Everyone at the table started laughing as if it was the best joke that had ever been told. They were all hammered.
I opened the worn leather wallet and saw Finn’s driver’s license. Finnegan Joseph Heller with a familiar address in Santa Monica. He also had a condom that looked like it had been in there a while, a membership card to someplace called “Jack’s Personal Fitness,” a health insurance card, a bank card, and a black American Express card.
He was twenty-four years old. A newborn baby.
I slid out the Amex card and handed it to Dakota. “Add twenty percent,” I told her under my breath.
“Make it thirty,” Finn slurred. “She never once got mad at us.”
I nodded to Dakota and turned back to Finn. “Come on, let me help you up. Deputy Kepplow can take some of you home, and I’ll take the rest.”
When Russ slid out of the booth and stood up, he gave me a firm nod. “No worries, Sheriff. I’ll make sure Finn gets home okay. My place is just around the corner.”
Finn’s forehead crinkled in confusion. “But I’m not staying at your place.”
“Tonight you are, babe,” Russ said with a chuckle. “You’re way too hammered to get home by yourself. You can sleep on my couch.” He paused. “Or in my bed.”
“I don’t think so,” I said as calmly as I could. Dakota brought back the bill, and I set it in front of Finn. If I hadn’t known how wealthy he was, I might have felt more uncomfortable about having him sign it while he was this drunk. But Matt and Dakota deserved to get paid, and the bill was peanuts compared to a big night out at Nobu for guys like this.
Once he’d signed the tab and stood up, Finn wobbled a little. “Why am I tipping over?” he murmured under his breath.
I shot a look at his friend Kix. “So much for the sober bullshit from last night.”
He waved me off. “Whatever, dude. I don’t care if you believe me or not, but he doesn’t usually drink much.”
The woman with the cheeks leaned in to speak softly to me. “He’s right. I know Finn got a call from home. He wouldn’t say what it was, but maybe it was bad news.”
Russ tried pulling Finn back under his big muscular arm. “Finn needs a friend. And I’m just the man for the—”
I gently guided Finn around to the other side of me until I was between the two of them. “Nah. I’ve got it from here. Thanks anyway, Russ.”
The man opened his mouth to argue, but I shook my head firmly. It’s not happening, asshole.
He gave me a narrow-eyed look, then stepped around me and took Finn’s hand. “Tomorrow, then. Meet me back here, okay?”
Finn looked at the guy like he’d never seen him before in his life. “I don’t even know where here is,” he said under his breath.
Russ laughed like it was a joke and then pressed a kiss to Finn’s hand. Just the sight of all that ink on Finn’s forearms sent a shiver of need straight to my dick. I pushed it down. Ink had never done it for me before, and I sure as hell didn’t need to get an ink fetish now.
I bit back a laugh when I saw Finn wipe the back of his hand on his jeans as soon as Russ turned to leave.
Finn’s friend Kix called after him. “Rusty! Russ! Whatever your name is. I’m down if you are.”
Russ turned back with a decidedly hungry gleam in his eyes, only this time it was aimed at the bleach-blond guy instead of Finn. “Yeah? Let’s go, then.”
Kix blew a smirky kiss to Finn and followed the firefighter out the door. As soon as they were gone, Finn seemed to sag against me.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
I grabbed his elbow and led him out into the dark night. Rolly had stepped up for once, organizing rides home for everyone, because it seemed like the parking lot was mostly empty.
Before we got to my vehicle, Finn yanked himself out of my hold and bolted for some nearby bushes where he proceeded to hurl up his evening fun.
I stayed well away from his pukefest, but I gathered some wet wipes and a bottle of water from the back of the SUV for when he was done.
He finally stumbled back over to me looking like death. “Fucking hell,” he said. “I forgot how bad it was. No wonder I stopped drinking. But my mom called and… you know? Sometimes it’s like that. Like drink needs.”
He wasn’t making much sense. I handed him the water and wet wipes and looked anywhere but at him while he cleaned up his plump lips and sweaty face. The idea I found this puking man child attractive was untenable. It was a testament to how delirious I was from sleep deprivation.
After settling Finn in the passenger seat of the SUV and clipping his seat belt around him, I forced myself to pull away.
“No sniffing the drunk celebrity,” I muttered to myself as I walked around the vehicle to the driver’s side. Even if he smells like the best combination of coffee and woodsmoke.
It was a surprising combination, especially since it held no hints of vomit. I would have expected a man like him to wear something expensive like Tom Ford or Dior, but whatever scent he was wearing was completely different. Not floral or citrusy.
I wanted to press my nose into his neck just to see if I could figure it out.
Is that why? Survey says no.
I stretched my neck side to side. The lack of sleep was getting to me. This kid was the opposite of everything I’d ever wanted, and having to pull him out of a bar after closing time two nights in a row was proof of that.
When I got into the car and started the engine, I heard Finn singing softly to himself. It was a little endearing, and since I had no interest in having soft, positive feelings for this troublemaker, I decided to cut him off.
“Two nights in a row now. You know this isn’t LA, right? Just because you and your friends want to stay out until all hours basking in the attention of your adoring fans doesn’t mean people like Matt and Dakota should have to stay up and serve you.”
He slow-panned over to face me. “What?”
“I’m just saying, this is a small town where we roll up the red carpet before midnight. How is Matt supposed to get up and be ready to receive his deliveries in the morning if you keep him up till three every night? And Dakota is a student at Rockley Tech. She probably has classes in the morning. That’s why they close at one.”
He glanced at the clock on the dash and squinted comically. “But it’s two now.”
“Exactly my point. Your people kept them open because you wouldn’t pay the bill and leave when they asked you to.”
“No, but…” He drifted off, seemingly distracted by something out the passenger side window. Just when I thought he’d forgotten he was in the middle of saying something, he continued. “I didn’t pay attention to the time. I didn’t want to come out, and then I didn’t… I didn’t want to drink. And I didn’t pay attention to the time. My mother says punctuality can be the difference between a starring role and the gutter.”
I glanced over at him and noticed the hank of brown hair that had fallen over one eye. My fingers itched to push it back.
“She’s right, but I’m not sure how that’s relevant to respecting closing time at the local pub.”
“It’s about respect,” he said.
That was rich coming from someone who’d thrown a house party back in LA so large and destructive they were recreating it as a training exercise for new recruits at the police academy to learn crowd disbursement techniques. Finn Heller’s reputation preceded him.