Finn's Christmas Dilemma (Holiday Hunks Book 3) Page 4

  “If you keep showing off like that, someone is going to recognize you.”

  “This isn’t fancy stuff. See? That guy over there is doing some moves too.”

  She looked across the ice instead of at her feet, and that was when said feet flew out from under her.

  “Gotchya,” Finn said, catching her from behind, his arms around her waist. He steadied her on her feet and then moved to stand beside her, one arm still around her waist. “Let’s skate together until your body remembers how to do it.”

  “I think my body has a pretty bad memory.” Okay, so having Finn’s strong arm around her made the horrible feeling that she would fall go away. He had always been able to do that. To ground her and steady her.

  And even though his sexy body pressing against hers sent a jolt of arousal through her, making her heart rate surge, Trinity knew that, regardless of how this little “could he love me” experiment turned out, she at least had gotten her best friend back.

  Chapter 4

  Trinity pulled her Prius into the driveway next to the one-story cottage where Finn was living this month. A childish giddiness filled her at the thought of spending the evening with Finn in his personal space, but rather than berate herself for it, she decided it was a good thing. Her life had gotten too serious. She was basically happy with her work and grateful for the success of the coffee shop and the friendly people she saw every day. But there was a difference between that and joy.

  Joy was a rare and wonderful thing and, strangely enough, she had found herself buying those Christmas signs that read “Joy” to hang among the decorations she had just put in her cafe. She’d done it without conscious intent, and now she believed it was because of Finn. Since Finn had come back into her life, a subtle feeling of joy floated in the background for her each day. All she had to do was think of his handsome face, his sweet smile, his sexy voice, his strong arms—

  “Are you coming in or are you planning to sit in your car all night?”

  Finn’s voice cut through the cloud of thoughts that had waylaid her, as he stood at his open front door looking so hot in low-slung jeans, the sleeves of his navy jersey pushed up to his elbows.

  “Here I come.” She grabbed two shopping bags from the seat on her left and marched up the cute flagstone path. “This looks like a Hansel and Gretel cottage.”

  “Let’s hope not, since they almost got eaten.” He took the bags from her and stepped back to let her in.

  “This was furnished already, wasn’t it?” she asked, knowing the living room cluttered with too much furniture, all in colors and patterns that made her dizzy was not Finn’s style.

  “Yeah. Someone on Casey’s staff found it for me. I’m only here a month so it works.” Finn took her coat and hung it in a closet near the door.

  “What is all this stuff you brought?” he asked. “I told you I could make a great turkey meat loaf dinner. Don’t you trust me?”

  Trinity looked up into his eyes and said, “I think you are just about the only person in the world that I trust.”

  He looked down at her as she stood close, gazing up at him and for a moment Trinity thought he might kiss her. But then he quickly turned away, saying, “I’ve got to check the potatoes.”

  She heaved a disappointed sigh and followed him into the kitchen. “It’s not food in the shopping bags. Well, one bag has a box of cafe cookies for dessert. You’re not dieting for the show, I hope.”

  “Nah. I burn off so much in rehearsals and workouts that I never have to think about it.” He took the box she handed him. “Want a beer? Glass of wine?”

  “No, thanks. I don’t drink.” She waited a beat, hoping he would not probe.

  “Apple juice? Spring water?”

  Trinity opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle of water.

  Knitting his eyebrows, Finn said, “So, what’s in the bags?”

  “Nosy, aren’t we? It’s Christmas decorations. I bought a bunch for the store and thought it would be fun to give your”—she waved a hand in the air—“generic rental house a little personal cheer for the holiday.”

  Finn stood there looking at her and she could not guess what he was thinking. Had she overstepped, trying to impose her ideas on his living space?

  Finally he said, “That’s strange. And really sweet. And something only you would do.” He lifted the pot of potatoes off the stove and drained them in a colander.

  “I owe you after all the years I roped you into helping me decorate my parents’ house.”

  “Mashed? That was always your favorite, wasn’t it?” he asked without turning to her.

  “Yep.”

  “Then mashed it is.” He plugged in an electric beater.

  “Where did you learn to cook, Finn?”

  “Been on my own since I was eighteen. Had to learn how to make a few things.”

  “Did you live with any women?” No. She did not just ask him that. How could she let that slip out of her mouth?

  But Finn didn’t seem affected by the question one way or the other. Maybe because he really only thought of Trinity as a friend and all her fantasies of making it more were just that. Fantasies.

  “Yeah,” he said. “In New York I lived with a dancer, but then I broke up with her when I went on tour. Got too complicated. In LA I got involved with a woman who was the divorced wife of a famous director.”

  “Who?”

  “Not telling.” He smirked. “It was mostly fun. Neither of us wanted to get serious. I moved into her enormous house with a pool and tennis courts and a zillion rooms. The kind you see in movies.” Finn glanced at her. “But that’s not so foreign to you. Weren’t you engaged to some Australian billionaire?”

  Trinity nodded, but her mouth went dry. She was not ready to talk about what her life had been in the past few years. So she would have to stop asking about his. She stood and went to a drawer. “Which drawer has the silverware? I’ll set the table.”

  “Next over. Dishes in the cabinet above.”

  “Kitchen or dining room?”

  “Which would you like? They’re both ugly.”

  They both cracked up laughing, breaking the awkward tension.

  As they shared a meal of his perfect meat loaf, with mashed potatoes and gravy, steamed chard and a salad, they fell into that same easy rapport they’d always had. They took the apple pie and coffee—one of Trinity’s of course—into the living room so they could start on the holiday decorations.

  Finn found a ladder in the basement and Trinity held it steady as he strung lights around the room.

  “I hope you know you are encouraging me to deface this property with these little holes I’m making in the wall,” Finn said, grinning down at her.

  “I’ll help you repair them.”

  “Just teasing. My landlady will probably be happy keep my deposit.”

  When he came down from the ladder, she brought one of her new Christmas vanilla wafer cookies to his mouth. “Sustenance for your work.”

  Finn moved his mouth to her fingers, but his eyes stayed on hers. There it was again. That I-want-to-kiss-you look. For real. Not in her head.

  But then he turned away again and picked up his mug of coffee. He went to the corner and plugged in the Christmas lights, then shut off the main lamp. “Reminds me of stage lighting.”

  Trinity sat on the green-orange-and-blue patterned sofa. “Tell me about what it’s like, Finn. You’ve performed on so many stages. Touring. And the television stage of Dance Time. And Broadway.”

  Finn sat next to her, and when the side of his thigh touched hers, she had to force her focus onto what he was saying.

  “Let me tell you, being a judge on the TV show is a lot easier than performing in a live musical night after night, week after week. Even the Dance Time tours we do in the summer do not compare to being a lead in a Broadway musical filled with athletic dances that test your endurance song after song. I was often terrified I would not have enough lung power to get through and would l
ose my voice right there on stage.”

  “Whoa. Most people would have no idea.” Trinity picked up a cookie and bit into it.

  He nodded. “I used to practice my songs while running on a treadmill to condition myself.”

  “Did you join a local gym here?”

  “Casey has a gym in her house and lets me use it. That woman is a saint.”

  Trinity pretzeled her lips. “She also wants to protect her investment.”

  “That’s not Casey. You sound like my agent.”

  “Well, I was managed by an agent to for a while.”

  “I know. Are you planning on going back?”

  “Nope. Never.”

  “Why not?”

  Trinity sighed and looked away.

  “I’d love to hear about your career in the fashion world, but it seems like you don’t want to tell me about it.”

  “I will, Finn. I promise. But not yet, okay?”

  “Whenever you’re ready.” He placed his hand on her knee, and Trinity could hardly keep herself from climbing into his lap. She wanted his strong arms around her so badly.

  Time to stand up. She went to the other shopping bag she had brought and took out a miniature fake tree.

  Finn burst into laughter. “Oh no. You are too much.”

  “You have to have a tree, Finn. And I have some shiny decorations for it.”

  “Okay, but none of those elves, okay?”

  Her mouth hung open. “Don’t tell me you remember that little display of Santa’s elves I spent a zillion hours making when I was ten.”

  “Yeah. It was really good, actually.”

  “When I finished we celebrated it with a pizza I made.”

  “That the dog wouldn’t even eat.”

  “The raccoons either.” She laughed so hard tears came to her eyes.

  “Now you know why I insisted on making dinner instead of taking you up on your offer.”

  “Hey, I make great coffee.” She pounded him in the shoulder and he grabbed her wrist to stop her.

  And there they were again. Face to face, so close they could kiss, but each one frozen in place.

  Afraid to cross the chasm into the unknown.

  * * *

  Finn completed his triple turn in time to catch Maya as she dove at him. He swooped her around and set her on her feet and they proceeded into the complicated mix of footwork and leaps and near miss lifts that Casey had choreographed for them. Finn had always loved the “Carol of the Bells” and the driving quality helped give his energy as he danced to it.

  Then the music cut away into a slow pas de deux to “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” Finn guessed it was a tongue in cheek for him. Normally he liked sensual duets with long-legged dancers draped all over him. But Maya had begun hanging on him even when they were taking breaks.

  He tried to move away from her inconspicuously so she would not take it as an insult but might hopefully get the hint that he was not interested. Again today as he was sitting on the side rehydrating with some water, Maya took a seat at his side and wrapped both arms around his waist, putting her chin on his shoulder.

  Geeze. Luckily a good reason for him to spring out of her hold walked in the door of the rehearsal studio.

  “Josh!” Finn raced across the floor to Casey’s stepson. Sandy-haired with a compact build, six years younger than Finn, he had been like a little brother to him. When Finn joined the academy, they’d bonded from the start, challenging each other with difficult flips and stunts, lifting weights together, sharing favorite music and ideas, and even playing innocent tricks on Casey together.

  “Look at you, man. You’re so ripped,” Josh said, giving Finn a man-hug.

  “Me? You were a skinny fifteen-year-old last time I saw you. Now you look like the Hulk. You’re on college break now, right?”

  “Right.” Josh lowered his voice. “Who’s that hot chick crawling all over you?”

  Finn moaned. “You want her?”

  “Uh-oh. I guess you get come-ons from a lot of them these days thanks to the rich and famous TV star factor.”

  “Kind of. In this case, it’s because the dancer I wanted couldn’t do this show, so your mom picked her.”

  “Then she must be good.”

  “She is. But she found out I’ve got a prime time TV special coming up in the new year and she wants in. And thinks shoving her hand down my pants is going to get her there.”

  “My heart bleeds for you. I can think of about a thousand guys who’d trade places.”

  “Looks like more fun than it is, believe me.”

  * * *

  Finn pulled up the hood of the zipper sweatshirt he wore under his leather jacket. Yeah, it was partly for face-recognition coverage, but mostly because he had gotten spoiled by the warm weather in LA. It had dropped into the twenties and they were predicting snow.

  “I cannot believe you roped me into this,” he grumbled.

  Trinity shot him a grin that went straight to his cock. He loved her sensual mouth. And her bright blue eyes. And her creamy skin and copper-colored hair. He pulled his thoughts away. If he got started on what he loved about her world-class body he would have to pull his jacket down lower to hide the tent in his pants.

  “Come on,” she said, and tugged on his arm, pulling him through the local crowd in the town square. “Really, Finn, how often do they light up the Chanukah menorah and the Christmas tree on the same night? It’s a special time.”

  Finn didn’t argue because, well, it didn’t really matter what they did, as long as he got to be near her. Yeah, he knew he was walking a dangerous line on that, letting himself believe in an old bond that might not be as strong in her eyes.

  He and Trinity were texting and talking on the phone a few times a day now, and if it were not for his rehearsal schedule, he had a feeling she would want to see him daily. She kept coming up with things for them to do, and, just as in the past, Finn could not say no to her.

  The crowd around them cheered and Finn realized that the first light of the menorah and the Christmas tree lights went on at the same time. He clapped, but could not quite rev himself up to a cheer. Which brought up an issue that might create a wedge between him and Trinity—as it had in the past.

  She loved this town. And he did not. Trinity had been one of the most popular girls in his high school. Finn had not one friend from their school. Trinity had been chosen as queen of every prom and community festival that he could remember. Finn had been bullied and ridiculed, the dance academy his only refuge.

  And now she had created a cafe that was like a local clubhouse in the North Fork. Yes, a hipper crowd had begun moving into the area, making her clientele and the neighborhoods and local businesses a nice mix of new blood and those who’d been here for generations.

  But where would Finn fit in? Would he end up hiding out in the performing arts academy again? Or would Trinity be willing to leave with him?

  But he was getting ahead of himself. For all he knew, Trinity wanted nothing more than friendship with him. Or maybe a fast holiday hook-up between old buddies. Or—

  “Look, Finn!” She stuck out her hand. “It’s the first snow.” She let out a girlish squeal that would have turned him off if it had come from anyone except Trinity.

  Yeah, he still worshipped the ground she walked on. Maybe it was time to get over it. He tilted his head back and gazed up at the snow. “It’s already picking up. I have a feeling this is going to be a pretty one.” Like you.

  Trinity clutched his arm. “And you are not getting out of building a snow man with me.”

  Finn groaned. “I’ve got a foot injury that acts up when it gets cold.”

  “Boo hoo. Try another one.”

  He laughed and pretended to strangle her, which only sent her into giggles. They were acting like teens. Was that what this was about? Both of them trying to regain what they had lost when they each went their separate ways? Was he fooling himself to put the L-word label on something that was merely nost
algia?

  Seeing it through to the end was the only way to find out.

  Besides, he was having so much fun with Trinity he wasn’t about to stop now.

  Chapter 5

  Trinity knew it was him the moment he walked through the door.

  Griffith. Would he recognize her?

  If Finn were not here, she would ask Caroline to cover for her and escape upstairs until he left. But Caroline was already covering for her to give her time to visit with her “boyfriend.”

  Even though her friend had begun calling Finn that, she knew not to dare say it in front of him, since, as Caroline kept insisting, the two of them were in deep denial.

  Trinity hoped that was the only reason Finn had not kissed her yet. It was all a bit too deja vu from when she was fifteen and trying to give him every hint in the book. Maybe this time she would go ahead and take the risk.

  He sat across from Trinity now at one of the square tables in the front. Way too visible for her comfort when Griffith walked in. She glanced at Finn and tried to remember what the two of them had been talking about.

  “So, you don’t have rehearsal today?” Trinity asked, hoping it did not sound too out of the blue.

  “No. My partner had to go into Manhattan for something. Maybe it’s payback for the two days I took off. Who knows, but I might go over to the academy and check out what some of the other groups are working on for the show. I know Casey would appreciate it.”

  Trinity nodded, but her eyes followed the tall man in very expensive clothes as he swaggered to the counter and ordered a double espresso. She was hoping he would get it to go, but no such luck. He turned his head and looked to be reading the chalkboard menu and then ordered a couple fried eggs with melon and a muffin. Yeah, to eat here.

  “Bring it to my table,” he said, then turned around and walked to the section where Trinity and Finn sat. Where they usually did not sit, but of course chose to do so today of all days. And naturally he took the table right next to her. Even though there was no one else in the cafe. Literally. It was an off hour between lunch and closing, a time when everything came to a standstill except for a few stragglers.