29. Rune
Rune
Finn owns my dream house.
He fucking owns it.
“You have a house here. In Chicago,” I say flatly.
“Ye-es,” he says slowly.
“You didn’t mention it before.”
“Was that important?” He’s looking at me nervously, uncertain how to read my mood. I don’t know how to read my mood. This is pure insanity.
“Not really. Except I’ve walked past this house a thousand times and dreamed of living here someday when I was rich and successful.” I laugh at the absurdity of that statement. “This was the first place I came when I found out my ex was cheating on me. The second was Rowanberry Nook , the bookstore around the corner where I found your book. The owner said you’d dropped it off earlier that day.”
His face has gone slack. “I walked to the bookstore that day.”
“We could have passed each other on the street.”
We share a look of awe. Then he smiles, big. “I’m claiming this as a fucking sign. Come on in, let me show you around your dream house.”
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the inside of the house is as beautiful as the outside. But it truly is. Every so often, I tear up a bit and Finn holds my hand a little tighter. Neither of us can stop smiling. Neither of us can stop touching the other. Which means that it isn’t long before he gives me a tour of his bedroom and we make very appropriate use of the beautifully soft bed.
“You hungry?” Finn asks when we’ve finished, his finger trailing down my arm.
“Probably,” I reply, stretching contentedly. Finn’s beds are amazing. I wonder where he gets them from. “I don’t want to leave this bed. I wonder how long it would take you to get sick of me if I just stayed here forever.”
His eyes take me in. “Honestly, I’d probably be ok with it.”
“I wish I knew where Jules went off to. She’s not answering my texts.”
“Hm,” is all Finn says. But it’s the way he says it that has me suddenly suspicious.
“Do you know where she is?”
A clanging sound echoes from downstairs.
“Oh look, the doorbell. Why don’t we go see who’s here?” Finn doesn’t bother trying to hide his grin as we pull our clothes back on and he gestures for me to lead the way.
I fling open the door, expecting either a food delivery or my sister. And yes, Jules is standing there—along with a small group of very familiar people.
“Happy New Year,” Danielle waves wildly with one hand, the other holding tight to Brian’s arm. Aunt Mairi, Ella, and Courtney are just behind, carrying an assortment of shopping bags.
“What—how?” I step aside to let everyone in, returning hugs as they’re handed out.
Finn efficiently directs the bags towards the kitchen and soon has everyone settled into the living room with drinks and cozy ambient music playing in the background. Multi-colored holiday lights line the ceiling; in the windows are white Scandinavian-style candelabras.
“How did you get here?” I ask to no one in particular, while Jules animatedly recaps the highlights of last night’s ball.
“He flew us down,” says Ella. No need to ask who he is. “He must really like you.”
“I guess,” I say. I catch Finn’s glance and offer a little smile. I hope he understands. I hope he knows how much this means. He merely winks.
“It’s also a little bit over the top, if we’re being totally honest,” Courtney says, but she looks amused more than anything.
“It is.” And I really fucking love it.
As it turns out, Finn wasn’t the only mastermind behind this New Year’s get-together and the full story quickly unfolds with contributions from nearly everyone.
“I’d already been planning a surprise visit with Danielle’s help,” Jules begins. “Thankfully, Aunt Mairi promised to make sure Rune returned to Chicago to make my surprise work.”
“I was told to make sure you made it home by Christmas morning, even if I had to kick you out of the house to make it happen.” Aunt Mairi smiles.
“The one real variable was Finn. Fortunately, he did his part to ensure that you did, in fact, leave when you said,” Courtney says, earning a pained smile from Finn. I slip my hand into his and give it a little squeeze, which he returns.
But it was Finn who reached out to Courtney, of all people, for advice. And since she knew about Jules’ intended visit, she put him in contact with my sister.
“The rest is history. I got to claim credit for a really awesome Christmas gift and play the role of matchmaker at the same time.” Jules gives Finn a high-five.
I don’t think my heart could get any more full.
Not today, not ever.
“Happy?” Jules asks later, curling up next to me in the corner of the massive L-shaped couch. Courtney and Ella are arguing about vacation destinations and Aunt Mairi is deep in conversation with Danielle.
“Yeah,” I say, looking around. “I can’t believe this.”
“And to think just yesterday you were willing to throw it all away.” She gives me a knowing look. She’s going to hold this over my head for years to come.
“I’m an idiot,” I admit.
“You are. Good thing you have a really spectacular big sister who’s willing to save your ass, huh?”
“Good thing,” I grin at her, even though a twinge of anxiety accompanies her teasing. I really was about to tuck all of my feelings away, all because I was scared of opening myself up. Of being truly, wholly vulnerable. Jules was right—I can admit that now. Just as much as I can admit that I’m wholly, completely undeserving of Finn. While I was mentally preparing to let him go, he was working hard to give us a real chance.
“I’m so lucky,” I breathe, stretching out my foot to prod Finn, who’s chatting entrepreneurship mumbo jumbo with Brian. He reaches down to wrap a warm hand around my ankle.
“You deserve good things, Rune,” says Jules, watching the small interaction. “Seems like he might, too. Cheers to a new year and new love, baby sister. May only good things be on the horizon.”
I wiggle my toes and Finn glances over at me. My breath catches in my lungs at the look of pure affection on his face. I shift onto my knees and lean towards him.
“I can’t believe you did this,” I say, laying my head against his shoulder.
One arm wraps around me, holding me close as he presses a kiss against my hair.
“I can’t believe you said yes.”