He gave me a placating smile and mumbled, “Yes, of course,” in that I have more money than Ben Affleck so you have to stop talking to me, sort of way.
“You just look different today.”
He turned to face me more fully, as I had him. “Different, how?”
I studied him and leaned in closer. “You almost look tired, human tired, not the ‘woe is me I’m done with this world’ weary that you sometimes look.”
He cleared his throat and glanced toward the rear view mirror, no doubt locking eyes with the captain up there. “I wasn’t aware you were so well versed in my moods.”
I grinned. “Don’t let it go to your head. People are messy and complicated. Studying their emotional spectrum can help you figure out their patterns, their vices, their comforts. Once you know those things, you can figure out where anyone will be.” I spun toward the front, speaking to the captain. “For example, I bet when you’ve had a long day you work out.”
“So insightful, wow,” the captain said from the driver’s seat, not even deigning to look my way.
“You do it after you consume a whole pint of the fattiest ice cream you can get your hands on, of course. Because that’s what your mother used to do with you when she was upset. Which was always because your father was abusive, am I right?”
His jaw tightened and Fin warned, “Zoey, don’t.”
I sat back and glanced out the window. “It’s not rocket science, or mind-reading—it’s psychology. Study someone long enough and you can get in their heads.”
Fin drew my attention back to him. “What has all this studying told you about me?”
I smiled again, this time, a little sadly, because it was a problem I faced often enough too. “Easy. You’re lonely. Why else start a campaign to rid the world of someone like Esteban? He stole the only person who could love you unconditionally.”
“They could say the same of you,” he whispered.
“Of course. I’ve been lonely for a decade. No matter how many people I meet, no one will ever be able to fill that hole inside me.” I realized what I’d shared a moment too late and glared his way. “Is this bond thing making me say all this stuff?”
“No, it’s called making friends.”
“Sure, you make all your friends by sharing your deep emotional traumas with them in the intimacy of a backseat.”
He grinned at me. “With heated leather, of course. Only the best way to go over deep-rooted emotional scars.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “You know what, Fin. I like you.”
He sat back in the seat, staring out the passenger side window. “I like you too, Zoey. I have since the day we met, and you fought me every step of the way.”
“If you two are done jerking each other off back there, can someone tell me where we’re headed?” The captain said.
“Oh, come on, Captain, join us. You look like you could use a chance to get your rocks off.”
He locked eyes with me in the rear-view mirror. “Says the virgin.”
I went rigid in my seat. “Excuse me?”
He pulled up to a red light and spun to face me. “You don’t think I made it my business to learn every single little thing about you before we brought you in to help? I don’t trust anyone, especially a little girl who lives off what’s left of her family’s money and talks a way bigger game than she’s got.”
Before even considering the ramifications, I reared back and punched him right in his perfect nose. Then I shoved out the door as the light shifted to green and crossed onto the sidewalk.
Fin scrambled out after me, and I picked up my pace.
It was a block before he caught up with me. “Zoey, come on, you pushed him too.”
“Of course,” I said, still walking, my arms tucked under my chest to keep myself warm.
He lay his coat over my shoulders and I hugged it around me. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “I’m not mad. He pushed back. It’s fine, I expect it, even more so from men who feel threatened by me.”