and dropped his gaze from mine. “You know me too damn well, Gin,” Finn grumbled.
I arched an eyebrow. “You bet your sweet ass I do.Which is why I think this thing is so hilarious. All these years of chasing women, and what happens? You go and fall in love with my sister before you even get her pants off.”
Finn sucked in a breath. “Love? Who said anything about
love
? Please, Gin. You know how much I abhor
that
particular word.”
Another shudder wracked his body, as though someone had just walked over his grave. But for the first time, I detected just a hint of wistfulness in his tone. I hid a smile. Oh, yeah. Finn had it bad for Bria.
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of, admitting that you’ve finally met your match,” I said. “Because Bria is pretty spectacular. Smart, beautiful, tough. You could do a lot worse.”
Finn eyed me with suspicion. He might put on a charming facade, but if there was one thing that made him uncomfortable, it was talking about his own emotions. In that way, we were remarkably similar.
“And why are you suddenly okay with me trying to seduce your sister? If I remember correctly, there was a time not too long ago when you told me to take it easy around sweet little Bria.”
“That was before I realized that Bria isn’t so sweet and little anymore,” I said. “Besides, I’ve seen the way that she looks at you. She’s not quite as immune to your charms as she pretends to be.”
A slow grin spread across Finn’s face. “Really? You shouldn’t have told me that, Gin. Because now I’m just going to try that much harder to seal the deal, so to speak. Even if she is your sister.”
His tone lightened, as though he’d fully reverted back to the carefree, conniving Finnegan Lane who had seduced most of the female population in Ashland and had his sights set on the stragglers. But the barest trace of emotion flashed in his eyes before he was able to hide it from me—hope.
I shrugged as though it didn’t matter to me what Finn did or didn’t do with my sister. I wasn’t telling my foster brother the real reason I was suddenly on board with the Finn-Bria love train leaving the station—the fact that part of me wanted them to have each other to hold on to. Because when I went after Mab again, I probably wouldn’t be around afterward for either one of them to lean on. Better for them to find each other now. Better for them to realize that they could trust each other now, rather than after I was dead and burned to ash by Mab’s Fire magic.
“And what about Owen?” Finn asked. “Jo-Jo called me and said that he came over to the salon to check on you. That he was upset you hadn’t told him what you were up to regarding Mab. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one you left out of the loop last night.”
I shifted on my feet. Finn knew me inside and out, which meant that he could put the screws to me just as well as I could to him. But for once, I didn’t mind his inquisition. I needed someone to talk to this about all this relationship stuff, especially since I was in new territory here.
“Owen started to tell me that he loved me,” I said in a soft voice.
Finn frowned. “What do you mean
started to
?”
I drew in a breath and told him the whole sad story.About how angry Owen had been with me because I hadn’t told him I was going after Mab and how he’d almost let those three little words slip—words that I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear yet, much less reciprocate.
“He really does care about you, Gin,” Finn said. “I can see it in
his
eyes whenever he looks at you.”
“I don’t know why. I’m not exactly the stuff that dreams are made of.”
“Oh, please,” Finn scoffed. “Smart, beautiful, tough. Does that ring a bell? Not only does it describe Bria, but it fits you pretty well, too.”
I shrugged. “Maybe. But it doesn’t change what I am and everything that I’ve done.”
“I thought that Owen was okay with all of that. With your being
I arched an eyebrow. “You bet your sweet ass I do.Which is why I think this thing is so hilarious. All these years of chasing women, and what happens? You go and fall in love with my sister before you even get her pants off.”
Finn sucked in a breath. “Love? Who said anything about
love
? Please, Gin. You know how much I abhor
that
particular word.”
Another shudder wracked his body, as though someone had just walked over his grave. But for the first time, I detected just a hint of wistfulness in his tone. I hid a smile. Oh, yeah. Finn had it bad for Bria.
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of, admitting that you’ve finally met your match,” I said. “Because Bria is pretty spectacular. Smart, beautiful, tough. You could do a lot worse.”
Finn eyed me with suspicion. He might put on a charming facade, but if there was one thing that made him uncomfortable, it was talking about his own emotions. In that way, we were remarkably similar.
“And why are you suddenly okay with me trying to seduce your sister? If I remember correctly, there was a time not too long ago when you told me to take it easy around sweet little Bria.”
“That was before I realized that Bria isn’t so sweet and little anymore,” I said. “Besides, I’ve seen the way that she looks at you. She’s not quite as immune to your charms as she pretends to be.”
A slow grin spread across Finn’s face. “Really? You shouldn’t have told me that, Gin. Because now I’m just going to try that much harder to seal the deal, so to speak. Even if she is your sister.”
His tone lightened, as though he’d fully reverted back to the carefree, conniving Finnegan Lane who had seduced most of the female population in Ashland and had his sights set on the stragglers. But the barest trace of emotion flashed in his eyes before he was able to hide it from me—hope.
I shrugged as though it didn’t matter to me what Finn did or didn’t do with my sister. I wasn’t telling my foster brother the real reason I was suddenly on board with the Finn-Bria love train leaving the station—the fact that part of me wanted them to have each other to hold on to. Because when I went after Mab again, I probably wouldn’t be around afterward for either one of them to lean on. Better for them to find each other now. Better for them to realize that they could trust each other now, rather than after I was dead and burned to ash by Mab’s Fire magic.
“And what about Owen?” Finn asked. “Jo-Jo called me and said that he came over to the salon to check on you. That he was upset you hadn’t told him what you were up to regarding Mab. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one you left out of the loop last night.”
I shifted on my feet. Finn knew me inside and out, which meant that he could put the screws to me just as well as I could to him. But for once, I didn’t mind his inquisition. I needed someone to talk to this about all this relationship stuff, especially since I was in new territory here.
“Owen started to tell me that he loved me,” I said in a soft voice.
Finn frowned. “What do you mean
started to
?”
I drew in a breath and told him the whole sad story.About how angry Owen had been with me because I hadn’t told him I was going after Mab and how he’d almost let those three little words slip—words that I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear yet, much less reciprocate.
“He really does care about you, Gin,” Finn said. “I can see it in
his
eyes whenever he looks at you.”
“I don’t know why. I’m not exactly the stuff that dreams are made of.”
“Oh, please,” Finn scoffed. “Smart, beautiful, tough. Does that ring a bell? Not only does it describe Bria, but it fits you pretty well, too.”
I shrugged. “Maybe. But it doesn’t change what I am and everything that I’ve done.”
“I thought that Owen was okay with all of that. With your being
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