Abigail

It was five p.m. on the dot, but the office was so quiet, I thought maybe some apocalypse shit had gone down and swept everyone away.

Most employees had already left, but Finnegan’s office light was still on. He hadn’t smiled once since his mother stormed out earlier, and I’d tried all my usual jokes.

It had been a while since I’d seen him brood, and while he looked gorgeous as always, a happier Finnegan was always a hundred times hotter.

I finished reading the last email, grabbed my bag, and pushed open the door to his office.

I poked my head through, my hair tumbling over my face.

"Ready to go home?" I asked softly.

He grunted, barely glancing up from his screen. "Yeah."

That was all I got. A single tired grunt. Dammit, Gina. I’d already made so much progress on this man, and look what you did.

I may or may not have eavesdropped on the conversation. Was I too curious? Two angry Wolfes in one room, I was sure the building was going to explode.

I caught something about someone named Devin, though. Who was that? Finn’s father? We rarely spoke about his family, and I didn’t want to be nosy.

I watched him push away from his desk, grab his phone as he shut down the system, and walk over to me. We strolled to the elevator in silence. I tried again in the car park.

"Rough day, huh?" I said, keeping my tone light. "Your mother really knows how to ruin the mood."

He gave another grunt. "Something like that."

I could see the guilt etched on his face, though. He was hurt. He could try to hide it all he wanted, but it couldn’t have been easy for Finnegan to confront his mother like that.

Heck, I remembered the first time I met his mother — I was so shocked to see how the powerful, commanding Wolfe became a yes-man to someone who belittled him.

The confrontation with Gina had to have cut deeper than he wanted to admit.

James was already waiting by the car, holding the door open. I shook my head at him.

"James, you can head home. I’ll drive Finnegan tonight."

James raised an eyebrow but nodded respectfully and stepped away. Finnegan frowned, narrowing his eyes at me suspiciously.

"What are you up to?"

I tilted my head toward my car with a small smile. "Get in, Mr. Wolfe. Trust me."

He hesitated for a second, then grudgingly slid into the passenger seat of my car.

"Aww, you make an adorable passenger princess," I teased as I climbed behind the wheel.

"Don’t push it, Abigail," he grumbled, but a ghost of a smile tugged at his lips. "I haven’t sat in the passenger seat since I was maybe sixteen? I can feel my masculinity take a bloody hit."

"Damn, such a nepo baby," I chuckled, fired up the engine, and pulled out of the parking lot.

We drove in relative silence for twenty minutes until I swung into a brightly lit bowling alley. Neon lights flashed above the entrance, and the sound of pins crashing and laughter spilled out into the parking lot.

Finnegan stared at the building. "A bowling alley?"

"Yep," I said cheerfully, killing the engine. "Let me guess — you’ve never been in one?"

His eyes narrowed into slits, and his mouth parted to argue, but I bolted out of the car.

With a tired sigh, he followed me inside.

The place was lively with families, groups of friends, the clatter of pins, and the smell of popcorn and beer. I paid for a lane and rented shoes, ignoring his protests.

"Let’s bet?" I asked as we laced up.

His eyebrow rose. "What kind of bet?"

"Hmm, if I win, you have to sing a song in front of everyone at work tomorrow."

"Hell would sooner freeze over," he scoffed.

"Chicken," I taunted, sticking my tongue out at him. "Deal or not?"

"And if I win?" he asked, leaning closer, his chest brushing against my tits. "What do I get?"

"A well-done sticker?" I cackled, dodging away from him before he could grab me.

He lunged and caught me by the waist, whispering hotly in my ear. "If I win, I get to finally fuck you in the ass..."

"What a waste of a bet. You were going to fuck me in the ass anyway."

"Tonight," he rasped, then released me, a tiny smile curving his lips when my entire body went rigid.

My ass clenched at the thought of him claiming me tonight. I’d have to make sure not to make any noise with River, Angel, and Annette all in the house.

Oh my god, that sounded like sweet, sweet torture.

"Are you backing out?!" Finnegan taunted.

"No way!"

The game started. I went first and knocked down seven pins. Finnegan stepped up, rolled the ball, and — because he was so lucky here — landed a strike on his first try. He turned to me with a smug look.

"Beginner’s luck," I teased, bumping his hip as I sashayed past.

The game quickly turned competitive. I was good — I mean, I used to be queen of the bowling alley through high school but it sucked how much better Finnegan was.

I started breaking out silly victory dances. He tried to stay serious, but I caught him fighting a smile more than once.

"Stop cheating," he grumbled when I did a little twirl after knocking down eight pins.

"I’m not cheating. I’m just better at celebrating," I shot back, sticking my tongue out.

By the eighth round, we were neck and neck. The score was tight. I was leading by two pins. Finnegan stepped up for his turn, rolled a perfect strike, and turned to me with a triumphant look.

"Beat that, Kellerman."

"Oh, it’s on, Wolfe," I said, narrowing my eyes playfully.

I took my time, lined up carefully, and rolled.

The ball curved and smashed into the pins — "Strike!"

I jumped up and down, screaming in victory, and threw myself into his arms. Finnegan laughed, a deep, hearty sound that made my heart skip.

"You’re ridiculous," he murmured. "Why are you even trying to win? You do not want me to..."

"Oh, I do. I’d rather you fuck me when I can enjoy it and scream your name as loud as you want me to." I leaned up to press a kiss to his lips.

With a sigh, his body sagged against mine, and he kissed me back, coaxing my lips apart with his tongue before pulling away. "I’m definitely beating you in the next round."

"We’ll see."

We were both laughing as we left the alley, arms linked, hauling bags of silly prizes and snacks for everyone back at the penthouse.

By the time we pulled into the underground parking of the penthouse, we were both giggling like teenagers.

We stepped into the apartment loaded with gifts — a giant stuffed bear for Angel, some fancy chocolates for River, and a new gaming headset for Annette.

Annette immediately pulled me aside into her room the moment she saw the bags.

"Abby," she whispered urgently, shutting the door behind us. "The tracker on Cole’s phone just came back online. It’s moving."