The Comeback Kiss (4 page)

Finn stared down at her. Stella had to be in her sixties, but her eyes were still as bright and sharp as ever. When had she lost her mind? Not that it mattere
d. He
’
d been gone a long time, and what had happened in Lucy
’
s Lake in the interim was not his deal. His deal was getting gone again, and if he could just distract Stella for one minute, he could probably get gone with that macaw...

“
Hey, there
’
s Matt Tarp
ey,”
Finn said, holding out the kittens to her and motioning toward the fire truck with his head. “
Get him with the kittens. Talk about a money shot. The Pulitzer people
’
ll be eating out of your hand.”

“
Oh, Tarpey gets plenty of press!”
she said, taking a
step back and aiming her camera at Finn. “
You
’
re the hero of this piece. Let me get a few more pictures. You looked a little startled when I took that first one.”

“
No kidding,”
he said flatly, holding the kittens and pulling on a tight smile. Behind Stella
he could see a crowd starting to gather, distracted for the moment by the bright fire engine. He sighed. If he was going to get that macaw and get out of there, he had to move fast.

Stella flashed the camera at him a few more times, and he stepped forward
and pushed the kittens at her.

“
Great to see you, Stella. Give my love to Frank,”
he said, taking a step backward.

“
Wait. Let me get these to a safe place and I
’
ll come right back.”
Stella grinned at him. “
Don
’
t think you
’
re getting out of that dinner.”

F
inn grinned back. “
I can smell the pot roast already.”
Stella turned toward the fire truck with the kittens. Finn scanned the crowd; no one was watching him. He dipped down and his fingers were just grazing the handle on the macaw cage when he felt a hand
on his shoulder. He closed his eyes and cursed under his breath, then turned to face the person who
’
d come up behind him.

“
Well,”
he said as he looked into deep brown eyes, flashing murder at him.

***

“
Shit,”
Tessa said, withdrawing her hand from Finn
’
s
shoulder. She
’
d hoped it wouldn
’
t be him, that somehow all the evidence that Finn had returned was wrong, but she couldn
’
t really feign surprise. She paused for a moment, waiting for the heart attack and the panic and all that nonsense, but instead, she j
u
st felt kind of numb. This was not how she had imagined this moment. She thought she
’
d be panicked, babbling, unable to string one coherent thought together. But she was actually feeling pretty calm.

“
Dermot Finnegan,”
she said slowly. He smiled down at he
r, cocking his head to the side as he did.

“
Contessa Scuderi...”
he began, feeding on an old joke that was never funny in the first place.

"Tessa,”
she said. “
Don
’
t start with that crap.”

“
...mistress of all she surveys.”

His eyes connected with hers, and
she felt that hitch in her chest and where the hell did that come from and she had to get him out of here or someone would figure out Finn wasn
’
t the person she
’
d told them he was and...

Ah, hello. Here
’
s the panic.
She placed her hand over her chest, felt
her heart bouncing around in her rib cage like a straitjacketed mental patient in a rubber room.
Yep, that
’
s about how I imagined this moment.

Finn put down the birdcage he was holding and touched her arm. “
You okay? You don
’
t look good.”

“
I can
’
t breathe
,”
she said.

“
I have that effect on women,”
Finn said, grinning down at her. “
Don
’
t worry. It
’
ll pass.”

“
It
’
s not you, you big idiot,”
she spat.

“
You gotta let me flatter myself, Tess,”
he said. “
If I don
’
t do it, who will?”

He smiled down at her with tota
l focus, making her feel like the only person in his world.

Just like old times.

She looked up into his crystal blue eyes, which were laughing, as usual, never taking anything seriously, not even her.

Just like old times.

She put her hand to her forehead.
She had to think. She had to think fast.

“
Tessa?”
he said, his voice suddenly tentative and concerned. She felt something tweak inside, followed by a rush of something powerful and oddly not pissed off. Which wasn
’
t possible. If it felt even remotely good
to see him then that meant she
’
d missed him, and if she
’
d missed him then that meant she still felt something for him, and if she still felt something for him...

Well, she just didn
’
t. And that was that.

“
We have to talk,”
she said quickly. She took a few
steps down a side street, away from the crowd. It would afford them a few minutes of privacy, and that was all she needed. Just enough time to somehow convince him to leave and never come back. When Finn caught up to her, she turned and looked up at him.

“
What are you doing here?”
she shot out in a harsh whisper.

“
Being a hero, apparently,”
he said, tucking his hands into his pockets, and giving her his trademark lopsided smile. “
Concrete proof that wonders never do cease. How
’
d you find me?”

“
Saw the car.
Smelled the smoke. Put two and two together.”

“
Hey.”
Finn
’
s eyebrows locked together in what appeared to be sincere indignation, but with Finn you never could tell. “
I didn
’
t set the place on fire.”

Tessa gave a dismissive wave. “
Whatever. Look. I don
’
t ha
ve much time
—”

“
I busted into a burning building and saved those animals.”
He held out his arm, showing off the singed area on the elbow of his jacket. “
Life. Limb. Risked. Credit?”

“
Whatever
,”
she said again, talking low and fast. “
I can
’
t tell you every
thing because there just isn
’
t time, but the
Reader
’
s Digest
version is that I
’
ve led everyone in this town to believe you
’
re some kind of benevolent hero, and if you don
’
t get out of here, you
’
ll completely screw up my life. Again. So... bye.”

“
Benevolent
hero?”
Finn said. “
Is that why Stella Hodgkiss invited me over for dinner?”

“
She invited you to dinner?”
Tessa put one hand over her stomach. “
Oh, God. Pepto moment. You didn
’
t say yes, did you?”

“
Tessa...”
He stared at her, looking both amused and confus
ed. “
What
’
s going on?”

Tessa sighed, glanced over her shoulder, then leaned in and spoke without moving her lips. “
The town bell.”

Finn laughed. “
The town what?”

“
Agh!”
she said, whacking him on the shoulder. “
Keep your voice down.”

Finn continued to chuck
le, and she couldn
’
t believe how difficult it was to fight the desire to clock him one across the chin.
This must be what it feels like to be a man...

Finn regained himself. “
Look, I know it was probably a big deal to these people when we stole the town be
ll
—”

“
Shhhh!”

“—
but they were the idiots who left it out in the open on a trailer to wait for the repairman. They were begging us to steal it. And they got it back. No harm, no foul.”

Tessa narrowed her eyes at him. “
No harm? They got it back
three month
s later.
After you dumped it in Manhattan. Meanwhile, I
’
m back here fighting off the friggin
’
Spanish Inquisition. Big foul, Finn. Big. Damn. Foul.”

“
Well, no one expects the Spanish Inquisition,”
Finn deadpanned.

“
Look,”
she said, ignoring his joke, “
I d
on
’
t know why you brought my Thing back, but if you
’
re looking for forgiveness, you know what? You
’
ve got it. Now, make it up to me by leaving and never, ever coming back, okay?”

She glanced over his shoulder nervously, although she couldn
’
t see the crowd
from where she stood. Didn
’
t matter. It wouldn
’
t be long before the distraction wore off and people came looking for Finn. The Big Hero. Lucy
’
s Lake
’
s own personal Guardian Angel.

Finn cocked his head to the side and eyed her, a playful smile forming on hi
s lips. “
Can
’
t.”

Panic gripped her at her edges. “
Can
’
t? Why can
’
t? What can
’
t? You got here. Get gone.”

“
I don
’
t have a car.”

She pulled out the silver key chain, stuffing it in his hand. “
It
’
s at the house, right where you left it. I don
’
t know why you b
rought it here in the first place, but I don
’
t want it, so you take it. Shoo. Go away.”

He recoiled. “
Shoo?
What am I, a dog now?”

“
No. Dogs are loyal. Now go.”

He put the keys back in her hand and closed her fingers over them, all traces of amusement gone
from his face. “
You don
’
t want it, fine. Then sell it. But it
’
s yours and I
’
m not taking it.”

She huffed in frustration. “
I don
’
t need a car. I have a car.”

He shrugged. “
Give it to your sister, then. Izzy
’
s gotta be coming up on sixteen about now, right?
”

“
She
’
ll be seventeen in May,”
Tessa said. “
And it doesn
’
t matter, because there
’
s no way in hell I
’
m giving my little sister that car.”

“
Why not?”
he said. “
It was good enough for you.”

“
It
’
s got bad karma, and the last thing Izzy needs is...”
She stopp
ed, regrouped. “
Hey, let
’
s revisit that part where you were leaving.”