Page 26 of Lies We Tell (Thistle Cove 3)

“We need to figure out who BD is.”

He nods, shoulders resigned. “Yeah, as much as I hate it. I think we do, too.”

13

Ozzy

I step outside the cottage and find Finn pacing a few feet away. He’s got a thick branch in each hand, the middle freshly split.

“You need to chill out, Bruce Banner.”

He glares at me and tosses the limbs into the woods. “I hate this.”

“I know. It’s scary.” It’s terrifying. Some creeper being in Rose’s house? Sending her intimate notes and clothing. It makes me feel sick. “Getting pissed isn’t going to help.”

“I just…I feel so fucking useless. All of this went on while I was right next door.” He kicks the dirt. “I can’t protect her if she doesn’t talk to me.”

“You mean like Rose.”

He frowns and runs his hands through his hair. “Yeah, like Rose, but worse. Kenley is—”

“Everything,” I finish for him. “I know, and I feel the same way. The idea of someone violating her privacy is disturbing, infuriating, nauseating…I can’t even figure out how to feel.”

Finn stares up at the trees, his breathing evening out.

“I told her I love her,” he confesses, “last night when she showed up in my room wearing—” he swallows, “she thought I bought it for her and she wore it for me. We wouldn’t have—”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do know it.” He looks at me. “We’d been taking it slow, and I was really happy to let her set the pace. So when she showed up like that I didn’t think twice, but she wouldn’t have come over if she didn’t think I’d encouraged it.” He grabs his hair. “I tried so fucking hard not to screw this up.”

“You didn’t,” a voice says.

We both turn and see Kenley on the cottage steps.

“Can Finn and I talk for a minute?” she asks.

“Sure.”

She grabs me as I walk past. “I’m sorry.”

“I know.” I pull her to me and kiss her on the forehead. “I don’t like it, but we’ll figure it out.”

Kenley gives me a tight smile and walks toward Finn. I know in my heart they have a complicated relationship. A lot of baggage and trust issues. They also love each other hard—too hard, maybe. Rose is the thorn that punctured them deep, and every time something like this happens, it just pours salt in that wound.

I look back at the two of them. Him angry and lost, her scared and defiant.

Hopefully they can sort his out.

14

Kenley

“You didn’t screw this up,” I say, walking over to Finn. I stand before him and place both my hands on his hips. “And you need to understand, that what happened with us, I have no regrets.”

“I wanted you to make the decision about when we slept together. I didn’t want there to be any question.” His hands hang by his side, balled in tight fists. “You thought I sent that to you and that made the decision for you.”

“Look,” I say, forcing eye contact, “I made that decision because I wanted to. I wanted you. I always have, and I always will. You told me you loved me last night, was that true?”

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