The scrape of a footstep on the tiled floor seemed to confirm this until she felt the touch of his hand on her leg. Then the warmth of his breath as he crouched down next to her, his face inches away from hers. His hands gently pulled hers down so that his sea-green eyes were looking into hers.
“Hey,” he said softly. “I really like you too.”
The swell of joy those words brought trumped all other emotions. It was so strong she didn’t let herself second-guess it, her typical reaction. Instead, she let herself sink into the truth in his eyes. Had she ever been looked at like this? Like something to be adored? As if pulled by a magnet, she leaned into him until his arms encircled her. She rested her head against the solidness of his shoulder.
“You, however, I could kill.”
Penny felt him turn his head without letting go of her.
Bonnie cowered as both sets of eyes zeroed in on her.
“You had no right,” Finn said firmly.
“I know,” she whimpered. “It’s just… I didn’t want either of you to get hurt. And that’s what love does. It hurts.” These words came louder, filled with her own painful conviction. “I wantedthis to be a fun trip for everyone. I wanted you to be friends,” she explained imploringly. “But not more.”
“That wasn’t your decision to make.” Finn didn’t raise his voice; it remained calm, but there was a steeliness to it.
Penny, on the other hand, felt her anger washing away. If Finn hadn’t been there, right in front of her, holding her, she knew she wouldn’t have forgiven Bonnie so quickly. But he was… while Bonnie was in pain.
Wrapping her hands firmly around Finn’s arms so that he wouldn’t pull away, she absolved her friend. “It’s okay.”
“Like Hell it is!” Finn’s vehemence startled both of them. “Will I forgive you? Yes. You know that. But not that easily. You’re messing with other people’s lives. That’s not okay. You were hurt. But that doesn’t give you permission to twist everything the way you want it. You need to realize that.”
Bonnie’s mouth went slack as she looked from one of them to the other.
Penny wanted to reach out to her, but not at the cost of letting go of Finn.
“Finn, she didn’t mean….” She tried to defend her friend.
“Yes, she did. She straight up told me you didn’t like me like that, and I needed to back off. That day at the Marina… when you asked about going away… I didn’t know what to think. That’s why I was flirting with those girls last night. I wanted you to be jealous. I wasn’t interested in any of them. But I wanted you to see that other people were interested in me.”
“And that’s why I flirted with Seamus….”
“Look where that could have led.” Finn’s eyes hardened as he turned from Penny back to Bonnie. “If I hadn’t gone out after you when I did….”
“But you did,” Penny cut him off.
“I’m sorry,” Bonnie said again, even more contritely, her eyes wide with the horror of what she’d done.
There was a moment of silence when none of them knew which way the conversation was going to go. Bonnie had sunken into the far end of the couch, looking miserable; Penny felt torn between Finn and comforting her, and Finn’s jaw twitched tensely.
In the end, he broke the silence. “Look, Siobhàn, what you did was wrong. Very wrong. But God, it was good to see you laughing and smiling last night. We both love you. Still, you need to sit with this.” He looked back and forth between the girls, for the first time a little less sure of his words. “So that’s why I think I should take Penelope away for a couple days.”
His eyes sought out Penny’s, waiting for some sort of an answer. Without hesitation, she moved her head in short, vigorous nods repeatedly, delighted by the smile that finally broke through his grim expression.
“Let us figure things out between us,” he paused just long enough to give weight to his next words, “without your involvement. Let you get used to the idea of an us.”
“Okay,” Bonnie nodded as well, a sad, capitulating nod. “Fine.”
Only then, knowing she was going to have plenty more time ahead with him, did Penny break her hold on Finn to reach out towards Bonnie. “Will you be okay?”
Bonnie accepted her hand gratefully, squeezing it. “Yes. Fair is fair. I’ll be grand.”
Chapter 14
The heaviness of guilt that held her climbing into the car dissipated the further they drove, replaced by a nervous excitement at the idea of time alone with Finn. Every time he reached over to touch her leg, it felt like an electric current passing between them. Unfortunately, because the roads were winding and his car was a stick shift, it never lasted long.
The view was a sea of green on either side, rolling hills or shrubs pressed so close it gave the impression of being in a maze. She still gripped the door handle every time a car zoomed past, earning her a reassuring smile as she tried not to be embarrassed.
