Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 118693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 593(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 593(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
“Anyway, you’ll love Harmony when you meet her.”
A warmth spread over my body at the idea of meeting Finn’s family.
“Mr. Ward, Ms. Adams, may I get you something to drink while we wait for your rosemary roasted chicken?”
My stomach picked that moment to growl, and my cheeks heated. Finn winked and answered the young lady. “I’ll have a water, please.”
“Water for me as well, thank you.”
Tilting my head, I said, “May I ask you something?”
“Of course,” Finn responded with a knock-me-off-my-chair smile. That dimple. Lord, that dimple had goosebumps erupting across my skin.
With a warm smile, I questioned him. “Why did you do all of this for me?”
“It’s our first date. I wanted it to be special for you, because you’re special to me.”
That saying “melted your heart”? Yep. It’s true. His words wrapped around my heart and completely melted it.
“Why?” It was the only thing I could think of to say.
“Because the first time I ever saw you, I knew you were different. Sure, it was a physical attraction at first, no doubt. But the moment you opened your mouth and spoke…I knew. My mother used to tell us, when someone special is in your life, you do things to make them happy. I wanted to do something to make you happy.”
Speechless. I was rendered speechless.
He smiled weakly. “Are you happy, Rory?”
My voice cracked as I replied, “Very happy. Thank you.”
We spent the rest of lunch talking and getting to know each other. I told Finn my favorite all-time movie was Steel Magnolias and he told me his was the first Jason Bourne movie. I liked country and pop, and so did he, with a bit of rock thrown in the mix for the fun of it.
The sweet girl who was taking care of us brought out a dessert of fresh strawberries and whipped cream. Finn and I both thanked her, then dug in.
Letting out a moan, I gushed, “Oh wow. I don’t think I’ve ever had such fresh strawberries before.”
“Alex’s dad grows them. They have land outside the city with a massive five-acre garden.”
“That would be a dream of mine.”
His brows lifted. “To have a five-acre garden?”
I laughed. “No. To live outside of the city and have land.”
Finn smiled wide. From his reaction, I was going to safely assume living outside of the city was something he wanted someday as well.
“My folks live outside of the city. So do Preston and Harmony. They just finished building their new house.”
“Perfect timing for the baby,” I replied with a grin.
Finn leaned back and took me in as he balanced the chair on two legs. “Tell me more about yourself.”
“Like what?”
“Tell me something that would surprise me.”
I dabbed the corners of my mouth, then placed my napkin on the table and lifted my eyes in thought. “Something that would surprise you?”
I wasn’t sure why in the hell I said it, but it slipped out before I could stop it. “I haven’t had sex in five years.”
Finn did something with his body that caused the chair to go back farther, and before I knew it, he was on the ground.
I jumped up, ran over to him, and kneeled. “Oh my gosh…are you okay?”
He looked up at me with a look of sheer panic. He opened his mouth to say something, then snapped it shut.
“Oh my! What happened?” the young server cried out as she ran up and kneeled beside us.
“He um, he fell back. I think he’s okay. Maybe just in shock.”
Yeah, totally in shock. From you telling him you haven’t had sex in forever and a day. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!
Finn shook his head and sat up. “I need a moment, ladies.”
We both stood and took a few steps back.
The girl leaned over and whispered, “Why is he in shock?”
I cringed. “I might have said something he wasn’t prepared for.”
“Oh,” she whispered, and looked directly at me. “You told him you loved him?”
“What? No! I told him I hadn’t had sex in a while.”
I cringed internally. For the love of all things holy. What was wrong with me.
Her mouth dropped open.
“Oh God. I did it again.”
She nodded. “Yeah, ya did.” Turning back to Finn, who was still sitting on the ground and was now mumbling to himself, she stated, “Poor guy.”
“Why him the poor guy? What about me?”
She took me by the arm and led me away. “Now you’ve put pressure on him to perform well.”
My lips pressed together. “You think?”
She pinched her brows. “Oh yeah. It’s probably like being with a virgin all over again. Guys freak out about stuff like that.”
“I’m not a virgin!” I practically shouted. Finn moaned, and I slapped my hand over my mouth before dropping it and giving the young woman a dumbfounded look. “Why are we even talking about this?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. You brought it up.”