“Most people just see them as pretty,” she relaxed a little more.
“I’d love to see the garden sometime while I’m here, if you have the time.”
“I’m sure we could figure out a—”
Maggie’s tail started thumping against my chair, and I looked up to see Finn walking toward us from the direction of the main barn; a slight catch in his stride from fatigue. He was dusty and clearly sweaty from whatever work he’d been doing, dirt streaked across his forearms. His hair was tamed by a baseball cap, wound into a messy knot at the back of it. He pulled off his aviators and hooked them in the front of his shirt before pulling off his gloves and shoving them in his back pocket. I caught my lower lip between my teeth. Apparently, I had a modern cowboy fantasy I didn’t know about. Awesome. My body had moved from hurting to horny.
But I wasn’t the only one who noticed.
Lou’s eyes tracked over him in a way that seemed both familiar and proprietary. The shift in her posture was subtle but unmistakable: shoulders back, chin lifted slightly, the unconscious body language of a woman who’d been watching Finn Walker approach for years and still liked what she saw.
“Ladies,” he nodded as he reached us before turning his gaze on me, resting a hand on my shoulder and squeezing. “How are you feeling, darlin’?”
I noticed Lou stiffen out of the corner of my eye.
“Much better,” I covered his hand with mine. “Nolan offered to let me use his office for work, and I’ve been having a lovely conversation with Lou about her garden.”
Finn offered her a smile. “Lou’s got the best garden in thecounty. She’s been working on it for years.”
“Alex was telling me dahlias are her favorite flower,” Lou added. “I invited her to come see them while she’s here.”
“What a great idea.”
Her expression flickered with surprise as Finn glanced between us, the deliberate politeness beginning to feel like walking on eggshells.
Elowyn glanced toward the main house, then back at us with a tactful smile. “Well, we should probably get back to those suite preparations, Lou. The Hartwell party will be here soon.”
“Right,” Lou looked almost relieved. “Really nice to meet you properly, Alex.”
“Same,” I offered. “I’ll see you around.”
She and Elowyn moved off as Finn sat down in the chair next to me. “Was that as awkward as it felt?” He chuckled, scratching Maggie’s head.
“No, it was okay before you arrived,” I shrugged. “I admitted to stalking her on Instagram and then I told her I loved her flowers.”
“And dahlias are your favorite?”
“They are,” I blushed.
“Good to know,” he patted Maggie’s head one more time before reaching over and threading his fingers between mine as he rested his head against the back of the chair and looked at me. “I missed you. You’re looking better than you did this morning.”
“Clean clothes and gigantic sunglasses will do that for a girl,” I hitched a smile. “I missed you too. You didn’t over-exert yourself, did you?”
“I’m okay, I promise. Just a little tired. No headache. I need to get cleaned up, but do you want to get dinner at the restaurant tonight? We can order out if you’d rather stay in the room.”
“Dinner at the restaurant sounds lovely. But maybe I could take a nap while you shower?” I barely caught the way he stiffened before relaxing again.
“Sure thing, sweetheart,” He stood up and pulled me up as well. “Maggie, go find Mom.”
Maggie stood up and looked at me.
“It’s okay girl,” I nodded. “Thank you for keeping me company. Go find Mom.”
She bumped her head against me before trotting toward the main house. We walked back to our room and I tried to tidy up our bed before crashing on it while Finn locked himself in the bathroom. When he was ready, hair clean and curling around his shoulders, and dirt scrubbed away, he took me down to the restaurant for the best steak I’d ever had. I asked him to tell me about everything he’d done all day, happy to see the sparkle in his eyes.
“You like being here,” I said softly, chin in my hand, feeling a little drowsy from the glass of wine I’d ordered.
Finn shook his head, taking a sip of water and wiping his mouth before correcting my assessment. “I like doing work. I like feeling useful. Building things. Fixing things. It’s been a year since I felt like I could contribute anything.”
