Scandalous (The Finn Factor 2)

“Don’t call Owen gay to his face,” Tasha advised. “He hates labels.”

Brady grimaced. “He should get used to it, because other people love them.”

And wasn’t that the damn truth.

“He’s happy though, right? I mean, what? Over six months now?”

“Yes. And of course he’s happy. Jeremy’s a catch. A talented artist, a sex god with super-sized equipment, endless stamina and the patience of a saint.” Her smile softened when she thought about Owen and Jeremy together. “We’ve been friends most of our lives and I’ve never seen either one of them this…complete.”

“It must be nice,” Brady mused. “Being with someone who knows you so well. Someone you can trust.”

“It must be.” She nodded, knowing she’d thought the same thing more than once. “They’re one of those couples now, the ones who can have a whole conversation with a single glance. They’re also the ones that disappear from the room to get extra plates and show up thirty minutes later with their shirts on inside out, acting as if nothing happened. You really need a front row seat to appreciate it.”

“Something to look forward to.”

His words confirmed that he hadn’t seen them yet. It wasn’t that unusual. No one saw the Finn cousins that often. They lived in the same city but they’d gone to different schools, hung out at different bars, and unless it was an important celebration or a true life-and-death emergency, they rarely got together.

She remembered Owen telling her something about an ongoing disagreement between the elder Finn twins, Shawn and Sol. It must have been one whopper of a fight to have this kind of lasting effect on such family-oriented men.

“When our caper is over,” she said, “I’m going to bring you over to their place for dinner and you can see for yourself. Maybe we can invite a few of your brothers. It’s better than a night at the movies, I promise.”

“I’d like that. It would do us all some good to see true love in action. We didn’t grow up with it the way our cousins did.” Brady’s gray-blue eyes darkened. “But our caper is serious business, Tasha. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it isn’t.”

“I won’t.”

“I think the feds must be desperate to be this irresponsible with Stephen’s welfare and reputation. He’s basically throwing his future to the wolves and hoping for the best here. Burke is bad news. If he sniffs you out before he makes Stephen a solid offer…if you can’t dance to his tune…”

She understood his concern, even shared it. But once Stephen made up his mind, there was no changing it. The Finns were all like that. Stubborn. “Trust me, Hot Body Man—men like Burke? I know their tune by heart. You two couldn’t have picked a better partner in crime. Stick with me and I’ll have him too distracted to remember his fourth wife’s name. What is her name anyway?”

“Wendi, with an i.” The familiar voice in the doorway made Tasha jump. “Am I interrupting?”

Brady frowned as if surprised he hadn’t heard Stephen coming, and he moved to get up. Tasha placed a hand on his arm and batted her lashes at Stephen. “Only my wicked daydreams, Senator. Too bad you two are related. We could have pretended to be poly and really put on a show.”

The former Marine’s ears turned an adorable shade of red before he bounced off the bed and stood beside Stephen. “No one followed us. Now that you’re here, I’ll do a sweep of the block and then I need to run back to my place to grab my bag.”

Stephen nodded. “I got word on the way home that we’ll be picked up tomorrow afternoon, so no hurry. We’ll save some dinner for you.”

They listened to his footsteps fade, Stephen leaning against the doorframe, her still reclining on the bed.

The silence and his proximity were getting to her already. He wasn’t moving any closer, not even when they heard the front door close behind Brady. And his expression was impossible to read.

“So this is a new record for us.”

He raised one eyebrow. “What is?”

“Alone, twice in one day. Both of us still wearing our clothes. Talking.”

She expected him to laugh. Wanted him to. She wasn’t ready for the flash of regret in his eyes. “Natasha…”

Her smile didn’t feel convincing, but she used it like a shield, getting to her feet and reaching for one of her bags. “You’re too easy to tease, Senator. Did you say something about dinner? Brady and I split a sandwich and a few brownies while I was packing, but that was hours ago. I’m hoping you brought something more substantial.”

“Yes,” he replied in a subdued tone. “It needs a reheat in the oven, but I think you’ll approve.”

“Great.” She grabbed the faded, stretched-out jersey and pair of shorts. “Why don’t you go make that happen while I change out of this dress? I’m not sure if you noticed, but it’s a little snug across the girls and it’s been cutting off my circulation all day.”