“HI,” Finn called, pushing the door of his parents’ place open. “We’re here.”
We stepped inside and kicked off our shoes. Conversation filtered through the house, and my pulse beat in my ears.
I swallowed past a rock in my throat, glancing around the familiar foyer. Elizabeth had changed up the side table near the door, and there was a mirror hanging over it. My reflection blinked back at me, face tanned and freckled from being outside all summer.
I hadn’t been inside this house since that night, the one before Finn left.
“Hey.” Finn’s warm arm wrapped around my shoulders and he pulled me into his chest. “You okay?” he murmured against my temple, and I nodded.
“Just nervous,” I said with a shrug and a small smile.
He glanced at the door with sparkling eyes, tilting his head. “You want to ditch this?”
I snorted. “No.”
“Come on,” he teased, voice low in my ear, and a shiver rolled down my back.
Since we got home from hiking, Finn and I had been having a lot of sex.
The best sex. Toe-curling, eye-crossing, crying out each other’s names kind of sex. Day and night.
Finn had said he loved me at the waterfall. I’d been replaying the words in my head constantly. He hadn’t said it again since, but I knew he felt it.
I wanted to say it too, but every time I tried, my mind reminded me that Finn loved a chase and a thrill. He craved the fun and games part of a relationship. If that was over, he’d get bored.
My stomach tensed. I didn’t even want to think about that, after everything that had happened in the past few months.
Cole still hadn’t contacted me, so there was my answer. People got bored and people left, so I kept my mouth shut.
For now, though, I was enjoying what I had. I wasn’t going to worry about the future. In Elizabeth and Sam’s foyer, I shook my head and put on a brave smile for Finn.
Elizabeth appeared around the corner, eyes bright with a big smile on her face. “There they are.”
After she gave us warm, lingering hugs, she pulled us into the kitchen, where Wyatt, Holden, and Avery were helping her prep the salad. The guys nodded hellos while Avery hugged us and poured me and Finn glasses of wine.
“Go outside,” Elizabeth said, shooing us out the patio door, and I laughed, feeling like we were ten years old again.
In the backyard, Emmett barbecued dinner while Sam, Hannah, and Sadie played with Cora on the grass.
“Hey, you two,” Sam called over in between tossing Cora in the air while she squealed and laughed.
Sadie stood and walked over. “Hello, doctor.” She wiggled her eyebrows.
I snorted and shook my head. “We’re not calling me that.”
“We’re definitely calling her that,” Finn added, taking Cora from Sam and covering her cheeks in kisses. My heart dipped.
Sadie’s arms came around my neck and she squeezed me so hard I couldn’t breathe. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks.” I smiled as she pulled back.
“So proud of you,” Hannah said quietly as she gave me a hug, and I flushed.
“When’s your defense?” Emmett called from the grill.
In the week since we’d gotten home, when Finn and I weren’t tangled up together, I’d been emailing back and forth with my advisor.
“I submitted my dissertation this morning,” I told them, taking a seat on one of the patio chairs, “so now they’re scheduling the defense with the other researchers. It’ll happen sometime in early September.”
For the hundredth time this week, relief eased through me. My advisor could move on. I could move on.
Sam’s eyebrows lifted in curiosity. His eyes were the same color as his son’s, that sharp, clear gray. “Feeling okay about it?”
I chuckled. “Yes. My advisor is confident that I have this in the bag.” A snort escaped me. “And I’ve had enough time with the research.”
Sam shook his head in awe. “Super proud of you, Olivia.”
I smiled at my hands in my lap. “Thanks, Sam.”
The others joined us out in the yard, talking and laughing, and by the time we took our seats at the table, my worries had disappeared. Being with these people was easy. How many hours had I spent in this backyard over my childhood and teenager years? It felt like a second home.
“This is a good one,” Elizabeth said later, holding her iPad up.
It was a photo from Sadie’s baby shower. Finn was mid-hip-roll over me, staring down at me with an expression that would make a porn star blush. In the photo, I was practically drooling over him. In the background, Miri’s eyes were feral as she watched.
Everyone laughed.
Holden shook his head at Finn. “Wow.”
“What?” Finn asked him. “Liv dragged me to Mom’s book club. Do you know how many times Mom said the word penis in there?”
Elizabeth shrugged, acting innocent. “As many times as I could.” A smile crept up her face as she eyed Finn and me, and her eyes glittered. “And I had a feeling Finn would retaliate. You two are always swiping at each other like that.”
Finn’s hand drifted to my lap, wrapping around mine, and he gave me a squeeze. I smiled at him.
“Asshole,” I said, smiling.
His eyebrows bobbed, eyes gleaming. “You know it.”
Wyatt shot Emmett a lazy grin. “Heard you had a bit of a scare at town hall the other day.”
Emmett huffed, glaring at me and Finn. “Yeah, and I’m still mad about that.”
Finn and I tried to stifle our laughter without success. I covered my mouth with my hand but my shaking shoulders gave us away. Around the table, everyone was grinning. Elizabeth rolled her mouth to hide her smile.
“It’s not funny,” Emmett told everyone. “At the next town hall, I’m putting forward a proposed ban on turtles in Queen’s Cove.”
“It was an accident,” Finn said through his laughter. “We promise.”
Emmett stared at him, shaking his head. “You two always get into trouble together.”
Finn’s hands flew up. “This one wasn’t even my fault.” He whirled his finger between me and him. “It was equally both of our faults.”
“That’s true,” I admitted.
Emmett rubbed the bridge of his nose. “No more school trips to town hall.”
“Next time, honey,” Avery said with her hand on his arm in comfort, “barricade your door from the evil children.”
He sighed. “I’ll just ask Div to bodyguard for me.”
Sadie cleared her throat. “I heard you peed your pants.”
Emmett threw his fork down and pointed at me. “Olivia peed, not me!”
My mouth fell open. “I did not!”
Cora waved a chubby hand at Emmett. “Pee.”
The table burst out laughing and Cora giggled.
“No one peed,” Finn intervened. “But Emmett did almost pull the fire alarm for some reason.”
“I was panicking,” Emmett said solemnly, and Avery rubbed his arm again.
“Never a dull moment in this town,” Elizabeth said, smiling to herself. She glanced at Sam. “Shall we?”
He nodded and they got up from the table, returning moments later with a cake. It read Congratulations, Olivia! Pink icing flowers decorated it.
The backs of my eyes burned. Oh god. I was going to cry right here in front of everyone. I blinked fast to clear the tears.
“Veena made it special,” Elizabeth added, setting it down on the table. “Chocolate cherry.”
My favorite. My gaze met Elizabeth’s, and she winked.
“Thank you,” I whispered, and she gave my shoulder a squeeze.
As the cake was cut and dished out, and the conversation and wine flowed, a thought struck me. I had so much to lose now. If things with Finn went south, all of this—this second family, these women I had grown to love, these people who knew me so well and had special cakes made to celebrate my achievements—would disappear.
Across the table, Holden frowned. “We’re doing the flooring on Friday,” he said in response to whatever Hannah had asked.
Sadie nodded, wincing. “I don’t know if it’s safe for Cora to be there. There’s a lot of dust in the air when they’re sanding.”
“Sam and I are doing a late afternoon round of golf with the Singhs,” Elizabeth said. She thought about it. “We could reschedule.”
“Don’t reschedule.” Wyatt shook his head. “We’ll find someone to watch her.”
Finn cleared his throat. “I’ll do it.” He smiled at Cora and stuck his tongue out. She smiled her goofy smile at him.
“You’ll watch her?” Wyatt asked.
Finn shrugged. “Sure. I’m not working, and this will give me a chance to take her to the candy store and spoil her rotten.”
“Alright.” Wyatt shrugged. “Thank you so much.”
Hannah leaned forward. “We really appreciate it, Finn.”
He waved them off, smiling. “Don’t mention it. Seriously.” He smiled at me, and again, my heart dipped.
As conversation resumed, my thoughts wandered back to what the girls had said earlier in the summer, how Finn never used to make plans, but now he did. Like he was setting down roots.
I glanced at him sitting beside me, chatting with Wyatt about surfing.
“I want to buy a new board,” Finn was saying, arms folded over his chest. “My old one’s had it.”
He was sticking around, but a part of me held back. I’d spent so long hating him and being angry, and this summer had flown by. I needed a bit more time to adjust, and then I could say the words.
In Hannah’s lap, Cora squirmed, pointing at me. I smiled at her.
“She wants to sit with you,” Hannah said. “Is that okay?”
I chuckled. “Of course.”
Hannah stood and set Cora down in my lap. I leaned forward to smile down at the chubby, adorable kid, and she kicked her feet, giggling. My heart expanded in my chest.
Okay, I could see the appeal of this, having kids and all. The initial stages seemed terrifying, with pregnancy and giving birth, but this? Having a sweet little squishy cutie who resembled me and Finn? Maybe they would have Finn’s eyes, or my freckles. Cora reached for Finn and he took her hand, shaking it like he was introducing himself, and I laughed. It would be the cutest thing ever, seeing Finn with our children.
Inside me, my emotions warred, and my jaw locked up. When I was ready, I’d say the words.
