“Yeah.” The main phone rang, and Avery stood and strolled to the edge of the office, glancing back before she stepped out. “But wouldn’t you rather have something real while he’s here than spend the next ten years wondering what could’ve been?”
Willow stared down at the card again, replaying Finn’s words in her head. Hearing the tinge of hurt lacing them. They were at an impasse—both of them wanting something the other couldn’t give. And Willow could admit that now—that she wanted Finn as much as she’d wanted him when they’d been teenagers. What she felt for him had never truly faded over time. With him being back, with them spending time together, those feelings had only blossomed and grown.
And now there she was, almost exactly where she’d been back then: in love with a Thomas boy who had no intention of staying in Havenbrook.
* * *
Why couldn’tthere be any demo left to do? The one day Finn could really use it and there was nothing. Not even a fucking nail to pound in. Instead, he grabbed a paint roller and went to town. Wasn’t quite the same as breaking shit with a sledgehammer, but it’d have to do.
He certainly couldn’t do what he wanted, which was go over to town hall and give Willow a piece of his mind before kissing the ever-loving shit out of her. If her phone call was anything to go by, him actually showing up would give her a coronary.
He’d been trying damn hard to prove to her this time was different. Ever since their talk a couple weeks ago, he’d made an effort. Except it hadn’t really felt like an effort at all because what he was doing made her happy. Or so he thought.
This morning shot that theory straight to hell.
He’d woken up and decided to send her flowers on a whim—her favorite and something he’d never been able to afford to get her when they were teenagers. Nola was friends with the owner of Bloom, so he’d asked her to do him a favor.Technically, Willow’s secret admirer everyone was going on about was Nola. She’d brought him the card which he’d drawn on, and he’d given her the money to pay for them, but the order and delivery instructions had come from her.
Which Willow would know if she’d given him a damn second to explain.
“Dude. What the fuck is wrong with you?” Drew asked. “You’ve been stomping and huffing since you got off the phone.”
Finn had half a mind to tell his brother to fuck off, ignore him altogether, or blow smoke up his ass, but none of it would be any use. Drew would bother Finn until he came clean—might as well get it over with.
“Willow is what’s wrong with me. She’s fucking with my head.” He tossed the roller into the paint tray and linked his hands behind his head. Jaw ticking, he paced back and forth next to the bar top. “She doesn’t want people to know we’re together again, but with the way this town is? Do you know how fucking difficult that is? I get it and I’m tryin’ to respect it, but I’m walkin’ on eggshells around her—aroundeveryone—when all I wanna do is grab her and kiss the hell out of her in front of the whole damn town.”
He blew out a deep breath and dropped his hands. “When it’s just us, it’s amazing. Better than it was back then, even. But whenever other people are thrown in, she’s colder than a walk-in freezer. And forget about doing something nice for her! Bites my damn head off. Jesus, I love the girl—you know that—but it feels a helluva lot like this whole thing is one-sided.”
The sounds of saws and power drills filled the space as Drew stared at him. Then his shit of a brother let out a booming laugh. “You’re such an ass.”
“What the fuck.”
“Man. Seriously.” He shook his head and clapped a hand on Finn’s shoulder. “Good job, you did a few nice things for the girl you’re in love with. Someone get this guy a cookie,” he called over his shoulder.
“Why are you being a dick right now?”
“Because I’m the only one who’s gonna give this to you straight. Yeah, you’re doing nice shit for her, and that’s great. Butyou left her,” he said, enunciating every word. “I think you forget how much you broke her. You’re lucky she can even be around you without kicking you in the nuts. And she took your ass back!
“Now just imagine for two fucking seconds what it’d feel like if she picked up and left you. Right now. Just packed her shit and bailed without a word. No goodbye, no reason, not even a fucking note to tell you why she’d gone or where she went off to. You with me?”
Drew didn’t wait for Finn to respond before he continued. “Now imagine being an eighteen-year-old girl who’d just slept with a guy for the first time, and then he bailed shortly after. Man, you should thank your lucky stars she can evenlookat you. So, yeah, you’ve got some shit to deal with. I don’t care if you give her the whole fucking galaxy every day for the rest of your life—she still doesn’t owe you any favors, and she certainly doesn’t owe you a free pass. You wanted her back, and now you’re bitching about having to earn it? C’mon now. Don’t be a dick.”
Drew shook his head. “If you ask me, I think you did a shit thing back then—you know how I felt about it.”
Finn narrowed his eyes, curling his hands into fists. That was a shitty move to play, and he didn’t appreciate it. It wasn’t like he’d run off into the sunset. Between what Dick had forced upon him and their sick momma, he hadn’t had much of a choice. “I did it for Momma.”
Drew nodded. “I know you did. And even if I could, I wouldn’t want to go back and do it differently, because it allowed her to be with us now. But it also doesn’t change the fact that it was a shitty thing to do. You could’ve handled it a hundred different ways, but you didn’t. And now, comin’ back here? You fucked with her head again. Have you even told her we’re plannin’ on stayin’?”
Finn crossed his arms over his chest, his jaw ticking. His silence was answer enough for his brother.
“Yeah, thought so. Look, man. I’m glad you two are back at it—you deserve someone who makes you happy, and Lord knows she does. But here’s the thing: you’re gonna have to keep climbing those fucking mountains every day to win her over. Tocontinueto win her over, just to prove you’re not that same nineteen-year-old jackass who left her without a word. Every damn day, for as long as she’ll let you. That’s all I’m sayin’.”
Power tools continued to whir in the background as Finn stared at his brother, letting his words sink in.Dammit, he hated when Drew was right.
“Wow.”
Finn and Drew both turned to find the source of the voice. Nash stood several feet away, drill in hand, his attention locked on them.
“What?” Finn and Drew said at the same time.
