Finn (Breakaway Hockey #4)

Chapter Eighteen

Finn

S omeone pinch me.

I am home in Alaska with a woman I’m pretty much sure I’ve fallen in love with.

And now she’s with me in the town where I grew up. At my cabin, about to spend tons of time with me. Yeah, just the two of us—no hockey, no work, no distractions.

Wow.

The possibilities for what I hope to get out of this trip seem endless. The most important one, though, is getting Sammie to see that we need to be more than friends. We are fucking meant to be a couple.

I see it, and so do so many others.

She just needs to come around.

I think she may.

Hey, I have hope.

Who would have thought I’d end up being a hopeless romantic?

For now, though, I’m just glad we made it up to the cabin after this long-ass day of travel.

We had a flight across the country, another up here to Juneau, and then a rideshare to my cabin.

I keep a truck parked in the detached garage, but it’s not like it could drive itself to pick us up at the airport.

That thought makes me chuckle as I roll onto my back in my bed. I’m clearly sleep-deprived. Too bad my mind is keeping me awake.

My body isn’t letting me sleep either. Just knowing Sammie is down the hall from me in a different bedroom makes me want to go to her.

Of course, I won’t.

But damn, it’s weird to have her sleeping so close.

I gave her the other bedroom that has an adjoining bathroom. This way she’ll have plenty of privacy. I want her to feel totally comfortable here.

Maybe then, even if she’s dead set on remaining just friends, we could make this a regular thing.

I mean, I hope next year we make the playoffs and go deep. Getting to the Stanley Cup Final would be a dream come true. But there will still be an offseason. Sammie and I could come up here again then.

Let’s just see how this trip goes, Big Planner.

Yeah, I guess I am getting way ahead of myself.

Too bad it’s hard to stay rational when all I want to do is tell Sammie I’ve fallen for her.

And then I’d add that, if she feels in any way the same—and some days I think she does—let’s give this thing a go.

We could be so fucking good together.

Yeah, yeah, we could is the last thought I have before pure exhaustion wins out and sleep overtakes me.

I wake up on my side and wonder why I’m staring at a cedarwood wall and not the usual cream-colored one.

I’m miffed, until it hits me that I’m not in my house in Atlanta.

I’m at my cabin in fucking Alaska.

Yes!

Yawning and stretching with a big-ass smile on my face, I sit up and rake back my hair.

But wait, do I smell…bacon?

Is Sammie up before me?

Is she cooking breakfast?

It sure smells like it.

A quick check of my phone on the bedside table lets me know it’s nine thirty.

Wow, I slept in later than I’d planned.

It’s time to get moving.

Jumping out of bed, I throw on a gray long-sleeved tee. I already have on black lounge pants, so I’m good there.

After a quick stop in the bathroom, I head downstairs, the smell of frying bacon growing stronger and making my stomach growl.

When I step into the kitchen, Sammie is facing the stove. She looks cute in her pale pink pajama bottoms and matching oversized sweatshirt, one shoulder hanging down, exposing her bare skin.

I quickly move my gaze up. Oh, hey, her hair is pinned up in a messy bun. Damn, I like that too.

“Hey,” I say softly so as not to startle her.

It doesn’t work, though.

She jumps and spins around.

“Oh, Finn.” She places her hand over her heart. “I didn’t even hear you coming downstairs.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

She waves the spatula in her hand. “Aw, no worries. I was just in the zone—the cooking zone.”

“I see that,” I say with a nod to the stove.

Biting her lip, she says, “I hope you don’t mind that I’m making us breakfast. It’s just that when I came down to the kitchen to see if there was anything to eat, seeing as I was feeling kind of famished, I found the whole pantry and refrigerator completely stocked. I then figured I’d just go all out for both of us.”

“That’s cool.” Grabbing the back of a wooden chair at the table in the center of the room, I say, “As for shit being here, yeah, I had the guy who takes care of this property when I’m away make sure he loaded us up with provisions. You’ll find not only food but laundry detergent, soap, dishwasher pods. You name it, it should be here.”

“Wow.” She smiles at me, and damn, there goes my heart—like always these days. “You really planned ahead for our stay.”

“I tried to,” I reply.

Turning back to the bacon, she asks over her shoulder, “How do you like your eggs?”

It’s then that I notice a carton of eggs and a stick of butter on the counter next to her and another skillet on a different burner, ready to go.

“Uh, scrambled would be good,” I begin, but then I add, “You don’t have to do all this, though. I can help.”

Turning to me, she points at me with that damn spatula. “No,” she states firmly. “You sit.” She gestures to the chair I’m still holding the back of. “I’m on breakfast duty today. You can make us a different meal another time.”

“Okay, okay.” I raise my hands and surrender by pulling out the chair and sitting my ass down, as directed. “I give up.”

“Good,” Sammie murmurs as she directs her attention back to cooking.

And man, a short while later, I’m thinking, What a great breakfast she made for us .

It’s a literal feast of eggs, bacon, toast, and orange juice.

“This is fantastic,” I say between ravenous bites, seeing as I’m fucking famished too.

Sammie smiles at me. “Good. I’m glad you like it.”

“No, really,” I go on. “The eggs are so fluffy and light, and the bacon is just the right amount of crispy.”

Laughing, she replies, “I think you’re just hungry.”

I am, but I assure her, “No, everything is truly terrific.”

“Thanks, Finn,” she murmurs humbly.

When we’re done eating, I lean back and ask her, “What would you like to do today?”

She’s in the middle of taking a sip of orange juice, so I wait until she swallows and puts the glass down.

Shrugging, she says, “I don’t know. It’s your town. You tell me. I’m up for anything.”

“Okay, cool.” I nod once. “How about if I show you the house I grew up in and some old haunts of mine? Then we can go back into town, and I’ll show you the more touristy places. In fact, on the way back, I’ll take a route where you’ll be able to get a sweet view of Mendenhall Glacier.”

Sounding genuinely excited, she replies, “Oooh, that all sounds good.”

“Great.” I’m pumped now, too, as I tell her, “There’s a local fisherman who sells freshly caught salmon down the road from here. We’ll stop by his place and pick up some before we return to the cabin.”

“Sounds yummy,” she says.

I eye her seriously as I share, “Tonight will be my turn to return the favor and cook you up a hopefully amazing salmon feast.”

“Deal,” she replies. “And for the record, I’m sure dinner will be amazing. I think this whole day is going to be fun.”

“I think it will be too,” I agree.

Our hands are so close on the table, so I take a chance and place mine over hers.

It’s just that I need to touch her right now.

To my surprise, she doesn’t slide her hand out from under mine.

We just stay as we are.

And it feels so fucking good.