Page 52 of When We Were Us
I make a face. “I’m sorry, Finn.” I’d been waiting for her to talk about her separation since she mentioned it briefly that first day at Timber’s Treats.
She waves a hand through the air as if it’s no big deal. “It’s been a long time coming, honestly. Things with Jeff, they were good in the beginning. I thought he hung the moon when I met him. He was charming and sweet. Everything I thought I wanted. Rich.” She laughs. “But we haven’t been happy in a long time.”
“Still, you had to have cared about each other once. That’s something, even if it’s over,” I say, speaking more from experience than she knows.
To this, she nods. “Sure. I guess that’s true. He never understood why I was so hesitant to leave Timber Forge. I did for a while. Moved to Dallas for six years.”
She drops my gaze and looks down at her hands. When she raises them back up to meet mine, she looks a lot like eighteen-year-old Finnley.
“He used to tell me that I should just forget this town and everyone in it. I didn't have any family here after Mama died, and Hudson was long gone by then. So, I just…went along with it.”
She pauses and then continues. “He cheated last spring.” She shakes her head and there’s a wobble in her voice.
My heart hurts for my friend.
Our situations seem so similar. Even though Derek and I had been living as little more than roommates for almost a year, despite our engagement six months ago, I know the pain of finding your person with someone else. That gut-wrenching heartbreak of knowing you weren’t enough for them. I also know how easy it is to push that pain down and put on a brave face.
“I loved him once.” She looks up at me and gives me a resigned smile. “But I couldn’t stay. Not when he did that.”
“Of course.” Emotion chokes me and I have to take a sip of water.
Now, I want to be honest with Finnley after her confession. When I first came back to Timber Forge, I hadn’t expected to reconnect with anyone. However, now that I have, I can’t not share with her—even if just a bit—after she had been so open and honest with me. I hate that we both seemed to pick the entirely wrong types of men.
“My fiancé cheated on me, too.”
She huffs out a breath and her shoulders fall, as she searches my face with a frown. “Fucking men,” she says dejectedly and we both chuckle. “Was it recent?”
I nod, wishing I had more margarita, but my glass is empty. “Just before I came back.”
Her fork is halfway to her mouth, and she sets it down with a clink. “Before or after your granddad?”
“The day before.”
She shakes her head and sighs. “I’m sorry, Wren. That’s really shitty timing.”
It's my turn to snort. “You’re not kidding. She works for our company.”
Her mouth drops open, and she leans forward, her hair almost dragging through the sauce on her plate. “She works for you guys?”
“She’s one of our vet technicians. Specifically, his.” I laugh without emotion. “It gets better.”
I pause and she raises an eyebrow, unsure how that could possibly be true.
“I found them screwing in the back of my Range Rover.”
“That piece of shit.” She growls.
“He’s shaping up to be.”
She shakes her head and the look of sympathy she gives me makes me suddenly desperate to lighten the mood back up a bit. So, I hold up a hand. “So, your in-laws' names are Chip and Bunny?” I ask, cocking an eyebrow in amusement.
She crinkles up her nose and nods with a crooked smile. Her small frame shakes with laughter when she chokes out the next sentence: “His sister’s name is Bambi!” she whisper-exclaims.
My shoulders shake with laughter. It feels so good to laugh.
“And your husband’s name is Jeff? How did that happen? It's so...”
“Normal?” she asks, wiping her eyes with her napkin.
