Chapter 21 #2
She shook her head. “It’s too much too soon, Finn.”
“Is it? I’m in way over my head here. I have no idea what I’m doing. Everything about this is new to me.”
“Everything?”
“Every single thing.”
“You’re incredibly sweet.”
“That’s not all I am.” He rubbed against her suggestively. “What time are you done today?”
“Six.”
Finn groaned dramatically. “That’s a lot of hours from now.”
“Yes, it is,” she said, amused by him.
“Come to my place. I’ll make you dinner.”
“You brought me lunch. I should make you dinner.”
“You’re working. I’m off for the rest of the day.
I’ll cook for you.” He kissed her neck, her cheek and then her lips.
“Oh, and I told Mac he could count on me at the job they’re starting out at the Curtis place, and I accepted Nikki’s offer to squat in her garage apartment for the summer.
In case you’re wondering, everyone is thrilled that I’m sticking around. ”
“You already did all that?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Because of me?”
“Because of us.”
“Finn, you can’t change your plans for someone you’ve known for a few days.”
“Why not? My uncle did when he met my aunt Linda. Mac did when he met Maddie. Adam did after he started seeing Abby. Grant did when he met Steph. Evan—”
Chloe squished his lips together, careful to avoid the side with the cut.
He kept talking anyway, his words muffled. “Riley did it for Nikki.”
“Are you for real?”
Finn nibbled his way free of her fingers.
“I’m absolutely for real, and your next customer is here.
” He kissed her, bent to pick up the bag from the floor and handed it to her.
“Eat your lunch.” Then, as if he couldn’t resist, he kissed her again.
“See you after work. Bring Ranger.” As he went out the door, he greeted Jenny Martinez, who came in with brows raised.
“Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
Mortified, Chloe waved off her comment. “Don’t be silly.”
“Finn McCarthy, huh? You go, girl.”
Chloe planned to tell Finn he wasn’t allowed to stop by during her workday and scramble her brains while giving her clients too much to talk about.
“He’s a good one,” Jenny said. “All those McCarthy guys are the real deal.”
“So I hear. How’s your little guy doing?”
“My little George is so sweet. Looks just like his daddy.” Jenny pulled out her phone and showed off pictures of her husband and son.
“He really does. He’s adorable.”
“I think so, too. Alex says I have to stop telling everyone he’s perfect.”
“Nah, you’re his mom. You get to say that to anyone who will listen.”
“My feeling exactly!” Jenny gazed at the photos. “I waited such a long time for what I have now. I don’t care who thinks I’m a loon.”
“That’s the attitude.” Jenny had met Alex Martinez when she came to Gansett to be the lighthouse keeper. “How is Hope doing?” Hope was married to Alex’s brother, Paul.
“She’s about to pop. Any day now. I’m glad they’re on the mainland for the delivery. She had a C-section with her son, so they wanted her to deliver in a hospital.”
“Do they know what they’re having?”
“They don’t, but I think it’s a girl. Just a feeling I have. Oh! Did you hear that Alex and Paul are moving their mom back to the island after the baby arrives?”
“I hadn’t heard, but that’s awesome. I’ve missed Marion.”
“We all have. It’s going to be so great to have her back on the island. We’re just hoping it’s a smooth transition. She’s done well in the memory-care facility she’s in now, but the guys hate not being able to see her whenever they want to.”
“Quinn and Mallory will take good care of her.” Finn’s nurse cousin Mallory and her doctor fiancé, Quinn James, ran the new elder care facility that had opened the previous fall on the island.
“I know how much they appreciated your house calls to do Marion’s hair when she lived here.”
“It was a pleasure to be able to do something for them. I so admired the way her sons took such good care of her.”
“They really did. That was a big reason why I fell for Alex.”
“Among other reasons,” Chloe said, chuckling.
“Well, of course he’s smoking hot, makes me laugh till I cry and treats me like a queen.”
“I’m happy for you, Jenny. You deserve all the good things.”
“Aww, thanks. Speaking of good things… Nice deflection away from your good things onto mine. What’s up with Finn?”
“We’re hanging out.”
“Um, I only saw you together for thirty seconds, but that looked like more than hanging out to me.”
“Maybe.” Chloe shrugged, afraid to jinx it by saying too much too soon. “It’s new.”
“I remember that stage with Alex,” Jenny said with a smile and a sigh. “It was so exciting, even if I felt like I went days without sleeping. Did you ever hear how we met?”
“I don’t know if I did.”
“I was living at the lighthouse and had been complaining to the town about the grass not getting cut out there. He showed up at dawn with the biggest monster lawn mower I’ve ever seen, and after he woke me up, I threw tomatoes from my garden at him.”
“You did not!”
“I did! Hit him square in the back.” She laughed. “I wish I’d gotten a picture of his face when he turned around, boiling with outrage, to catch me in my skimpiest nightgown. It was during that heat wave we had a few years back.” Jenny fanned her face. “It was hot from the start with him.”
“Sounds like it.”
“We were up against it, though.” Her expression sobered. “He and Paul were contending with their mom’s worsening health, and I was, well, still pretty much a mess after losing Toby.”
“I can’t imagine what you’ve been through, Jenny. You and Erin are my heroes.” Toby’s twin sister, Erin, had fallen for the island’s favorite pilot, Slim Jackson, after she replaced Jenny as the lighthouse keeper.
“That’s nice of you to say, but everyone is dealing with something, you know?”
“I do know.” She knew all too well.
“The one thing I’ve learned is that when true love comes along, you have to grab it with and never let it go. It’s the greatest thing there is. After I lost Toby, I never expected to feel that way again, but then along came Alex with his monster lawn mower, and there it was.”
“I love that story. Thanks for sharing it with me.”
“Maybe Finn is your Alex, hmmm?”
Chloe laughed at Jenny’s shamelessness. “I guess we’ll see.”