Morgan and Mr. McCormick pile into the truck. I open the door to follow, but Finn stops me, slamming the door shut.
“What are you doing?”
“I want to talk to you in private. We’ll meet my dad and Morgan at the pier.”
“But—”
“No more buts, Macey. Trust me.” He leads me over to his rental car and helps me get in as I watch a man I don’t know drive away with my most treasured possession in the backseat.
“I should be with her,” I tell him when he gets in the car.
“She’s perfectly fine with my dad, besides, you could use some adult time.”
“I had adult time. For two weeks I was away from her and I hated every minute of it.” I realize all too late the meaning behind my words. “That’s not what I meant, Finn.”
“It’s fine. I want to talk to you about that anyway. The work. Are you done stripping?”
“Yes,” I say, looking out the window. Even though we’re following behind the truck, I can’t help but keep my eyes focused on the trailer.
“And what about money? How much do you want a month? And when can she come to Vegas? Or do you want me to fly here to see her?”
I push my hands into my hair and scream, causing Finn to swerve. “Shut up, okay. Just shut up. I can’t do this right now, Finn. I can’t. Everything is happening too fast. Two or three days ago you didn’t know she existed and now she’s with your dad as if we’ve been this happy family for the past ten years and I can’t . . . I can’t process it all this fast. I need time, Finn.”
He doesn’t say anything as we come to a stoplight. Tears fall as the truck carrying my daughter moves ahead, leaving us behind.
“I’m sorry, Macey. I have to go back to Vegas tomorrow and wanted to make sure everything was set up before I left. We can talk about it later.”
Of course he’s going back tomorrow. He’s going to show Morgan what a great guy he is, only to disappear on us . . . her.
My mood is complete shit by the time we reach the pier. Finn parks and tries to hold my hand, but I cross my arms and follow him down the dock. And as if my life can’t get any worse, Finn’s father has the biggest boat on the lake and Morgan is more than excited to be on it. I’m angry with Finn and want to take Morgan and go home, but I know I can’t. I can’t ruin this for Morgan, she’d never understand.
As we board and get settled, Finn makes sure Morgan has a life jacket on. She’s sitting with Finn’s dad and the captain of the boat while Finn has me down below unpacking the food. I continue to slam things on the counter, trying to get my frustrations out and biting the inside of my cheek to ward off the tears.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me, Macey.”
I turn and face him, pointing my finger toward his face. “You don’t get to swoop in and play fucking hero, Finn. You don’t. You can’t show up and be all ‘I’m your dad and we’re going to spend the day on my boat’ and then disappear tomorrow, but promise to send me a check. Life doesn’t work like that when you’re ten. She’s going to want to get to know you. All you’re doing is teasing her.”
“That’s not my intention. I’ll be back, but I’m in the middle of constructing a hotel and can’t up and leave. I’ll take long weekends and fly her out to see me.”
“She’s not flying by herself.”
“So fine,” he says, tossing a loaf of bread onto the counter. “You’ll fly with her.”
“I can’t afford to fly whenever you want to see her. Don’t you get that?”
Finn steps closer, invading my personal space. “And don’t you get that I’m going to pay for it? That you no longer have to work because I’m going to take care of you?”
“Until when? Until you decide to get married?”
“Not gonna happen.”
I scoff and roll my eyes, turning away from him. Before I know what’s happening, he’s dragging me down the tiny hall and into a small bedroom.
“What are you doing?”
“Strip.”
“No!”
“Fucking strip,” he says, taking off his clothes. The minute he drops his shorts, his erection bounces against his belly. When he starts to stroke it, my eyes bug out.
“What are you doing?”
“Giving my angry unicorn some attention while he waits for the pussy he’s fucking addicted to to bare herself for him.”
“Is that how you solve everything, with sex?”
Finn steps closer and yanks the buttons open on my shorts. His fingers dip into my waistband as he pushes them along with the bottoms of my bikini down my legs. Before I can protest, before I can run, my leg is swung over his shoulder and my hand is splayed out against the wall while his other hand digs into my ass and his tongue swipes at my core.