Adele
Idropped my hand to the doorknob, trying to take a steadying breath. Clothes? Check. Hair? Probably a mess. Body? Freaking out.
I pasted on a big smile as I greeted my niece and nephew, but it dropped when I locked eyes with my brother, who was standing behind them, arms crossed and frowning.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice deep and rumbling.
Blinking, I racked my brain for a plausible excuse for what took me so long to answer the door. Before I could sputter out a response, Goldie pushed her way inside.
“We came to bring this back to you.” She held out my hot pink Gagnon Lumber hoodie on her way past me.
I had ordered them for my team last year, because our company merch was bland and masculine. “Can I use your bathroom? I gotta pee.” She didn’t wait for a response before she charged through the entryway and deeper into the house.
My stomach churned, but I willed it to settle. They’d be in and out quickly. Nothing to worry about.
“You left it when you came over for dinner,” Tucker explained, his hands in his pockets. He was officially a teenager now, complete with floppy hair in his face and the ever-present cell phone.
I ruffled his hair, knowing it drove him semi-crazy. “Good to see you. You haven’t been by the shop in a while. I have a feller engine for you to work on.”
His flat expression morphed into a gleeful grin immediately. There was nothing that kid loved more than taking apart engines. I had no doubt that when the time came, he could get into a great engineering program.
“Can I, Dad?” He looked at Henri, that grin turning hopeful.
“You can come to work with me on Thursday.”
Tucker pumped his fist and followed his sister into the house.
“Why didn’t you answer?” Henri asked, eyeing me, then scanning what he could see of the house behind me. “And why are you all sweaty?”
Alice hopped up the steps and threaded her arm through his.
“I was cleaning,” I said, impressed with myself for coming up with an excuse off the cuff like that. “And I didn’t hear the doorbell because of the music.” Genius.
“I didn’t hear any music when the kids were ringing your doorbell over and over again.”
“Henri!” Alice chided, patting his arm. “Don’t interrogate your sister.”
He scrutinized me again, looking for the lie. I wasn’t usually this flustered. Of course, if the kids weren’t here, I’d tell him to mind his fucking business and get the hell off my lawn.
“Headphones,” I said nonchalantly, hoping to move this conversation along and get them out of here.
Finn was hidden in my garage, hopefully clothed, but it didn’t change the fact that he had just been eating me on the kitchen counter.
Goldie’s and Tucker’s voices echoed from inside. They were both crouched on the tile floor outside the kitchen, playing with He-Man. Jesus, this would never end.
“Auntie Adele,” Goldie said. “Can I have a glass of water?”
I turned and scurried inside to help her, worried she’d open the garage door, and Henri and Alice followed me back toward the kitchen. Great, this was a full-blown visit now. Exactly what I needed.
“We’re going out for pizza. Wanna join?” my brother asked.
I shook my head and wiped at the sweat collecting on my brow with the back of my wrist. “Thanks. Having a quiet night of cleaning.”
Alice put her arm around me and gave me a squeeze. “Come with us. The kids miss you. You’ve been so busy lately.”
God, I adored her. If anyone else was pressuring me, I’d be ready to do battle, but she was so fun and sweet and well intentioned. Henri might be a grumpy pain in my ass, but at least he was wise enough to lock her down quickly.
I smiled. “Next time, I promise. I’m exhausted. This one—I nodded in the direction of her husband—works me too hard.”
He raised one eyebrow and pressed his lips together in a flat line.
I made my own hours, we both knew that, but it was the best I could come up with in the moment.
Shit. Flustered, I paced around my kitchen, smiling maniacally.
They knew. They totally knew there was a half-naked Viking in my garage.
Henri was standing three feet from the door that would lead straight to him too. I hoped Finn had enough sense to put all his clothes back on.
If it was only sex, it would be easier to explain. I was in a bad place. Needed to scratch an itch. Sure, the conversation would be uncomfortable, but it’d be worlds easier than admitting I had feelings for him.
Big, scary feelings that I was trying my best to ignore, despite how much space they’d taken up in my mind and in my heart.
Sleeping with the enemy would be a huge issue in my family.
But falling for him? My brothers would probably disown me.
Not that I’d blame them. I’d do the same thing in their shoes.
While Henri had given Finn a chance, he was annoyingly pigheaded about me and who I dated.
In high school, Ritchie LaVoie, my first boyfriend and the guy I lost my virginity to, opened his damn trap and bragged about it.
He came to school with two black eyes and a dislocated shoulder the following week.
I knew exactly what my brothers were capable of.
I scanned the kitchen floor, where Goldie was throwing a squeaky toy to He-Man, and my heart stopped.
Balled up, right on the tile, were Finn’s boxers.
They had little anchors all over them. He was predictable like that.
They were hanging out like they owned the place.
Right there on the goddamn kitchen floor.
So far, no one had noticed, but we were only a few feet away. I must not have grabbed them in my panic to answer the door.
I tried to follow the conversation, but the boxers were screaming at me. Over and over again. How had no one else noticed? I was convinced everyone, including my eight-year-old niece, would see them and shame me forever. The floozy aunt who couldn’t keep her panties on around her hot enemy.
A bead of sweat dripped down my spine, and my cheeks hurt from holding a fake smile for what felt like ages while Alice told me about Goldie’s upcoming soccer season. Dammit. I needed everyone out of my house right now.
Because the boxers were like a telltale heart. No heartbeat involved, but a flashing neon sign meant to alert my guests to their presence. Every minute, they got bigger, taking up more space in the room. At this rate, they’d all trip over them on the way to the door and the jig would be up.
“Is that okay, Auntie Adele?”
I blinked, lost as to what Goldie had been asking me.
“Um.”
Alice, ever the kind soul, took pity on me. “In third grade, the class does a unit on careers. Goldie wants you to come and talk to her class about your work.”
“Yes,” Goldie cheered, jumping up and down.
“It won’t be right away. But I need to lock it down.
Sophie’s dad is a ski instructor, and she thinks she’s so special.
My mom works at the school. I can’t bring her.
” She planted her hands on her hips and popped a sassy little pose.
“That’d be lame. And my dad has such a boring job.
I want you to come to my class and show everyone I have the coolest aunt. ”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Of course. Name the day.”
Tucker laughed, tossing He-Man’s toy for him. “It’s months from now.”
“Gotta give her time to plan something cool.” Goldie looked me dead in the eyes.
Shit. Had she noticed the boxers?
“Don’t be boring, okay?”
Letting out a relieved breath, I crossed my heart. “I promise.”
“We should get going. Sorry to intrude,” Alice said, steering her daughter back toward the door and jerking her head to signal to Tucker that it was time to head out.
I walked with them, hoping to God I was blocking their line of sight to the boxers.
It was the best I could do. If I picked them up or kicked them, it would be too obvious.
Fucking Finn and his underwear. I’d run half marathons and never felt this out of breath.
I was clearly in the throes of some kind of underwear-induced cardiac event.
“Thanks for dropping my sweatshirt off,” I chirped, herding them as quickly as I could without physically pushing them to the door.
My stomach unknotted once they’d all stepped over the threshold, and finally, I could pull in a deep breath.
I followed them out and waved as they walked toward Henri’s truck.
My brother stopped at the edge of the driveway and glanced over his shoulder, still regarding me with suspicion, which wasn’t entirely out of the ordinary.
To avoid the scrutiny, I shot him a glare I knew would make him uncomfortable.
I breathed a sigh of relief when he shook his head and finally turned to open the back door for Goldie.
We were in the clear.
But then tiny paws click-clacked on the hardwood floor behind me. And lo and behold, there was He-Man, coming out to say goodbye.
With the boxers clenched between his teeth.
Alice gasped when he came into view. In response to her reaction, Henri turned from where he was getting his daughter settled. In a flash, I picked He-Man up and balled the boxers beneath my arm to keep them concealed.
I hadn’t been quick enough, though, it seemed. Alice had definitely seen them, judging by the look of pure shock on her face.
“Can’t wait to see you at girls’ night on Thursday,” she said, narrowing her eyes. “We have so much to talk about.”
Hands shaking, I did the only thing I could think of. I shouted “bye” and then promptly slammed the door shut.
Finn was waiting for me in the kitchen, a murderous scowl firmly in place.
“I’m sorry,” I said, truly feeling awful for forcing him to hide. “I panicked.”
He nodded, taking the boxers out of my hand.
“Why are these wet?”
“He-Man was chewing on them.”
He ran his hands through his hair, frustration rolling off him. His anger was justified, but what else was I supposed to do? Introduce him, naked, to my niece and nephew?
“I get that this wasn’t the time or the place,” he said, as if he was reading my mind, “but you can’t shove me in a closet or a bathroom or a garage every time your family shows up. It’s bound to happen again in this godforsaken tiny town, and I won’t allow you to hide me forever.”
His thoughts on the matter were perfectly logical.
But it was still panic-inducing. My heart rate hadn’t even returned to normal after my near miss with my brother, and already, he was confronting me with things I wasn’t ready to work through yet.
What we had was great, and I was blissfully, ridiculously happy with him.
But this was still new, and I wasn’t sure how I’d handle the fallout with my family.
“You can’t hide from your feelings forever, Adele. We both know we’ve got something real here.”
Tentatively stepping up to him, I flattened my hand on his chest. “I know,” I said softly. “But I’m not sure what the next step is or even if I’m ready to take it.”
In order for me to settle into this, we needed a fully realized plan, preferably with an exit strategy if things went south. We couldn’t do this on a whim.
His nostrils flared in response to my confession, and agony swam in his eyes.
Okay, that was the wrong thing to say. “Please be honest with me. Before this goes any further. Are you ever going to be ready to tell them? Because if not, I can’t do this.
” He stepped back, putting a foot of distance between us.
“I can handle the gossip, and I can take all the hatred and rumors. But I won’t be hidden. Not forever.”
The defeat emanating from him was breaking my heart. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt Finn. He’d been so honest with me, so vulnerable, and he’d done nothing but build me up from the moment he showed up at Gagnon Lumber.
I was already so far outside my comfort zone. What were a few more steps?
“Soon. I need time to come up with a way to approach my family. You’re important to me, and I don’t want you to feel hidden. I panicked today. It won’t happen again.”
He put one palm on the island and tipped forward, dropping a soft kiss to my lips.
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll give you more time.”
“We need a plan,” I explained, “because this could go sideways.”
He cupped my cheek. “If things get bad, I’ll throw you over my shoulder and make a run for it. But we’re a team.”
Looking into those deep blue eyes, I believed him.
We were a team. I already depended on him more than I’d ever allowed myself to do with another person.
While that should terrify me, I was proud.
Lying and sneaking around was not what I wanted anymore.
This was real, and I only wanted our relationship to grow.
“But I want it all, Adele. So be ready.”