Page 36 of Finn Rhodes Forever

“No, Olivia.” He watched me, eyebrows creasing. “I appreciate all the hard work you’ve put in. We never could have gone traveling if not for you holding down the fort last year.” He shook his head, sighing. “But I can’t help thinking you want to buy the place out of obligation, and in the end, we want you to be happy.”

I dragged in a shaky breath. “Can’t it be both?”

He shot me a sad smile before walking over and wrapping me in a bear hug.

“My mind is made up,” he said before dropping a quick kiss on the top of my head. “Okay?”

I nodded against his shoulder, feeling anxious and agitated even though I knew he was right.

* * *

“I can’t watchWildagain,”she protested.

“It’s been at least six months.” My thumb hovered over the button on the remote, ready to press play.

My mom huffed a laugh. My dad had headed to the bar and we were sitting in the living room eating takeout sushi, ready to put a movie on.

“Fine.” She sighed but I could see she didn’t mind that much. “We talk through it anyway.”

I started the movie and settled back into the couch.

She looked at me out of the corner of her eye. “Are you upset about the bar?”

My head tipped back against the back of the couch and I hummed. “I can see where you guys are coming from.” I knew in my gut it was the right choice, but that didn’t make it any more comfortable that my career safety net was falling out from beneath me. “I just—” I folded my arms over my plaid shirt. “Dad has done so much for us.”

“What do you mean?”

“Without him, who knows where we’d be? We wouldn’t have been able to buy this house from Grandma and Grandpa.” When I was born, my mom and Cole lived with her parents to save money. Cole moved out when they broke up shortly after I was born. My dad made them an offer on the house the day he proposed to my mom, when I was five. “We may not have been able to afford university for me.”

My mom frowned and searched my face. “Honey. You don’t owe Joe this. Those are the kind of things that dads do.”

Not all dads. The thought scraped, painful and raw. Some dads left. Some dads lost interest in their kids’ lives. Some dads lost touch.

Sometimes, I wondered if Cole even thought about me. Did he remember my birthday or my first word?

Joe did. He remembered every detail. He was there on every birthday, showed up to every parent-teacher conference, even picked me up from school when I got in trouble with Finn.

I let out a long sigh and flattened my mouth as I glanced at my mom.

“Baby,” she said softly, looping her arm around my shoulder. “We worry that you’re stuck.” She exhaled through her nose, looking pained. “You’re so focused on that flower, but what if you don’t find it?”

Her doubt seared me, and my stomach twisted. Another person who thought I was wasting my time.

“It feels like you’re treading water.” Her shoulders lifted. “And we’ve noticed that you don’t date.”

I choked. “I’ve dated.”

“No one serious, though.” Her expression changed and she rolled her eyes. “And we’re going to talk about this whole Finn thing.”

“It’s not what you think—”

“Hold on.” She put a hand up. “I just want to say, I think Joe selling the bar is a good thing. It’ll force you into the next phase of your life.” She gave me a soft look, full of love. “All we want is for you to live a full, happy life.” She searched my eyes. “Okay?”

I nodded, throat tight. “Yep. Okay.”

She squeezed my shoulder before pulling her arm back and I hesitated. Her eyebrow arched.

“So you’ve heard about me and Finn.”

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