17. Chapter Seventeen
“You can go home now, little bro,” Blake says as he passes me in the hospital hallway.
“They might release her today. I’ll stick around.”
“This is just like you. Swooping in last-minute, acting like a superhero and shit.”
I grind my jaw. Do. Not. Engage. Since showing up yesterday to help Mom, I’ve had to bite my tongue against more than one of his snarky comments.
“The doctor who did her early morning check-up said she saw a lot of improvement,” I say. “Heading home today’s a possibility since she’s on track for a full recovery, but because of her age, they may want to keep her another twenty-four hours.”
“Well,” he says, examining the bouquet of tulips in his hand, “not like we need you here, anyway. Surprised you cut your trip to paradise short.”
“She had to have her appendix taken out. Of course I’m here.”
When I received the message from Blake yesterday, Aaron and Mel were the people to help me figure out what to do. But before I got out a word, Aaron apologized for how he’d acted. Maybe Mel talked some sense into him, or maybe he came around to the idea of me and his sister together.
“It’s kind of weird,” he’d said with a laugh, “and we should set some boundaries on what you tell me about, like, stuff , if you date and all. But I was being an ass.”
At least I had my best friend back. But nothing could take back what happened between me and Lou, and nothing would change her mind.
Mel located the hospital where my mom had been admitted, and I had no choice but to leave the resort. But I walked past Lou’s room twenty times wondering whether I should go in and say goodbye, even though she’d be asleep. I regret not doing that. When I got on that seaplane, she already felt half a world away. By leaving, I turned my back on how close we’d grown over the past week, treating it like some vacation affair. If it weren’t for my mom’s surgery, I would have marched right into Lou’s room, waking her and everyone else up because I don’t care—I love her so damn much it hurts.
Telling anyone about us scared me, though, and I’d ignored how Lou was practically begging to make things work. That she wanted to be together so badly, she didn’t mind if her family found out.
And now it’s too late. I fucked it up.
“How’d you sleep?” Blake’s question catches me off-guard because that’s the kind of thing someone asks when they like you.
“Fine. As fine as a pull-out sofa can be, but…” I stretch, causing my spine to crack.
My mom spent her first evening in the hospital alone. Blake had left when the staff told him to, and he returned yesterday morning before I arrived. When the nurse told us visiting hours were over last night, I asked about overnight guests. He said yes, but hospital policy allowed only a single person to stay in the room.
My guess is that’s why Blake brought flowers today. He believes I’m playing some kind of game, trying to one-up him, when all I want is to make sure our mom is healthy.
“Such a fuckin’ suck-up,” he mutters, and his attention snags on something behind me. “Well, look at that. If it isn’t your preferred family.”
I turn, and relief floods me at the most breathtaking sight: Lou, hair partially pulled up and pointing in all directions, dark circles under her eyes, wearing sweatpants and an oversized sweatshirt. She’s speed walking toward me, and the rest of the Moores have congregated halfway down the hall, watching us from afar.
“What are you doing?” I ask as she races into me, tying her arms around me. Breathing comes easier with her here.
“You okay?” she asks into my chest.
“Yeah. Better now.”
“Me too.”
We stand like that, absorbed in each other, and the rest of the world goes away for a bit. Just us, inhaling and exhaling, enjoying being close together again.
“How cute,” Blake says. “Oh, wait, I get it. You two are fucking .” At this, he laughs, the sound dripping with something dark and bitter.
I squeeze her tighter to me, wishing my biological brother would disappear.
“Can’t believe you took this long to get in her pants. You could do worse.”
“Blake.” I speak his name as a warning.
“This count as incest?”
I should ignore him. Let him say whatever toxic shit he wants to say and move on. But I won’t put up with him—especially not when Lou’s involved.
“What did you say?” I say through gritted teeth.
Blake raises his brows at me, all innocent and saccharine sweet. “Nothing. Kind of fucked up, though, don’t you think?”
“No,” Lou says, pulling away to stand between me and Blake. “The only thing that’s fucked up is how you treat someone as amazing and wonderful as Finn. He’s your own brother.”
“Well, I don’t know how you do it in your family, but I don’t really want to treat my brother the way you do. He is an honorary member of your family, right?” Blake turns his attention to me. “Glad we didn’t have a sister. You might not have been able to help yourself.”
“You’re so busy being an absolute garbage person that you can’t wrap your head around this, can you?” Lou says, crossing her arms and jutting her chin out at Blake. “Have whatever perverted fantasies you’d like, but it’s not my fault or Finn’s or anyone else’s that you can’t get through your thick skull how biological families work, or that you couldn’t identify a loving, worthwhile relationship if it bit you on the ass.”
“She’s spunky.”
“Hi.” She waves at him. “No more talking to Finn. If you have something to say to him, you talk to me.”
“Lou.” I rest a hand on her shoulder. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to. You shouldn’t have to put up with him alone.” Her eyes search mine. “I’m here. We’re all here.”
“Yup,” Blake says. “Your adopted family showed up, and me and Mom are lower priority. Got it. Why’re you here, anyway?”
“I’m here for Mom, and that’s the only reason.” I straighten and step forward, taking on some of the confidence that Lou’s projecting. “I’m talking to you right now because of Mom, and that is all that I or Luna will discuss with you. Got that?”
“Crystal clear. You got your second fam. Why would you need us?”
“No, I don’t need you . I’m not someone you get to push around anymore, and you don’t get to treat me like shit. I’ve found people who value me and give me respect, so yeah, you might be my brother, but that’s by blood only. Your petty comments and crappy attitude and any other stuff you wish you could say to me, you can take to anyone else who will listen, but I’m not here for it. Understood?”
He glowers at me and Lou, sneering as he says, “Fuckin’…whatever.”
He storms down the hall toward the hospital room and I exhale. Dealing with his bullshit drains me, but seeing Lou’s smile beaming at me fills me up.
“You were incredible just now,” she says.
“Me? You’re the spunky one.” I push some errant pieces of hair away from her face. “Thank you for coming.”
“Of course.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t—”
“No, let me. I stayed up the whole flight back, trying to come up with the right thing to say, and I have nothing except I’m so, so sorry.” Her hand grasps mine with a squeeze. “I am crazy about you, Finn. Every little bit I got of you on this trip made me want more. I got a bit scared, too, and had it in my head to move fast because you received that job offer, and—”
“Which I’m not taking, by the way.”
“I kept pressuring you, even though I get why you needed time. Getting involved isn’t just about me, but my whole family. I grew selfish. Wanted you to want me, like I want you.”
“I do want you. I want you, always, all the time. You—” I cup her face in my hands. “It destroyed me, thinking I couldn’t give you what you asked. Like I wasn’t enough. So I got scared and stubborn, and I said something stupid, which I didn’t mean, I swear.”
“I know. I knew that and I still pushed.”
“And you should have. What you and I have, it’s real, Lou.” I kiss a tear trailing down her cheek. “This whole time, I was worried about fucking it up, and all that made me do was actually fuck it up.”
She lets out a watery laugh, and I kiss the sound from her lips, again and again. She sinks into me, gripping my shirt at the back like she’ll never let me go. Lou traces some kisses down my jawline, and each one is a promise. I’m here for you. I’ll take care of you. You’re enough.
“Thank you,” I whisper to her, and she nods, water drops clinging to her eyelashes. “You came here right from the airport?”
“Mhmm. Everyone did.”
I direct my gaze down the hall and the Moores startle to life, each picking something to focus on that isn’t me and Lou. Dave stares at a ceiling light, Cass points to an object in the other direction, and Mel pulls out her phone so fast it flies out of her grip and to the ground.
“Think they know?”
“About us?” she asks, her mouth twisting. “This is a little suspicious.”
“A little.” I smirk at her.
“Also, I told them I’m in love with you. That might have tipped them off too.”
“Lou.” My chest feels like a cannonball slammed into me.
“I love you, Finn. All of you, simply because you’re you. I think I have for a long time.”
I smile, grab her face again, and press my lips to hers. “I love you,” I murmur over and over against her mouth. For each one, she says it back. I must say hundreds to make up for all the time I’ve loved her and never once said so.
A hushed cheer sounds from the hallway, and we both glance over to see Lou’s family—my family—watching us.
“Okay,” Lou says to them. “You can come over now.”
They rush down the hall, smiling, and in Mel’s case, squealing, to bombard us with hugs. Despite all the frustrations and concerns and Blake interactions over the past twenty-four hours, I’m floating because I have a person—or really a small army of people—holding me up, even during such a challenging time. They know everything about me, and they’re still here to support me and to love me.
And she’s here, and she loves me.
“So whatcha need, hon?” Betsey asks.
“Yeah, tell me,” Lou says, encircling me with her arms. “What can I do?”
“Will you stay? I want you close.”
“Um,” Aaron says, shifting on his feet. “Do you mean all of us, or just Lou?”
“Don’t make it weird,” Mel hisses at him.
“I’m not! It’s a reasonable—”
“You made it weird,” Cass says.
Carmen nods to agree with her wife. “Yeah, definitely weird.”
“What everyone means to say is we’re here for you.” Dave slinks his arm around Betsey’s shoulder and pulls her close. “We all are, for whatever you need. And we love you very much.”
I swallow the ball of emotion in my throat and manage a quiet, “Thanks.” Lou looks up at me with shining admiration sparkling in her eyes. Without thinking, I kiss her, then hug her closer with an exhale. “I’m starving.”
“Cafeteria’s on the fourth floor,” Lou says. “Or we could run out somewhere.”
“The food’s not great here. Mostly gelatinous cuisine. But that might be the best option.” I look down at her, getting lost in her gaze. “Not a strong sell, but it’s close, and I should stay until I get an update from the doctors. We could, I don’t know—We could tell everyone the story of us over bland hospital food and weak coffee.”
She beams at me. “Sounds perfect.”
Thank you for reading Match Made in the Maldives .