There was a beat of silence, and then Tripp drawled, “Holy shit.”
“I know. It’s amazing,” Colin said, still staring at Finn.
Finn scowled at them.
“I thought it was possible, but I never thought I’d actually witness it.” Tripp shook his head slowly as if in wonder.
“I’m…humbled. Truly,” Colin said.
Finn narrowed his eyes further. “What the hell are you two talking about?”
Colin and Tripp looked at each other then back at Finn.
“You finally found a woman that you like more than Mom,” Colin said.
“The cord has been cut.” Tripp gave a solemn nod.
Finn sighed. “Fuck.” He slid to the edge of the booth. “You.”
Colin chuckled. “Come on, man, you gotta admit that it took a while to find a woman that you were willing to stand up to Mom for.”
Finn stretched to his feet. “Fine. Go ahead and say it.”
Colin grinned widely. “What?”
“That I’m a mama’s boy.” It wouldn’t be the first time he’d heard it, and frankly, he didn’t care. Colin and Tripp felt the same way about Angie that he did. Hell, Sophie herself had been drawn to Angie’s mothering. Angela Kelly was an amazing woman, and he loved her and would do anything for her. He owned that. It made him a good son. He was doing what his father had asked him to do. How could he feel ashamed of that?
Which did, in fact, make things with Sophie…bigger. Because he really would tell his mom to back off if she got upset about Sophie being here tonight. He blew a breath out.
“All I’m going to say is don’t you dare make my mama cry,” Colin said, pointing his beer bottle at Finn.
“If you do, I’ll help him kick your ass,” Tripp added.
Exactly. Angie had a mama’s boy all right. Three of them. “The goal is for no one to cry,” Finn said firmly.
“Even you, right, Bro?” Colin asked.
Yeah, even him.
Suddenly a chorus of voices rose up from the bar area, and they all glanced over.
“When we drink, we get drunk. When we get drunk, we sleep. When we sleep, we commit no sin. When we commit no sin, we go to heaven. So let’s all get drunk and go to heaven!”
Then everyone toasted, drank, and cheered. Including Sophie.
Tripp chuckled. “One of my favorite of your Irish toasts.” He lifted his own bottle and then took a long swig.
Irish toasts. Next would come the Irish jokes. Then the Irish songs. He wasn’t sure Sophie was ready for all of that. Then again, she might dive right in and love every second. Which would probably be worse than her turning and running.
He headed for the bar and the woman who was making his life complicated and wonderful at the same time. “Trivia time, ninja warrior,” he told her, settling his hands on her waist. He was in too deep for a few public displays of affection to rock any boats, so he might as well enjoy them.
She beamed up at him, and he laughed and shook his head. “How many shots are we up to?”
“Only three,” Chloe assured him.
Sophie shook her head quickly. “Four. We had straight whiskey, then the Irish car bomb, then the baby Guinness, and now”—she lifted her glass, tossed the shot back, and smacked her lips—“the Fuck an Irishman.” She turned and looked up at Finn. “That’s my favorite.”
Yeah, he was going to have his hands full here. Finn took in her smile, the mischief in her eyes, the way she shot the liquor as if it were nothing, the way she leaned into his touch…What had he done bringing her here?
Because he was now officially head over heels.
“There’s no such thing,” he said, glancing up at Jamie behind the bar with an eyebrow up and a smile he couldn’t help.
His cousin held up his hands. “She insisted I make one.”
“What’s this got in it?” Finn asked Sophie, stepping closer and sliding his hands down to her hips. He loved how she fit against him. Whether it was her hand in his, her lips on his, or…anything else.
“Irish cream, of course,” Sophie said. “Butterscotch schnapps and cinnamon schnapps.”
Jamie nodded his confirmation.
“That’s not already a drink?” Finn asked.
“It is,” she told him with a nod that made her wobble on the stool slightly. “But it’s been renamed.”
“On your authority?” he asked, wanting to kiss her and get a shot of Irish cream straight from her tongue.
“Yep. Because it’s smooth”—she gave him a wink—“and sweet, and hot all at once. Just like fucking an Irishman.”
Finn didn’t know quite what to say or do as everyone around them made a general low “Ooooh” sound and then burst into whistles, cheers, and laughter.
Well, if they hadn’t been outed before, they were now. He grinned down at her and then tightened his grip on her hips, pulled her forward, and kissed her.
Really kissed her. In front of everyone.
He was sure his aunts and at least two cousins, a niece, and even an uncle or two were calling and texting his mother right now.
And he didn’t care if they included photos.
Sophie slid her arms around his neck and arched closer, parting her lips, and as he stroked his tongue into her mouth, he could swear he could taste the Irish cream, the whiskey, and the schnapps all individually.
Plus Sophie. He could taste Sophie, and he was never going to grow tired of that flavor.
Finally he pulled back, licked his lips, and nodded. “I think that one’s my favorite too.”
She giggled and let go of him. “I hope you’re not looking to fuck any Irishmen.”
He pinched her butt and pulled her off the stool. “I hear they’re the best in the world.”
She laughed, and he wrapped an arm around her when she swayed a little. “In my experience, that’s true.”
Again there were whistles and big grins around the bar and he was officially the center of attention, but Finn couldn’t remember having felt this…great in a long time. Though great seemed like too tame a word, really.
They made their way to the big tables in the back corner where the trivia game would be going on. They tried to keep the game back there so it wasn’t too disruptive to the rest of the bar, but by the end of the night, everyone was playing along and shouting out answers and mocking each other for wrong guesses anyway, so it didn’t really matter.
Finn put Sophie into a chair next to his and draped his arm behind her, but as the rest of the family gathered and jostled for seats, he decided that he’d already gone this far so he might as well…He reached over and pulled her into his lap, opening a seat for his cousin Ian.
Sophie didn’t make a peep of protest, settling her back against his chest and her ass against his groin. Finn immediately had to shift her off the cock that was very happy to see her and was going to make that known very soon if her curves stayed where they were.
Ian grinned as he turned the chair and leaned his arms on the back. “Don’t make me turn the hose on you two,” he said.
Sophie giggled, and Finn could only grin and squeeze her a little tighter.
The twenty official team members took the chairs up near the big-screen TV they used to Skype with the other team. The bars took turns providing a quizmaster and tonight it was Kelly’s turn. Colin had been unanimously nominated, and he took his place, near the computer and screen where he could be seen clearly by both teams. He welcomed everyone, reminded them of the rules, and then read out the first question. And the room erupted into noise and movement.
Everyone started calling out answers to their leaders, who had to be the ones to officially buzz in. Which meant that the arguing also started almost instantly. The others didn’t stay seated for long, but Sophie seemed content to stay on his lap. In fact, neither of them was contributing to the answers. He leaned to look at her. She was watching it all with wide eyes. He couldn’t tell if she was overwhelmed or fascinated, or both. He chuckled and r
ested his hands on her thighs.
“It’s a little crazy,” he said near her ear.
She shifted on his lap, and Finn bit back a groan.
She smiled at him. “This isn’t just a trivia thing, right? They do this at family dinners and when playing cards and stuff too?”
“My family purposefully does competitive things when they’re together,” he said, “so they can argue and also lord the win over the losers. You should see when we play touch football in the yard.”
“But they’re on the same team tonight,” she pointed out.
“Um, yeah,” he agreed. “Supposedly.”
She laughed and put an arm around his neck. Which pressed a breast against his chest. He took a deep breath and couldn’t help but stroke one hand up her side, over her ribs. He didn’t quite cup her other breast, but his fingers skimmed the underside and he felt her sigh.
They sat like that for a few minutes, watching the action.
“Winston Churchill,” she muttered.
Finn looked at her. “What?”
“Winston Churchill said that quote, not Mark Twain,” she said.
A moment later, Dan buzzed and gave the wrong answer. Finn squeezed Sophie’s thigh. “You should speak up.”
“Not sure I can speak that loud,” she said with a laugh.
They watched the game go on, but Finn didn’t hear a single question. He was too busy relishing the feel of Sophie in his arms, the warmth of her body, her sweet scent, the way she laughed at and with his family, and…just being with her. She shifted in his lap, and Finn fought a groan. His body was definitely responding to having her against it, but she seemed almost oblivious. Her attention was firmly on the trivia game and the chaos around them.
Occasionally he’d notice she was muttering answers, but she didn’t say anything loud enough to be heard by the group. And Finn decided that he wanted her attention on him.
He ran his hand over the top of her thigh, his fingers skimming along the inner seam of her pants. She wiggled again, and he moved so that her butt was pressed against his hardening erection as he worked his fingers under the edge of her shirt. They were at the back of the crowd, and no one was paying any attention to them. He could easily cop a feel. He inched his way up, his fingertips now on the underside of her bra cup. He traced his fingers over the smooth material. Then he slid higher, finding her nipple hard behind the satin. He rubbed his thumb over it and felt her press against his fly.
“Finn,” she said softly. He wasn’t even sure he actually heard it so much as felt it.
He took her nipple between his thumb and finger and rolled it as he put his lips against the back of her neck. “I love holding you,” he said gruffly.
She squirmed in his lap, but he didn’t realize she was reaching behind her until he felt her hand on his denim-encased cock. She pressed and then dragged her palm over the firm length.
He shuddered and put his mouth to her ear. “I really love having you here with my family, but I need to get you alone soon.”
She turned her face to press her lips to his. His hand slid from her breast to her stomach, and he tucked his middle finger under the edge of her jeans, rubbing back and forth across the smooth skin just behind her waistband. She trembled slightly in his arms, and her tongue slicked over his bottom lip.
Then suddenly she jumped to her feet. “No! William Shakespeare!”
The room got quiet—or at least relatively quiet—and everyone turned to look at her.
Finn wasn’t sure what to do. So he sat there, behind her, and crossed one ankle over his other knee to hide his erection.
“You guys are losing,” Sophie said, propping her hands on her hips, clearly not intimidated by being the center of attention suddenly. “You’re not even trying to work together. You aren’t listening to one another at all!”
“Uh.” Colin turned to the screen. “Okay, time for our first break. Teams, be back in place in ten minutes.” He pressed something on the computer that made the screen go blank. Then he looked up at Sophie. “What’s going on?”
“Brian has been yelling out the answers to the science questions and has gotten the last three right, but you’ve all only used his answer once!” Sophie exclaimed. She took a few steps forward and pointed at Zoe. “Zoe gets every one of the pop culture and music questions right, even the oldies. You have to let her be in charge of those questions.”
“In charge?” Finn’s aunt Leann asked.
“You should have people who are good at certain subjects take those questions,” Sophie said. “You’re a team. But that doesn’t mean you all answer everything. Brian and Zoe each have something they know really well. Dan knows food,” she said, pointing to the leader, who grinned and nodded. “And Finn,” she said, swinging to look at him, “what are you good at?”
“Uh.” He was actually having a hard time focusing on anything but how much he wanted her when she got riled up. This was her feisty side. This was the real her. And she was showing it off to his family. Sure, it was because she was frustrated—and intoxicated—but as he’d said that first night, those were situations that made a person act in real, honest ways.
“Sports. He’s good at sports,” Chloe finally answered for him with a grin.
“And Donny is amazing at history,” someone else said.
“And Caitlin knows geography.”
Sophie smiled at all of them as if she was very proud. “Wonderful, so you need to work together. When you get a question in a certain category, let those people go first.”
Everyone was nodding. “And,” Sophie added, pulling their attention to her one more time, “I swear the next person to say Mark Twain has to buy me three baby Guinnesses. That man didn’t actually say half the things that are attributed to him. So quotes? That’s all me.” She pointed a thumb at her chest, and everyone laughed.
The break ended, and everyone settled back into their seats, and even though Finn got his one sports question wrong—because he couldn’t get his mind off all the things he wanted to do to Sophie when he got her home tonight—they were soon kicking ass.
The time started to wind down, and they came to the final question. Colin read out, “And from the Quotes category. Who said, ‘Travel is fatal to prejudice’?”
They all turned to look at Sophie, who was now standing in the middle of their group, where she’d been high-fiving and laughing and encouraging everyone.
“Sophie?” Zoe asked.
She bit her lip.
Dan leaned in. “Sophie, do you know it?”
She nodded. Dan hit the buzzer. But she didn’t say anything.
“Well?” Colin asked.
She took a big breath. “Mark Twain.”
They all stared at her. Then Dan hooted and gave the official answer. They swung toward the screen as if the action were choreographed, and a second later…they won the whole thing.
It took a few minutes for Finn to extract Sophie from the midst of her excited and grateful teammates, but he finally caught her wrist and tugged her down the short hallway to the restrooms and nudged her into the alcove by the back door. He immediately took her face in his hands, pressed his body to hers, and kissed her with all the pent-up desire, affection, and happiness he was feeling.
She still tasted faintly of liquor, but it had been over an hour since her last drink, and as she arched into him and wrapped her arms around his neck, Finn didn’t let her blood alcohol level stop him from running his hands all over her body, her shoulders, hips, waist, breasts, ass. He filled his hands with her curves over and over, absorbing the feel of her, her taste, the sounds she made.
Until his phone rang.
He continued to make love to her mouth for several long seconds, but the ringing was insistent and it was his work ringtone. Finally he pulled back, staring down at her. “Fuck,” he breathed.
She pressed her lips together and settled back on her heels as he reached for his pocket.
“What?” he barked into the
phone a moment later, his eyes still on hers.
“We’ve got Trosky holed up in an apartment downtown. Thought you’d want to know.” The voice was that of Finn’s captain.
Finn closed his eyes. Fuck. He and Tripp had been investigating Glen Trosky for three months now. They’d brought in new evidence just yesterday that would put the crooked banker behind bars, but they hadn’t been able to find him. Of course Finn wanted to know. And he and Tripp would want to make the arrest.
But he knew that Tripp would also have second thoughts about running out of here after Glen Trosky if his hands were full of a hot, sweet blonde.
“Finn! Trosky! Let’s go!” Tripp hollered down the hall without coming closer.
So someone had called Tripp too. And that meant Finn couldn’t blow this call off. Not that he would anyway, but…Sophie shifted against him, and he realized he’d never been so tempted to let someone else handle a call.
“Finn!” Tripp yelled again from the end of the hall. Finn appreciated his friend respecting that he might have Sophie in a compromising position. “Yeah, yeah,” he muttered.
“You have to go?” Sophie asked.
He nodded. “Sorry.”
She smiled. “That’s okay. It’s your job.”
“But—” He ran a hand over her lips. “I’m not sure I care.”
Her smile grew brighter, and Finn realized he’d inadvertently said something right.
“Making you want to be somewhere besides with your family and at work is something.”
She knew him. He nodded. “It is. And I promise you, Feisty, I want to be wrapped up in my sheets with you and nothing else or anyone else anywhere near my thoughts for about the next year and half. Just so you know.”
She went up on tiptoe and kissed him quickly.
“I would drop you at home, but…” He didn’t want her at her house dealing with the inevitable hangover of tomorrow alone. He could call Maya or Kiera, he knew, but he had a better idea. He knew exactly where she needed to be. “I’m going to have Colin give you a ride later,” he said. “You stay and have some more fun.”
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