Starry Night

Carrie waved before he drove off. The instant he was out of sight, she opened her clutch to retrieve her cell phone. Right away, she sent Finn a text.
    I’m home.
    I know.
    She glanced up to find Finn standing on the other side of the building’s glass door. For a moment, all she could do was stare at him. She shivered with the cold, but he wore no jacket. All he had on was a yellow-and-black plaid shirt, jeans, and boots. In her entire life she’d never seen a more strongly appealing man. Hurrying to the locked securitydoor, she opened it for him. Even before he was inside, she was wrapped in his embrace.
    Carrie looped her arms around his neck, hugging him and laughing with joy. Right away, Finn swept her off her feet. With his arms around her waist, he lifted her so that her shoes dangled several inches off the ground. With her hands framing his bearded face, they kissed as if they couldn’t get enough, as if they meant to consume each other right in the center of the lobby.
    A man’s voice broke through the fog of longing and joy. “Ms. Slayton? Ms. Slayton?”
    Reluctantly, Carrie ended the kiss and looked over her shoulder to find Lester, the security guard, closely studying her.
    “You know this man?” Lester asked.
    She smiled and nodded. “Lester, this is—”
    Finn released her and stretched out his hand to the guard. “Paul. Paul Dalton.”
    “Glad to meet you, Paul. I apologize if I was rude earlier.”
    “Not a problem.”
    Carrie was curious to know what that was all about. “Let’s go upstairs,” she said, and steered Finn toward the elevator. She waited until they were inside and the doors had closed. “I’m glad you were clearheaded enough to tell him your name is Paul.”
    Finn smiled down at her “Clearheaded? You’re joking, right?”
    Carrie laughed and cuddled close to his side. They had their arms around each other. “What’s this about Lester being rude?”
    “It’s nothing. He didn’t like the idea of unsavory types hanging around the building and asked what my business was.”
    “Unsavory types?”
    “Shhh, just let me kiss you again.”
    Carrie wasn’t about to argue with him. They were completely consumed with each other when the elevator stopped on the twenty-fifth floor and the door glided open. Finn reluctantly broke off the kiss and thrust out his arm to stop the doors from closing on them.
    Using her code, Carrie let them into her apartment, wondering what Finn would think when he stepped inside the ultra-exclusive high-rise. It was a one-bedroom unit that she’d rented because of its close proximity to the newspaper office and the incredible views of the city it offered.
    Staring out the picture window, Finn stood with his back to her. “I’m a bit out of my element.”
    Wrapping her arms around him, she pressed the side of her face against his back. “I think we’re both way out of our comfort zones.”
    He chuckled and folded his rough, muscled hands over hers. “True enough.”
    “I’m so glad you’re here.”
    “It was either fly to see you or go slowly mad wondering about you and that pretty boy.”
    “You saw Dave?”
    “I saw you hug him. He’s darn lucky he didn’t try to kiss you; otherwise, I would have been forced to drag him out of that car and send him flying into the closest snowbank.”
    Carrie laughed at the mental picture. Dave was a pretty boy, but he wouldn’t have stood still for Finn’s he-man tactics.
    “You think I’m joking?”
    “Oh, Finn, if only you knew how close you are to my heart.”
    He turned and nearly crushed her in his arms before he slowly released her. “I’ve never been the jealous sort, but Carrie, you … you make me feel things.” Frowning, he rubbed his chest. “One kiss just before Sawyer took you away and you unbalanced my entire life. I hardly know myself any longer.”
    “Do you like having your life unbalanced?” she asked, noting how dark his face grew with the confession.
    “I don’t know. It’s never happened quite like this.”
    She kissed him, letting her lips linger over his. When shepulled away, he groaned softly. “Perhaps I could grow used to it,” he whispered.
    “I’m thinking I could as well,” she confessed.
    After a while she brewed them each a cup of coffee, and then they sat and talked away half the night. They bounced from one subject to the next as if it’d been months since they’d last spoken. It felt as if they’d known each other their entire lives.