by Marie Force
“I had the best time tonight.”
“I did, too.”
“I’m so glad you like Riley and Nikki.”
“They’re great. I love the way you and Riley razz each other.”
“We’ve made that into a blood sport since just about the day I could talk. All kidding aside, I’d take a bullet for him, and vice versa.”
“Please don’t do that.”
Finn grimaced. “I’m sorry. It was incredibly insensitive of me to put it that way.”
“No need to apologize. It’s a common saying.”
“Still, I could’ve said it another way.”
“Honestly, it’s fine. Don’t walk on eggshells around me. I promise it’s not necessary.”
He held her closer, kissed the top of her head and caressed her back.
“What’s this top-secret errand you and Riley are doing tomorrow?”
“I’m going with him to pick out a ring for Nikki. He’s going to pop the question as soon as he has a ring—if we can even find one on the island. He might have to buy it online.”
“Good for them.”
“I’m thrilled for him and can’t wait to have her join our family. She’s the best. She fits right in with us.”
“I can see that.”
“You do, too.”
“You really think so?”
“Absolutely, and so do they.”
She raised her head and smiled at him. “That’s nice of you to say.”
He kissed her. “I’m not just saying it.” His lips slid over hers, gentle and persuasive, making her forget that she’d intended to go right to bed, to get the sleep she desperately needed to function the next day. “You want me to go?”
She shook her head.
“You need to sleep.”
“I need you more.” For the rest of her life, she’d never forget the look on his face when her words registered with him.
“Chloe, I’m falling so hard for you, and I don’t know if that’s what you want.”
“I’m falling just as hard. But…”
Finn groaned. “No buts.”
“Just one, and it’s something you need to know before you decide anything.”
“I’ve already decided.” He drew in a deep breath and exhaled dramatically. “Lay it on me anyway.”
She looked him dead in the eyes. “I know you’re excited for Riley and Nikki, but you should know that I’m never getting married.”
Judging by the flat, shocked expression on his face, he hadn’t expected her to say that.
“Why?”
“I decided a long time ago that it isn’t something I want. After seeing what my mom went through in a marriage she felt trapped in and how it cost her everything, I made up my mind that I’d never put myself in that position. Since we were talking about falling for each other and your brother getting married, I thought it was only fair to tell you this.”
“Okay…”
Chloe tried to figure out what that “okay” meant, but his expression and body language gave nothing away. Was her line in the sand truly okay, or was it a deal breaker? She waited for him to break the silence, and when he did, he looked at her with heartbreak in his eyes.
“Here’s the thing, Chloe. I want to get married someday. I want to stand up in front of all the people I love and make that commitment to someone I can’t live without. I want to have a family with her and dogs and a house that’s all ours. I want to take vacations with her and see the world together. I want to live and work and play and love with her, every day for the rest of my life. The woman I love, the woman I marry will be treated like a queen because that’s how I was raised by my dad and my uncles. It’s how my cousins treat their wives. I don’t know any other way but the McCarthy way.”
The life he described sounded so perfect as to be right out of a fairy tale. Life had taught her not to believe in fairy tales.
“So while I respect your line in the sand and understand the reason why you feel you need that line, if you were to give me a chance, I would show you a whole other way than what you knew growing up.” Finn kissed her forehead and stood. “I’ll go so you can get some sleep.”
Chloe’s heart slowed to a crawl as she watched him pat Ranger on the top of his head. She wanted to call out to him not to go, not to leave it like this. And how, exactly, had they left it? Did it have to be all or nothing?
She didn’t know, and as she forced herself to get up, to lock the door, to get ready for bed, to brush her teeth, she wondered if she’d made a huge mistake by drawing that line with him.
* * *
Finn slept like shit and was about to get up for work when he got a group text from Mac. Spent the night at the clinic with Maddie. Everything’s fine, but it was a long night. We all need some time off after finishing the Wayfarer on time and on budget. Take a paid week off. Meet me at the Curtis place next Wed morning, bright and early. Enjoy!
A week off! Jeez, how awesome was that? Finn could use the time to finish packing up the house and getting ready to move to Nikki’s garage apartment for the summer.
Although, had his reason for staying evaporated last night? He didn’t know and had spent a sleepless night tossing and turning while going over it in his mind.
I’m never getting married.
When she’d mentioned a “but,” he’d never imagined she’d say that. Granted, in the new millennium, lots of people were choosing to forgo marriage for domestic partnership, and Finn totally respected that choice for others. He’d just always pictured himself married someday. Not any time soon—or at least he’d thought that before he met a woman he could see himself spending a lifetime with. Now that he knew Chloe was out there, how would he settle for less than what he felt for her? What if he never again felt for anyone what he did for her?
“There’s a depressing thought.”
His phone chimed with a text from Chloe that made his heart skip a beat. How bad of a case did he have if all it took to make him lightheaded with desire was seeing her name on his screen?
I feel like we ended our evening on an odd note last night. Can we talk more later?
Finn stared at her text for a long time, trying to figure out how to respond. She could see that he’d read the text, so he needed to say something.
Sure. Call me when you’re done at work.
OK.
He blew out a deep breath and then took a call from his uncle Mac. “Morning.”
“Hey there. Are we still on for lunch? South Harbor at noon?”
Finn had almost forgotten about the lunch he’d scheduled with his uncle to talk about the possibility of a salon and spa at the Wayfarer. “Sounds good.”
“You mind if I ask your dad and Frank to come, too?”
“Not at all.”
“Excellent. See you soon, son.”
The phone went dead, leaving Finn grinning at how Big Mac called them all “son,” even his nephews. His dad and uncles had raised a tribe together, and each of the McCarthy kids had always known they had three dads they could count on, no matter what. Finn realized that the three of them would know how he should proceed with Chloe, and suddenly, he couldn’t wait for lunch because he needed some answers.
The McCarthy brain trust was a good place to start.
* * *
Finn arrived at the South Harbor Diner at noon and wasn’t surprised to see the three brothers already in a booth, talking and laughing as they did whenever they were together. Ever since his dad and Frank had moved to the island, the three of them had been inseparable. His brothers had helped to put Kevin back together after his marriage ended and were two of the reasons why his dad had been so happy here. Of course, Chelsea was the biggest reason his dad walked around with a dopey grin on his face these days, but Finn was happy he’d found her.
Usually, Big Mac’s best friend, Ned, was with them, the honorary fourth McCarthy brother, as they referred to him, but Ned and his wife, Francine, had left the day before on a trip to Italy an
d weren’t due back until right before Shane’s wedding.
Finn walked over to the booth, feeling as if he was interrupting something even if he was the one who’d invited Big Mac to lunch. “Can anyone join this party?”
“Hey, son.” Smiling, Kevin slid in to make room for Finn. “Good to see you.”
Since they’d been living on the island, his dad always acted as if they hadn’t seen each other in ages, when in most cases, it had barely been a day. “You, too.” Finn took the menu Big Mac handed him. “What’re you boys up to?”
“We’re still talking about the fishing trip in which your father nearly landed the biggest tuna any of us has ever seen,” Frank said.
“The one where he couldn’t use his arms for two weeks because he was so sore?” Finn asked, glancing at his dad in time to catch the scowl.
“Yep,” Big Mac said. “That’s the one. The poor guy was useless.”
“And I didn’t even have the tuna to show for it,” Kevin said glumly.
“Poor baby,” Big Mac said. “That mean old fish got the better of you.”
“Kev put up one hell of a fight,” Frank said.
“Thank you, Frankie. At least one of my brothers realizes that.”
Finn laughed at their back-and-forth, which was always entertaining.
“Enough about Kevin getting beat up by a tuna,” Big Mac said, his eyes glittering with mirth as they so often did. The man was pure fun and one of Finn’s favorite people in the world. “Finny called this meeting, so what’s on your mind, son?”
“First of all, I’m twenty-seven years old. Maybe we can dispense with the Finny business?”
Big Mac looked at him like he had two heads, then glanced at Frank and Kevin. In a chorus, the three of them said, “Nah.” And then proceeded to high-five each other like they were teenagers. Idiots.
Finn rolled his eyes.
“What’s next on our agenda?” Big Mac asked.
“I have an idea for the Wayfarer.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“Have you considered adding a salon and spa there?”
“I hadn’t but what’re you thinking?”
“I just wondered if it might be an added draw, to bring people in, especially in the off-season. Since the other spa was shut down last year, there’s been nothing to take its place. I asked around town, and people said the place was almost always busy, even in the off-season. It was taken down by bad management, not a lack of interest.”
“Wouldn’t it compete with Chloe’s salon?” Kevin asked.
“My idea includes hiring Chloe as the manager.”
“Very interesting.” Kevin looked at Finn with those all-seeing shrink eyes, as he and Riley called them. Those eyes that had made it impossible for them to get anything past Kevin as kids. He always seemed to know what they were up to before they did.
Big Mac sat back and appeared to give the idea some thought. “I’m not sure it would be a good fit at the Wayfarer, which is more of a day-trip sort of crowd, coming for the beach and the bar.”
Finn’s heart sank. He’d so hoped Big Mac would jump on the idea.
“But it might be perfect at the hotel,” Big Mac said. “Auntie Linda and I have been talking about ways to ramp up the off-season business there, and we’ve got buildings on the property that could be converted. We could market it for women looking for a mid-winter getaway with their friends, complete with breakfast and spa packages.”
“That’d be awesome,” Frank said.
Finn couldn’t agree more.
“Let me run it past the boss,” Big Mac said, “and see what she thinks, but I really love your initiative, Finny. You’re thinking outside the box, and I like that.”
“I think he’s actually looking for a way to help out Chloe more than anything,” Kevin said. “Am I wrong about that?”
Finn shook his head. “You’re not wrong.”
“She’s a great lady,” Frank said.
“Yes, she is.” Truer words had never been spoken, Finn thought. “She could really use something like this that would give her a safety net she doesn’t have now.”
“I thought her business did really well,” Big Mac said. “After all, she’s the only hair game in town.”
“She does well.” Finn didn’t want to say too much. She’d told him about the RA in confidence, and he wouldn’t betray her, not even with three of the men he trusted most. It wasn’t his story to tell. “But being the owner of a small business can be tough, as you know.” This he directed at Big Mac, who’d made something from nothing, first at the marina, then at the hotel and now at the Wayfarer.
“That’s a fact,” Big Mac said, nodding.
As they ate lunch, they talked more about what it would take to turn one of the buildings at the hotel into a spa.
“We could fold it into the reno we’re doing of the hotel over the winter,” Big Mac said. “I think Lin will love the idea.”
“That’s great,” Finn said, impressed by the way Big Mac got things done. “And you think she’d be in favor of hiring Chloe to run it?”
“That part would be a no-brainer. Linda adores Chloe, gives her full credit for keeping her looking so young. Which means I adore her, too, because my wife is the prettiest girl in town.”
“Now, wait just a minute,” Frank said as Kevin began to register his objection.
Finn cracked up laughing. “Y’all are nuts.”
“What about you?” Big Mac gave him the shrewd look that Finn remembered from childhood. “What’s going on with you and our Chloe?”
“We’ve been hanging out.” Recalling their conversation from the night before, Finn felt despondent.
“Riley said the four of you had a great time last night,” Kevin said.
“We did.” Finn let his knife dangle between his fingers, needing something to focus on besides the grinding fear that had him wondering if they could get past the roadblock they’d encountered last night.
“What’s wrong?” Frank asked. “And don’t say it’s nothing. You’re talking to professional fathers here. We know something when we see it.”
“Things were going pretty well between us. Really well, in fact.”
Kevin leaned on the table. “Until?”
“Until she told me she doesn’t want to get married. Ever.”
“Whoa,” Big Mac said. “Like to anyone?”
“Right.”
“How come?” Frank asked.
“She has her reasons—and they’re good reasons. Things that happened when she was a kid. I’m not opposed to making a life with someone without getting married, but I always thought I’d get married. Someday.”
“That is a tough one.” Kevin scratched at the stubble on his jaw. He seemed to shave a lot less often since he’d been with Chelsea. “I suppose it comes down to what do you want more—her or a future marriage with someone else?”
Leave it to his dad to cut straight to the heart of the matter. “Since I met her, I seriously can’t imagine ever wanting anyone else ever again.” Saying the words out loud, knowing they could never be unsaid, would’ve made Finn itchy and nervous a couple of weeks ago. But everything had changed since he met Chloe, and there was no going back to who he’d been before her.
“This is big news,” Frank said to his brothers. “We were just talking about how there was only one left.”
“Huh?”
“That your brother and cousins have found their true loves. You were the last one left.”
“And we were super bummed that you were leaving,” Big Mac added. “So it’s great that you’re going to stay now.”
“If I can figure things out with her,” Finn said. “I won’t want to be here if that doesn’t work out.”
“Figure it out,” Big Mac said, “or spend the rest of your life wondering what if.”
Frank pointed to Big Mac. “What he said. Regrets are a bitch. None of us want to see you eating your heart out because you let something great slip throug
h your fingers.”
“Don’t let that happen, son,” Kevin said.
“There are concerns,” Finn said haltingly. “Significant concerns.”
“Then come into the office and air them out,” Kevin said. “That’s what I do. I help people figure out their shit.”
And he was, Finn had to acknowledge, extremely good at helping people to figure out their shit. But would Chloe go for that?
There was only one way to find out.
“Thanks, you guys. I appreciate the advice.”
“As Ned would say, that’s one thing we’ve got plenty of,” Big Mac said, cracking up his brothers.
“And we’re not afraid to share it,” Frank said to more laughter.
Thank goodness for that, Finn thought, thankful for their wisdom in a way he never had been before. But then again, he’d never needed the benefit of their combined wisdom as much as he did now.
Chapter 26
After lunch, Finn met Riley at the island’s only jewelry store. His brother was already inside, perusing the inventory.
“Hey,” Finn said when he joined him. “See anything you like?”
“A couple.” Riley pointed to a diamond ring in a platinum setting. “What do you think of that one?”
“I like it.” Lowering his voice so the shopkeeper wouldn’t hear him, he added, “But you’re going to pay way more for it here than you would on the mainland. We could go over for a day this weekend and buy it there.”
Riley shook his head. “I can’t leave right now. Nik is up against a deadline at the Wayfarer, and I’ve been helping her after work.”
“So wait until after the opening?”
“I can’t wait that long.”
“It’s a week, Riley.”
“Too long.”
“You’re insane. You know that, right?”
“I’m aware of that, but the time is right, and I don’t want to wait. Her sister is coming for the opening, and she’ll be staying with us. I want to do it before Jordan gets here.”
Riley gestured to the sales clerk. “Could we see a couple of these rings?”