“Charlie…” I trail off. More than anything, I don’t want to disappoint him. “I’m not going to take the job. I’ve got…” I hesitate before continuing, not knowing how words will ever accurately describe what I have with Finley. “I have a reason to stay. An important one.”
“So you met someone,” Charlie says, and relief courses through me at the smile in his voice.
“It’s Finley,” I say. I don’t need to explain more, because he knows.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” he says. “I can’t say I’m not sad to not have you down the road again, but I’m happy for you. Real happy.”
Something warm pulses through me. I think it’s pride. It feels like sunshine on skin that’s been cold for much too long.
“Thanks, Charlie. That means a lot.”
“Will you still come visit?”
“If the offer is still available.”
“Of course it is,” he booms. “And bring Finley if you want. I’d love to get to spend some time with the both of you. Bring her to dinner Sunday too.”
“I will,” I promise. “And I’ll see if she can take time away from the store for a few days to come with me to Maine. I’ll let you know.”
Suddenly, I want it more than anything. I want to walk on the beach with her, hand in hand, salt and sun on our skin, sand on our feet. I want to eat lobster rolls with her and take her to a lighthouse and watch her light up over all the hydrangeas.
“I’ll ask her,” I say again, this time sounding more confident, more excited. “We’ll see you next Sunday.”
“So is he agood kisser?” Nora asks on Monday morning over breakfast. Her mom has the kids, so it’s just us, and I’m grateful for it. As much as I love my adopted niece and nephew, I have so much I need to discuss with my best friend.
Nora waves her hand dismissively and takes a sip of her coffee. “What am I saying?Of coursehe’s a good kisser.”
I pick up my own drink to hide my smile—and hopefully the blush creeping into my cheeks. For a long moment, I don’t say anything, keeping her in suspense.
Nora leans forward until she’s practically lying on the table, her hair slipping over her shoulders and narrowly missing landing in a puddle of warm maple syrup. “Finley.”
“Yes, he’s a good kisser,” I finally relent, losing myself in memories of the weekend. Ofhim. His mouth and his hands and his words and all the things he told me that I never would have been able to dream of hearing.
“I don’t know how you got so lucky to snag a man with a secret tattoo,” she says, sounding reverent, her eyes wide and dreamy.
A flutter starts deep in my stomach just thinking about that. Thinking about Grey showing up at a tattoo shop, asking the artist to ink my favorite flower onto his skin. About how, for years, every time he undressed, he saw it and thought of me.
Nora’s mouth splits in a grin. “You’re beet red.”
I touched that tattoo with the same reverence Nora used to talk about it. I felt the ridges of his ribs under my fingertips, felt him tremble beneath the movement. In all my life, I’ve never felt that powerful, and I doubt I will again.
Behind me, I hear the front door of the restaurant open, squealing on its hinges ever so slightly, and Nora’s eyes widen at whoever walks in.
“Red alert,” she whispers just as someone steps up behind our table.
It must be that my brain is so firmly wrapped around Grey that I expect to see him when I turn around, a smile curling up the edges of my mouth. But it falls when I see a face just as familiar, but much less welcome.
“Gus, hey.”
He looks nervous, brow pinched, hands balled into fists and shoved into his pockets.
“I was just heading over to the shop to talk to you, but I saw you through the window.”
Everything about the moment is so confusing that it takes me a minute to understand.
Nora saves me. “We were just finishing up here, but we have plans after this.”
We don’t, but she’s giving me the option to get out of this conversation with him if I don’t want it. Relief and gratefulness course through me. Giving her a meaningful look, I ask, “Can we reschedule?” What I mean is,I’ll call you as soon as he leaves and give you all the details.
