They were all seated at the dining table when Fin and Ian walked in—Mike and Julie, Jake’s Uncle David and Aunt Emily, and their cousins Heath and Laura. Jake sat to Ryan’s left and Rachael across from him, next to the two empty seats for Fin and Ian.
Ryan looked up from the outdoor table and his breath caught. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders, gleaming in the soft flicker of fairy lights. The dress she wore fluttered around her tanned thighs. He imagined his hands sliding up the smooth skin beneath her skirt and repressed the shudder as he grew hard.
A light sweat broke out on his brow as he fought to get himself under control. He picked up his beer and took a deep swallow in an effort to cool off.
Ian walked a step behind her. His hand was curled around her hip, guiding her outside where they sat. Ryan watched it slide down until it hovered over the same sweet spot he’d grabbed earlier today. His hand clenched around his beer as he shifted his gaze from Ian’s hand to Fin. Her eyes were on him and they were pained.
After greeting everyone at the table, Ian leaned in, saying something in her ear as he pulled her chair out for her. Looking up at him, she frowned and replied with something that had Ian clenching his fists.
Jake, watching them too, turned back to Ryan and muttered, “I don’t know what’s going on with those two, but Ian’s really pissing me off right now.”
Ryan cursed under his breath. He hoped it wasn’t anything to do with what happened between Fin and him this morning. He shouldn’t have touched her, but it was too late for that now. He only wanted to do it again.
He made it through dinner, barely. He kept his focus mostly on Mike as they talked, thankful that Jake was driving as he downed beer after beer until he lost count.
Rachael turned to Fin and said, “I think we need another round of drinks.”
Ryan skimmed his eyes down the length of the table and arched a brow. Everyone had a full glass.
“Ouch,” Fin mumbled after a thump came from underneath the table. She frowned at Rachael.
Rachael narrowed her eyes in some form of silent female communication and they disappeared inside.
“I’ll go help,” Laura said and standing up, followed them in.
“Women’s summit,” Jake muttered.
Ryan glanced through the window into the kitchen, seeing the three of them talking in a huddle. “What’s going on?”
Jake picked up his beer. “I’m sure we’ll find out eventually.”
“Oh my God, Fin,” Rachael hissed and grabbed a napkin off the bench. She started fanning herself with it. “The tension out there is thick enough to give me an eye twitch. Look,” she said, pointing at her eye. “Can you see it? It’s annoying the crap out of me.”
“No, I can’t see it,” Fin replied, peering at Rachael’s eye. “Is the tension that obvious?” She sighed. “Ian and I fought the whole way over in the car.”
“I wasn’t talking about Ian. I meant you and Ryan,” Rachael said.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she lied.
Laura sauntered into the kitchen, wine glass in hand, her pale blue maxi dress billowing as she walked. “What are we talking about?”
“The tension between Fin and Ryan.”
“Oooh, do tell.” Laura ran a hand through her shoulder length blonde hair and pinned her hazel eyes on Fin. “I remember coming to stay at your place plenty of times before we moved here from Adelaide. Ryan was always there. So was the tension.”
Rachael pointed at Laura. “Exactly.”
Fin looked between the two of them, folding her arms. “There’s no tension.”
“Fin, you do know we’re not talking about hostile tension, don’t you? Ryan’s been downing beer after beer all night. I can’t wait to see if he can stand up. And the way he looks at you when he thinks no one’s watching?” Rachael started fanning herself again. “God. I’ve been waiting for you to catch fire.”
“Rubbish,” she snapped, flushing as she remembered this morning and the heat that filled her body when Ryan crowded her into the wall. Rachael and Laura’s eyes were wide with disbelief. “Maybe just a little tension.” Fin moaned and pressed her hands to her cheeks. “Okay. Look. Let’s be real about this.”
“Fuck real,” Rachael muttered. “Get to the details.”
“There are no details. Jake and Ryan only arrived yesterday morning,” she pointed out.
“And?” Laura waved her arm for her to keep going.
“And this morning we may have had a moment.”
“Yes!” Rachael hissed and did a fist pump, almost sloshing wine out of the glass she held in her other hand.
“But I can assure you both that nothing happened. And as I was going to say, nothing can happen. He’s fighting a war, I’m off to Antarctica in two weeks, and in case you both happened to forget, I have Ian!”
“Do you?” came the steely voice from behind them.
Fin closed her eyes, her heart sinking. Turning around, she faced Ian standing in the entryway to the kitchen. His hands were tucked casually into his pockets, but his eyes were hard and his body was tense.