Love or Luxury (10 page)

Well, when he put it that way.

"I—" Her voice came out meek, intimidated, and embarrassed. Obviously, he was annoyed at her actions. "I wanted you to know I loved the bracelet. That's all. It seemed too beautiful to say thank you over the phone, but I didn't mean to interrupt your day."

"Good. I'm glad you like it, sweetheart," he said. The annoyance in his voice dissipated as he brushed his fingers gently across her cheek, the gesture more loving than she expected. "But next time, please don't come all the way to the office to tell me that. Okay? Your presence here distracts me."

"I'm sorry I bothered you at work, but I also wanted to tell you I bought a gown for the gala. Thank you so much for spoiling me with all these gifts." She smiled, unable to shake the feeling she needed to apologize for seeing him today. Would she feel this way if she wore his ring on her finger, too?

"I'm sure you'll be the most beautiful woman at the gala." He cupped her jaw in his hand and kissed her quickly. When he pulled back, his eyes held a twinkle of the old fire she'd seen in him in high school. The old Reid was in there somewhere, she just had to be more patient while he settled back into life here and got his clinic up and running. "I'll speak to you tomorrow since I'm on shift at the hospital this evening. Now, I've got patients waiting. I trust you can find your way out."

She nodded as he opened the door and left without another glance back. Was this what she really wanted to sign up for in life? A marriage that came second
after
his patients and little trinkets meant to keep her happy and quiet? Surely when she was his wife, she'd get equal billing as the clinic or better. Wouldn't she?

Rebecca walked quickly out of the office and past the receptionist.

"Have a nice day," the receptionist called as she pulled open the front door. The sarcastic sweetness in her voice made Rebecca feel ill. The bitch had told Reid she'd been harassed.

She'll know harassed if I become Reid's wife one day.

But did she want to be Reid's wife?

She rolled the small heart charm in her fingers.
His heart belongs to me… but do I want it?

If she wanted a life in the Meadow, then her answer to that question needed to be yes. But was it? Rebecca quickly unfastened the clasp and slipped the bracelet into the zippered pocket inside her handbag. It could stay there for now, at least while she figured out how she felt about being relegated to second place in Reid's life.

Her phone vibrated in the front pocket of her jeans. A new text from Finn.

Can't wait to see you again, Becca.

Becca? Was he trying to save space while texting, or was he actually thinking of her in nicknames? Nicknames implied closeness—an intimacy between people. The thought of him feeling that way for her sent of a shiver of excitement through her.

The now familiar stirrings of heat for Finn sparked in her belly like they did every time she was near him. Or reading his texts apparently. And another completely new feeling, a deep warmth settling into her chest with one simple word—Becca.

Warning sirens rang out in her head at her sudden, intense desire to spend time with Finn again. She wanted to be near him, to watch his lips as they spoke her new nickname. She wanted to spend more time talking to him and finding out more about his life, his brothers, his… everything.

But that was exactly what she shouldn't be doing. She shouldn't be encouraging herself, or him, to become closer, not when she wanted to have a future with Reid instead of Finn.

And yet she couldn't stop herself.

Ditto.
She typed then hit send.

Soon, Becca, soon.

Okay. What was with the cryptic messages today? Reid's had been pretty obvious once she'd opened his gift. But there was no gift or clue or anything to accompany Finn's message.

She didn't understand the message, so it was hard to know what to write back. If she stood around in the middle of the sidewalk all day trying to think of a response, she'd be late for her shift at the diner. Whatever Finn meant would have to wait until later. She had bills to pay, and her tips weren't going to earn themselves.

Chapter Ten

Finn pulled his motorcycle into a space near the door and killed the engine, suddenly nervous as he peered through the windows of the diner. Maybe she wouldn't be cool with him going behind her back and arranging this, but it was too late to back out now.

Besides, he'd been looking forward to doing something special for Rebecca since their last date, and he wasn't going to let a little thing like nerves make him wuss out now. Rebecca was worth putting himself out there, even if he ended up looking like a lovesick fool, which would be an accurate description if things kept going the way they had been with Rebecca.

She stood near the food service window with her back to the rest of the restaurant. As she turned around with plates in her hands, she jumped at the sight of him then smiled one of those smiles that lit up her whole face. He was really starting to love that smile of hers.

"I'll be right back," she said, walking past him to take the order to her waiting customers. When she returned, she leaned against the counter where he'd taken a seat. "What are you doing here? You love the food so much here, you couldn't resist coming back?"

He put his hands around her waist and pulled her until she stood between his legs. "I'm kidnapping you. I hope you don't mind." He followed the strings of her apron around to the knot at the small of her back and made quick work of untying them. An innocent enough act, except that it made him think about what it would be like if it wasn't her apron he was taking off, but something else. Preferably in the comfort and seclusion of his home, and not in the middle of the diner where she worked.

She tried to catch his hands before he completely removed her apron, but he was too fast for her. "Hey. What are you talking about? I'm working."

"Actually, it's now your dinner break. So technically, you're not working for the next hour."

"And you know this how?" She narrowed her eyes at him, but the smirk on her face was playful.

"Order up," Emmett called from the food service window, setting a brown bag on the ledge.

"You better go grab that before our dinner spoils." Finn nodded toward the bag. He enjoyed the look of confusion on her face as she retrieved the bag and spoke quietly to Emmett for a moment.

"Okay, then," she said, grabbing her coat and the bag of food. "I guess I'm all yours."

"Well, don't sound too excited or anything," he teased.

"I'm just surprised."

Finn led the way out to where he'd parked his motorcycle. Before he had a chance to put her helmet on and fasten it for her, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He pulled her close, his hands on her back, savoring the feel of her against him—of her mouth on his.

He wanted to skip dinner and say to hell with the notion of bringing her back to work and just drive directly to his house instead. When she finally broke away from his lips, he asked, "What was that for?"

"For making me feel special."

"You are special, Becca." It felt so good, so right to call her that name. Rebecca seemed so formal and distant. Becca,
his
Becca wasn't any of those things. Becca was warm and casual, and every time he was around her, they got closer and more intimate.

Of course, the pet name implied a certain amount of seriousness between them as well. Was he ready for that level with her yet? Did his feelings go that deep?

She hit him playfully on the arm and cast her eyes downward. "Stop. I'm serious."

"So am I."

She was special. He may not understand the full extent of what he felt for this girl, but he did know she was unlike any other girl he'd been with before. She made him think differently… feel differently.

"I've never had anyone come and kidnap me from work for a date before. How did you manage to convince Emmett to let me go? He normally prefers if we stay on site in case a problem comes up with one of our customers."

"I asked nicely." Finn shrugged. "Then I promised him you'd work an extra shift for free."

"You didn't." She hit him again. "I'll make you work it for me if you did."

"I didn't. But I did promise him I'd have you back on time to finish your shift, so let's go." He plunked the helmet on her head and fastened the chinstrap. "Damn you look cute in your helmet."

"I bet you say that to all the girls you bring on your bike." She bit her bottom lip and looked at him as if waiting for him to confirm his player status.

Well, he wasn't. He'd been so busy working he hadn't had much time to date lately—except when it came to Becca. He seemed to keep finding ways to squeeze in more time with her, even though it meant staying late to finish his work.

"Nope. Just you."

He hopped on in front of Rebecca, and a shot of energy pulsed through him as she wrapped her arms around his waist—comfort, excitement, and desire mixed into one heart-racing burst of adrenaline. She made him feel so many things. And all from a simple touch of her hands on his waist.

"Are you sure you can hold our dinner and me at the same time?" he asked, glancing down at the bag of food from Emmett gripped tightly in one of her hands while the other pressed against his stomach.

"I've got it. Let's go."

Finn drove away from the diner and toward one of his favorite parks along the canal. It was only a few minutes from the diner, but it would be a nice, quiet place to sit and relax for their dinner. And luckily, she had to be back at work long before it would get cold.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the park. A few cars were in the parking lot. Perfect for some quiet time with Rebecca.

They made their way across the grass on foot to one of the benches overlooking the canal. As they sat on the bench, Finn opened the brown paper take-out bag.

"What's for dinner?" Rebecca asked.

"I have no idea. I asked Emmett to make us whatever you usually have." He handed one container to Rebecca and opened the other, curious what was inside. The scent of grilled beef hit him as the lid came off. "Burgers. Nice. I'm pleasantly surprised."

"What did you think you'd find?"

"I expected something like salad, but burgers are way better." He took a big bite and the taste of barbecue sauce and grilled onions made his mouth water. Damn Emmett cooked a great burger. "I didn't take you for a greasy burger kind of girl."

"What can I say? I like meat."

He raised an eyebrow in response and tried really hard not to laugh. She couldn't possibly have meant that to sound the way he'd taken it. He wouldn't laugh and give his dirty thoughts away. He wouldn't.

He choked trying to swallow his food around his laugh, the sound a mixture of giggle, grunt, and cough. Not very helpful while trying to impress a girl with his coolness.

Rebecca's face turned pink again as she giggled. "You know what I meant. You keep taking my words out of context. Perv." She smiled and rolled her eyes at him. "Typical boy, always with his mind in the gutter."

He finally managed to swallow his food so he could respond. "Hey, I didn't say anything. You're the one whose mind went somewhere dirty. The thought you might be talking about something non-food related never even crossed my saint-like mind."

She gave him a look, and he laughed again. Seriously. Most girls would give him an I'm-going-to-kill-you look, and it would absolutely piss him off. But Rebecca doing it looked cute. Being able to joke around with a girl who could give it as good as she could take it felt amazing.

As they ate, he asked how her shift at the diner was and, in turn, she asked about his day at work. They chatted easily, like old friends—comfortable together even when they fell silent to chew or watch the boats passing on the river.

When they'd finished their burgers, he threw their food containers into the garbage. Finn laid his arms across her shoulders, and together they sipped the bottled waters he'd stashed in the motorcycle's saddle bag while watching the last few boaters sail back to the shore before the sun got too low on the horizon. When Rebecca snuggled into his side and rested her head back on his arm, he wished she didn't have to go back to work for about the hundredth time.

"I hate to be a downer, but we have to head back. Emmett will kill me if you're not back on time since I had to beg him to let you leave."

"I'm still amazed he said yes. He's a great boss, but he's got a few weird rules. Leaving work during a break is one of them." She turned her head so she gazed up at him. God, she was beautiful. "Are you sure you didn't drug him or bribe him or something?"

"I may have promised him I'd have one of my guys come by to fix a few things."

"Really? For a one-hour date with me? Isn't that going to cost you money and time?"

"Well worth it."

At least, he thought she was worth it. Of course, if she dumped him before he did the work for Emmett, it would get kind of uncomfortable around the diner. But did he really think she'd stop seeing him soon?

She kissed him quickly, not nearly long enough, then stood and took his hand. "Well, thanks. This is the best dinner break I've had in a long time. But you're right, I really should get back."

They started back toward the diner, the highway busy with commuters returning home after a long day. Her arms gripping him tightly felt so familiar already. Could he imagine her always being on the back of his bike? Maybe.

Or maybe she felt good right now. He wasn't the type for a long-term relationship. He didn't live with girlfriends or ever plan on getting married, which was exactly what most girls wanted. And that was why most of his relationships had ended. Which made it all the weirder that she hadn't left after the first date when he'd mentioned it. So, didn't that mean he'd be better off not thinking about her sticking around? Probably giving in to the temptation of using a pet name had been a bad idea. It'd felt right when he said it, but maybe he still wasn't ready to have those feelings for her.

As he wove through traffic, Rebecca adjusted her hands on his waist as if trying to find a better way to hold on to him. Then she slipped them under the bottom edge of his jacket and into his shirt. Her hands were freezing as she stroked his abdomen, but her touch heated him instantly. He wanted her hands other places, not just his stomach.

Closing his eyes for a moment, he savored her touch, longing for it to be more.

A shot of fear spiked through him at the sound of squealing tires. His eyes sprang open. The red taillights ahead of him were way too close as the commuter traffic suddenly stopped.

Rebecca's hands tightened on his stomach, her nails cutting into his skin.

He swerved to the side of the road, narrowly missing the back bumper of the SUV ahead of them and hit the shoulder. The gravel on the side of the road spit out from beneath his tires as he tried to slow down. They weren't traveling very fast with all the other traffic on the road, but on gravel, it was still too much.

As the wheels hit the gravel, Finn felt the motorcycle start to skid. He knew in second they were going to wipe out. The question now was where.

There was a slim chance he could hold steady long enough to recover his traction. Maybe if he didn't have Rebecca on the back of the bike, he would have tried. But he could already feel her panicking behind him, shifting her weight slightly and throwing off their fragile equilibrium.

He scanned the ditch in a fraction of a second. The ditch would be a softer landing with less chance of road rash. Decision made, he overshot the shoulder and braked as the motorcycle crossed onto the grass.

Tall grass whipped against his calves—way higher than he'd expected it to be.

Shit.

What else was in the ditch that he hadn't had the time to think about? Boulders? Holes?

Panic rose in Finn's throat like bile. He hit the brakes hard. Too hard he realized too late. Immediately, the bike skidded and rolled onto its side.

Then Rebecca's hands slipped from his body.

As his shoulder slammed into the not-as-soft-as-he'd-hoped grassy ditch, his head fell to the side and smacked against something hard. He staggered to his knees, searching the path the bike had cut through the grass.

"Becca!" He yelled. No response. Where was she? Was she hurt?

He shook his head, pushing himself forward through the grass, calling her name.

"It's okay, she's fine. Stay still," a voice he didn't recognize said from somewhere in the haze beside him.

Hands on his shoulders guided him back to the ground, forcing him to lie down. In the distance, he heard the sound of an ambulance siren. Who were they fooling? They wouldn't call an ambulance if everyone were fine.

Finn tried to push up onto his elbows again, but his body felt so heavy. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pull himself up to sitting. His heart pounded in his ears, hurting his head, and sending a shot of pain behind his eyes as the flashing lights in the sky assaulted him.

"Over here," one of the voices near him called. The voice spoke, rattling off some nonsense about his possible injuries, but Finn shook his head and tried to speak.

Becca. Go to Becca…