The Comeback Kiss (17 page)

“
God. Tessa.”
Finn
’
s hand landed on hers, the tips of his fingers running over the back of her hand, and
God,
just that small touch felt so good. Suddenly she felt like crying, and there was no way in hell that wa
s going to happen. She
’
d stayed strong too long to let Finn bring her down now. So she pulled her hand back and gripped her own knees, wishing now that she
’
d taken him up on the cigarette. Sure, they killed you dead, but they were magic when you needed a
d
istraction.

“
I was such a mess when they took Izzy. I think I just shut down, you know? I finished high school. Max hired me on so I
’
d have a record of employment. But then, later that summer, the town bell showed up, just sitting by the road on a street i
n Manhattan...”

Finn smiled, but she could see the self-recrimination in his eyes. “
Can
’
t knock me on my timing.”

“
I would have liked to,”
she said, twisting her mouth into a small smile.

“
Bright side: I made the Guinness for being the first person to fail
to fence an item in New York City.”
He gave her a mildly chagrined look. “
How bad was it?”

“
Bad,”
she said. “
They put it right back into the town hall building, right across the street from Max
’
s, and the stupid thing chimes every half hour on the half ho
ur.”

“
Sorry,”
he said.

She gave him a small smile. “
That
’
s when they started the big investigation.
What happened to the town bell? Who took the town bell?
I freaked. I thought if they traced it to you, then they
’
d trace it back to me, and I
’
d never get I
zzy back.”

Finn
’
s face went serious. “
I wouldn
’
t have ratted you out, Tessa. You know that.”

“
I know. But if they found out you were the one who took it, it would just be a matter of time before Mary Ellen Neeley came knocking on my door...”
She trailed of
f, sighed. “
So, I told everyone I
’
d heard from you. That you were in Las Vegas, had been there since you left. I don
’
t know why. I was just panicked, and... eighteen. You just... you don
’
t see things clearly at that age, you know?”

“
Yeah,”
he said. “
I know
.”

She looked up to meet his eyes, and he held her gaze. Tessa knew he wasn
’
t just being sympathetic. She could see the regret in his eyes, and for a powerful moment, she felt him, the way she used to. That odd connection that linked them back in the day s
urged between them again, and she could feel his sadness, his regret. His love for her. She felt it all, and knew him in that moment the way she
’
d known him all those years ago.

Then it was gone, and his eyes were the same unreadable blue pools they
’
d been
since he
’
d returned. Tessa took a deep breath, pressed her nails into her palm to give herself a new sensation to cling to, and blamed her imagination. There was no point in thinking otherwise.

Finn released her hand and cleared his throat. “
So. I
’
m still
not sure how I went from asshole to hero in ten years flat, though.”

“
Oh. That.”
She chuckled and felt a swell of relief to move the conversation to safer ground. “
After I turned twenty-one, Mary Ellen was still fighting my getting Izzy, and I had to go t
o court. It took a while but I won. Well, mostly. I got custody with state supervision until Izzy reaches the age of eighteen. Anyway, I guess Mary Ellen took it personally. She was all fakey nice about it, but she made it clear that she
’
d be watching me
l
ike a hawk, and if I slipped up, even a little, she
’
d move to have Izzy taken away.”

“
So, she
’
s a crazy bitch, then?”
Finn asked, his eyes twinkling at the edges.

Tessa gave a short laugh. “
You said it, not me.”

She met his eyes, and for a moment she felt
connected to him again, but again, it was only for a moment. She glanced down at her hands, realized she
’
d been wringing them, and let them fall flat in her lap.

“
Then, not a week later, someone came back from New York and said they thought they
’
d seen you
there and I freaked. At the same time, Alton Summers
’
s truck died, right before Gloria was about to give birth to their seventh kid. So I took out some cash, stuffed it in an envelope, and put your name on it.”

“
Wait a minute.”
Finn
’
s smile faded. “
You us
ed your own money...?”

“
Mom left me life insurance. I have a full-time job so I look responsible on paper, and the house is paid for. It
’
s not like I needed the money for college tuition.”

“
Yeah,”
he said, although his expression was still troubled. “
I gue
ss I can understand that.”

“
Well, it worked. People started talking about you, and stopped talking about the bell.”

Finn rolled his eyes. “
Fucking bell. They got it back, what the hell else did they want?”

“
Preaching to the choir, mister,”
Tessa said. “
Any
way, I sweetened the gossip pool with a few minor details. Told them I
’
d heard that you became a private investigator.”
She smiled, shrugged. “
It sounded like something you might do, if you ever went straight.”
She turned to look at him. “
Did you ever go
s
traight?”

He quirked one eyebrow. “
Far as I know, I never strayed, although there was this one time at Scout camp...”

She tightened her lips against the smile forming there and shook her head. “
Forget it. My fault for asking. Anyway, every now and again wh
en someone in town needed something, I
’
d tuck some cash in an envelope. Made you look like the kind of guy who wouldn
’
t steal the town bell, you know. Mr. Upstanding Citizen Guy. Then, after a while it became... I don
’
t know. Fun. When people had little p
r
oblems, needed some help, I could help them, and no one knew it was me. It was like my little secret, my little bit of personal deviance. And it sorta kept you... I don
’
t know. Alive, I guess.”

She stopped talking and looked up at him. She hadn
’
t admitted
to herself that part of the secret charity thing had been about keeping Finn around, but it had. The realization made her feel suddenly off balance.

“
Anyway,”
she said, “
that
’
s pretty much the story.”

“
Good to know,”
Finn said, “
seeing as I might be here
for a while.”

“
What?”
Her throat went dry. “
Why?”

“
The fires. One on the night I left, one on the day I come back. Looks kinda bad. Joe said it might be a good idea to hang around until it all gets straightened out.”

Tessa felt her stomach turn. “
But... t
he fire at Mom
’
s business... that happened...”

“
While we were out stealing the town bell.”
He smiled at her. “
It
’
s okay. It happened a long time ago, the investigators deemed it an accident, but Joe kinda has a point. I run out now, it could look bad. And
it won
’
t kill me to stay a couple of days.”

Tessa took a deep breath, resisting the strong urge to toss herself back on the bed and throw a raging fit. “
So. Crap. They
’
re asking questions about Mom
’
s fire now?”
Finn shook his head gently and let out a sigh
. “
I don
’
t know. Joe seems to think there
’
s something there, but that could just be Joe.”
He leaned his head into her line of vision until she looked at him. “
Tessa, don
’
t worry. If it comes to it, we
’
ll just lie about where we were.”

“
Yeah, and if we get
caught in a lie, I
’
ll get in trouble, and they
’
ll take Izzy away. I can
’
t lose her, Finn, you don
’
t understand
—”

“
Shhh.”
He reached up and gently touched his thumb over the worry crease forming between her eyebrows, quickly withdrawing his hand. “
No one
’
s
gonna take Izzy away from you again.”

He let his hand slide down to her cheek, and Tessa wanted to tell him to knock it off, but she couldn
’
t. She knew it was a moment of weakness, and she knew it would pass. For the moment, however, Finn had the
zing,
and
it had been so long since she
’
d
zinged
with anyone. Right now, she could use a little damn
zing,
and a moment or two of indulgence couldn
’
t hurt, right?

Only, he didn
’
t indulge her. He pulled his hand away, took one last drag of his cigarette, and stamped
it out on the bottom of his shoe.

“
So, that
’
s everything?”
he asked.

Tessa blinked at the sudden change in direction. “
Pretty much.”

“
Except the how much,”
he said quietly.

“
How much what?”

He angled his head to look at her. “
How much of your inheritance
did you spend trying to make me look like a decent human being?”

“
Oh.”
She looked down at her fingers in her lap. “
Not much.”

“
How much is not much?”

“
None of your business is how much,”
she said, her annoyance rising. “
It
’
s my money to do whatever I want
with, and I didn
’
t do it for you, I did it for me, so this is the end of this conversation.”

His smile quirked at the side of his mouth, and her heart went
zing,
and... damnit.

“
All right,”
he said. He stood up and started toward the door. “
You don
’
t have
to tell me. I
’
ll find out.”

She stood up as well. “
How?”

He turned to face her, his expression light and playful. “
I have my ways.”

“
Gonna flirt with the bank teller, huh?”
Tessa said. They were now just inches apart, and her smile was fueled by such a str
ong wave of genuine good feeling that she felt almost dizzy. She wanted to be mad at him. She should be mad at him. Why didn
’
t she want to slap him? She really should be slapping him.

“
What is it about you?”
he whispered as though reading her mind, his eye
s going soft-focus as their bodies moved closer together. She didn
’
t answer, merely relaxed as he raised his hand and wove his fingers through her hair. He leaned toward her and she closed her eyes, letting him graze his lips gently over hers. Softly, she
fell into the kiss with him, accepting everything for the moment, even though she knew it was just for the moment.