Page 73 of Better Luck Next Time

Dottie gave them the satisfied smile of a cat drunk on milk (another of his grandfather’s favorite sayings). “Oh, the energy pouring off you two. Red and purple and green.”

“That’s a lot of colors, Dottie,” Finn said. “I think all of those blended together would be black.”

“You and River,” she said, tut-tutting, “you boys are both such literal thinkers sometimes.”

“Returning to the situation at hand,” Finn said. “Can I let her out?”

Jezebel was still bucking against her containment, but she’d stopped hissing and spitting—or maybe she hadn’t stopped, precisely, but it wasn’t quite so loud.

Tyrion whined a little and edged farther away, as if asking him to stay put.

“That settles it,” Adalia said with a smile. “You live there now. That spot is your new home.”

She was teasing, obviously, but a part of him remembered what his house had felt like the night they’d cooked dinner, the feeling of fullness. Of possibility. It had almost been like—

The plastic laundry crate cracked loudly, and Jezebel burst out of it, her mouth wide open, her needle-sharp teeth bared, and lunged at Finn’s hand.

He screamed and leapt backward, only to realize that of course he shouldn’t leave Adalia and Dottie and Tyrion at her mercy.

But she didn’t even bother with Tyrion, who’d rolled even further onto his back, displaying every bit of his belly, as if to assure her he would never think of challenging her. She merely sniffed in an aggrieved manner, jumped back onto the counter, and started licking up the splashes of smoothie Tyrion hadn’t been able to reach.

“Well, I guess the smoothie wasn’t such a crazy idea,” Finn said.

“Yes,” Dottie said, “our combined approaches really did the trick. I expect the two darlings will get on quite well when all is said and done.”

Adalia, who’d been watching with wide eyes, burst into laughter, bending over with the force of it. “Your face,” she said to Finn between puffs of air. “And that scream.”

He felt his face flush. “Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. Your hand wasn’t in the danger zone.”

But that just made her laugh harder, so much so there were tears running down her face, and then he was laughing too, and Tyrion eyed them curiously from his position on the ground, as if wondering what kind of a funny farm he’d stumbled into this time.

“Yes,” Dottie said in a satisfied tone. “I’m very happy with the energy in here.”

So was Finn.

Three hours later, he rolled into his parents’ driveway, wishing he could have stayed with Adalia, feeling a strange ache like he already missed her. Was that a thing? Missing someone after only a few hours apart? Maybe he just felt a little uneasy about what had happened right before he left—Adalia had gotten multiple back-to-back text alerts on her phone, and after checking them, she’d hurried him out like she feared he’d give Tyrion fleas. He couldn’t help but wonder if it was Alan again. But surely she would have told him if that creep was still bothering her?

He shot off a quick text:Hope Tyrion is still doing okay.

He tapped the side of the phone with his finger. He was tempted to type out something about the texts she’d received just before he left. But that would be weird, right? They probably weren’t at a point where he could just flat out ask her.

Three dots appeared, indicating she was typing something, and then a photo of Tyrion came through, Jezebel perched on his back.

The dog looked, understandably, nervous.

Adalia:I’m afraid to make any sudden moves in case she snaps. Guess Jack’s not the only cat whisperer.

Finn:You said he’s coming back tonight?

Adalia:I just heard from him. He’s taking a red-eye again, the psychopath.

That brought out a smile, but a quick glance up at the house revealed his mother was peering at him from behind the living room curtain. She’d never been the sort to come out running and sweep him into a hug. She wasn’t like Dottie. Still, he knew she wanted to see him. This was her way, even if it wasn’t the approach he would have preferred.

Finn:Duty calls. Have fun tonight.

Adalia:Thanks. Dottie’s going to make me dinner. River and Georgie are coming over too. Hope you have fun too.

Another three dots showed up, but this time she didn’t write anything. He wanted to wait for her reply to come, but his mother was still staring out at him, probably wondering why in the world he was making them wait when he was already forty-five minutes behind schedule.

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