“Just so I know,” Teddy said.
“Yep.”
“That should do it.” Rose returned with a bottle of white added to her basket. Given the other ingredients, Teddy knew exactly what was on the menu.
“Risotto, I take it? Who’s the chef?”
“Oh, all Finn.” Rose patted his arm playfully. “I can’t cook at all. I’ll help myself to the rest of the wine and make pointed comments, though.”
“She will indeed,” Finn said, earning him a light smack.
Of course he could cook.
“We’re just headed back to Finn’s,” Rose said, gesturing at Teddy’s half-hidden basket. “Are you really craving that spray cheese, or would you like to join us for dinner?”
“What?” Finn turned to her in surprise, while Teddy wondered if she was an investigative reporter instead of a nurse with the way she’d noticed that cheese. “It’s movie night.”
“So? Doesn’t mean he can’t join us.”
“You never let anyone join us on movie night.”
“He’senchanted. He’s allowed. Teddy?”
Both their attentions shifted back to him, and he was forced to contemplate the offer from a meddlesome sister—something he knew intimately well—who was clearly trying to set them up. Finn’s curious and hopeful expression despite having chastised her had Teddy’s walls crumbling like being struck by a bombing raid from their combined forces.
“I would, but….” He stumbled to find an excuse.
“But… he’s still getting settled,” Finn rescued him, while giving a disappointed glance at the floor. “He just moved here long-term. I’m sure he doesn’t want us smothering him.”
“Rain check?” Teddy said.
“Really?” Finn brightened. “Coz I’ll hold you to that.”
Fuck. Teddy was making things worse, giving him hope, but then maybe he was overreacting thinking he couldn’t allow something to spark just because of his hip and general feelings of floating in purgatory. Giving in didn’t have to be a disaster just because everything else in his life was.
“Next time,” he said, as they moved toward the checkout counters and Rose went ahead to pay, giving them another moment of privacy. “What movie are you watching?”
“Our movie nights are always action or horror. Sometimes classic, sometimes cheesy. Tonight, I’m showing RoseDoom.”
“She’s never seen it?” Teddy asked, smitten by the wicked glint in Finn’s eyes—Doom, with Karl Urban, and one of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s first movies. “Well, then, I realize it’s sacrilege to enjoy the film if you’re a fan of the video game—”
“As any normal person should be.” Finn nodded, further solidifying his sparkling charm.
“But,” Teddy dropped his voice to a whisper, “I actually rather like it.”
“Me too! You sure I can’t change your mind about joining us?”
Rose was moving quickly through the checkout line, but the one next to them was open, prompting Teddy to diverge. He could have chosen to stay where he was, take Finn up on the offer, but he needed at least a little more time to decide if this was a risk worth taking.
“Next time,” he said again, and Finn nodded with a wide grin.
“Deal.”
Teddy did not see Finn on Tuesday, and at his Wednesday appointment, he managed to resist getting caught up in Finn’s simple touches, though the banter was still present. Teddy just wasn’t ready to take the plunge yet, not during their first week, and Finn, thankfully, didn’t push.
Thursday went by without seeing Finn either, though that might have been because Teddy never left the house. He wasn’t moping, but he didn’t know what to do with himself. He was on his second book already with no ideas about how to spend his retirement.
He didn’t have hobbies. He read, enjoyed good food and drink, traveled on occasion, but he had no desire to travel now. Everything else had revolved around shows, whether dance or theater, and his heart wasn’t up for any of that.
