Hot as Heller (Aster Valley 3)

Mine.

He glanced over at me with a frown, obviously wondering why I’d stopped before reaching the table. I continued over to him and set down the glass and pitcher before taking his face in both hands.

“Please tell me I can kiss you in public,” I said softly.

“Please tell me you will,” he replied. Before I had a chance to lean in, he added, “But know there are consequences. Like…”

Suddenly, I saw the fear in his eyes. I knew he meant media interference, attention I may not want. But if that was part of being with Finn, then that was inevitable anyway. I didn’t want to hide my feelings about him from anyone.

I leaned in slowly so he had plenty of time to stop me.

He didn’t.

We kissed for a full minute before the guys at the table began throwing up score numbers with their fingers. When I pulled away from Finn, he looked a little pink-lipped and dazed.

“So fucking gorgeous,” I murmured before sliding into my seat again.

“You’re dangerous, Sheriff Happycock,” he said, revealing he’d heard plenty of the teasing that had gone on before I’d noticed his arrival. Mikey snorted out a mouthful of beer, and everyone else started laughing.

“Not sure happy is the word to describe it at the moment,” I grumbled to Finn.

“Take me home later. I’ll make sure to fix it.”

The rest of the evening was some of the most fun I’d had since coming to Aster Valley. My friends were used to spending time with celebrities, and it didn’t faze them. Gent and Finn talked about some mutual acquaintances they knew in the entertainment industry, and Mikey updated us on Tiller’s upcoming season.

We left the restaurant on a high. Good food, decent beer, great company. When Finn mentioned his mother returning to LA, it was even better. “My place?” he suggested with bouncing eyebrows. “I had housekeeping come through after Mom left. Should be fresh and clean for us.”

“Did they smudge it with sage? If not, Truman might have—”

Finn elbowed me in the side. “She’s not an evil spirit. Just a misguided one. I’ve decided to forgive her for being young and ignorant and for making bad choices. She made a lot of good ones, too.”

I pulled him closer before we reached his car. “Hey, I’m sorry. I was just joking about—”

“No, I know. I just… I’ve learned some not great things about my mom this week, and I’m coming to terms with it.”

When we returned to the chalet, we sat curled up together on the sofa while he told me more about his mom, how she’d gotten him into acting and become “that” stage mom. He talked about his conflicting feelings, knowing she was desperate but also wishing he’d been able to have a “normal” childhood out of the media spotlight.

I loved hearing so much about his experience and his feelings. It made me feel closer to him. We hadn’t talked about our relationship yet, but we shared the kind of vulnerabilities with each other that created that kind of intimacy. We’d blown well past casual sex territory into “I want this to become something real” territory.

But tonight wasn’t the night to press. He was tired and a little sad, mourning the last vestiges of thinking his mother was anything more than a regular person with regular faults.

After brushing our teeth and stripping off our clothes, we slid between clean sheets and made love slowly and silently, using our hands and lips to tell each other how we felt. It was both intense and familiar, something I’d both already had with him and desperately wanted from him again and again.

I fell asleep wondering for the first time in six months if I would even consider moving back to LA in order to pursue a real relationship with Finn when Gold Rats filming wrapped.

I had it bad. And it was time for me to tell him.

The next day, Finn went to work, and I did the same, but just when I was ready to clock out for the day and check in with Finn before his night climb, Penny came racing into my office.

“It’s Tessa! She couldn’t get a hold of your cell. She’s having pains and bleeding. Should I send a bus?”

I scrambled for my cell phone and noticed three missed calls and two missed texts. My phone’s ringer had been acting up ever since the night I’d gone to Slye Peak in the rain and gotten it wet. It was supposed to be water-resistant, but at this rate, that appeared to be bullshit.

I quickly got her on the line. “Where are you?”

“The house. I’m scared. I think we should go to Denver. To the specialist. Remember what they said about—”

I snapped to get Penny’s attention and nodded at her, mouthing, “Get a bus.” An ambulance would be the best way to make sure she was in good hands as soon as possible. Penny ran off to arrange it.