Part 23 (1/2)

And, given the cut on her cheekbone, also hurt.

Both infuriated him.

The elevator opened and he took Thor's leash in one hand and used the other to guide Pru off. They were in the hallway in front of her door when Mrs. Winslow's door opened.

”Another special delivery?” Pru asked her.

”Not for me,” Mrs. Winslow answered. ”It's for you.”

”Um, I don't eat a lot of special brownies,” she said. ”No offense.”

Mrs. Winslow smiled. ”Oh, none taken, honey. I'm just pa.s.sing the word that there's a little something in the dumbwaiter for you.”

”For me? Why?”

”For your bad day,” Mrs. Winslow said.

Pru blinked. ”How do you know I had a bad day?”

”Let's just say a little birdie looks after all of us,” Mrs. Winslow said. ”And he let me know to let you know that you're not alone.”

”He who?” Pru asked.

But Mrs. Winslow had vanished back into her apartment.

Finn and Pru walked into hers. Finn crouched down and freed Thor from his leash and the dog immediately trotted to his food bowl.

Pru dumped a cup of dry food into it, patted the dog on his head and then went straight to the dumbwaiter.

Finn went to her freezer. He didn't see an ice pack but she did have a small bag of frozen corn. Good enough.

At her gasp, Finn turned to her. She'd pulled out a basket of m.u.f.fins from the coffee shop. Tina's m.u.f.fins, the best on the planet.

Finn wrapped the bag of corn in a kitchen towel and gently set the makes.h.i.+ft ice pack to her cheek and then brought her hand up to it. ”Hold it here a few minutes,” he said.

While she did that, he carried the basket to the kitchen table and they dove into the m.u.f.fins right then and there.

”Good to have friends in high places,” he said instead of asking her about her face, and when she visibly relaxed he knew he'd done the right thing.

Didn't mean he didn't want to kick someone's a.s.s, because he did. Badly.

”It'd be better to know who those friends are,” she said, clearly not reading his murderous thoughts. She met his gaze. ”Do you know?”

He had an idea but didn't know for certain so he shook his head.

She took another m.u.f.fin, chocolate chip by the looks of it. ”Sean's toast at the pub upset you,” she said.

Sitting across from her at her table, with Thor in his lap while he worked his way through a most excellent blueberry/banana m.u.f.fin, he didn't want to get into Sean's toast. He much preferred to get into whatever had happened to her. But he knew that she wasn't going to open up.

Unless he did.

Problem was, he hated opening up. To anyone.

”I'm sorry your dad never got to see the bar and what a success you made of it,” she said quietly.

He put his m.u.f.fin down. ”My dad couldn't have cared less what we did with ourselves when we were kids. He wouldn't care what we do now either.”

”But Sean said-”

”Sean's so full of s.h.i.+t that his eyes are brown,” he said. ”My dad never had a pub. h.e.l.l, he never even acknowledged he was Irish. My brother perpetuates the lie because he thinks Irish pubs do well and he isn't wrong. We have done well but it isn't because we're Irish, it's because we work our a.s.ses off.”

”You mean you work your a.s.s off,” she said.

He met her knowing gaze. ”I just hate the fraud.”

”It's not a fraud if it's true, even a little bit.” Reaching across the table, she covered her hand with his. ”Stop feeling guilty about something that isn't your fault and isn't hurting anyone. Let it go and enjoy the success you've made of the place, in spite of your father.”

He stared at her. ”How is it that you're cute, s.e.xy as h.e.l.l, and smarter than anyone I know?”

She gave him a small smile. ”It's a gift.”

Leaning over the table, he wrapped his fingers around her wrist and pulled the bag of corn from her face. Gently he touched her cheekbone. ”You okay?”

”I will be.”

Her resilience made him smile. ”Yeah?” he asked. ”And how's that?”

She shrugged a shoulder. ”Well, it's raining, and I love the rain. Someone sent me a basket of m.u.f.fins, and I love m.u.f.fins. Thor is actually clean and going to stay that way for at least the next few minutes. I don't have to work until midday tomorrow. And I have company.” She smiled. ”The good kind.” She lifted a shoulder. ”It's all good.”

She was aiming for light and she'd succeeded. It was how she dealt, he got that. And he was getting something else too-that he could learn a h.e.l.l of a lot from her.

She rose from her chair and came around the table. She lifted Thor from his lap and set the dog down. Then she climbed into Finn's lap herself and cupped his face.

His arms closed around her and one thought settled into his brain. This feels right.

She feels right.

Chapter 21.

#Ups.h.i.+tCreekWithoutAPaddle Pru lifted her gaze to Finn's, startled by the sudden intensity in his gaze. It said she wasn't alone, that she mattered, a lot.

At least you're not the only one falling . . .

This thought was a cool tall drink of relief immediately followed by a chaser of anxiety.

Because she hadn't meant for this to happen. She hadn't meant for any of it; his attention, his affection, his emotional bond . . . and all of it was a secret dream come true for her.