Page 6 of The Wedding Bargain

"No, I was being careless," he says. "Just...you know. Trying to catch this little guy."

He lifts up a little dog in his arms and I squeal despite myself. It's an adorable dachshund puppy, wagging its tail at me as I cover my mouth.

"Youdidn't," I say. "Is it yours?"

"Tasha and Chance's," he grins. "They're accumulating dogs faster than anything at this point. Keep saying they're gonna have another kid, but I think they're just going to getmore little dogs."

I take the dog without asking, and it starts licking my face happily. Its tail wags enthusiastically, and I squeeze it tight. "Are they here right now? Tasha and Chance, I mean--I talked to Sam the other day and she said they're doing great."

Finn nods, his eyes bright as he watches me interact with the puppy. "Yeah, they're over by the food trucks. You wanna go say hi?"

I hesitate, feeling the weight of Steven's absence on my mind. But then Finn is grinning at me and the puppy is nuzzling my chin and I can't say no.

"Sure," I say, handing the puppy back to Finn. "Lead the way."

We make our way through the crowded market, me following Finn's broad back as he navigates through the scattered crowd. I can't help but notice the way heads turn as we pass by, the way eyes linger on Finn's muscular arms and broad shoulders.

He's always been popular, always been the center of attention. It's one of the things that drew me to him when we were kids--his easy charm and casual confidence. I was the quiet wallflower, he was the hottest guy in school.

And he still always hung out with me.

Why did he do that?

What did he see in me?

"You talked to Sam," he says, making conversation. "So...does that mean you're going to the wedding?"

I nod and laugh softly. "Of course I am; I'm in the wedding party. I'm really happy for her."

Finn nods, his eyes fixed on me as we walk. "Me too. She deserves all the happiness in the world."

"She really does," I say. "When I first met her, I didn't think she would ever get over her husband who passed...but then she met Evan and it was like...it was like everything changed."

"It really was," Finn says. "I wish I could find that again."

I frown. "You had someone special?"

He flushes bright red.

"Uh...yeah, just someone I was seeing a bit ago," he mutters. "You don't know her."

I glance at him, wondering if there's something more behind his words. But then we reach the food truck area and I see Tasha and Chance waving us over, and I forget all about it.

Tasha and Chance are both beaming when we reach them, Tasha pulling me into a tight hug. "Jenny! Oh my God, it's so good to see you!"

I hug her back, feeling a little overwhelmed by all the attention. "You too," I say. "Congratulations, by the way--I hear you're running out of room at home."

Tasha laughs, shaking her head. "Yeah, we're working on it. I'm sure our parents would prefer if we had more babies instead of puppies...but here we are. And the puppies aresupercute."

"I have to agree," I laugh, reaching out to scratch the puppy behind the ears. "Although...your kid is pretty cute too. Lyra, you've gotten so big!"

I give their daughter a one-armed hug when she reaches for me. She's just as outgoing as her uncle, and even has the same freckles.

Ugh...Finn would probably have a really cute baby.

With some other, gorgeous, outgoing girl.

"It's hard enough taking care of a toddler, but Tasha seems intent on adopting as many puppies as possible," Chance grins. "Finn's been a huge help, though--he's been taking care of the dogs when we're at work."

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