Page 68 of Capture The Moment

Looking uncomfortable, Trish wrung her hands and said, “Am I interrupting something?”

Harper quickly collected herself. “No. Not at all. Come on in.” She stood aside for Trish to pass and darted a glance up the road for Finn’s truck. Please be late, please be late, she chanted silently as she led Trish into the living room.

“Are you sure I’m not interrupting? You look like you might be going out.”

It was true that Harper had taken extra time with her appearance that evening, but she didn’t want Trish to know the real reason for it. “No. I’m not going anywhere,” she said truthfully.

Trish took a seat on the couch as if she were exhausted, and she hadn’t bothered to take off her coat. “I won’t stay long. I just wanted to stop by and apologize for the other day. Tim and I feel terrible about what happened at Blake’s memorial dinner.”

Harper had tried hard to forget about the incident, but here she was being reminded again. “No need to apologize. It was a difficult day.”

“Well, I just wanted you to know that we’re not upset with you for seeing someone else. I’m sure that Blake would understand.”

Harper stiffened, wondering if that were true. But to put Trish’s mind at ease, she said, “Well, I’m not even seeing Will anymore.”

“You’re not? Oh, honey, I hope it’s not because of us.”

And just as she was about to respond, the doorbell rang. Taking a quick glance at the wall clock, she saw that it was five forty-five. Finn.

Harper and Trish stood up at the same time, but Harper waved her back down. “Don’t move. I’ll be right back,” she said and fled the room. Maybe she could get Finn to leave and come back later after Trish left. But when she pulled open the door, her hope was dashed.

In a loud, booming voice, Finn said, “Hello, gorgeous!”

And then, in horrifyingly slow motion, Trish entered the foyer and came face to face with her son’s best friend.

Finn had also taken some extra time with his appearance, as evidenced by his freshly shaved jaw and tamed hair. And he wore a crewneck sweater and dark jeans instead of his usual faded denim and flannel.

Everyone exchanged baffled looks until Finn broke the silence. “Hello, Mrs. Davies. Didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I could say the same for you,” she said, shooting him an awkward smile.

Finn was toting a large bag from the local Chinese restaurant, which made it obvious that he was staying for dinner. The only thing that would have made it worse was if Trish had caught them kissing. Why? Why did she have to stop by tonight?

“Oh. Well, I just stopped over to see if Harper wanted to share some of this food. You’re welcome to join us.”

Harper wanted to melt into the floor as Trish glanced back and forth at the two of them skeptically. Hasn’t this poor woman been through enough without this too?

“No, thank you. I was just leaving.”

Finn held the door open for Trish as she passed through.

“Thanks for stopping by,” Harper called, finally finding her voice.

Trish gave her a brief backwards wave and then hurried down the walk.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Harper said, stomping into the kitchen with Finn hot on her heels.

Setting the food on the counter, he tried to pull her into his arms, but she twisted away.

“I can’t. Not right now.”

“Calm down, Harper. It’s not that bad.”

“Are you serious? It’s worse than bad. It’s horrible!”

“She knows that we’re friends.”

“Yes, but we weren’t acting like friends. We were acting…guilty.”