Page 89 of Tipping Point

Her hair is an absolute mess of tangled curls. Her skin is pale from sleep, her cheeks flushed. The freckles on her nose stand out.

I don’t think she’s ever been as beautiful as in that moment.

When I hand her her coffee, she smiles at me through the steam, inhales the vapour, and sighs contentedly.

I need to shower, get ready.

Instead, I go to stand against her.

She opens her legs and wraps them around me, hugging me to her.

We’re both silent as we drink our coffee.

Her eyes are soft as she lifts a finger, tracing the deep furrow of my frown. Then it drops to trace the smile lines at my eyes, a remnant from a long-gone time.

“Finn, the nightmare…?”

More than anything, I don’t want to have this conversation. The dream flashes back into my mind, the fear and desperation.

I’m saved by the bell when her phone vibrates on the coffee table in the sitting room and she pushes me away to hop off the counter.

It vibrates again.

Relieved, I put my cup down, stretch, and go to kiss her neck before I head off to shower.

“Oh my God.”

She’s staring down at her phone. I place my cheek on her shoulder, glancing down at the screen.

DELTA VICTOR OFFERS BRENNAN CONTRACT EXTENSION AFTER REDEMPTIVE SEASON.

Fuck.

She turns to me then, joy on her face. When she smiles like this, it shines from her.

“Finn, congratulations!”

She throws her arms around my neck and jumps up. I throw my hands to her thighs to catch her, hitch her up.

She makes to kiss me, but I draw back.

I watch the smile die on her lips. The little crease of a frown between her eyebrows.

“Don’t shut me out.” Her voice is very soft.

“I turned it down.”

“What?”

I set her down gently, and she steps back to look up at my face.

“I turned it down weeks ago. He leaked it on purpose to strong arm me.”

She frowns again. “Who?”

“Erik.”

“Weeks ago?”