Page 31 of A Hard Fit

“Busy,” he answered. “What do you want?”

“Liz was saying you’re a hard guy to get a hold of.”

“Yeah, well…” Finn shook his head, wanting to laugh. “Here I am.”

“Look, Finn. I just wanted to tell you…” She paused again, the silence on the line louder than the traffic rolling by at the end of the block. “Things haven’t been great for Liz lately.”

A twinge in Finn’s gut. “What do you mean?”

“She’s splitting from Neil. He’s dragging it through court. She’s a mess, so are the kids.”

“Pretty sure I said not to marry that asshole.”

“Christ, Finn. What good does that do anyone right now?”

Finn closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “What do you want, Mel?”

“I wanted you to know about Liz. Maybe you should reach out. She could use some support. So could her kids.”

Finn’s eyes snapped open.No. There’s no way…“Are you asking me formoney?”

“Your sister needs some help, Finn. You got the house, no kids—”

A laugh choked from his throat. “Which you both love to remind me, endlessly.”

“Well, it’s true.”

“You are un-fucking-believable. The last time I saw Liz in person she told me I was a selfish prick, and you—I’ve gotta go, Mel.”

“Finn—”

He hung up.

He was going to need a lot more beer.

When he got back to their tables, it looked like everyone was there now. Luka and Tawney were throwing darts, and Morgan was throwing himself at Thomas.

“Everything okay?” Rory asked, watching Finn grab the pitcher and slosh another round into his glass.

Finn took a long pull, heart racing. “Yeah,” he said, once he had thumped his glass back down. “Fine.” And another drink.

“It’s just that… I don’t mean to pry, but you don’t really look okay.”

Finn drained that glass and poured another. “Yeah.” He shook his head, then jammed a curl behind his ear. “That was my mom.”

“Oh.” Rory didn’t say anything else, just waited.

The words bubbled up his throat. “Remember how I said things weren’t great with my sister? My mom is like…a whole lot worse than that.” He took a gulp of his beer. “She was barely around, she never gave a shit about me and Liz but Liz was always on her side, like I was the one being a dick and I—” He shook his head. Another gulp. “I try to keep them out of my life now.”

“That’s fair,” Rory said softly. “It’s up to you who you want in your life.”

“Right. I want people…who care, you know?” He looked up to meet Rory’s eyes. They were soft and warm and he tumbled right into them.

“I know,” Rory said. They placed their hand on Finn’s forearm and squeezed.

Finn had to look away when the eye contact threatened to send his heart throbbing right out of his chest and into a quivering pile on the table. As his gaze wandered, he caught sight of something new in the back corner behind the bar.

“You like pool?” he asked Rory.

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