“I’m sorry,” he said, opening the back passenger door open for her. “I shouldn’t have yelled.”
“Yelling is bad,” Mikey said, having calmed down from his scare. “Mommy and Daddy aren’t supposed to yell, either. But sometimes they do.”
Eva’s gaze clashed with his and he gave a brief nod. “Do you know what they were fighting about, Mikey?”
“Mommy spends too much money.” Mikey yawned widely, his eyelids drooping as the events of the evening caught up with him. “Daddy said so.”
“It’s okay, Mikey,” Eva said. She buckled the boy into his car seat and then kissed him. “Grown-ups sometimes yell, but you should know that both your mommy and your daddy love you very much.”
“I love them, too.” Mikey yawned again, his eyelids fluttering closed. His head slid to one side as he appeared to fall asleep.
Eva closed the back passenger door and moved as if to brush past Finn. He stopped her by gently cupping her shoulders in his hands. “Eva, please don’t ever jump into danger like that again. My heart nearly stopped when you rushed in to grab Mikey. When I heard the gunshot, I feared the worst.”
She lifted her head to look up at him. “Don’t ask me to apologize for saving Mikey’s life.”
“I know, I get it. But your life is precious, too.” He knew those moments when she’d run into harm’s way would reverberate in his mind forever. “I can’t bear to lose you.”
She looked surprised by his admission and that made him grin. Unable to help himself, he pulled her close, his mouth hovering above hers. “I want to kiss you,” he whispered.
“I’d like that.” The words were barely out of her mouth when he covered her lips with his. Their kiss was soft, chaste at first, then grew intense as he allowed the passion he felt to come through.
“Finn? Oh, uh, sorry. I didn’t realize the Gallagher charm was striking again.”
The interruption was unwelcome, and he lifted his head regretfully. Reed Branson, one of the K-9 officers who’d gone out to look for Mikey was standing nearby. Finn narrowed his gaze, not happy that Reed had mentioned his so-called charm in front of Eva, and didn’t bother to hide the edge to his tone. “What?”
“I wanted to know if you still need me to watch over the Stallings’ house.” The cheeky grin on Reed’s face made Finn inwardly groan. This kiss was going to be talked about throughout the K-9 community, no doubt about it. The guys were merciless with their teasing, especially on the basketball court during their informal pickup games. At one time, he’d earned his reputation for dating women with a friendly, no-strings-attached approach. He didn’t want Eva to know that.
The feelings he had toward her were different. More intense. More—everything.
“Yes. I’m driving them home now, so if you’d follow us that would be great.” He opened the passenger door for Eva, who quickly slid inside.
“Just driving them home or sneaking another kiss?” Reed teased. Thankfully, Finn had already closed the door, so he hoped Eva hadn’t overheard his remark.
“Just follow us,” he said in an annoyed tone.
The ride back to Pete’s house didn’t take long, and Eva called Pete on the way to reassure him that they’d found Mikey safe and sound. Apparently, Pete hadn’t been able to get a flight out because of the storm but was still planning to come home early the following morning. Finn offered to carry Mikey inside, but Eva insisted. He escorted them both into the house, waiting until Eva carried Mikey up to bed.
“Everything okay?” Finn asked.
“Pete claims he doesn’t blame me, but I’m not sure I believe him,” she said with a sigh.
“Knowing Mikey is safe will be all that matters in the end.” Although he ached to hold her, he stayed where he was. “I need to go. If you need anything, Reed Branson will be outside. I want you to feel safe here, okay?”
“Will Reed stay all night?”
“Just till I get back. Since Pete’s flight was delayed, I, uh, plan to sleep on the sofa down here in the living room, if that’s okay with you.”