“Oh my beautiful man,” Tasha said, her voice wavering. “You know I adore you and I’d do anything for you, but I won’t let you lie to yourself. You might not be sure about how he feels, but you’re in love with him. For the first time in your life you are head over heels and I messed it up. Some friend I turned out to be.”
He reached for her and moved until they were lying on the couch together, her head on his chest. “You’re not responsible for this, Tasha. Scott is. I hope like hell Stephen puts him in his place.”
But even if he did, Owen would still have to face his brothers without him and explain that kiss. What would he say? That it was nothing? That it meant nothing?
“Damn it, I feel fucking helpless.” Every instinct he had was telling him to go, to help. The only thing stopping him was the knowledge that his presence would make the situation worse.
“Jeremy? Can I stay here for a while?” The vulnerability in Tasha’s voice had him tightening his arms around her. “I don’t think you should be alone right now and I sure as hell don’t want to be. I know you might hate me, but just for now can we pretend you don’t?”
She was hurting. He had to get over himself and think about her. She needed him. She loved him no matter who he kissed. Who he loved. “Natasha, I love you as much as I always have. You can stay as long as you need to. We’ll cuddle on the couch and I’ll make your favorite pasta and we’ll shut out the rest of the world. I think I have another tequila bottle in the cabinet. And vodka if we run out.”
Tasha sighed, nuzzling against him. “You’re the best friend a girl could have, you know that, right?”
His hand slid down her back and squeezed her ass. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
“Don’t tease me.” There was a smile in her voice at last. “I still have a crush on your body.”
“Ditto, honey. You’ve ruined me for all other women.”
She laughed, but it still sounded heavy with tears. “I don’t think I’m the one who did that.”
They spent the next few hours comforting each other before he started the coffee and made sure she ate. He knew they’d both come to some sort of unspoken understanding that the sexual aspect of their friendship was over. Too much had been revealed today—Jeremy’s love for Owen and Tasha’s conflicted emotions about Stephen.
He wished she’d told him about Stephen years ago. The uptight Finn brother now looked human in a way he never had before. And flawed. Now that Jeremy knew, he could see it in her face whenever she talked about him. Her feelings for Stephen were complicated but strong. There was more there than she was saying. He also had a feeling the casual nature of their relationship wasn’t entirely her choice. What was wrong with Stephen? Why did he keep stringing her along?
Damn those Finn boys for being oblivious and stubborn and impossible to resist. Damn them for only wanting sex and refusing to give their hearts in return.
Natasha fell asleep on the couch and he left her there, heading to his bedroom to shower. He turned on the water, stripped and stepped beneath the spray, trying to wash away the dizzying fog of alcohol.
It was late. Too late. Owen probably would have been here by now if he were coming. Would have answered one of the three messages Jeremy had left for him when Tasha wasn’t paying attention.
He’s dealing with the problem. He’ll have to come back eventually, if only to get his things. His roof isn’t even fixed yet. He’ll talk to you then.
His thoughts didn’t comfort him. What if he didn’t talk to him? Jeremy couldn’t think of anything more painful than watching Owen Finn gathering his things, avoiding eye contact and conversation, and disappearing from his house and life, leaving an empty space that would never be filled.
He hoped Owen was okay. That his brothers weren’t giving him too much grief. That it hadn’t hurt him to see Tasha with Stephen. He hoped that somewhere, some part of Owen regretted that their time together had to end so soon.
You’re being pathetic and needy. Stop embracing the damn cliché. It was what it was, nothing more.
And now it was over.
He turned off the shower and wandered into the bedroom while he was drying off. He could hardly look at the bed. When he did he saw Owen bending him over it after binding him in his suspenders. Owen waking up and smiling wickedly as soon as he saw him, ripping away the sheet to reveal his morning erection. Owen walking softly around the room as he dressed, not knowing Jeremy was awake.
He might have to get a new bed. He shook his head. Hell, if he started thinking like that, he’d end up burning the house down and moving to another state. Owen was everywhere. He always had been, even before they got together.
“Jeremy?” Tasha’s call carried down the hallway. “We’ve got company.”
Owen? He wrapped his towel around his waist, wrenched open the door and forced himself not to run. Had Owen finally come back?
His heart cracked when he realized it was the wrong Finn.
“Jen?” He stopped and ran a hand through his wet hair in disbelief.
Did she know? Was she here to yell at him for taking advantage of her brother? For causing problems with her family?
Tasha’s arms were around her and when Jen looked up, he could see tears in those eyes that reminded him so much of Owen’s. “I need a place to stay for tonight, Jeremy. The wedding is off.”
His first thought was, “Damn straight it’s off.” But he knew he couldn’t say that out loud. She looked awful, poor thing. She’d come here for comfort? Oh hell.
He came toward them and wrapped his arms around both of them, hoping that his towel wouldn’t slip. “I’m so sorry, Little Finn.”
Tasha kissed her cheek. “Welcome to the Heartbreak Hotel, baby girl. Everyone who’s been kicked in the ass by love is welcome here. Let’s let Jeremy get dressed before he shocks your innocent eyes with his oversized sexiness and I’ll pour you a shot of tequila.”
He let her go, meeting Tasha’s gaze with a question in his. She shrugged and shook her head, which meant neither of them knew why Jen had decided to come here of all places. He would call her parents, but honestly? He was too much of a damn coward. He needed to talk to Owen first. He needed to know what was going on.
Why the hell hadn’t he called?
He got dressed as quickly as he could in his uniform of sweatpants and a t-shirt, his mind racing. Jen had been to his house a handful of times for barbecues by the lake with the rest of the Finn family, but she’d never come on her own.
The wedding was off, she’d said. That was his only clue.
Did she know what had happened? Did she know about Tasha and Jeremy’s parts in it?
“Is this night ever going to end?” He sighed, heading back down the hallway to take care of the two women who were the most precious to him.
If he ever got his hands on Scott, Jeremy would be drawing his comics from prison.
Chapter Eleven
“Coffee. Thank God.” He took a grateful sip and, not seeing the saint who’d brewed the pot, turned to his patio doors to enjoy the silence of the lake until the caffeine hit him enough that he could face this coming day.
He hadn’t been able to sleep without Owen beside him. He could smell the man’s scent on his pillows. Even when he’d ripped off the sheets and pillowcases and put on a freshly washed set, it was still there. Owen was still there.
But he hadn’t called. All Jeremy had gotten was a one-line text he saw when he woke up this morning.
Will talk later.
It was a shitty way to wake up. The most unsatisfying message in the history of texting. It gave him no clue where they stood, what Owen was thinking. Nothing. And later could mean an hour or a year. It felt like he was being blown off.
There were three women sitting on the balcony when he stepped outside, and they turned as soon as they heard him open the door.
Caught, Jeremy thought, like a deer in the damn headlights. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
; He started to go back inside but Owen’s mother stopped him.
“Jeremy Porter, there you are, angel. We were wondering when we’d see your handsome face.”
Angel. He was still an angel. She must not know.
“Mrs. Finn, good morning.” He knew he looked shocked. He was. Shocked, barefoot and clinging to his coffee as if it were a life vest on a stormy sea as he looked down at Owen’s perfectly put together mother. He lifted a hand to run it self-consciously through his tangled hair. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“We’re family, you don’t need to be formal.” She smiled and gestured to the empty seat beside her. “And where else would I be when we have so much to talk about?”
Tasha bit her lip and stared down into her coffee cup. Jen’s expression was apologetic, but more at peace than it had been last night.
Jeremy sat down abruptly. “Of course.”
“I was just thanking Mama for taking care of everything,” Jen offered helpfully. “Cancellations and gift returns. She’s been checking things off the list since dawn.”
“It’s the least I can do,” Mrs. Finn insisted, her shock of short, red curls bouncing as she nodded. “I should have kicked that boy out of the house when you first started dating him. I’m sorry dear, but you know I’m right. He was never good enough for you.”
“Everybody knew,” Jen responded glumly. “I didn’t listen.”
Jeremy kept his head down. This was getting surreal. First Tasha, then Jen and now Ellen Finn. He was being invaded. Were they forming a kindly mob to politely run him out of town? Kill him with kindness?
Why was she here?
He’d found out last night that Seamus had been the one to sit Jen down and tell her about everything. Her fiancé’s stealing. His flirting. His threats to the Finn brothers and the images he’d sent. He’d thought she deserved to know. To be a part of the family meeting, since it directly related to her fiancé.
She’d handled it well. She’d shown Jeremy a snapshot of herself holding an embarrassing if not incriminating picture of Scott in one hand and a burning wedding invitation in the other. She was saving it to send to him after her brothers made sure he couldn’t use the ones he’d sent against them.
Jennifer was a Finn through and through.
And her kindness didn’t surprise him either. She didn’t make any judgments about Stephen and Tasha or Owen and Jeremy. No, like the rest of them, her recriminations were entirely self-directed. She knew. She should have known. Her stubborn ignorance had brought this on her family.
It had taken more than few shots of tequila and a whole lot of talking to set her straight.
Jeremy glanced at Ellen Finn from beneath his lashes. They were all out of tequila now. How much did she know?
And where the hell was Owen?
Will talk later.
“Jeremy? Jen told me how much you helped her last night. And she also shared your thoughts on the Finns.”
His Finn Factor speech? Jeremy grimaced at Jen. What had he said exactly? “I hate to admit this, Mrs. Finn, but I’m pretty sure I was three sheets to the wind at the time. I didn’t mean to offend anyone.”
Ellen reached out and patted his arm. “I’ve always liked you, Jeremy. Maybe it’s because you’re an artist and a people watcher like me. And you saw something I didn’t…in more than one of my children. A mother’s love can sometimes blind her to what’s right in front of her. I’m very proud of my family’s success, but I don’t think I tell them enough that I’ll be proud of anything they choose, anyone they choose, as long as it makes them happy.”
She couldn’t be saying what he thought she was. Then again, this was Ellen Finn. His throat tightened and he leaned forward earnestly. “Mrs. Finn, you are the best mother I know who wasn’t written for television. Your kids, all your kids, know they’re loved.”
“We do, Mama.” Jen wiped a tear from her eye quickly, but not before her mother noticed and seemed to get a little weepy herself.
“Your father and I have never been more proud of you, darling. It takes a brave woman to acknowledge her mistakes and pick herself back up again.” Ellen looked at Jeremy then. “And I hope you know Shawn and I think of you as another son, Jeremy. We’ve always been proud of you too.”
Jeremy started to thank her, but almost spilled his coffee down his t-shirt when a familiar male voice came from the side of the house, beneath the balcony. “Are you talking about me, woman?”
“Yes, dear,” Ellen called down, standing as he came up the stairs. “We didn’t hear you knock but, oh good, you brought breakfast fixings. These three look like they could use something more than coffee.” She turned to a beet-red Jeremy. “Do you mind if I take over your kitchen for a bit?”
Dear God, this had to be a dream. A weird, slightly terrifying but beautiful dream brought on by the evil tequila. “Please. Can I help you with anything?”
Shawn Finn stopped by his chair and held out his hand. “Good man to offer, but that’s my job. Think of it as my way of apologizing for the female invasion you’ve had to endure all morning.”
Standing automatically, Jeremy looked down in surprise at the outstretched hand, then took it and smiled at the broad-shouldered older man, whose blond hair was still thick but liberally streaked with gray. “Thank you, sir, but it’s been a pleasure.”
“Smart boy.”
The couple disappeared into his house and he walked over to stand in front of Tasha and Jen, lowering his voice. “Am I awake? Did I eat the worm? What’s happening?”
“I don’t know,” Tasha groaned. “But it’s freaking me out.”
Jen snorted. “How many years have you known us? You know what we Finns do whenever trouble crops up.”
They closed ranks and banded together. “Yes, but you don’t usually do it in my house.”
She reached up and patted his hip, smiling at the frowning Tasha. “You’re both a part of this family. My parents know it even if you don’t. So suck it up, guys, and feel the love. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”
When she left, Jeremy held out his hand to Tasha. “Join me at the dock for coffee and crying?”
“Please.” She pulled him down the stairs, her coffee still clutched in one hand. “You need a boat.”
“It’s a lake, Tasha. You can circle a lake, but you can’t make a clean getaway if that’s what you’re thinking. We’re stuck.”
“He’s right,” said Stephen, who was leaning against a wooden post at the bottom of the stairs. “For a clean getaway you’d need a plane.”
No longer surprised by magically appearing Finns this morning, Jeremy nodded in his direction. “I’ll get on that right after the homeowner’s association installs my runway.”
Stephen Finn looked the way Jeremy felt. His light brown hair was mussed, there were shadows under his blue eyes and his tie was loose and limp around his neck. It was obvious he hadn’t gone to bed. “Hey, Jeremy. Natasha.”
Tasha turned toward him, clinging to Jeremy’s hand. “Good morning, Senator. There’s coffee upstairs. You look like you could use it.”
“Thanks, but I need to talk to you first.” He glanced apologetically at Jeremy. “Alone, if that’s okay with you.”
Jeremy nodded, releasing Tasha and taking a step back. “Should I be expecting the entire family?” he asked carefully.
Stephen put his hand on Tasha’s shoulder as soon as she reached his side, as if he needed to assure himself she wasn’t going anywhere. “Seamus is getting his neighbor to watch the kids then he’ll be by.”
He hesitated, studying Jeremy with an inscrutable expression. “Owen had something he insisted he had to do. He wasn’t sure he would make it for breakfast.”
“Oh.” The message couldn’t be any clearer—the trouble might be over, but Owen was done with him.
A sharp knife couldn’t have cut more deeply.
Taking a shaky breath, Jeremy nodded. “I’ll leave you two alone then.”
“Je
remy wait.” Stephen sighed, rubbing the stubble on his jaw. “You should know… It’s been dealt with. Our problem. Lucky for us, Scott is a moron. Man didn’t even make copies. And what we had on him sealed the deal.”
“Good,” was all Jeremy could manage. He needed to get away from the Finns. He didn’t want them to see him like this.
“He’s not coming? I’m going to kill him,” Tasha exclaimed to Stephen as he set off down the shoreline.
Though he was genuinely appreciative of her outrage on his behalf, Jeremy kept walking, uncertain he could keep the pain from spilling out. The family descending on his house en mass was a gesture that almost moved him to tears. They knew, or most of them did, and they were still here.
They were still here.
How much of that was for Jen and how much of it was for him he wasn’t sure, but none of them had treated him with disrespect or disgust. Owen’s father had shaken his hand, for God’s sake. His mother had told him she was proud of him.
Owen was the Finn who was a no-show. His lover. His best friend. Owen was the one rejecting what they had. What they could have. Not his family. Him.
Will talk later.
He sat down on the dock and stared at the ripples the wind made on the water. Sunlight skimmed the surface and made it sparkle like diamonds, but the sight didn’t bring him the peace it usually did.
His heart had whiplash. As quickly and abruptly as their fling had started, it was over. He’d always known it would end, though, hadn’t he? Always known it was temporary.
The other shoe had finally fallen hard and all he could think about now was yesterday morning.
He should have woken Owen with the kind of kiss he loved. Should have taken him in his mouth and made him moan in pleasure. He should have touched him more and thanked him properly for breakfast. For making him realize that he wanted more. He wanted the kind of family and laughter and love that was currently taking over his house. He wanted someone to share his life with, and yes, he wanted a dog. Maybe even a child. Someday. Because he had a lot of love to give.
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