Page 32 of Something Unforgettable

Nick just smirked at him. “Only in the best way,” he said, wandering over to the sofa and dropping down, arm over the back so he could still see them at the table. “Just admit that gifts are your love language and move on.”

“Giving gifts isn’t a love language—receiving them is,” Ev said. “But I still think you should take the phone, Finny. For one thing, I need to be able to call you.”

Micah stuck out his hand to Ev. “Hey, I’m Micah, and the guy who doesn’t know how love languages work is my boyfriend, Nick. He’s Xavier’s ex-husband.”

Ev shook his hand in return. “Ev. Finny’s mentioned you. You and your husband are both dating Nick, right?”

Finn glanced at Micah to gauge his reaction, but Micah didn’t seem to mind that Finn had been gossiping with his best friend.

“Yep. And you’re Finn’s friend from Chicago. Welcome to Split Rock.”

Xavier squeezed Finn’s hand. “I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable, sweetheart,” he said, low enough that the others didn’t notice. “I just want to make things easier for you. Take some of the load off your shoulders while your grandfather is sick.”

Finn bit his lower lip to stop it from wobbling, then nodded. Putting the box back down on the bed, he wrapped his arms around Xavier’s waist and hugged him as well as he could with the bulky brace. “Thank you,” he murmured into Xavier’s chest.

Xavier’s hand went to Finn’s hair, stroking along the back of his head as he returned the hug. “You’re welcome, little one.”

Finn let out a shaky sigh, not sure why a gift, no matter that it was much too extravagant, was making him weepy. Maybe it was just everything that had happened since last night. He felt like he’d been on an emotional roller coaster.

“Aren’t they just too cute?” Micah asked from somewhere behind them.

“Cuter than kittens. Or baby bunnies,” Ev said. “Oh, or those little anime guys with the giant heads and tiny bodies.”

Finn buried his laugh in Xavi’s shirt.

“Oh, man, Xavi,” Nick said. “You are so gone. I should have pushed you harder a year ago when you couldn’t stop making eyes at him at family dinner.”

Finn risked a peek up at Xavier’s face and found his cheeks pink. Nick had actually made him blush! Was Nick right? Was Xavier gone on him? He hid against Xavier’s chest again, not sure if he was ready for the answer to that.

When they moved back to the seating area, Nick took one chair while Xavier took the other, and Micah pulled Finn down on the sofa between him and Ev. Then Micah threw his arm across the back cushions and leaned into Finn’s side.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” he said to Finn, eyes on his splinted wrist. “My dad told me a little about what happened. How’s Mac?”

Finn shrugged. “They’re still doing tests, since he was so out of it when they brought him in. We’re going back to visit him again tomorrow.” He didn’t want to get into the whole memory issue. He didn’t think he could handle Micah’s sympathy.

“Well, let me know what I can do. Do you need help with the store? I’ve never worked a cash register, but I’ve been in there enough times to help customers find things.” He gave Finn a winning smile. “I’m great with customer service.”

Finn knew he was. He’d heard stories about the trail rides Micah took tourists on out at the ranch, and how all the women ended up half in love with him by the end—only to be disappointed to find out that he was not only taken but had two extremely hot partners.

“I’ll let you know,” he promised. Things were going to be difficult without Pops, and Grace was wonderful, but she could only do so much on her own. Finn was going to have to pick up the slack and he found himself dreading the idea. He didn’t want to run the store on his own. He wanted Pops there with his surliness and his embarrassing jokes.

Finn looked away and found Xavier watching him. “Okay?” Xavier mouthed, raising an eyebrow in question. Finn shrugged, then gestured to his arm. It was throbbing more than before and he kind of wanted that nap now. Or at least to lie down in the dark and quiet and not have to talk to anyone or make any decisions about the future.

Xavier must have understood, because a few minutes later, Micah and Nick were on their way out. Nick gave Xavier a back-slapping hug, while Micah hugged Finn, then Nick ruffled his hair.

“That offer to help comes from all of us. You need anything—” Nick looked at Xavier “—either of you. You call us.”

Finn gave him a nod while Micah and Ev exchanged phone numbers—they were already planning to follow each other on social media. Finn stayed away from that stuff; it was too negative for him.

Once they were gone, Xavier retrieved Finn’s painkillers and a glass of water.

Ev queued up a new movie on the TV, and when Xavier joined them on the end of the sofa Micah had vacated, Ev nudged Finn in his direction. Finn took his medicine, drank his water, and let Xavier draw him into his arms and arrange him with his head on Xavier’s chest. Ev got a blanket from somewhere and draped it over them. Finn didn’t make it through the opening sequence before drifting off.

He woke when he was lifted from his cozy spot on the sofa. He must have made a sound expressing his displeasure because Xavier shushed him as he carried him to the bed. He watched through blurry eyes as Xavier helped Ev get settled on the sofa bed, then returned to crawl in next to Finn. Finn reached for him and Xavier drew him back into his arms, where Finn, warm and content, dropped back to sleep.

Thenextmorning,Xaviertook control of things more than he should have. He sent Finn to shower with his arm wrapped in plastic while he went over to the main house to get breakfast for the three of them from Miss Crystal. The older woman with the amazing head of rainbow hair fussed over him and asked after “your boy and his friend.” Xavier assured her Finn was feeling much better and agreed that they would love to have a plate of her award-winning cookies later in the day.

He took a call from Asher on the way back to the cottage and lost a few minutes as they planned for switching his more important meetings to virtual. Back inside, Finn was sitting on the bed, scrolling through his new phone. The water in the bathroom was still running, so Ev must have been taking his turn.

---