Page 63 of The Complication with the Best Man

My hands drop to my sides. As annoying as it is sometimes, I know my mom is coming from a good place. Oh god, that’s going to be me some day offering unsolicited advice to this little one, isn’t it? The thought makes me want to groan, but the realization tempers my mood.

“I know, Mom. Honestly, Finn and I have discussed it, and we both feel it’s best to remain friends only.”

To my surprise, she looks almost disappointed by this news. Isn’t that what she just warned me about?

“All right, well, your dad and I would like to have you and Finn over for dinner so we can get to know him a little better. We were talking about it last night. We’ve laid off so that you guys could settle into… whatever you’ve settled into. Your brother will be back in town for a while once his season is done next week. How does that sound?”

I give her a tight smile. It doesn’t sound ideal to me, but the fact is that Finn will be a part of their lives too, and it would make things easier if they at least knew him by more than his name and face.

“Just let me know a date, and I’ll check with Finn and his work schedule.”

She squeezes my shoulder. “Perfect. Well, I’m off. Your dad and I are headed over to Savannah and Liam’s for game night, and you know how she gets when you’re late.”

We both laugh. My aunt can be a bit of a drill sergeant sometimes and is known to be super competitive on game nights.

“Have fun and tell them I said hi.”

“Will do. I’ll send Finn back your way.” She waves over her shoulder and disappears around the corner.

I return the bottle in my hand to where it belongs and look for the bottle I want. A minute later, I’m hunched down, grabbing said bottle from the bottom shelf.

“Let me do that.”

I turn my head to find Finn rushing down the aisle, pushing the cart in front of him.

“I’m fine.” I grab the bottle and straighten. “There will be a time soon enough when I can’t pull off that maneuver, and you can grab them. You don’t need to baby me yet.”

“I’m not trying to baby you.” He takes the pill bottle from me and sets it in the cart. “I’m just trying to be helpful.”

“You are. You have been.” I glance behind him to make sure my parents are out of sight. “Sorry about the parental ambush.”

He shrugs. “That’s okay. I’ve been wanting to meet your parents anyway.”

“You were?”

“Yeah.” He heads down the aisle, and I walk beside him. “They’re going to be the grandparents of our child. I feel like I should develop some kind of relationship with them, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, for sure.”

He smiles and holds out his hand. “Let’s see what’s left on the list so we can get out of here and start that lasagna. I’m starving.”

I dig into my pocket and pull out the now crinkled piece of paper, passing it to him.

I know I just told my mom that nothing will happen between Finn and me, but he’s making it really hard when he shows what a great guy he is. At least he’ll be a great dad.

twenty-five

FINN

I’m back in Anchorage with Harper. There are only a handful of maternity clothing stores in Alaska, and we’re at one of them.

Her stomach is only a little bigger, but she mentioned that the waists of her dress pants are getting snug and uncomfortable, so I suggested we go see if she could find something she’d be more comfortable in.

Shopping is far from my favorite thing to do, but that’s beside the point. Harper needs something to wear throughout this pregnancy, and when I take a look at the first price tag on a sweater when we get into the store, I can see that this will cost a small fortune. She’ll only be wearing these clothes for a few months.

“I want to pay for half of whatever we get here today.”

She whips her head around from a dark green dress she’s looking at on the rack. She wears green a lot—probably since it looks good on her. “I don’t need you to buy my clothes, Finn.”

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