She gasped.
Leaning in closer, I asked, “Borderline what?”
“First tell me, did y’all sleep together?”
I shook my head and took a bite of yogurt. “No. He asked me out to dinner, but I turned him down.”
Gripping the table, Clare shook her head. “Whoa…time out. Wait one damn minute. You haven’t even been out on a date with this guy? When did you kiss? You were at his condo? Why? How can you be that head over heels for someone and not have gone on a date?” Pinching the bridge of her nose, she moaned, “I’m so confused.”
She turned and searched for the waiter. “We need two Bloody Marys stat!”
In frustration, I said, “Get back to the whole borderline thing you were saying.”
“I’m just saying for a moment there, if I hadn’t known any better, I’d say you were falling for this guy.”
Laughing, I shook my head. “Impossible. I only found out his name yesterday.”
“What?” she shouted.
“Well, I mean I’d talked to him once before. For like, a minute or two. He was at a Boston Fire Fighters union meeting.”
Her eyes widened in horror. “He’s a firefighter?”
I nodded.
“That explains the turning down his dinner invite. Rory, will you ever be able to stand up to your father and tell him you can date whom you’d like?”
Shrugging, I responded, “I don’t want to upset him. Besides, I saw what my mother went through having a firefighter for a husband. The worrying she did when she heard his station called out on a fire.”
Clare stared at me with a disbelieving look on her face. “You’ve got to be kidding me. That’s the best you could come up with? Your dad would be upset and you don’t want to worry about your husband, which, may I just say, you’re only talking about going on a few dates. So you think he’s great now—he might end up being a total dick.”
I sighed. “The only thing my father has ever asked of me was not to date a firefighter. And I didn’t mention this before: Finn works for my father at his new station.” I inhaled a deep breath and blew it out as I kept talking. “And I’m pretty sure my father doesn’t like him. He made him take home the firehouse dog, who is four months old and tore Finn’s house to shreds.”
Covering her mouth to hide her smile, Clare slowly shook her head as she picked up her fork. “So do I want to know why you found yourself at his place?”
“It’s a long story, but nothing happened. Well…besides a mind-blowing kiss.” I waved my hands, dismissing it all. “But whatever. I have to focus on work, and Finn would be nothing but a distraction. I cannot have a distraction in my life right now.”
With a wide grin, she stared at me for a second before saying, “Uh-huh. Well, good luck with that.”
Chapter 7
Finn
Coffee, crates, and no dates
The light was barely peering through the shade as I rolled over. My arm hit something. Smiling, I mumbled, “Rory.”
Then I remembered she’d climbed into a cab in front of my place last night.
Moving my hand, I felt…fur.
“No. God no.”
Slowly peeking one eye open, I came face-to-face with a wet black nose and big brown eyes staring back at me.
I jumped out of bed and yelled, “What the fuck, Flash? You are not allowed in my bed!”
He obeyed. Except he started leaping and barking while chasing his tail. I watched as the idiot went right off my bed, only to hop back up and start the whole process over again.