Starry Night

“Whatever you wish.”
    Carrie’s smile widened. “Oh, how tempting. Okay, if I win, we go shopping in the morning.”
    “Shopping?” He couldn’t believe she would even suggest something so out of his comfort zone. He knew from previous conversations this was something Carrie and her mother did every Black Friday. “This is a joke, right?”
    “No joke. I want you to meet my friends, and right now they’ll take one look and know you’re from Alaska. From there, it’ll be easy to make the leap that you’re Finn Dalton.”
    Gauging by the determination in her eyes, Finn realized it didn’t matter what cards he was dealt. Within a matter of hours he would be on the Chicago streets, credit card in hand, and he’d do it gladly because Carrie had asked him to.
    The deep-dish sausage and pepperoni pizza sat in the middle of the table in front of Carrie and Finn. Try as she might, she couldn’t take her eyes off him. He was gorgeous. His beard was gone, and his hair neatly trimmed. His jaw was clearly defined, and his lips were full and enticing.
    “Stop looking at me,” he said, clearly uncomfortable with her scrutiny.
    “Sorry, I can’t help myself. You look more scrumptious than that pizza.” The woodsman had disappeared, and in his place sat Prince Charming. Finn was handsome—well, in her eyes, anyway—and if the glances she saw coming from other women in the restaurant were anything to go by, she wasn’t alone in thinking so. The transformation was total. Finn exuded vigor and strength, and she found it nearly impossible to keep from staring.
    “You have to admit this is the best pizza you’ve ever tasted,” she said, in an effort to keep the conversation going. If she was drooling, it wasn’t over the food.
    “All right, you win. Chicago pizza isn’t half bad, but you have to promise to try reindeer-sausage pizza the next time you’re in Alaska.”
    “I wouldn’t miss it,” she teased.
    “I’m serious.”
    She loved the idea that he assumed she would visit Alaska again, and frankly, she wasn’t opposed to the idea, especially if it meant she would be with Finn. It didn’t hurt that he loved pizza as much as she did, either.
    “You know what’s funny?” he said, wiping the grease from his fingers with a paper napkin. “I keep fighting the urge to text you.”
    Carrie laughed because she’d experienced the same feeling.It was the usual way they communicated and had become such a habit that it felt odd not to be exchanging texts even when they sat across the table from each other.
    “We’re done shopping, right?”
    “We are unless you have a secret desire to face the maddening crowds yet again.”
    He scoffed. “Hardly. I’ve seen about as many people in one day as I can handle. I’m starting to feel claustrophobic. Is it always like this in the city?”
    “Always. Sometimes worse, although not often. Black Friday is a special, magical day.” Carrie hid a smile. One disgruntled look from Finn told her he could do without the holiday craziness. “But you haven’t been to Navy Pier yet.”
    “Another time,” he pleaded. “I don’t think I can take much more of these crowds, let alone the noise.”
    “Okay.” Carrie had no complaints, watching as he once again ran his hand over his smooth cheeks as though he felt naked.
    He’d arrived at her apartment that morning clean shaven, and for just an instant she hadn’t recognized the man standing in front of her. She hadn’t asked him to shave and had been both shocked and delighted.
    “And you keep staring at me.”
    “Sorry, I can’t stop myself. I had no idea you were such a hunk.”
    He chuckled as if she’d made a joke, but she wasn’t kidding.The minute her friends took one look at him, they’d be all over Finn, especially Sophie. She frowned, disliking the thought.
    “What’s wrong?” he asked, as he paid their tab and collected their purchases. Finn reached for her hand, gripping it in his own as they started out of the restaurant.
    It amazed her how easily he read her mood. “What makes you think anything is wrong?”
    “You’re frowning.”
    “I just got an inkling of how you felt with me spending the evening with Dave.” They wove their way around busy tables toward the front of the well-known Chicago pizza restaurant.
    He paused, frowning, his brow folding into thick ripples. “I doubt that.”
    “I was imagining my friends meeting you, and I realized they are going to want you for