Heartbreaker(62)

“Morning, beautiful.” He smiles, so handsome, I’m melting already. There’s a noise from the phone, and he laughs, lifting it to his ear again. “Not you, Kyle.”

Finn covers the handset this time. “There’s food waiting,” he winks. “I’ll be right in.”

“Take your time,” I smile, and head back up to take a shower. I luxuriate under the hot water, massaging my aching limbs. Man, it was hot last night, f*cking up against the wall like that. Finn still knows all the right moves, and the filthy words that send me soaring higher each and every time. And we’ve barely even gotten started.

A massive grin spreads across my face, and doesn’t shift. I dry off and dress in cut-offs and a tank top, then skip downstairs again, hungry this time. Finn is still talking, so I finish making breakfast for the two of us, my famous soft scramble eggs, with plenty of cream and fresh chives. I set two places at the table in the kitchen nook, and look around. The Petersons aren’t due back for another month or two, but for the first time in a long while, I find myself wishing I had a place that was just my own. My choice of paint on the walls, my own furniture around.

Maybe it’s time to stop house sitting and finally take Delilah up on her offer to look for a rental of my own. Somewhere with privacy, and room for two.

I dig into my food, and soon Finn comes to join me. “Sorry about that,” he says, leaning to kiss me again. “Kyle doesn’t know the meaning of ‘short and sweet’.”

“Good news?” I ask, as he starts wolfing down his food.

“The best,” Finn grins. “Taylor Jennings has agreed to produce my next album.”

I recognize that name. “He’s that country rock guy, right?”

“He’s a legend,” Finn says reverently. “He’s produced some of my all time favorite records. I have all his albums, even the limited edition live vinyl I had to hunt down online. He doesn’t even take on new artists anymore, but Kyle must have sold an organ or something, because he wants to meet.”

“That’s great!” I exclaim, loving the passion in his eyes.

Finn is all smiles. “He’s a hermit these days, but if I get my ass to Nashville by the end of the week, he’ll find the studio time.”

I stop. “This week?”

Finn nods, crunching on some bacon. “It wouldn’t be long, three, four weeks maybe to write and lay down the demos, and then to LA mix the record. It’s kind of a relief,” he smiles. “I’ve been itching to pick up my guitar again. I have a ton of ideas for new songs.”

His words barely register. I’m still stuck on the part where he’ll be gone.

“You’re leaving,” I say slowly. Resignation sinks through me like a stone. “Again.”

Finn looks up, startled. “What? No, Eva, it’s not like that.”

“Then how is it?” I ask. My skin flushes hot, all those memories suddenly crashing over me. His absence, and the space he left beside me in my bed at night.

“It’s my career, it’s my real life.” Finn frowns. “I came back here to see you, but I can’t stay forever.”

“So what about us?” I ask, blinking back the tears. His face clears, and he reaches for me.

“You thought… Fuck, Eva, no.” Finn grips my hand tightly. “This, you and me, it’s just the beginning. I want you to come with me.”

“To Nashville?” I ask, stunned.

“To wherever.” Finn smiles at me, linking his fingers through mine. “I know I’ve bounced around these past years, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Most musicians have a base between tours, so you pick a place, and that’s where we’ll be. We could go to New York,” he suggests, excited. “You could go back to drama school if you wanted. Or LA. They have a ton of acting opportunities there—”

“Wait,” I cut him off, dizzy with the rush of ideas. “We don’t have to go anywhere. You can have your home base right here.” My mood lifts, and I smile, relieved. “You can go record, and do shows, and then come right back home to me.”

Finn’s smile fades. “I can’t do that, Eva.”

“Why not?”

He pushes his seat back slowly and gets up from the table. “This isn’t my home. It never has been.”

I watch, confused, as he clears our plates. What is he talking about? “Don’t you want to be with me?” I ask, my voice shaking.

“Of course I do!” Finn turns back to me. “You’re the reason I came back. All I want is for us to build a life together, the way we should have from the start!”

“So why can’t we do that here?” I ask again.

He clenches his jaw. “You don’t understand. This town holds nothing but bad memories for me. Every street I walk down, every corner I turn, I see my dad there, okay? I can’t stay here, not without all those shitty, painful reminders of everything that happened in the past!”

I stare at him in shock. “You never said anything.”

“I didn’t think I had to!” Finn looks at me plaintively. “Didn’t you realize? You’re the only thing that could have brought me back here. If it wasn’t for you, I would never have stepped foot across county lines, let alone stuck around all this time.”