by Jillian Neal
“I really don’t think he knows, Dan,” Fitz’s comment dragged Dan away from his visual safari over Fionna’s lush hips. “I think the Governor’s right. He was just trying to get to you; he always is.”
“I hope so. I still think I’ll watch her like a hawk, though.”
“If you do that too much, you might just watch her walk right out of your life. Give her space when she wants it. She seems pretty happy when she’s with you, so just keep making her happy.”
“Plan to.” Dan nursed another sip of Scotch. Laughter from the Angels’ tables permeated the air.
“I happen to have information that you want desperately,” Garrett announced as he took a chair at Fitz and Dan’s table, spun it around, slung his right leg over the seat, and looped his arms over the back.
“Oh, yeah, what’s that?”
Garrett grinned and leaned in, “I just happen to know what Fi is really hoping for Christmas.”
“I’m listening,” Dan had already ordered several things he thought she’d like, but they were relatively small and he desperately wanted to spoil her. He’d become accustomed to the irksome jealously that always came with Garrett’s knowledge of Fionna, but it still stung.
“You’re either gonna need my mom or her mom to help you.”
“We’re having dinner at her parents’ tomorrow night.” Dan sincerely hoped that he could win her parents over, but her dad seemed to be a real piece of work.
“By the way, man,” Garrett interjected suddenly, “do you think you could get her to stop telling me how good you are in bed? I seriously do not want to know that,” Garrett shuddered as Dan and Fitzroy guffawed.
“Nah,” Dan shook his head as he felt his ego restore itself. “If she feels the need to share that, then who am I to stop her?”
Garrett rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah I got it, but if I hear ‘he’s the best ever, better than I ever dreamed of,’ again, I will puke,” Garrett did a horrible impersonation of Fionna.
“At least you didn’t have to actually hear it,” Fitz joined in as Dan narrowed his eyes. This time Garrett cracked up as Dan took another sip of his Scotch.
“Christmas?” he reminded.
“Right, okay,” Garrett tipped his beer bottle up, drew a long sip, and then set it on the table. He leaned forward again.
“This is women for you; she really wants a new sewing machine, but she doesn’t want to get rid of the one she has, which is ancient and hasn’t worked right in years.”
Dan furrowed his brow. He would definitely either need Mrs. Styler or Mrs. Haydenshire’s help.
“Em might be able to help you, but she doesn’t sew near as well as Fi. Mom would be better. Anyway, the one she has is one her mom gave her, or something. Not sure why that means she can’t get rid of it, if it’s not working, though.”
A peace and a certainty that Dan just hadn’t been able to access until that moment, fortified him. He understood vastly more than Garrett Haydenshire obviously did.
“So, she wants one that works, and I guess to just keep the other one to look at. I don’t know. You know chicks are crazy.”
“I got it. Thanks, Garrett, for everything.”
“No problem. Like I said I want this to work for both of you. I’ve never seen either of you so happy.”
They chatted about the board meeting, and Dan retold the story of the Governor’s heroics.
“Yeah, Dad’s kind of a badass; just don’t ever tell him I said that.”
“Hey, just out of curiosity,” Dan glanced at Fionna, still making certain she was all right, “has Fi ever dated any guy worth his salt, or have they all been douchebags of the highest caliber?”
Garrett continued to sip the one beer he’d allowed himself, since he was driving.
“She has had a few guys that I actually liked. One guy, Jarred, for a while. I couldn’t stand him, but I figured she was into him.”
Dan suddenly wished he hadn’t asked.
“I thought they were really going somewhere. Dude would squeeze a penny ‘til it bled, but,” Garrett shrugged as he recalled, “I guess he treated her right; had a good family and all that. Fi broke it off with him, broke his heart, and swore she never wanted to see him again. Told him she hated him. She was vicious, and Fi is never vicious.”
“He called me up the next day, told me she’d dumped him. He begged me to find out why. He thought she had a thing for me, so he asked me to take care of her. She said he just didn’t get her, and that he wanted to change her. I never got that,” Garrett shrugged.
Dan had several ideas of what it was that Jarred might not have gotten, and he was immensely thankful for each and every one of them.
Things got risky several minutes later, when Fionna sauntered over to Dan’s table. There were about a dozen people who had gathered at the bar as the night had worn on. His eyes goggled as she half-seated herself and half-fell on his lap.
Garrett quickly caught her hand and spun her into his own lap. With his fists clenching under the table and fury bubbling in his gut, Dan tried not to see the image before him.
“Hey, baby. You about ready to go home?” Garrett was laughing quietly at both Fionna and Dan.
She stared confusedly at Dan. She didn’t seem to understand how she’d ended up in Garrett’s lap, but she tucked herself into is embrace. “I’m not that tipsy,” she explained this to Dan.
“Uh, huh, I know,” Garrett answered her.
“I’m not,” she blinked several times in an effort to focus.
“Maybe you should have some coffee before you go,” Dan waved to the waitress.
“Maybe just a little; and some water, a little.”
Dan finally chuckled and nodded his head.
“She is a very happy drunk. Everything’s hilarious until she falls asleep in a matter of minutes,” Garrett informed Dan in a whisper, as Fionna became distracted by Emily. “Any idiot who thought they might get her tipsy and then get her in bed has been sorely disappointed, since she falls asleep in the car every time,” Garrett laughed at the stories he was clearly recalling.
“She deserves a night off,” Dan let Garrett order her a strong coffee and a large glass of water.
Fionna fell sound asleep on Dan’s lap in the SUV on the way home.
“Don’t think we’ll be up too early,” Dan scooped up Fionna and carried her up the steps to his front door. Fitz unlocked the door as Dan moved into the house, carrying Fionna with ease up to his bedroom.
Fitz chuckled his good-night.
Even though he was well aware that Fionna normally slept completely naked, Dan would have felt like a jerk to strip her when she was barely awake. He couldn’t do it. He pulled one of his t-shirts from a drawer and swathed her in it as she curled up on her pillow and was out.
Gazing at her for a long minute, Dan let the Governor’s words and Fitzroy’s warning echo in his mind. He pulled the light from the lamp that he’d turned on to dress Fionna, and shed his clothes as he climbed into bed with the only thing in his world that really truly mattered.
Tipsy
Fionna whimpered as Dan cradled her closely. Sunlight poured into the room. “You know, when my mom kept telling me to get curtains, I somehow don’t think she meant so that my girlfriend, who has a little bit of a headache from having a bit too much wine the night before, wouldn’t be in pain. But I still really wish I’d listened,” He attempted to shield Fionna from the sunlight with his body. She buried her face against his chest. “I’m sorry, baby. Do you want me to stay here with you or go fix you some hangover food?”
He felt her smile against him as he rubbed her back and brushed kisses in her hair.
“I’m all right, just a little dizzy.”
“Let me up for just a second. I put some aspirin and water on your bedside table last night. I’ll get them for you.”
“Okay, I so do not deserve you.” She rolled off of him and helped herself to the meds and water before tucking herself back into his embrace. “
I’m really not hungover.”
Dan laughed outright. “Is this the same way you really weren’t tipsy last night?”
“No, I was tipsy last night,” she admitted. “I was sort of hoping that if you thought I wasn’t really tipsy that you’d bring me back here and take advantage of me.”
Dan kissed her forehead gently. He was surprised that she did seem to be recovering quickly.
“If I’m going to take advantage of you, I’d prefer for you to remember it the next morning.”
She gave him a deliciously naughty grin as she giggled.
“I always remember it, trust me,” she waggled her eyebrows. “Let’s just stay in bed naked all day.”
Dan growled as he rolled her until she was under him. “And do what, baby doll?” Just discussing sex with her drove him wild. That was more fulfilling than anything he’d done with any other woman in the last decade.
“Dirty, dirty things.”
“Oh, honey, if you want to be a bad girl for me, I’ll show you just how dirty we can play.” His mind was full of her, and his voice was low and thrumming. Her breath caught deliciously. “But, I think we better play host and hostess for Fitz for a little while, and then take him to the airport. And I’m pretty sure your dad doesn’t want to think about the things I’m going to do to you when I get you back home tonight.”
Fionna wrinkled her nose with a dejected pout. “Sort of forgot I’m introducing you to my parents tonight, and that Fitz is downstairs. Maybe I’m more hungover than I thought?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll get you feeling better, and then we can hang with Fitzroy until he flies out, and I will be a perfect gentleman at your parents’ house tonight, but then,” he slid his hand from her cheek, down her side, until he landed on her backside and squeezed. “When we get back from your parents’ house, trust me, I won’t be a perfect gentleman.”
She trembled and her eyes flashed excitedly. A low moan sizzled over her entire body. She tensed beside him.
“I don’t want to wait. I want it now. I want to feel you inside of me. I want you to make me take it hard and rough.”
Dan tried to remember why he shouldn’t take her up on her tantalizing offer. She reached her hand down and stroked him through his boxers. His eyes rolled back in his head as she tended to his morning wood.
An extremely frustrating reminder of why they couldn’t continue came in the way of Fitzroy calling up the stairs.
“Hey, Chloe and Garrett are here with a ton of food. This’ll get her up.” Clenching his jaw shut so tightly it throbbed, Dan reminded himself that if she ate a big breakfast she would probably feel completely normal again.
“I’ll make it worth your wait, baby,” he promised as ardent frustration set in her eyes. She poked her lip out in a luscious pout as she whimpered.
“Fine.” She crawled out of bed and took a moment to steady herself. She moved gingerly to her bags and pulled out some sweats to wear. “Would you mind if we stayed at my house just until Christmas? Then I’ll move.”
Dan stood and wrapped his arms around her.
“We’ll do whatever you want, whenever you want to do it.”
“Thank you.” They paused there, in what would become their bedroom, and took that moment for themselves. He held her to him and swayed her softly, until she began brushing kisses along his collarbone. “I love you.”
“Me, too.”
She pulled on sweatpants with ‘Arlington’ written down the right leg and ‘Angel’ written in an arc over her backside. Dan swallowed hard as he found himself unable to stop thinking about what she’d said she wanted and how much he enjoyed the hellcat side of his Angel.
“I can still redo your house, right?”
Dan shook himself from his erotic fantasies. “Of course, whatever you want.”
“I don’t know, Dan. This is your house. You must like it like this. I don’t want to come in and change it,” she sank back down on the bed dejectedly.
“Fi, baby, I don’t like it this way. I’ve never done anything to it. I never wanted to have anything more than a place to sleep when I was too tired to work anymore, until I met you. I want to be anywhere you are. To me, you are home. The only reason I want you to move in over here is because I’m being selfish. I want you close to me when I’m at work and you’re at home. I think this house is safer than yours,” he sighed.
“Actually, I know this house is safer than yours. When I think about his guys being at your house the other night, it makes me physically ill. But I want you to turn this into anything that will make you happy and content. I want you to make it a home for us because, right now, honey, it’s really just a house.”
She blinked back tears as she nodded her understanding. She gave him his smile through the emotion flowing from her eyes.
“Okay,” she tucked her head on his shoulder as he cossetted her closely. Suddenly a loud banging sounded on the bedroom door.
“Would you put your clothes on? I’m hungry!” Chloe demanded.
“I coming,” Fionna called loudly.
“Not fair,” Chloe sassed as she and Fionna both cracked up.
“Gonna have to get used to her, but for you, anything,” Dan tousled Fionna’s hair as she continued to laugh.
Dan and Fionna made their way down the stairs. She studied each room they passed.
“After we eat, would you two help me do something?” Dan asked Garrett and Fitzroy.
They both nodded readily.
“All of this,” he gestured to the desk and dozens of boxes of copied evidence files, “needs to go upstairs in whichever room Fi wants it in.”
Fionna’s entire being lit up as she wrapped her arms around his waist, and he hugged her tightly.
“You do know that you’re not technically supposed to have any of this here, right?” Garrett reminded him.
Fionna laughed. “Let’s just take it one step at a time.”
The Proof Is In the Dip
They spent the day moving boxes and hanging out with their friends. Garrett and Chloe stayed at Dan’s house with Fionna, while Dan drove Fitz to the Senate to catch his flight home. He thanked him profusely for his help, and was genuinely sad to see him go.
Dan picked up his dry cleaning on his way back, so he would have enough clothing to pack for Fionna’s house until Christmas.
At five o’clock, Dan’s stomach churned as he stood on the Stylers’ front porch, while the sun set behind him. He could feel its warmth despite the chilly air around them. He watched Fionna ring the doorbell.
He already despises you. His opinion can only go up from here, Dan tried to tell himself as the door to the small cottage house in Silver Spring opened.
“Maylea,” Fionna’s stepmother pulled her in for an all-encompassing embrace.
Dan reminded himself that her parents only referred to her as Maylea, her childhood nickname given to her by her mother.
“Hi, Mama. I missed you.”
“Me, too, Maylea, but you’re working in the bakery this week, no?”
“Of course I am. Emily and Chloe are coming, too.” Fionna glanced at Dan and beamed. “Mama, this is my boyfriend, Dan.”
Dan extended his hand, but Mrs. Styler batted it away. “Dan,” she hugged him as well, startling him momentarily. “You were right, Maylea, he is a dreamboat.” They laughed as Dan shook his head.
Mrs. Styler welcomed them into the house, and insisted that Dan call her ‘Gretta’.
Dan glanced around. It was a small ranch in an older area of town. There wasn’t much to it. The entire home would fit on half of one floor of the mansion where Dan had been raised. The Stylers’ bakery was only a few miles away and, though it was successful, it clearly hadn’t made her parents a fortune. Their home was warm and somewhat cluttered with furniture, books, and knickknacks. It was so much more comfortable than the Vindicos’ manor home, but the interrogating glare Fionna’s father was giving Dan dampened the cozy appeal.
“Maylea, finally; I had
forgotten what you looked like,” her father pouted as Dan and Fionna made their way into the cramped house.
Dan studied her father. He appeared to have Hawaiian in his blood, although he’d been raised in Texas and met Fionna’s mother when he was in the Gifted Navy for a few brief years. His accent was unlike any other Dan had ever heard, an eclectic mix of American English, Spanish, and Hawaiian.
Gretta was most definitely Mexican, but Dan certainly understood how people would mistake her for Fionna’s biological mother; they did favor one another.
“Daddy, I saw you at the beginning of the week,” Fionna sighed as her father hugged her fiercely. Dan heard her whisper, “Be nice.”
He forced a smile and shook Mr. Styler’s hand.
“Daddy, this is my boyfriend, Dan.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, sir.” Dan tried not to let his nerves resonate in his voice. Fionna’s father narrowed his eyes, until Fionna shot him a warning glare. Her mother shook her head and sighed.
“Well, we are thrilled to meet you, as well, Dan. We’re so pleased you are here for dinner, and Mele Kalikimaka.”
Dan racked his brain. He knew what that meant, but he seemed unable to access any of the information formerly held in his brain.
“Merry Christmas,” Fionna whispered.
“Oh, right, uh, to you as well,” Dan ordered himself to get it together.
“Here, why don’t we go enjoy the tree? Your daddy made you some onion dip and your taro chips,” Gretta offered kindly. Fionna looked thrilled with the appetizers. “Dan, what can I get you to drink?”
“Whatever Fi’s having is fine.”
Gretta chuckled, “Well, I doubt Maylea is having one, but it might come in handy, so how about a beer?”
“Thank you.” Dan’s shield tensed as if it sensed an incoming assailant.
“Now, Officer Vindico, you’re still running Iodex here in the States, correct?” Mr. Styler demanded, with the first words he’d actually spoken directly to Dan. He happened to have asked the question just as Dan had bitten into a large taro chip covered in dip. He choked down the bite as he nodded.