So she would go to work and let her mind be filled with something other than Finn. It would be good to get back to it again, she’d left it too long since her last carving.
It was almost a two hour drive though to her next job. It would be a long night. Ignoring Finn, who was steadfastly watching her as she loaded her car, she packed up all her tools and left.
*
Finn knocked on her door the next morning and before Joy had even opened it she felt that rush of desire for him again. Would that ever go away? She just hoped that the awkwardness of the day before would be gone… or the day would feel painfully long.
He was dressed casually, just overly washed jeans and a black T-shirt so she didn’t feel out of place in her similar attire, though he still looked stunning, he always did.
‘Ready?’
She nodded and noticed he hadn’t kissed her or greeted her in any way that might offer a gleam of hope that they had a future together. But he’d made that very clear, and these plans were made before they’d slept together. They were silent as he drove slowly out of the village and up the hill, past the sign that outed them both as residents of Bramble Hill.
‘I hope you like your birthday present,’ Finn said, quietly.
‘You’ve bought me a present?’
‘Well not something you can unwrap, today is your present.’
She suddenly felt impatient. ‘You’re so fickle. You tell me you don’t want me, which was obviously a lie after the amazing sex we’ve had. You tell me it was just sex but you clearly care about me or you wouldn’t be feeling so guilty about it. You tell me you don’t want more but then you do things like this. You’re so confusing.’
He concentrated on the road as he drove through Ashton Woods. ‘You know I like you Joy…’
‘Yes but not enough.’
‘No, I like you too much.’
‘What?’
He sighed. ‘We’re here now. We need to talk Joy, but now is not the time. Go and have fun.’
She looked around in confusion. They were sitting outside his mum’s pub, but there was no other sign to indicate what she was doing that day. She turned back to him. ‘Let’s talk now.’
‘No. For one I have no idea what I’m trying to say, every time I’m near you my brain turns to mush and I need to clarify what it is I want – secondly, people are waiting for you.’
‘Who?’ This was getting more and more bizarre.
‘Go inside and see.’
‘You’re not coming in?’
‘No, I’m not part of the present.’
Feeling even more confused, especially over Finn’s attempts to tell her how he felt, and disappointed that she wouldn’t be spending the day with him, she unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door.
He caught her arm and pressed his lips to her temple. ‘Happy birthday Joy.’
She stumbled out of the car in shock and he drove off without a backward glance.
Feeling slightly hurt and beyond confused, she pushed the door of the pub open. She froze in shock and then burst into tears.
*
By the time the taxi dropped her off outside her house it was gone three in the morning, but the adrenaline and excitement of the day was still buzzing through her veins – plus a few cocktails were making her feel very warm and happy.
Finn had somehow arranged for all her university friends to be there. Eve hadn’t been able to make it from Texas but she was there on Skype for some of it. But Libby, Annie and Suzie had been there all courtesy of Finn, who had seemingly paid for plane tickets and accommodation for them all. A car had been laid on for them which whisked them off to some posh spa hotel so they could be massaged, manicured, pedicured and thoroughly spoiled whilst they sipped champagne and ate the finest foods. They had stayed in the hotel all night and it was like all those years apart had never happened – they just picked up where they had left off, chatting, giggling, exchanging stories. She had been touched that her friends had gone to all the trouble just to be with her on her birthday. But the most touching thing was that Finn had organised and paid for the whole thing.
That had been beyond doing something nice for a friend, it was in fact the kindest, nicest thing that anyone had ever done for her. It gave her hope. And now, thanks to long convoluted champagne induced talks with her best friends, she had a plan. She would sneak it up on him slowly so he was in a relationship before he noticed. A dinner here, a walk over the hills with their dogs there, maybe an odd picnic thrown into the mix, add a liberal amount of amazing sex and they’d be halfway there. At the back of her mind a little voice was telling her it wouldn’t be that easy in the cold light of day, but regardless of what the future held for her and Finn, she knew that tonight, now, she had to see him.
*
Finn woke with soft kisses being peppered across his cheeks. Sleepily he reached up and ran his hands through her hair, knowing from the sweet smell that it was Joy.
‘Finn, wake up,’ she whispered.
‘I’m awake,’ he muttered grumpily. He eyed the clock and realised it was after three in the morning.
He sat up, pulling the sheet around him to hide his nudity. She was wearing that beautiful green dress that he had squirrelled away and left to Libby to hand over for their posh meal that evening. The moonlight gleamed off it, making her look ethereal in her beauty.
‘I came to say thank you.’
‘You’re welcome…’ he trailed off as she kissed him on the mouth briefly – but then she stepped back just as he was reaching for more. He frowned, at the feelings that crashed through him.
She giggled. It was such a beautiful sound. ‘Why are you scowling?’
‘Joy it’s three-fifteen in the morning, there are rules about waking up men at such a stupid time. Don’t do it.’
‘No exceptions?’
He smirked. ‘Sex, that’s the only exception. So unless you want to thank me with a night of unbridled passion, could we save the thanks for tomorrow?’ He rubbed his eyes, embarrassed by his own candour.
‘Then I’m glad I came.’
He looked up in time to see her undo the bow at the back of her neck and let the dress pool to her feet, leaving her naked standing before him.
‘Jesus!’ He yanked the sheet back and pulled her towards him. She handed him a condom as she straddled him. A quick frustrating second later, he was buried deep inside her, his mouth pressed to her throat as she kissed his head. ‘I love naked gratitude, it’s the best kind.’
He ran kisses across her throat, filling his hands with her breasts. He was never going to get enough of her.
Suddenly his brain cleared slightly. ‘Wait, I don’t want to hurt you again. I didn’t do all that so you’d sleep with me.’
She moved, taking him with her, arching back against him and sending all clarity from his brain.
‘Why did you do it?’ She wrapped her arms round his neck, kissing him lightly.
He buried his face in her throat, revelling in her scent, her touch, her skin against his. ‘Because…’
She moved again, so slowly, but the movement sent need crashing through his stomach straight to his groin. He fought to gain control, at this rate he wasn’t going to last five minutes.
‘Finn…’ she tipped his head back so she could look at him. ‘Do you want to know why I came here tonight? It’s because I love you.’
He stilled; his heart in his mouth.
‘I know you don’t want to hear that, I know you don’t feel the same way, but I love you.’
There was so much he wanted to say, but he couldn’t find the words. His brain was clouded with sleep, desire, her smell, her taste… words eluded him.
‘Just make love to me Finn. I know you need time to think, but you don’t have to do that tonight. Tomorrow you can be angry or withdrawn or scared or whichever mood you choose, but tonight it’s still technically my birthday, sort of, so just make love to me.’
There was no escape now. He knew it and
it scared the crap out of him. But tonight he could just be with her, enjoy the moment, deal with his demons tomorrow. She was already kissing him, her tongue in his mouth, running her hands down his shoulders, urging him to respond. He rolled her over so she was under him and kissed her slowly, gently as he moved against her.
*
Joy woke the next day with soft caresses going up and down her bare back. She kissed Finn’s throat and looked up at him. His eyes were guarded and wary as he watched her. There was a silence that hung between them like a thick velvet curtain.
She smiled and sat up. ‘Don’t worry, you don’t have to say anything.’ She kissed him briefly on the mouth. ‘I meant what I said last night – I love you. I know you feel something for me, what you did for me yesterday was… wonderful. No one goes to that amount of trouble for someone they just like. But you’re scared and I get that too. We don’t have to have a relationship Finn, we don’t have to put a label on it, but I love you and I want to spend time with you, no matter what form that takes. Can I come round again tonight?’
‘Yes.’ He didn’t hesitate.
‘Good, because the sex part is pretty damn amazing.’
He smiled. ‘For me too.’
‘And maybe I could come for dinner before. You could teach me how to make something and I’ll make pudding, I’m good at that.’
‘I’d like that. And maybe we could take the dogs for a walk together later.’
She felt the breath catch in her throat and he frowned slightly.
‘As friends,’ she quickly clarified, she wouldn’t push it, didn’t want to scare him off.
‘Of course.’ He nodded thoughtfully. ‘Though maybe we could be friends that could hold hands when we walk.’
She couldn’t help the grin that split her face and she kissed him, deeply. ‘Who says men and women can’t be friends.’
*
Finn was standing in his kitchen, thinking about Joy. Of course he was thinking about her, she was all he could think of ever since she had stepped from that car on that fateful morning. He smiled at the thought of what that night would hold. The smile grew as he thought about walking the dogs together later that day, of dinner and cooking together. It seemed he was embarking on a relationship whether he wanted one or not. It terrified him. The wall he had carefully constructed around his heart was tumbling down and he had no control over it. He was still poised to flee, he could sense that. There was still a big part of him that wanted to push her away. But for now at least, the part that wanted to spend every single waking second with her was greater than the part that wanted to run.
He suddenly heard raised voices coming from the back garden and hurried out to see what was going on. Zach and Casey were standing in Zach’s garden, clearly angry. Finn had never seen Casey so angry, in fact Casey didn’t do angry at all.
Letting himself through the connecting gate he moved quickly across Joy’s garden and let himself into Zach’s, ignoring the pointed glare from him.
‘What’s up?’
Casey looked up at him, real hurt in his eyes. ‘The diamond thief, she struck Mum’s place, two nights ago. Thankfully she was away Tuesday night when it happened, got back yesterday and found out.’
Finn felt himself go cold. The night that Joy had disappeared dressed in black again and didn’t come back till the early hours of the morning.
‘She cleared out the safe, took everything. The worst thing was she was in my parents’ room, stole all my mum’s jewellery including a starfish necklace from Dad. Mum’s absolutely gutted. The attack is personal, I’m sure of it. She’s deliberately hitting houses that are in my patch, and some of them, the most recent are friends of the family, people I know – and now my parents’ place. It feels like this is aimed at me.’ Casey sighed, throwing himself down on one of the garden chairs.
Guilt ripped through Finn. Why had he covered for Joy? All this time she was moving in for the kill on Casey and he could have stopped it. Forcing his voice to sound as normal as possible, he focused on the one thing Casey had said that had made his heart stop.
‘She?’
Casey gave a small, cold smile. ‘We caught her on CCTV. All the big houses in the area are being targeted, it was only a matter of time before she struck Ashton Manor. I persuaded Mum to get some cameras inside and we caught her. She’s clever though, kept her face hidden or averted from the cameras. I’ve got a friend that might be able to enhance the footage, maybe get a clear ID. But it’s definitely a woman, we think she might be a redhead.’
Finn hissed and he couldn’t help but glare at Joy’s house.
Chapter Seventeen
Casey clearly saw his gaze. ‘Don’t be so ridiculous. It’s not Joy.’
‘She’s been out dressed in black every night there’s been a diamond robbery in the local area. She was out Tuesday night too.’ It was a cathartic relief to be finally saying it, he should have said it ages ago. Casey was his best friend, and he’d known Joy for two seconds – he should have been more loyal, told Casey what he’d seen instead of trying to protect her. ‘I’ve seen her covering her number plates, wearing a bandana over her face…’
Zach gasped
‘Stop!’ Casey was really furious this time. ‘You can’t just go around accusing somebody like that, that’s her reputation you’re tarnishing there…’
‘I don’t give a shit about her reputation, not now she’s messed with your family.’
‘Oh don’t get all ‘Godfather’ on me, seeking revenge for the wrong exacted on my family. This has nothing to do with Joy. She’s got enough shit from the villagers to deal with without you adding your misplaced anger to the pot too.’
‘That’s a bit too much of a coincidence for my liking, Caz,’ Zach said and Casey glared at Finn for putting the idea in Zach’s head in the first place.
‘You see, you start spreading that kind of shit around and people start to take notice.’
‘She’s rich and her parents certainly didn’t have any money. She doesn’t work.’ It was like a floodgate, now he’d started Finn couldn’t stop.
‘Stop it.’ Casey pushed his hair off his face, his hands shaking with supressed anger.
‘Look I’ll prove it to you.’
He moved quickly, letting himself through Joy’s back door, which he knew she always left unlocked now. To his annoyance, Casey didn’t follow. Joy wasn’t there, by the sounds of it she was upstairs, singing badly.
Opening the kitchen drawer, Finn took out the three plasticine animals he had hidden in there when Joy was sick. He moved back outside and thrust them out for Casey to see. ‘I found these in her kitchen the other day, when she was sick. I hid them, I didn’t want anyone to know…’
Casey stared at them for a second and groaned.
‘You said that the diamond thief always left behind plasticine animals, linking herself to each robbery.’
‘This isn’t what it looks like.’ Casey grabbed the plasticine animals from Finn and squashed them in his hands so they were no longer recognisable.
‘Casey! That’s evidence,’ Zach scolded. ‘I think we should call the police.’
‘I am the god damn police. This has nothing to do with her and if we involve the police it could ruin her.’
Just then Joy appeared in the back garden, looking across at them in confusion. Her face lit up when she saw Finn, but quickly fell at their stony expressions.
‘I need a word,’ Finn growled, stalking towards her, but Casey snagged his arm.
‘Leave this – I’m asking you to leave this. You’ll hurt her, you’ll feel like scum after and if you take this any further it will ruin everything she has worked so hard to build. Please drop this.’
But anger boiled through Finn – Casey was loyal to the bitter end and Joy had betrayed that. If Casey was too stubborn or too loyal to do anything about it then he sure as hell would. Removing his arm from Casey’s grasp he grabbed Joy’s arm and marched her back inside.
*
‘Ow, what the hell are you doing?’ Joy fought against him and he let her go as he closed the door behind them. She could hear Zach and Casey arguing still out in the garden, though she couldn’t hear the specifics. ‘What’s going on?’
‘You need to give it back,’ Finn’s voice was low, sinister, his eyes dark.
‘Give what back, what are you talking about?’ She had spent the morning drifting round in a glorious bubble of bliss. After Finn’s suggestion that they could be friends who hold hands and cook dinner together, and knowing that the amazing sex was now going to be a regular feature, she didn’t think anything could break her mood. Now Finn was shouting, looking at her as if she was something unpleasant he had stepped in. Her bubble had just burst spectacularly.
‘Don’t play coy with me – the diamonds, everything you took from Ashton Manor Tuesday night. Give it all back or I’ll go to the police and I’ll tell them everything.’
‘What?’ Her brain raced whilst she tried to piece together the limited information that Finn had given her. ‘There was another diamond robbery at Ashton Manor. Oh God, that’s Casey’s parents’ place isn’t it?’
He let out a low snarl. ‘Give it back. I don’t care how you do it, whether you break back in there or post it through their letterbox, but you’ll give it back.’
‘What?’ Hurt sliced through her like a knife. ‘You think I’m the thief, that I would steal from Casey? How dare you suggest that?’
He stepped towards her so menacingly that she took a step back. ‘I covered for you, I never told the police when you concealed your plates, when you went out dressed in black every night there was a robbery. I hid those bloody plasticine animals so Casey wouldn’t see them – and then you betrayed him and me. Now you’ve made it personal, you’ve attacked someone I love and I’m not going to let you get away with it. You’ll take it back and then you’ll pack up and leave this village and never come back.’
Beneath the Moon and the Stars Page 24