Navy Blue - A Second Chance Romance (Complete)

Navy Blue: Chapter 19

Silver eyes full of light focused on Finn. The weight of Emily's look cemented him in place.

If Finn was a weaker man, he'd assume there was hope in her lingering gaze. His lungs expanded and the ache in his chest caught fire. The sounds of the party faded away, replaced by the steady thumping of his heart as he swam in the illusion that Emily might want him to stay.

"I could." He forced the words into the open air, studying Emily's reaction. It was ever so slight, barely recognizable, but he'd swear on his life her breath caught. Followed by rapid blinks over glossy eyes. She gravitated toward him, her fingers stretching in his direction.

"Hmmm. Well, it's lovely to see you again." The mask of perfection accompanied the false sweetness of Mary's voice. "But I need to steal my sister away." She snagged Emily's hand and tugged her in the opposite direction. "Sophie is trying to ruin our summer plans, insisting on not coming to the Hamptons this summer. You need to convince her otherwise."

Emily glanced at him, then back at her sister. "Mary, Finn is our guest." Emily's auburn hair, not wound in a tight knot for once, swung over her shoulders as she turned her full attention to him. His throat constricted and his chin lifted, causing his shoulders to straighten. The corners of her mouth curled up. "Can I get you a drink or something to eat? Beth made these crab puff things. They're really good."

Finn resisted the urge to take Emily's hand and play a perverted game of tug of war with Mary, where Emily was the prize. Mary grabbed Emily by the arm and forced her away from the conversation. "Technically, he's Beth's guest. She can look after him."

With an eye roll, Emily acquiesced to her sister's demands. Beth rubbed her swollen stomach. "That's Emily. Always looking after others."

As Emily floated away from him, Finn forced his mouth to work. "Yes."

"Dad." Beth called over an older man in a linen suit, carrying a martini. "You remember Finn?"

Mr. Montgomery's gaze morphed from politician pleasant to disgusted dad as he drew closer. "I most certainly do."

Finn matched the man's stony glare. He had commanders and admirals who tried the same intimidation techniques on him, and he'd learned to bear the brunt of their hostility like the hull of a ship against the brutal sea.

"Finn, let me take that from you." Beth held out her hand for the gift, seemingly oblivious to her father's animosity. "And let me get you that drink. Lance mentioned a pale ale you might like." Without waiting for a reply, she twisted away, leaving Mr. Montgomery and Finn staring at each other.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?" Mr. Montgomery's pale blue eyes bore into him, eyebrows a straight line of contempt.

"I'm about to drink a beer." The flippant remark spilled out of Finn.

"You know what I mean."

Finn straightened. "I do not, Sir."

"Interfering with my daughter." The fury in his whispered accusation would have made Finn flinch if he hadn't been on guard.

The man made it sound like Finn planned on kidnapping Emily from this party, take her back to his ship and have his way with her. He let that idea roll around in his mind for a fraction. If he didn't know for sure she wanted nothing to do with him, he'd propose the scenario to Emily as a dose of his own medicine.

"Leave." Phillip leaned in. "And don't come back."

First Mary, now her father. What did this family have against him? Finn rose to his tallest and peered down at the man. "Your daughter is handling a case I'm involved in." Across the room, a woman with cropped black hair embraced Emily. From the reaction of Mr. Montgomery, Finn assumed Emily had not shared their conversation from the other day.