True Blue - A Second Chance Romance (Complete)

Chapter 27

Finn's heart was beating like an artillery gun in the midst of a battle.

Emily was standing before him. Saying the things he desperately wanted to hear but had given up hope of ever receiving.

When she didn't call the night of the party, he told himself it would be okay. He lay awake, unable to sleep, watching night turn to day, jumping at the slightest sound. Waiting for her. Sure she would reach out.

Then he counted the minutes until she might be in the office. Calculating the odds of her getting coffee first, guessing how long it might take to chat with the receptionist. Was Lance holding her up? The dial on his wristwatch slipped past 10 am and he began to wonder if Emily had not gone into the office at all.

It was then the first doubt leaked into his heart. Maybe she was at work. Maybe she had read the letter. Maybe he was too late.

Finn spent the day waiting for his phone to ring, swinging between hope and despair. It remained silent.

By the time Max pulled him to the mess hall for dinner, despair was winning the battle. Depression engulfed him as the stars popped out one by one in the darkened sky. Emily's silence was all the confirmation he needed. His offer was not enough.

Once again, Finn was wrong.

Emily was standing before him. Grey eyes leaving him nowhere to hide.

His mind couldn't quite follow her words. At first, he assumed she was here for work. Needing something more for the case.

It hurt too much to look at her. A special kind of torture to have her standing there knowing she knew his heart and had tossed it aside.

The paper in her hand caught his attention. Focusing on it he tried to grasp her meaning as she explained about a mix-up, only seeing his letter today. Then she took his hand and told him the thing he wanted to hear.

Emily loved him. 

Words he was convinced he was never going to hear again.

It was like a dream. But he could feel her rapidly beating heart thumping against his hand as she held it there. His thumb pressed against the skin exposed by the low collar of her shirt. Warm and soft. Real. Chest rising and falling beneath his touch.

A light whiff of lavender tickled his nose. She was inches away. It would take the slightest movement, a mere dip of his head to close the gap between them.

Finn dipped.

As he gently pressed against her delicate lips, Finn was reunited with Emily's sweet taste. Not in a stolen moment or in his imagination. A purposeful promise of what was, what is and most of all what will be.

This was no dream. She tugged on his shirt to pull him closer. It was better than a dream. Emily was here. Really here. 

Everything around him faded away, as every fiber of his body recalibrated to the feel of Emily. Heat igniting where she crushed against him, her frame relaxing as she fit back to where she should always be, where she was meant to be. Here with him. 

She opened up, letting him in. Doubt, fear and all the other sharp knives that cut at him all week dulled, vanquished by her touch. He let down his guard, accepting everything she offered. Once again and for the first time in forever, Finn felt love. 

His free hand reached for her waist, finding familiar tracks to follow as it travelled around landing on the small of her back. As he hugged her closer to him, Finn silently vowed never to let her go.

Fate had different plans.

An "ahem" came from behind him. 

Finn ignored it.