by Paris Hansen
Finley laughed, smacking Liam’s arm with her free hand. Her other hand was twined with his, like it was whenever they were within touching distance of each other. She had never really been one to hold hands in private, let alone in public, but the entire weekend, everywhere they went, Liam had held onto her hand. It was almost like he was afraid to let her go, which she thought was pretty fucking adorable. Yet another thing she’d never really thought before meeting Liam. The word adorable made her want to gag, unless she was talking about a puppy or a small child. It was not a word you used to describe a man.
“I’m not talking about the mystery house and you know it. I’m nervous as hell to meet your sister. Can’t you feel my palm sweating? It’s fucking gross and I can’t make it stop. What if she doesn’t like me? I’m freaking out a little bit here Liam.”
Finley had never really cared about what other people thought about her. If they didn’t like her that wasn’t her problem because she loved herself and who she was. She would never change for anyone else. But now here she was heading off to meet Liam’s sister and she was terrified that his sister, the most important person to him in the entire world, wouldn’t like her. If his sister didn’t like her what would that mean for their relationship?
She’d been fighting her feelings for months. She didn’t want to admit that she was falling for Liam because that would give him all the power in the world to ruin her. The last thing she wanted was to be vulnerable, to let someone else in deep enough to do the kind of damage that her mother had done, but Finley had failed in keeping Liam out. And it was definitely too late to try fighting back now. Liam Crawford could break her heart and she’d handed him the keys to do so. She just couldn’t let him know that he had the ability to break her. What he didn’t know, couldn’t hurt her…at least that’s what she hoped.
“Abby is going to love you. How could she not? Plus, I’ve already told her so much about you, she said that it felt like she already knew you.”
Finley groaned. “What if I turn out to be nothing like what she’s imagined?”
“You are worried for nothing babe,” Liam kissed the back of her hand. “She’s going to adore you as much as I do. You have nothing to worry about. I guarantee it.”
Finley sat back in her seat, watching the scenery wiz by. She’d had an amazing time on her trip so far, but none of that would mean anything if Abby didn’t like her. Finley tried not to think about it and to just concentrate on the things she could control, but it was hard. It was nearing five o’clock and they had dinner reservations for six with Abby, her husband and their kids. There wouldn’t be much time to talk before leaving for the restaurant. Finley couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing. She desperately hoped she wouldn’t do or say anything stupid or offensive.
Sometimes…hell most of the time, her filter didn’t work and she said anything and everything that came to mind. It was off-putting to some, down right rude to most. Only the people closest to her, didn’t have a problem with the things that came out of her mouth. In fact, some of them, like Savannah and Gabriel, found her honesty refreshing. It was too bad they were among the minority.
She had to be on her best behavior at dinner and not just because of Liam’s sister. There were going to be children present, young, impressionable children. It wasn’t often that Finley was around kids and when she was, they weren’t as young as Liam’s niece and nephew. The dinner and the next couple of days were critical for her future and for the first time in a really long time, Finley wanted a future…one where Liam was the person by her side.
Suddenly, the car came to a stop, the sound of the emergency brake being pulled up breaking Finley from her thoughts. Looking around, she realized that at some point they’d driven into a residential neighbor and pulled up in front of a beautiful light gray, single-story bungalow with white pillars and a white railing around the porch. A stone walkway wound from the sidewalk up to the three stone steps to the porch. The surrounding yard was perfectly manicured and a long stone driveway flowed from the street along the side of the house.
“This house is great and in this neighborhood, it must have cost a fortune. Did you buy it for her?”
“Actually, I didn’t. She bought it with her husband and then they fixed it up. It wasn’t always this nice. It was a tiny, ramshackle two bedroom, one bath house on a huge plot of land when they bought it. He’s a contractor and has a ton of connections. They added on two bedrooms, made sure each bedroom had their own bathroom. Added the garage and a powder room, redid the living room and the kitchen and this is what came out of it. Wait until you see the inside.”
Finley waited in the car, until Liam came around to open her door for her. She was getting used to his need to be a gentleman even though it killed her sometimes to let him open doors, pull out her chair and pay for nearly every meal. It always felt like a small victory when he’d let her pay for things. She knew it was the way he was raised and that he respected her need to be independent. Someday it wouldn’t be so hard to let him have his way.
He helped her out of the tall SUV, then once again twined his fingers with hers. Hand in hand, they walked up the stone pathway to the front door. Her heart slammed against her chest, as butterflies took flight in her stomach. She’d never been so nervous in her life and all she was doing was meeting one person…well four, but it was really the one that mattered the most. She forced a smile and then worried that it would look forced, so she tried again until it felt a little more natural.
Liam shook her arm gently, until she turned to look at him. “Relax. Everything is going to be perfect.”
He knocked on the door and she suddenly had to concentrate on breathing. Slow and steady breaths. In and out. She could do this. She could meet his family and make a great impression. The door flung open quickly and two screaming, small bodies rushed toward them, both colliding full force into Liam’s body catching Finley completely off guard. Her hand broke free from Liam’s as she stumbled backward.
“Uncle Liam’s here!!!”
“Holy crap,” Finley said as she grabbed onto the porch railing behind them before she could fall down the stairs.
“Oh my gosh, are you okay. Guys, you can’t just rush at people like that, you could hurt someone.”
“But mom, Uncle Liam can take it,” said the little boy with the missing front tooth.
“Yeah but Uncle Liam isn’t alone today, is he?”
Finley looked up from the kids that were still latched on to each of Liam’s legs, her eyes meeting with a pair of kind ones that were so familiar. She had noticed that Abby and Liam had the same eyes when she’d looked at pictures of the two of them together, but in person it was even more obvious, although Abby’s were a tad darker in color. Liam’s sister was absolutely gorgeous, which again wasn’t a surprise to Finley, but even more evident in person.
“Are you okay Finley? I’m sorry these two can get a little crazy when Uncle Liam comes to visit.”
“I’m fine. It was just a surprise is all. Plus, I can be a bit wobbly in heels anyway. I probably should have stuck with boots.”
Letting go of the railing, Finley took a few steps forward, her hand outstretched in greeting. Before she could really register what was happening, Abby was bypassing Finley’s hand and pulling her into a hug.
“I am so glad you’re finally here. I can’t wait to get to know you, although I feel like I already do,” Abby said.
Liam had told her that his sister was always happy and excited about life and Finley could feel that. Abby’s exuberance was infective. After only being in her presence for a few minutes, Finley felt lighter and happier. Her nerves were gone. She knew she was going to have a great time with Liam’s family and that she really had nothing to worry about.
Less than an hour later, they sat around a large round table at a nearby Mexican restaurant. The kids, Colleen and Travis were coloring and talking to each other while the adults finished their drinks. Abby was just as wonderf
ul as Liam had said she was. She was funny and energetic and reminded Finley a lot of Savannah. She told hilarious stories about Liam when he was younger which was a treat she hadn’t expected. Even though there was a pretty hefty age difference between them, they had always been close.
“I know I was only four, but I remember it clear as day.”
“You don’t remember anything,” Liam argued. “Haven’t you embarrassed me enough as it is?”
“Fine. I won’t tell her this story tonight because I have a feeling I’ll have plenty of time to divulge all of your secrets to her in the future.”
“Honey, perhaps you should lay off the margaritas,” Jeff, Abby’s husband, suggested with a laugh.
“Oh be quiet you...I have only had two. You know it takes far more than that to get me drunk. And you know I don’t have to be drunk to spill my brother’s secrets. Not that I want to scare Finley away, but I’m pretty sure I owe him for what he tried to do to you when he learned we were together.”
“Oh Liam,” Finley laughed.
Liam shook his head. “Hey I told you, I was crazy over-protective and she’d been seeing the guy for a year behind my back…right underneath my nose. I obviously was not as good at keeping tabs on her as I thought I was. But nothing I did worked and I’m glad it didn’t. Not everyone would want to put up with her. She’s lucky she found someone who would. Hey…”
Finley nearly choked on her margarita as she watched a chip fly across the table and hit Liam in the nose. He picked it up to toss back at his sister, but was interrupted by the excited cheers of his niece and nephew.
“Food fight!” the both yelled each picking up a handful of chips as they did so.
“NO!” their parents yelled in unison halting the food fight in its tracks.
Finley couldn’t help but laugh at the situation. The look of shock on Abby and Jeff’s faces as their kids nearly let go of the chips. The look of surprise on Liam’s face as he realized what almost happened. This was the kind of thing Finley had been missing her entire life. She’d had tastes of it with Elijah and with Savannah, but nothing like this. Nothing with two sweet, yet rambunctious kids involved.
This moment was one she’d never forget. It was a moment she hoped someday to have more of.
* * * * *
They spent three days in Santa Barbara before they had to return to Liam’s home so he could go to work. They got to spend two more days just the two of them before he had to start spending long days on set. It had been difficult to go from spending 24 hours a day with him, to less than 12, but knowing she had to head home to Seattle in a few days anyway made her see that it was perfect timing. She figured she could ween herself off of him before putting 1100 miles between them. Although it sucked, it did seem to be working a little.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come to set today? Or have Abby and the kids come hang out with you?”
“Liam, I’ll be fine. I’ve got some things to do and I’m used to being alone most days; this will be cake.”
Liam sighed. “I know. I just hate that I have to leave you when you’re leaving tomorrow. I wish I could have gotten today off, but we’re already behind schedule, they wouldn’t release me for one last day. I’m hoping we’ll get out early tonight so I can spend as much time as possible with you before I have to take you to the airport in the morning. Are you sure you can’t stay one more day?”
Finley smiled up at him, her arms wrapped around his neck. “I appreciate that you want to spend time with me, but this trip was already ten times better than I expected it to be. I figured you’d be working most of the time anyway so getting to spend over a week with you without either of our jobs interfering was amazing. You know I’d stay if I could, but my manager can’t work, so I have no one covering the club. Now go finish making the next action movie blockbuster. I’ll be here when you get home.”
He kissed her until her knees nearly gave out, then pulled away with a smile. “I love hearing that. I wish it could be that way every day, but I’ll live with this for now. I’ll see you tonight.”
Liam kissed her one last time, before grabbing his keys out of the bowl by the door. She watched him leave, a piece of her going with him. If it was this hard to watch him leave for the day, she knew it was going to be excruciating to get on the plane in the morning. She really needed to figure out what she wanted in life. There was no way around going back to Seattle, but did she have to stay there? Did she even want to? Back home, she’d just been going through the motions until Liam walked into her life. Now she could finally see just how much she was missing and Liam filled in too many of the holes to ignore.
Before she left, she hoped they could talk. She needed to know where he stood, what he envisioned for the future. She needed to know it wasn’t just her that saw them together. He had been adamant that they were meant to be together and he’d been right. She no longer needed convincing, she just hoped he still felt the same way. She didn’t want to know what her life would be like without him. This man had her thinking about returning to a place that prior to her most recent trip, hadn’t held the greatest memories for her. But now she could see that it would be easy to make new memories with the man she was falling in love with. That those new memories would trump the old ones.
Finley spent most of her free day straightening up Liam’s condo. He usually had a maid that came by twice a week, but since they’d spent a lot of time holed up in the condo naked, he had given the maid two weeks off with pay. Finley had been thankful she didn’t have to worry about someone walking in on them while in compromising positions, something she knew for a fact had happened to Amy and Elijah in the beginning of their relationship.
Halfway through the day, Liam’s sister called to chat. Finley was going to miss Abby and the kids almost as much as she was going to miss Liam. He had been right when he said his sister was going to love her and she had fallen in love with Abby the first night they met. She had expected his sister to ask questions, but she had not expected the third degree. Finley loved seeing how much Abby loved her brother, how much she wanted to protect him from gold diggers, liars and cheats. She was just as over-protective of him as he was of her. It was the kind of familial relationship that Finley had always wished she had.
“Are you sure you have to go back?” Abby asked.
“Yes I’m sure. I wish I didn’t, but I have to take care of Heat. I’ve got a ton of other loose ends to deal with.”
“So when can you come back? Next week?”
“Abby, you’re almost as bad as the kids. I don’t know when I’ll be back. Once I clear things up in Seattle, it’ll be up to your brother. Maybe he won’t want me to come back, at least not right away.”
“Oh shut the fuck up. That man is so freaking in love with you he can’t see straight. I guarantee you that he would keep you here tomorrow if he could. He would never let you go back to Seattle if he could get away with it.”
“You don’t know that he loves me.”
“Anyone can see that he’s in love with you, Finley. I’ve never seen my brother so happy, not even when he went back to acting or back when my parents were alive. You’re exactly what he’s been looking for. You’re exactly what he needs in his life. The kids are already trying to call you Aunt Finley.”
Finley sighed, wanting to believe that her new friend was right. “Don’t let those kids get their hopes up. There’s a very strong chance that you’re wrong, Abby. I don’t want them to get their hearts broken too.”
“Ah ha! You do love him. You just admitted that your heart would be broken if something happened.”
“Shut up. Maybe I was talking about you getting your heart broken or him or…fuck I don’t know,” Finley said. “Damn it, yes. If things didn’t work out I would be devastated. Does that make you feel better?”
“I’m not gonna lie. It does make me feel a little bit better,” Abby laughed. “I know what’s in my brother’s heart and I really don’t think you have anything to wor
ry about. Besides, if he does something stupid, I’ll kick his ass myself. Then disown him cause you’re way cooler than he is.”
Finley laughed. Abby had given her exactly what she needed…a little insight into her brother. She wasn’t going to worry about the worst-case scenario, she was going to sit him down and tell him how she felt now that she could admit it to herself. She, Finley Blake was in love with Liam Crawford. For the first time in her life, she would say those three words to someone that wasn’t like family to her. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach despite the fact that she’d been 100% confident in announcing her discovery, she was now nervous as hell.
She finished talking to Liam’s sister then sat on the couch staring at her phone. There was still a couple of hours before Liam came home and she realized she wanted to put together something special for her last night in town. She quickly placed a grocery delivery order online before making sure the kitchen and dining room were clean. She set the table then waited impatiently for her delivery. Once her groceries arrived, she went to work putting together a layered enchilada casserole that she knew Liam would love. She whipped up guacamole to go with it and sliced up limes to put in the beer she’d ordered with her delivery.
She waited until a half an hour before he was supposed to be home to put the casserole in the oven. Finley was anxious for Liam to get home, not only because she was cooking for him for the first time but because she was eager to talk to him about the future. Everything could change for her before she went back to Seattle, she just hoped it would be for the better.
Pulling up a book on the Kindle app on her phone, Finley tried to occupy herself with someone else’s story, so she wouldn’t think so much about her own. She didn’t realize how much time had passed until the buzzer of the timer startled her. Checking on the casserole, she looked up at the clock on the microwave, annoyed when she saw the time. Dinner was ready, but Liam wasn’t home and he hadn’t sent a text telling her he was running late. Putting the oven on low so she could try to keep dinner warm, she sent Liam a text to see where he was.