Finn (38 page)

My dick grows painfully hard, picturing this dress bunched around her waist as I taste every inch of her bare skin while sinking deep inside. Those shoes would be wrapped around my back as she screamed my name, multiple times.

“Hi.” The rasp in her voice breaks into my fantasy and takes me back to our first meeting.

“What are you doing in here?”

“Well, I know it’s a bit unconventional, but I didn’t want us to run into each other out there.”

“So you invade the men’s room?” There’s a bite to my tone, making it rough and abrasive.

Her face falls, and she bites down on her trembling lip. “You’re right. This was rude and assuming of me. It was actually selfish. I wasn’t sure how’d you react to me being here so I thought—”

“You’d ambush me?” I finish her sentence.

“Well, I wouldn’t phrase it that way, but I guess that’s how it looks.”

We’re both quiet, staring at each other, lost in our own thoughts.

“You never called.”

“Huh?”

“When you came home from Max’s, you said you’d call. You didn’t.”

“We broke up, Presley. Not much reason to call.”

“Didn’t you read any of my notes? See any of my texts? I came to see you, tried to explain. Couldn’t you at least be civil? I was crazy with worry.”

“Nope, tossed the notes and deleted the texts. There wasn’t anything to explain. You sat at my bedside, holding my hand while I recovered, and used that time to plot how you’d end us. I tried to give you a chance to take it back, to say anything that gave me hope we had a future. But you couldn’t.”

“I was stupid and selfish. Scenarios were constantly racing through my mind, and the thought of a lifetime filled with worry and near tragic gunshot wounds caused temporary insanity. I wasn’t rational.”

“Nightmares, uncertainties, and irrational, I can deal with. It was the look on your face. For the rest of my life, I’ll never forget it.”

A low whimper escapes, but she tries to hide it by clearing her throat softly. “I understand completely. Some things are unforgivable.”

She looks at me with unshed tears in her eyes and lifts her hand, running her fingertips over the soft stubble on my cheek. “I’ll never stop loving you, Finn, and I’ll always regret walking out of that hospital and doubting us. You were the most wonderful thing I’ve ever had in my life. Thank you for giving that to me.” Her lips brush across mine before she rushes out of the bathroom.

I stand mute at the raw confession of her words and the vision of tears streaming down her beautiful face. My heart leaps in my throat as my own eyes start to burn.

“Shit!” I scream and race out after her.

Pride and self-preservation be damned. This woman owns me, and I’d be the biggest fucking fool on the planet to let this go on another minute. My own shame washes through me as I scan around the crowd. How could I be so stupid?

At my height, I have a good sight advantage of the ballroom, but Presley is nowhere.

“Finn!” Ember waves from a table with Robbie close by.

He catches my eye and leads her to me quickly.

“Have you seen Presley?”

“Not since we arranged for her to talk to you.”

“Yeah, we’ll talk about that later. Nice fucking play, by the way. But she’s gone, and I need to find her.”

“Gone where? Didn’t she apologize?” Ember looks at me, worried. “She said she wanted to apologize.”

“Yes, she apologized, and I was a massive dick to her.”

“What did you do?” Reese joins us. “Where is she?”

I pull up the location app on my phone and see her phone is somewhere within fifty feet.

“She’s in here somewhere. The coordinates of her phone are close.”

“Her phone is in her purse on the table, you asshole. You have quickly become one of my least favorite people in the world,” Reese seethes. “Do you know how much courage it took for her to come here tonight? To talk to you after you ignored her and treated her like trash? I hope to God she got you out of her system because you don’t deserve to be in the same atmosphere as her.”

“Reese.” Tripp lays a hand on her shoulder. “Finn doesn’t know. You’re not being fair.”

“Fair my ass! We’ve all been so worried about Finn; we overlooked what was happening before our eyes. Even me, her best friend, stood on the fence at her decision.”

“What the hell do you mean, you overlooked what was going on?”

“It doesn’t matter. Hopefully, after tonight, you’ll go ahead and move to Virginia, and Presley can start fresh. Not having you in the same town should help her move on.” Reese stabs her finger at me with anger radiating from her eyes.

A growl escapes my throat, but before I can speak, Ember puts a hand on my chest. “She didn’t leave, because Jeff and Johnny are still here. Let’s split up. I’ll check all the ladies rooms down here. Reese will help me.”

“I’ll check the side entrances.” I don’t wait for anyone to respond.

Tension knots in my muscles as my mind spins. The looks on their faces, the rage coming from Reese, the look of defeat on Presley’s face, all of it swarms together, not making sense.

In all the weeks since our break-up, not once has Reese been this upset with me.

“We’ve all been so worried about Finn; we overlooked what was happening before our eyes.”

What did I miss?

“So if you ever decide to come to Louisiana, you’ve got a spot on my team.” Governor DeSantis slaps me on the back.

“Pete, you’re a Senator now. There is no team. And I’d appreciate you not trying to steal my guys,” James jokes.

I chuckle politely, draining my drink and scanning the room for the hundredth time since I was forced to sit down and join dinner more than an hour ago. No one has seen Presley since she ran out of the bathroom. Or if they have, they lied to me. Presley’s seat is still empty, her purse sitting on her unused plate. Johnny catches me staring, again, and a flash of sympathy crosses his face.

Great, now I’m a fucking loser as well as an asshole.

“Excuse me, it’s time to get the presentation started,” Jenna announces, scooting her chair out. James and I rise with her. She kisses him on the cheek and gives me a wink before walking away. It could be my imagination, but I swear there was a sparkle in her eye.

Since I’m already standing, this seems like a great time to excuse myself. I’m going to see if I can get into the security room and review the video from earlier, and hopefully, figure out where Presley could be hiding.

I open my mouth to say goodnight when James puts a hand on my shoulder. “Sit, son, you won’t want to miss this.”

I sink down and try to hide my disappointment. Jenna takes the podium and welcomes everyone with the same enthusiasm she does each year. I wait for her to explain the mission and purpose of the evening, when the side doors slide open.

My eyes bulge when Presley walks in, being escorted in by a Marine in full dress blues. Gone is the form-fitting, siren red dress from earlier. She’s changed into an elegant, floor length, off the shoulder, black gown. Her hair is swept up into some sort of mangled twist with curls framing her face.

My eyes and nose start to tingle at the sight. The thundering in my ears races to the beat of my heart. I clutch the sides of the chair, forcing myself to stay seated and not rush to her, which takes every ounce of my self-control.

Behind her, Winnie skips in, holding Max’s hand. She waves at the table with Johnny and Jeff then looks around until her eyes land on mine. She hesitates a second before giving me a shy smile.

Her hesitancy kills me. The uncertainty reaches inside my chest and crushes my heart.

Then it hits me. Max has been missing all night after leaving the bathroom. He’s been with them. He’s known where Presley was, which means, most likely, so has everyone else.

My fingers tremble as I shoot off a text to Robbie.

Me: You knew where she was? All night?

Robbie: Not really. Knew she was here, didn’t know where. She begged us to leave her alone.

Me: Not fucking cool.

Robbie: Time for you to shut the fuck up and listen to her. Stop being a bullheaded dick face.

I narrow my eyes at him across the room and start to reply when my phone vibrates.

Robbie: Stop sending death glares to me. You need to focus on the stage.

“…and this young woman’s strength, loyalty, and courage is one reason we gather each year to keep honoring our Armed Forces and their families. Please, help me welcome Presley Chambers and her niece, Whitney.” Clapping fills the ballroom as Jenna moves away from the podium and makes her way down the stairs. Presley visibly lets out a breath, smiles at her escort, and holds out her hand for Winnie.

They walk up the stairs, and someone brings a chair from the back for Winnie to sit, as Presley takes her place behind the microphone.

“Hi,” she says shyly, her cheeks stained pink. “I’d like to start by thanking Jenna Hayes and her committee for inviting me to speak tonight. I’m aware this honor is usually reserved for more esteemed guest speakers with much more knowledge about the military sacrifices made to protect and serve. My story and situation will, in no way, live up to the esteemed character and prolific integrity of these men and women, but I hope to shed some light on the families.

“Hearing Jenna describe me as courageous is one of the best compliments I’ve ever received. I don’t see myself that way, and until a few weeks ago, I’d have scoffed. But today, I absorb her words and hope tomorrow is the same.”

She nods to someone I can’t see, and a picture fills the large screen behind her of a family of five. I immediately recognize it from Jeff’s house. Presley lays horizontal on her brothers’ laps with a toothy grin, while they do bunny ears behind her head. Winnie gives a little giggle, and Presley smiles at her softly.

“Before you all roll your eyes, bear with me.” Presley looks around the room with an embarrassed grin.

“As you can tell, that’s a family. It’s my family. A few years after this was taken, we lost my mother. I became the quintessential woman of the house and never regretted a single moment of it. Taking care of my family made me happy, made me proud. I strived for excellence and found happiness in the everyday tasks of keeping our family together. Well, I was the baby of the family, and when my oldest brother, Simon, turned eighteen, only a few months after my mom died, he joined the Marines.”

She goes on to share stories of her life, including the birth of Winnie and her relocation to North Carolina. All the time, she makes sure to describe what the military meant in her life—her feelings and fears with each deployment, the excitement of receiving emails and letters—and what she shares next rocks me to my core. Her eyes dart around the room as she licks her lips nervously.

“This is going to sound supernatural, but one night in June, I had a dream. My brother Simon was sitting with me on my parents’ porch. We were drinking beer and joking about what he referred to as my ‘pathetic dating life’. I argued with logic and precise lucidity that my dating was perfectly normal. He countered with the argument that I was playing life safe and not giving myself a chance to experience the kind of soul-searing passion and love I deserved. Remember, this is a dream where I’m discussing my love life with my older brother… Have I creeped anyone out yet?”

She pauses for dramatic effect. There’s an encouraging rumble from the crowd, which spurs her on.

“Well, Simon told me, in this dream, he was tired of seeing me go through life with a safety net. He was sending a man to take care of me, a man he trusted and who would teach me what love was if I gave it a chance. A few days later, I met my Prince Charming. That night, I got the call telling me my brother was killed.”

The room goes still. You could hear a pin drop except for the sound of quiet sniffles. Winnie looks at Presley then hangs her head, playing with her hands. Max walks on stage and picks her up, hugging her close, and kisses Presley on the cheek as he crosses the room and hands Winnie to Jeff.

I drop my elbows to my knees with pent up aggression. That should be me. I should be on that stage and holding both of them close.

“I’ll spare you the details, because unfortunately, many in this room have lost loved ones. We buried my brother with great honor, each of us vowing Whitney would always know what an incredible man her daddy was.