Page 97 of Finn Rhodes Forever

“About you selling the bar?” I arched a brow.

He nodded.

I thought about what my mom had said, and what Finn had said about how he only wanted to see me happy.

“Yeah,” I said, giving him a small smile. “I know you’ll pick the right person.”

“Good. You know I love you, right?”

I nodded, smiling wider. “Yep.” My throat was tight with emotion. “I love you, too.”

He pressed a quick kiss to my temple before walking away to introduce the next karaoke singer. A server dropped off a table’s order and I got to work mixing drinks.

My conversation with Finn resurfaced in my mind. I’d been replaying it over the past week, thinking about how different life might have been if we hadn’t kept secrets over the past decade. If he’d told me what my mom had said, if I told him that I missed him earlier… round and round I went, picturing different scenarios.

It broke my heart, hearing what my mom had said to Finn. I hadn’t talked to her since we got back from the hike. I didn’t know what I would say. She didn’t realize what she had done, but she had hurt Finn, helped him believe he wasn’t enough, and in the process, she had hurt me too.

In my mind, I saw Finn sitting by the fire, hair falling across his forehead, eyes shining in the firelight. He was so beautiful, it made my heart hurt.

My mouth hitched as I turned and glanced at the cartoon he had left on the bar for me tonight. I’d tucked it onto a shelf above the bar to keep it safe. Two birds holding hands with hearts swirling around their heads. This thing between us was becoming bigger than I had expected. Once I let go, once I let it grow out of my grasp, it was so easy between us. It felt meant to be.

I smiled to myself as I shook the cocktail shaker.

Finn was making me feel whole again.

Another person had been sneaking into my head lately—Cole. With Finn, I had been so certain things were the way I perceived them, but there had been another side to that story. A whole other person to factor in with their own experience, feelings, and baggage.

When I was a kid, Cole was younger than I was at present. When I was five, he was twenty-five. He was a kid with a kid. What if I lived my entire life without knowing him because of some stupid misunderstanding?

I kept hearing Finn’s voice saying how miserable Cole had seemed in Whistler. Maybe he regretted things with me and my mom.

Anxiety tightened in my chest but I breathed through it. I had to see for myself, or I might always regret it.

A woman about my age slipped onto the bar stool in front of me. Her long red hair was loose around her shoulders, and her tall, willowy frame made her navy blazer and dress shirt look like a magazine ad. She met my gaze with a tired expression.

“Hi,” I said, raising my eyebrows at her.

“I need booze,” she responded, leaning on her elbows, rubbing her temples. “All of that,” she added, referring to the liquor bottles stocked behind me.

I snorted. “Bad day?”

Her eyelashes fluttered as she frowned. “I have no idea. Long day, I guess.” She ordered an old-fashioned and I got to work. “I had an interview,” she added as I gathered ingredients. “For my dream job.” She winced and shook her head. “Sorry, I don’t talk to bartenders. I’m not that person.”

I laughed again and shrugged. “I don’t care. You can talk to me.”

This happened sometimes, people coming in alone to chat. Again, my mind flicked to Cole sitting alone in a bar, unloading his problems to the bartender. That joke that bartenders were a drunk’s therapist? It wasn’t a joke. I’d heard everyone in Queen’s Cove’s problems at some point.

“How’d the interview go?”

She leaned her chin on her palm. “No idea. I couldn’t read the interviewer at all.” She waved a hand over her face, making a blank expression. “He gave me nothing.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Bummer.” I slid her the drink.

“Yeah.” She held it up to me. “Thanks. Cheers.”

My eyes narrowed, studying her. I didn’t recognize her. “You’re not from here, right?”

She shook her head. “Vancouver. Well, a small town in Northern BC before that, but Vancouver for the last ten years.” She bit her lip. “I don’t know if I’m ready to go back to small-town life.”

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