” She walked to the refrigerator and pulled it open. There were salad fixings, some yogurt and a few raw almonds in a bowl. Not exactly man food.
She turned to him. “I’m going to have to take back my offer of food. I don’t have anything you’d like. Want to order a pizza?”
He’d already opened the drawer where she kept the corkscrew. “Pizza sounds good. I’ll even let you put something healthy on your half.”
“You’ll let me? How magnanimous.”
He shrugged. “I’m just that kind of guy.”
“Lucky me.”
She ordered pizza, then they took their wine into the living room and sat down. She ignored the fact that she liked having Finn in her house. That was a road without a happy ending. Instead, she focused on why he’d shown up.
“There wasn’t a date,” she said. “So Stephen and Aurelia are in danger of being voted off. It doesn’t make you happy?”
“Yes, as long as he goes back to college.”
“You can’t follow him around for the rest of his life. At some point you have to let him be an adult.”
“When he acts like an adult, I’ll treat him like one. Until then, he’s just a kid.”
Dakota leaned back in her chair and studied him over her glass. He still wasn’t getting it. How his brothers acted had everything to do with how they had been raised and nothing to do with his presence in town. Whether he stayed or left, the twins’ actions would be the same. But how to get him to believe that?
“Except for them going back to college without you dragging them, is there a win in this?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I guess there has to be. What if they never go back to college? I need to know they’re okay and that no one is taking advantage of them.” He picked up his glass. “Something I don’t want to think about. Let’s change the subject. Are you sorry we left Las Vegas early?”
“I won’t cry myself to sleep tonight, if that’s what you’re asking. But it would have been fun to stay. There’s plenty to do. I heard there was great shopping at the hotel.”
“You like shopping?”
She laughed. “I am a girl. It’s practically genetic. You, on the other hand, buy the same shirt over and over again. And your socks come in a package of ten or twelve.”
“It’s easier that way,” he said. “And what do you have against my shirts?” He glanced down at the light blue cotton shirt he wore. “I’m not wearing plaid. You should appreciate that.”
“Oh, I do. I don’t have anything against your shirt. I think you look nice.”
“You’re just saying that.” He sighed dramatically. “Now you’ve hurt my feelings. I don’t think I can talk about this anymore. It’s just so hard when a man tries to look special and no one notices.”
She put down her wine glass so she wouldn’t spill it. Even as she tried not to laugh, she found herself chuckling. The teasing side of Finn was very appealing.
“Do you want me to say you’re pretty?” she asked.
“If you mean it,” he said primly. “Otherwise you’re just messing with my feelings.”
She stood and walked around the coffee table. After taking his wine and setting it down, she tugged him to his feet. She held both his hands in hers and stared into his eyes.
“I really, really like your shirt.”
“I bet you say that to all the guys.”
“No. Only to you.”
She expected him to keep up with the game. Instead he drew her close and lowered his mouth to hers.
There was nothing playful about the kiss. He claimed her with an intensity that took her breath away. There was hunger in his touch, a need that echoed her own sudden, powerful passion. She wrapped her arms around him and gave herself over to the pleasure of feeling his body against hers.