Chapter 4
Over the next few days, Finn dedicated himself to working long hours to help finish the final punch list at the Wayfarer. To celebrate the finish line and as a thank-you to the family members who’d done most of the work, his cousin Janey was having everyone over for dinner, which would be fun.
As he hung stall doors in the women’s restroom, Finn was looking forward to the gathering and some family fun after working through the weekend to get everything done. Although, he was also dreading having to tell Mac he was leaving.
He was hanging the last of six doors when he heard Riley calling for him.
“In here.”
“Hey, there’s someone here for you. Chloe?”
Finn was so surprised, he nearly dropped the heavy door on his foot.
Riley leaned against the wall. “Something you want to tell me?”
“Nope.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yep. Don’t you have stuff to do?” Finn put down the door, leaning it carefully against the wall.
“Want me to finish that for you?”
“No need. I can do it when I get back.”
“From where?”
“Chloe wanted to see the Wayfarer. I’m going to show it to her. End of story.”
“That sounds like the start of a new story.”
“It’s not like that.”
Riley studied him intently. “You’ve been acting weird lately. What’s up with you?”
“Nothing is up with me. Move so I can get by, will you?”
Riley stepped aside, but Finn felt his brother watching as he went out to the main part of the building to find Chloe.
Today she wore a denim jacket that covered her colorful arm and black jeans that hugged her sexy curves.
Her hair was in a ponytail, and her head was tipped back as she studied the complex set of beams that secured the structure from the inside.
“What do you think?” Finn asked when he joined her.
“I’m trying to figure out how you did that.”
“Carefully. It took four freezing days in February, two cherry pickers and seven men to make the building hurricane-proof. Those were some good times.”
A smile lit up her extraordinary violet eyes. He found himself staring at the face he’d tried—and failed—to forget after she gave him the brush-off.
“How did you get cherry pickers in here?”
“See those walls of windows over there?” He pointed to the beach side of the building. “They open like garage doors to bring the outdoors inside in the summer.”
“That’s very cool.” She shifted her gaze from the windows to him. “I was impossibly rude to you the other night, and I apologize. I’ve felt bad about it ever since.”
“You weren’t rude. You were honest.”
“I wasn’t, actually.”
Was it his imagination or was she blushing? The idea of this badass woman blushing did funny things to his insides. “What do you mean?”
“I’m not uninterested.”
“Oh.” Finn couldn’t think of a single other thing to say, because his brain had gone completely blank.
“So not only was I rude, I’m also a liar.”
He laughed at the self-deprecating face she made. “Most true liars don’t confess their sins, so you should probably cut yourself a break.”
“I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings. We had a nice evening, and I was a jerk.”
“You weren’t a jerk, and you can make it up to my hurt feelings by coming to a party with me tonight.”
“Oh, um…”
“Unless you don’t want to—and I wouldn’t blame you. The entire McCarthy family will be there along with various friends, so it’s not your average party but somewhat of a family blowout. Feel free to say no if that’s not your speed.”
“You make it hard to resist such an enticing offer.”
Finn laughed at her witty reply. “One thing I can promise is you won’t be bored.”
“It sounds like fun. I’d love to go.”
“There’s just one thing…” Finn knew he had to warn her. It wouldn’t be fair not to.
“What’s that?”
“If we show up there together, they’ll have us married with children before the night is over. That’s how my family rolls.”
“Marriage and children, huh? That’s an awfully big commitment for a first date.”
“That’s what I’m saying. Maybe we should do something else.”
“I wouldn’t want you to miss your family thing on my account. I know most of them already, so I’m not afraid to wander into the snake pit. If you aren’t…”
“I’m not afraid.” The heated zing of attraction that’d been so present the other night arced between them even more intensely than before, making his mouth dry and other parts of him tingle with interest. “Want to see the rest?” He needed to do something besides stare at her, or he’d have an obvious problem on his hands before too much longer.
“I’d love to.”
“Right this way.” He led her into the huge, state-of-the-art kitchen, where they encountered Nikki, consulting with the executive chef she’d hired. Finn hadn’t met him yet, but he’d heard great things about him from Nikki.
“Hey, Finn, come meet Anthony. Anthony, this is Finn McCarthy, another of the partners.”
Anthony, who had a full head of light brown hair and blue eyes, shook Finn’s hand. “Nice to meet you. There sure are a lot of you McCarthys.”
Finn laughed. “Yes, there are. This is Chloe Dennis, owner of the Curl Up and Dye salon, the best place to get your hair cut on Gansett Island.”
“The only place,” Chloe said, sounding amused.
Anthony shook hands with Chloe, who flinched subtly, but Finn noticed. “That makes you a good person to know around here.”
Finn glanced at Chloe, concerned about the flinch, but not wanting to embarrass her. “You know Nicholas, right?”
Nikki scowled at him. “Don’t call me that at work, Finnbar. And it’s nice to see you, Chloe.”
“You, too, Nicholas.” Chloe laughed. “Sorry, but that’s funny.”
“I think so, too.” Finn liked her more by the minute. “The McCarthys are great givers of nicknames that stick like glue.”
“Good to know. I’ll have to watch my back. Is Finnbar your real name?”
Nikki snorted with laughter. “No, that’s my name for him.”
Chloe laughed along with her. “I love it.”
“You going to Janey’s later, Nik?” Finn asked.
“That’s the plan. See you there?”
“We’ll be there.”
She raised a brow. “We will?”
Finn realized his strategic error after he’d already made it—giving Nikki a heads-up that he planned to bring Chloe. “No need to call the scoop into the Gansett Gazette.”
“I’d never do that, but I hope you told poor Chloe what she’s in for.”
“I warned her, and she still wants to come.”
“You’re a brave girl.”
“Don’t scare her off. I like her.” He curled a hand around Chloe’s arm, like that was the most natural thing he’d ever done, and gave a gentle tug to get her away from Nikki before Nik talked her out of going with him to Janey’s. “Come on, let’s go see the rest.”
“See you later,” Chloe called over her shoulder to Nikki and Anthony. “She seems really cool.”
“She is. My brother is nuts about her.”
“I’ve seen them around town. They’re cute together.”
“So cute I want to barf half the time.”
“Awww, are you jealous that your brother has a girlfriend?”
He led her past the reception desk, upstairs to the hotel. “I was—and I haven’t admitted that to anyone, by the way. But I’m getting used to it now. They’re really happy, and if he’s happy, I’m happy. I do miss having him to run around with.”
“You guys are close?”
“Very. Always have been.”
“That’s very sweet. I can see how it would be an adjustment to have him move on.”
“It was, but I’m over it. She’s perfect for him, and I like her a lot. They put up with having me underfoot as a regular third wheel, so it’s not like he’s forgotten he has a brother or anything.” He opened the doors to one of the eight hotel rooms, where Shane was touching up the paint.
Shane turned to greet them. “Hey, what’s up?”
“I’m showing Chloe around.”
Chloe waved to Shane. “How’s it going?”
“Good. I thought you were having lunch with Katie today?”
“I am. After this.”
Finn looked at her. “You know Katie?”
“I’m one of her bridesmaids. We met when she came in to get her hair cut more than a year ago and hit it off.”
Shane put down the paintbrush and wiped his hands on a rag. “Katie says you’re as good at cutting hair as her sister Cindy, and that’s apparently high praise.”
“She tells me that all the time. She’s too kind.”
Finn ran his fingers through his shorter hair. “She made me even handsomer than I already was.”
Shane rolled his eyes. “You’re uglier than ever.”
Chloe covered her mouth but couldn’t contain the snort of laughter.
“Tell my girl I said hello when you see her,” Shane said.
“I will. This room is beautiful. You guys did such a nice job. I love all the beadboard.”
Finn ran a hand over the creamy-white trim that topped the beadboard. “Mac says you have to have it when building on the coast. It’s like a rule or something.”
“The Rules According to Mac McCarthy, Jr.,” Shane said. “It’s a thick volume that’s always changing.”
“In other words,” Finn said, “he makes it up as he goes along.”
Shane laughed. “Makes it fun to work with him.”
It is fun, Finn thought. Mac kept things interesting, and busting balls with his brother and cousins all day was the most fun he’d ever had at work.
If only they were having all that fun somewhere other than a tiny island off the coast of Rhode Island where nothing of any consequence happened nine months of the year. The winters were brutal and lonely.
After spending much of the past winter with nothing more than Netflix and an occasional night out with Riley, Nikki and his cousins to keep him entertained as well as some weekends working on the renovations to Nikki’s house, Finn couldn’t stand the thought of another winter on Gansett. He actually shuddered.
Chloe studied him with her brows furrowed. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m good. Let me show you the tiki bars we built into the sand.”
“That sounds fun. See you later, Shane.”
“Bye, Chloe.”
Finn led the way downstairs, through the main room where the centerpiece was an enormous mahogany bar with more than one hundred stools around it. “Shane built the bar.”
“It’s incredible.”
“He does great work. He’s a master carpenter.”
“The whole place is really something. I love how your family came together to make this happen.”
“It was my uncle Big Mac’s idea. I only have a small stake, but I do love being an owner with the rest of my family. It was a very satisfying project to be part of.”
“You have a really amazing family. You know that, don’t you?”
“I do. I’m going to miss them.”
“How come?”
Finn glanced at her. “I, um, I’m heading back to the mainland after we open the Wayfarer.”
“Oh.”
Was that disappointment he heard or wishful thinking on his part? “The job is done, and it’s time to figure out what’s next. I never intended to move here forever.”
“I didn’t either. Like I said, I came out for a bachelorette party and found out there was no salon. I secured a storefront with affordable rent, and five years later, I’m still here. It’s become home.”
They walked outside to the wide patio that would soon be covered with tables and chairs for outdoor dining and onto the beach, where two large tiki bars had been built right on the sand.
“You guys are sitting on a gold mine here.”
“That’s what Mac says, too. We’re going to rent umbrellas, chairs and lounges to day-trippers and have live entertainment every day all summer at the outdoor bar over there.”
“It’s going to be the island’s new hot spot. Congratulations on a job well done.”
“Mac and Luke get all the credit. They made it happen.”
“With a lot of sweat and hard work from the rest of you.”
“It was fun.” Finn gave the Wayfarer a wistful glance, thinking of the months of work and camaraderie with his family that had made it happen.
Work was going to be boring without them around to keep him entertained.
“I wish I could offer you a drink or something, but we’re not set up for that yet.
I thought we would be by now when I invited you for lunch. ”
“No worries.” She checked the time on her phone. “I’ve got to meet Katie in fifteen minutes anyway. Thanks for the tour.”
“You’re welcome.” He walked her back inside and through the cavernous dining room that would soon be full of people eating, drinking and having fun.
It would also be used for wedding receptions and other parties.
He would be sorry to miss seeing how the first season went, but he would hear all about it from Riley.
“Pick you up at six for the party at Janey’s? ”
“Sure, that sounds good.”
“Great, I’ll see you then.”
As he stood on the porch, she went down the stairs that led to the pier where charter fishing boats docked during the season. Beyond that was the ferry landing.
At the bottom of the stairs, she turned and looked up at him. “I’m really sorry to hear you’re planning to leave.” She gave a little wave and was on her way before he could begin to process what she’d said.
She was sorry he was leaving.
What did that mean?