Free Spin by Bella Love Page A

streamrollable daughter of a madwoman and
myself. We had a lot in common.
    Except no one would ever steamroll me.
    I felt a little better.
    My phone rang and I grabbed it. God, I loved
my phone. “Hello?” I said as I waved good-bye to Olivia, who was
wafting out of the room.
    It was the caterer. As she reviewed her
numerous and very valid concerns, I turned and gazed out the
window, nodding. Mrs. Lovey stood in conversation with a
construction worker at the edge of their lawn, near the circular
drive. She turned, pointing back toward the house, and I saw who
she was talking to.
    Finn.
    My heart almost stopped.
    Faded jeans sat low on his hips, and he wore
a loose cotton shirt and exuded Big Bad, from the dusty work boots
to the backward-facing ball cap, to his scruffy black hair and the
way sex emanated off him like waves of heat, even at a hundred
yards through a bay window.
    Also, he was pissed. Pissed emanated
too.
    At me.
    What is he doing here?
    My knees actually wobbled.
    I thought of all the things Finn had done in
his life, all the lines he’d crossed, all the trouble he’d
concocted simply by going his own way. I thought of the look in his
eye by the river when he toyed with outing me eleven years ago. I
thought of the way he said he didn’t want to talk about his time in
the military.
    Finn didn’t play with toys anymore.
    What would a man who didn’t care much for
rules do, if a woman had walked out on him without saying
good-bye?
    I felt true fear.
    Minimize the damage. The mantra
kicked through my fear.
    I could still hear the caterer talking on
the phone as I bolted for the door. Flinging the door open, I eyed
the expanse of lawn between me and them, then kicked off my shoes
and hurried barefoot across the lawn.
    Only a true emergency could have made me do
it.
    I sprinted over the cool green softness.
Finn’s head lifted slightly and his sunglasses looked over Mrs.
Lovey’s shoulder at me.
    I made a stern face at him. He didn’t move.
I pointed a warning finger. He was like a brick, no reply. Then his
face tipped back down and he said something to Mrs. Lovey.
    I hurried faster. I could hear the wind
whipping past my ears. Or maybe that was my inner voice screaming
horror stories at me.
    I drew up just behind Mrs. Lovey,
breathless, tucking loose hair back in place and tugging down on my
skirt. She turned and raised her plucked eyebrows high on her
forehead.
    “Jane, I’m surprised. Mr. Dante here
says—”
    “I can explain,” I said, breathless.
    She stopped. “You can?”
    “Yes,” I said hurriedly, pushing hair off my
face. “We used to know each other, when we were kids.”
    She nodded slowly. She didn’t seem
convinced. She seemed confused.
    “I’m sorry you were disturbed, Mrs.— Lovey.”
I glanced at Finn. His sunglasses regarded me in silence. “This is
a bad time, Mr. Dante,” I told him briskly. “I’m kind of busy.
Maybe you could call me later? Or text me?” I added hopefully.
Smoke signals, anything that kept him a safe distance from my
body.
    I felt rather than saw his look harden.
    I turned back to Mrs. Lovey, who stared at
me. “I’m so sorry you were disturbed.”
    “Jane, what is going on?” she demanded.
    “Can you please move?” I said to Finn, my
teeth sort of gritted as I wrapped a hand around his bicep and
tried to drag him off. It was like trying to move a boulder. “It’s
all my fault, Mrs. Sandler-Ross.”
    “ What is your fault?”
    The first glimmer of confusion threaded
through me, and I had the thought I might not actually be
minimizing damage here. I stopped, my hand still on Finn’s arm.
“That I…that he….”
    “That he what?”
    “That he’s here. That you were disturbed.” I
dropped my hand. “I’m sorry. He’s sorry.” I turned to Finn and
hissed, “ Say something .”
    He looked at Lovey and nodded gravely. “It’s
all her fault.”
    Mrs. Lovey shook her head, exasperated.
“Jane, I have no idea what you are talking