He tried to kick her under the table, but his shin found a table leg instead. “Ouch.”
His mother piled on, for added impact. “Finn loves children with special needs. He’d be quids in to adopt kids.”
With the conversation taking a turn for the worse, Laurie’s brows bent with determination. She put her fork down and cleared her throat. “Eh-hem… Susan… Katie… I need to say something…”
Cripes! She’s going to tell Mum we aren’t dating.
He couldn’t blame her. It wasn’t surprising she was ready to throw in the towel after thirty minutes with his mother and Katie. He’d had thirty-three years to get used to them, and they still drove him crazy.
Her right hand reached over and found his. She lifted their joined hands to the corner of the table, having attained the rapt attention of his mum and sister. He could only stare at their interlaced fingers, amazed at how natural it felt.
“If you want any chance of this working between Finn and me, you need to back off.”
Katie’s eyes grew so large, they looked like they might pop out of her head, but she kept her mouth shut.
Laurie’s chin had a barely perceptible tremble as she spoke. “I don’t think you treat Finn with the respect he deserves. He runs a multi-billion-dollar corporation and a charity organization that’s changed countless lives. You shouldn’t offer your opinions about his life choices unless he asks for them.”
Finn expected a sarcastic response, but it never came. Evidently encouraged by their silence, Laurie spoke again.
“And something else...” Her fingers squeezed as if she was drumming up her courage. “I think your meddling may be part of the reason Finn doesn’t want to get married. What woman would want to marry a grown man whose family treats him like a child?” Bottomless brown eyes peered at him in question. “Am I right?”
His throat too constricted to speak, he could only nod. Her words were nothing new. He’d expressed the same sentiments a thousand times, to no avail. But this time, something was different. It wasn’t important whether or not his family listened—it only mattered that Laurie had spoken out in his defense.
Katie’s brows lifted. Of course, she wasn’t fooled by Laurie’s speech. She knew, as he did, it was all for show. Yet he couldn’t help the warm feeling that spread inside. Laurie had gone out on a limb for him, as only a true friend would.
His mother sat back in her chair, lines deepening on her forehead. Laurie’s hand tugged, but he held on, wanting to present a unified front. If his mother or sister uttered one word of criticism about Laurie, he was ready to walk out of the restaurant.
Susan leveled a challenging gaze at Laurie, which she returned, lifting her chin.
“That’s not the first time I’ve been told to wind my neck in,” Susan remarked. “But it could be the most thorough job of it. Brilliant, really. Don’t you think, Katie?”
His sister nodded cheerily as she forked a bite of quinoa into her mouth. “True. A thorough flogging, and well-deserved.”
Finn let out the breath he’d been holding. World War III wasn’t coming after all.
His mum went back to her salmon. “I suppose we thought it was all in good fun. Didn’t know we had you wound up over it.”
“It gets old. I’ve asked you to leave it alone about a thousand times.” Reluctantly, Finn let Laurie’s fingers slip away so she could return to her dinner. He was pleased to see her appetite had picked up.
He owed her big time. She’d accomplished in five minutes what he’d failed to do over the last decade or more. In his head, he rehearsed how he would express his gratitude without making her feel awkward. He was pretty sure he knew just what to say.
Laurie’s jaw hurt. She’d never laughed so much in her life. The evening continued as before, except for the conspicuous absence of conversation about Finn’s desperate need for a spouse and children. Now their nonstop banter had no bite in it, and their witty exchanges kept her in stitches. She was actually sad when the evening was over. For one thing, she’d now seen yet another side of Finn Anderson—thoughtful, sweet and funny. As Susan would say, she “rather fancied” this new Finn.
No one made mention of having her play the piano after dinner, so the pressure was off. Though she was dying to play it, she’d prefer not to have an audience for her rusty performance. Even more enticing was the thought of having Finn perform a personal concert, and a small part of her hoped he might suggest it when he drove her home.
Earlier, he’d held her hand longer than necessary. What did that mean? Was it possible he felt a bit of attraction? Surely not. What would a man like Finn Anderson, one of Now Magazine’s most eligible US bachelors, ever see in her? Thank goodness she wasn’t attracted to him.
Okay, I admit I think he’s good-looking. But who doesn’t? That doesn’t mean I like the man. I’m not going to fall all over him just because he managed to be charming for one evening.
They might’ve stayed for hours, laughing and chatting over decaf coffee, but Lucy woke up and decided she was ready to eat. As they made a hasty exit before the baby’s wails caused any further disruption, Laurie received another round of enthusiastic hugs.
Exiting the restaurant, Katie pulled Laurie away from the other two and murmured. “You know, that speech you gave about Finn was awfully passionate.”
“I’m sorry about that, but somebody had to take up for him.”
“No, no. I’m not upset about it.” Katie shifted the baby carrier to the other arm, so she could lean closer and whisper, “But I wondered where all that passion came from.”
Laurie winced. Controlling her temper was one of her weak points. “That’s the way I am about everything, I guess. I get worked up pretty easy, and sometimes I lose it.”