Page 108 of Better Luck Next Time

“Oh, but I did,” she said. “There’s no emergency like an emergency of the heart.”

It was the kind of thing she said that would usually have River and Finn exchanging fond but beleaguered looks, but it felt weightier today. Truer.

His gaze shot behind the house, to the shed where he’d seen Adalia that day, and he nodded.

Dottie ushered him inside, pushing a piece of clear quartz into his hand.

It had been a while since she’d foisted a crystal on him.

“What’s this one for?” he asked.

“Healing,” she said.

He stuck it in his pocket. Because he wasn’t going to lie and say he didn’t need that.

There was a rumble of conversation in the kitchen, and when they stepped in, Maisie and River got to their feet.

They didn’t look so antagonistic now, so maybe something had been settled between them, or maybe Maisie had gotten used to pretending again.

“I told you there’d be consequences,” Maisie said, giving him a fake punch on the arm. “You just didn’t realize you were going to be ambushed with a teapot and a spread of finger food.”

Indeed, Dottie had pulled out all the stops. It looked like the kind of tea that would be served in one of those Regency movies, which made him feel a little pang. Adalia would have gotten a real kick out of it, but she would never have shown up, knowing he was present.

River patted him on the back. “Take a seat. Tell us what happened.”

“You’re not pissed at me?” he asked in wonder. He’d figured he would be. That he’d be mad that Finn had managed to bungle things so badly with his girlfriend’s sister, but there was no judgment on River’s face.

“You look like someone just drowned your puppy,” River said.

“Hey,” Maisie griped. “Not cool. Use a less disturbing analogy next time.”

They sat again, across from each other, and Dottie took the chair next to Maisie. He sat down next to River, looking down at the cup of tea in front of him. The leaves in the last one had shown Dottie that he was destined to fall in love with Adalia, or so she’d implied. What would this cup tell her?

“Well?” Dottie prodded gently. “You’re not usually at a loss for words. Tell us. We’re here to listen.”

“And to help,” River said. “You’re not the only one who looks—”

Maisie shot him a warning look, and River finished with “—like someone peed in your cornflakes.”

“You just said that to bother me,” she muttered, and River tilted his head and smiled. Finn was caught up on the implication that Adalia was feeling this way too. That maybe he hadn’t imagined the despair on her face as she walked out his door.

“Children,” Dottie said severely. “Focus. And take some petit fours. They aren’t going to eat themselves.”

Because there was no denying Dottie, they all took some food from the spread. Finn had lost his appetite, but there was something about Dottie’s food. It was more healing, he would guess, than the crystal that was now lodged in his pocket.

“Now, Finn, we’d like to know everything.”

So he told them about last Wednesday, skipping over the sex, although Dottie gave him a knowing look when he said they’d “hung out” at his house for several hours, and ending with a detailed description of the argument they’d had, followed by her hasty retreat and the text he’d received last night.

“She didn’t tell you anything about Alan?” River asked.

“No,” he said, feeling that strange sinking sensation in his gut again. “Only the initial story, but Georgie made it sound like something else was going on. That he’s been bothering her. I…I have to wonder if she still has feelings for him. The text that he sent her a couple of weeks ago was an attempt to wheedle his way back into her good graces.”

River snorted. “Oh, she has feelings for him all right. She hates his guts, and with good cause.”

Something loosened in Finn at that. At least she wasn’t thinking about forgiving the man for what he’d done. At least she hadn’t left him because she was in love with someone else.

“So,” Maisie said, her tone blunt. “Maybe you can enlighten us about what’s happening? You clearly know, and Finn needs to know too. Because I know people, and Adalia isnotacting in her best interest here. She’s miserable over this. You’re not doing her, or her sister, any favors by keeping quiet.”

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