The Comeback Kiss (38 page)

“
It was a joke,”
Finn said. “
I was being ironic. I didn
’
t mean it literally.”

“
Then you shouldn
’
t have
said
it literally,”
Joe said. “
I
’
m not a criminal. I never got the criminal codebook where
‘
black
’
means
‘
inconspicuous.
’
”

“
I
’
m not a criminal, either,”
Finn said. Joe raised an eyebrow and Finn added, “
Anymore.”

“
Speaking of which,”
Joe said, “
what the hell have you been doing all these years, anyway? And don
’
t try to sell me that private detective crap, because I don
’
t buy tha
t for a minute.”

Finn
’
s eyes widened. “
You want
me
to explain myself to
you?
You look like a fucking ninja on holiday.”

Tessa glanced at the clock: 5:47. This had been going on for eight minutes, and there was no end in sight.

“
And what the hell is this?”
Finn said, pointing to the big white canvas laundry bag Joe had slung over his shoulder.

“
If there
’
s evidence, we
’
re gonna need something to carry it in,”
Joe said.

Finn flicked a finger at the tremendous bag. “
What kind of evidence are you planning on tak
ing? You think we
’
re gonna find a confession scribbled on some dry cleaning?”

Tessa patted the sofa a couple of times as an invite to Wallace, who accepted it without a moment
’
s hesitation. She looked down at him and made a kissy face, and he slobbered all
over her. She wiped her face on her sleeve and scratched his head as they watched Finn and Joe dig in for another round.

“
I don
’
t know what kind of evidence we
’
re going to get,”
Joe said. “
I
’
m an electrician. This isn
’
t the kind of thing I do on a regular
basis.”

“
What the hell does being an electrician have to do with not having common fucking sense?”

“
Any more of this,”
Tessa said to Wallace in cutesy tones, “
I
’
m going to have to go find a fork and stab myself with it.”

Wallace licked her face again.

“
Wh
atever, man,”
Finn said, dismissing his brother and turning to Tessa with a
Do you believe this guy?
expression.

Tessa sighed and pushed herself up from the sofa. “
Do you girls think you could possibly put aside your catfight long enough to get this done?
Because you
’
re both starting to freak me out.”

Finn huffed and gestured to indicate Joe
’
s ninja-on- holiday outfit, as though that was all the defense he needed. Tessa put her hand to her forehead.

“
Look, just...”
She glanced at the clock. “
Go now.”

Finn
checked his watch. “
Might as well.”

“
But Tarpey
’
s probably still there,”
Joe said.

Finn sighed heavily and spoke to Joe with a tone most people reserved for petulant toddlers. “
That
’
s why we wait outside, in the car. We watch him leave, we
’
ll know he
’
s gon
e, then we go inside.”

“
You can do this by yourself, you know,”
Joe said. “
I don
’
t have to help you, you freakin
’
leprechaun. What is up with the hair, anyway?”

Finn
’
s eyes went wide and Tessa stepped in between them.

“
You know what, guys?”
Tessa said. “
Ju
st go. Izzy
’
s gonna be home from dinner at Margie
’
s soon and...”
She looked at Joe. “
I don
’
t want her getting weirded out by you two.”

“
He said wear black!”
Joe said.

“
I
meant
—”
Finn started, but Tessa grabbed his hand and squeezed it to silence him.

“
Joe,
would you go warm up the car, please?”
She reached into her pocket and gave him her keys. “
Take the Mazda. It
’
s the darkest-colored car we
’
ve got.”

Joe looked from Tessa to Finn, then took the keys, slung the laundry bag over his shoulder, and left. Tessa
turned to Finn.

“
Look
—”
she started.

Finn rolled his eyes. “
Yeah, I know.
Be safe. Don
’
t kill your brother. Wear clean underwear."

“
I love you,”
she said, pushing the words so they got out before she lost her nerve.

Finn went quiet. That wasn
’
t encouragin
g, but she
’
d already started. There was no point in stopping now.

“
All right...”
she stammered. “
Yeah, okay, that was sudden and awkward but...”

“
No,”
he said. “
It
’
s just... you know. Got a little whiplash going from
‘
You
’
re freaking me out,
’
to...”
He pau
sed and looked at her. “
Well. You know.”

She sighed and regrouped. “
Remember the day you brought me the Tootsie Rolls?”

“
Yeah.”
Finn laughed lightly. “
You remember that?”

She nodded, feeling the tears threatening as the memories rushed through her.
Man, c
ry once, and suddenly it
’
s Niagara Falls.
She bit the inside of her cheek, pushed back the weepy, and kept going.

“
Since that day,”
she said, “
I have loved you. I loved you when we were growing up, I loved you when you left, and I loved you while you were
gone. I tried not to, lots of times I wished I didn
’
t, but I did. And, God help me, I still do.”

Finn opened his mouth, but didn
’
t say anything. Great. The one man with an answer for everything, and she
’
d rendered him mute with her
looooooooooove.
She want
ed to roll her eyes and make a joke, push all this back to the depths she
’
d kept it hidden in all these years, but she didn
’
t.

She was a grown-up, damnit, and she was going to act like one.

“
I just wanted it said,”
she added quickly. “
I don
’
t know when you
’
re going to disappear again. I don
’
t know if you
’
re going to send Joe back with whatever you get and take off...”

Something flashed on Finn
’
s face. She gasped and hit his shoulder.

“
Oh, my God, you were gonna send Joe back and take off?”

Finn huffed. “
All
right. Yeah, I thought about it, okay? Tessa, every minute we
’
re together, it
’
s just...”
He sighed and met her eyes. “
It
’
s only gonna make things harder.”

Tessa wanted really badly to slug him one, but she didn
’
t. She was a grown-up. Instead, she crossed
her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at him.

“
You know what? I take it back. I don
’
t love you. You
’
re stupid.”

Finn nodded, his expression hard. Tessa sighed.
Grown-up. Be a grown-up.

“
Oh, crap,”
she whined. “
I don
’
t mean that. I mean, yeah, you
’
r
e stupid, but I still...”

Finn reached up and put his hand on her face, his thumb caressing her cheek as he pressed his forehead to hers.

“
Five tomatoes for a dollar,”
he said softly, his voice laced with an irony she could detect but didn
’
t fully understa
nd.

She pulled her head back. “
What the hell is that supposed to
—
?”

He kissed her softly, one hand cradling her face as the other wrapped around her waist, pulling her to him with gentle need. He stopped, took a breath, then kissed her again, this time wit
h force and desire and nothing held back. Tessa stopped thinking, stopped worrying, just let herself fall into the kiss and the
zing,
because damnit, she needed some
zing.
She
’
d earned herself some
zing.

A moment later, when they broke the kiss, she rested
her hands on the back of his neck and breathed in deep.

“
You come back to me tonight,”
she said, “
or I swear I will hunt you down like the dog you are.”

A horn blared from the street. Tessa laughed. Finn closed his eyes and cursed.

“
I really hate that guy
,”
he said.

“
No, you don
’
t,”
Tessa said.

He looked at her, his eyes crinkling at the edges as he smiled. “
I
’
ll be back,”
he said.

“
You
’
d better,”
she whispered.

Tessa watched him leave, and in that moment, she understood the
zing.
She understood that it wa
s rare, and precious, and she finally understood why she
’
d never been able to re-create it with anyone else. Because Finn was The One. He was her Soul Mate, he was her Destiny, he was all those things she
’
d never wanted to believe in because they were all
dorky as hell. But she was tired of fighting off what she didn
’
t want. The time had finally come for her to start fighting for what she wanted, and if that meant she had to fight Finn to keep the
zing ...

Well, then. So be it.

***

Sosie McGovern stood on
Uncle Matt and Aunt Grace
’
s porch, staring at the doorbell.

Just do it, she thought. Just tell them and if Izzy gets mad, Izzy gets mad.

She nibbled on her lip and sighed. Izzy wasn
’
t going to be just mad. She was going to be furious. Telling this secret
was a very serious breach of the best friend code, and Izzy would probably never speak to Sosie again. But last night, when Sosie had told her mother some of the basics without revealing any specifics, her mother had said that a real friend does what
’
s ri
g
ht, even if it means losing a friend. And it wasn
’
t right to let Izzy get into trouble over this when Sosie could get her some help. And who better to help Izzy than Uncle Matt?

No one. That
’
s who.