The Comeback Kiss (50 page)

“
Sorry,”
Finn said, a smile
creeping up one side of his face. “
I didn
’
t mean to scare you.”

He leaned casually against the banister at the top of the attic steps, his eyes trailing around the space before landing on her again. “
I like what you
’
ve done with the place,”
he said.

“
Yeah,
”
Tessa said, “
putting Mom
’
s stuff back around the house really cleared the attic out. It
’
s my art studio now.”

“
Sounds perfect.”

She wanted to throw herself into his arms, but instead she quirked one eyebrow at him and tried to maintain a slightly pissed-
off expression.

It
’
d be no fun if she made it easy for him.

“
So, where ya been, Finnegan? A whole week. You don
’
t write, you don
’
t call. You attempt to save a girl from a burning building and then just disappear. What
’
s up with that?”

“
Had to see a man abo
ut a horse,”
he said, then shook his head and grinned. “
I still don
’
t know what that means.”

“
But you know what
’
s weird?”
she said. “
Everywhere I went, everyone I talked to, they all kinda looked like they knew something I didn
’
t. Little whispers. Little s
miles. Very strange. You happen to know anything about that?”

“
Feeling out of the loop?”
Finn took another step closer, put one hand on her waist, and pulled her to him.

“
Yep.”
She pushed his hand away playfully.

“
Little cranky about it?”

“
Little bit,”
she
said, trying to hide her smile. Although, hell, if he could hear her heart bumping around in her chest like a mental patient, the jig would be up anyway.

He leaned his head down and grazed his lips against her neck.

Oh. God.

No, wait.

She pushed against h
is chest, moving him back, and he groaned, “
Now you
’
re just being mean.”

“
You don
’
t get to leave me hanging for a week, breeze back into town, and kiss my neck like that. Where were you?”

He sighed. “
No kissing until I tell you?”

She shook her head.

“
Okay,
then,”
he said with a smile. “
I went to New York. Tied up a few loose ends. Sublet my apartment. Got a job.”

She felt a stab of disappointment. “
A job? A real job? In New York?”

“
A job. A real job.”
He shook his head, his eyes playful. “
Not in New York. I
’
m, uh...”
He chuckled. “
I
’
m gonna be a cop.”

Tessa laughed outright, then clapped her hand over her mouth at Finn
’
s mock-indignant expression.

“
I
’
m sorry,”
she said. “
But... how?”

“
Marshall Evans was impressed by how I cracked the Tarpey case,”
Finn said.
“
He gave me a call. I
’
ve been in New York, uh... securing my background check.”

“
You
’
re kidding? You committed fraud so you could be a cop?”

Finn nodded. “
For the low, low price of one macaw.”
Tessa gasped. “
You really sold it?”

“
To a good home for a gre
at price,”
he said. “
And Vickie
’
s letting me pay it off in installments.”

“
Will wonders never cease?”
she said.

His eyes softened as he looked at her. “
Apparently not.”

She couldn
’
t help herself, and allowed a full smile. “
You
’
re lucky Babs broke down. I
’
d
have been really pissed off at you if I didn
’
t know you were coming back.”

“
Well,”
he said, tilting his head to one side as his arms snaked around her waist. “
How could I stay away?”

He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips, then pulled back.

“
No
,”
Tessa whined, leaning into him, “
that was good. I was liking that.”

“
Come on,”
he said, taking her hand and leading her down the stairs. At the bottom, he cut to the right, toward her bedroom.

“
I like the way you think,”
she said. Then he opened the doo
r and let her in.

“
Finn,”
she whispered as she looked around the room. She clasped her hand over her mouth and her eyes filled with tears as she felt his arms wrap around her waist from behind.

Daisies. Pink, orange, yellow, blue. Everywhere. On her dresse
r. Sprinkled over her bed. Sitting in a vase on her nightstand.

“
I wanted a thousand of them,”
he said, “
but Margie could only get a hundred and fifty on such short notice.”

She twirled in his arms to face him, biting her lip to stop from crying.

“
I love t
hem,”
she said.

He kissed her on the cheek and then held up one index finger. “
But wait, there
’
s more.”

He ducked around her to the corner of the room, whisked some daisies off a drape cloth that he pulled back to reveal seven cans of wall paint.

“
I got a
lighter shade of yellow,”
he said, “
but if you want something brighter, we can go back.”

She swiped at her eyes and blinked hard. “
It
’
s perfect,”
she said, without looking at the paint.

Finn let out a sigh of relief. “
Whew! If I had to fish that ring out o
f the paint
—”

“
What?”
She raced past him to the paint cans. “
You put the ring in the paint?”

She heard him laughing behind her and looked up to see him holding a small black velvet box.

“
No,”
he said. “
I
’
m stupid, but I
’
m not that stupid.”

He held out his
hand to her, and she took it, letting him pull her up. She was glad for the help because her legs suddenly felt very wobbly. She
’
d known it was coming. Babs had told her. But still, Dermot Finnegan was standing in front of her, promising forever. It took
s
ome getting used to.

She reached for the box and pulled it open and ...

“
Oh my God,”
she breathed. It was gorgeous. Platinum, with a beautiful round diamond sparkling in the center. Finn plucked it out of the box. He looked at her, and for once, his expres
sion was completely sincere.

She liked that.

“
I don
’
t know how to ask you this,”
he said.

She smiled and felt her eyes tearing up.
This is it,
she thought.
This is what I want, what I
’
ve always wanted. I
’
m finally going to have it.

“
I know I don
’
t have a g
reat track record,”
he said finally. “
And I know I
’
ve been a total idiot. But if you give me this one chance, I
’
ll spend the rest of my life making sure you don
’
t regret it.”

“
I won
’
t regret it,”
she said, feeling a tear plop down her face. He raised a fin
ger to her cheek and whisked it away.

“
Tessa Scuderi, will you
—
?”

“
Oh, yeah,”
she said, sniffing as she cut him off. “
You bet I will.”

He smiled and slid the ring onto her finger. Gently, he leaned down and kissed her, and things were just beginning to get
interesting when they were interrupted by a barking at the door. They broke the kiss and turned to see Wallace running toward them. The dog jumped up on Tessa
’
s legs, and she bent down and scratched his ears.

“
Guess I should have warned you,”
Finn said. “
Wallace and I seem to be a package deal these days.”

“
I can live with that,”
she said, standing up. Finn wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in to him, lowering her down into her bed of daisies.

Yep,
she thought as his lips grazed her collarbo
ne,
I can definitely live with this.

The End

Thanks for reading my book! If you enjoyed it, I have some others you might like:

Time Off For Good Behavior

Maybe Baby

Ex And The Single Girl

A Little Ray Of Sunshine

The Fortune Quilt

You can fin
d them all on Amazon, or stop by my website at LaniDianeRich.com.

Thanks again!

- Lani