by Marie Force
He was twenty-seven and had never experienced “chemistry” with a woman like he’d had with her from the first minute his head bounced off hers. His thoughts were a jumbled mess of confusion and disappointment. Women weren’t usually much of a mystery to him. Missy was the only real “girlfriend” he’d had. Since he’d been on the island, they had been off-again, but she’d always been there in the background, making it clear that he was the one she wanted when the time came to settle down—not that he’d encouraged that line of thinking in any way. These days, he thought of her more as a good friend than anything more significant.
His family didn’t care for her, and his brother and father had gone so far as to come right out and tell him he could do better than Missy. Sure, she could be a bit clingy and needy at times. But he’d never met anyone he liked better than her. After one night with Chloe, he felt like he’d gotten a firsthand look at everything that was missing with Missy.
Dynamic conversation, sizzling attraction, a desire to know more about her. There’d never been any mystery to Missy. Whereas she was the proverbial open book, Chloe was closed off, contained, reserved, cautious. Finn hadn’t known those things would appeal to him until he’d met her.
Whatever. She wasn’t interested, and he wasn’t about to let a couple of hours with an intriguing woman upend his plans. He was almost to his house when he decided to go to the Beachcomber. A beer with his dad and brother would be just what he needed after a strange day. Because of Race Week, the Beachcomber parking lot was nearly full. He squeezed the truck into the last available space and headed inside, bending his head against the chilly breeze coming in off the water. It took until about mid-June to really warm up on Gansett, and even then, the evenings were cool for much of the summer.
The first thing he saw when he walked into the bar was Riley’s back. Though Finn couldn’t see through his brother, he had no doubt that Nikki occupied the stool that Riley stood guard over. The two of them were inseparable, the way he and Riley had been before his brother fell for Nikki. In the last few months, Finn had settled into the new normal of having to share Riley with someone else for the first time in their lives.
He nudged his brother, who looked at him with surprise.
“Hey! You made it!”
Chelsea sat on the stool next to Nikki, his dad on the other side of Chelsea.
Riley signaled to the bartender and ordered a beer for Finn. “Thought you had other plans?”
“Plans change.” Finn took a sip of the beer. “What goes on around here?”
“Chelsea is having weird contractions.”
Finn glanced at her. He still found it strange to think of her as his stepmother. “Is that normal?”
Chelsea shrugged. “Victoria says it is.”
Nikki placed a hand on Chelsea’s baby belly. “It’s so cool how you can feel her moving around in there.”
Finn raised a brow. “Her? Do you guys know something I don’t?”
“Nik is psychic.” Riley smiled all the time when she was around. “She has a feeling.”
Kevin took hold of Chelsea’s hand and brought it to his lips. “A little girl would be fine with us. As long as she is healthy.”
Standing in a room full of people, surrounded by loved ones, Finn was lonelier than he had ever been. His dad and Riley would do anything for him. He knew that, but Nikki and Chelsea came first with them, as they should. That left him the odd man out in his own family.
“I wanted to tell you guys that I’m going home after the Wayfarer’s opening.” Finn hadn’t planned to tell them until closer to his departure so they couldn’t talk him out of it. But the words were out before he could consider whether the timing was right.
“You won’t be here when the baby arrives,” Chelsea said, looking sad.
“I’ll come visit.”
His dad eyed him with the laser-sharp intellect that had made it impossible to get away with anything when he and Riley were younger. “What’s so pressing at home?”
“I talked to Clint. He needs a foreman and offered me the job as long as I can be there by June first. Since the lease on the house is up on May thirty-first, I told him I’d be there.”
Nikki made a playful pout face. “I was excited about you living in the garage apartment for the summer. I’ve got it all fixed up for you.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I didn’t mind.”
Finn felt Riley staring at him. “What?”
“Have you told Mac yet?”
“I was going to talk to him at Janey’s.” Their cousin was hosting a celebration for the crew that had renovated the Wayfarer, a family effort that had involved some family more than others, thus Janey’s desire to feed everyone who’d done the heavy lifting for the rest of them.
“He’s going to be bummed. I think he’s counting on you for the summer and then the hotel reno.”
Mac and the crew would be doing a refresh of McCarthy’s Gansett Island Inn in North Harbor after the summer. There was no shortage of construction work on the island to keep them busy year-round, and Mac had cultivated a sterling reputation that had them turning down more work than they could take on.
“Enough with the guilt trip. It’s time to go. I never signed on to be a lifer when I came to Laura’s wedding.” To his own ears, Finn sounded like a petulant child. The subtle lift of his father’s brow confirmed that he sounded that way to them, too. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to let everyone down. I just want to go home.”
“Because of Missy?”
His brother’s question infuriated Finn. It was none of his business.
Riley nodded in response to his own question. “It is because of her.”
“Shut up, Riley.”
Nikki squeezed Riley’s forearm. “Leave him alone, Ri.”
Finn sent Nikki a grateful glance. “It’s not about Missy. It’s about me and what I want that can’t be found here.”
“What’s that?” Riley sounded genuinely baffled, probably because he’d found everything he could want or need in Nikki. He could no longer understand how anyone wouldn’t want to live on a remote island for the rest of their lives.
“You wouldn’t get it.”
“Try me.”
“More. I want more than what can be found here. Since when is that a crime?”
“It’s not a crime, but I thought you liked it here.”
“I do. I did.” Finn shook his head. The restless, edgy feelings that were so much a part of him lately arose once again to remind him of why he wanted a change. But how could he explain the reasons to the others when he didn’t understand them himself? “Forget I said anything.” He downed the rest of his beer and put a ten on the bar. “I’ll see you.”
“Finn—”
Finn heard Nikki say something to Riley but didn’t stick around to find out what. He thought he’d made a clean getaway when he heard his dad calling him. Rolling his eyes, he expelled a deep breath and turned to find out what the good doctor had to say. He always had something to say. “What’s up, Dad?”
“I was going to ask you the same thing. You’re out of sorts tonight.”
“Maybe a little. It happens to all of us, right?”
“Everything okay?”
“Yep. Sorry if I upset Chelsea by saying I’m leaving.”
“You didn’t. She’s disappointed you won’t be here when the baby is born. We both are.”
“I don’t mean to disappoint you.”
“We’ll get over it. What can I do for you?”
The question and the concern were quintessential Kevin McCarthy, who’d always been there for his sons. “Nothing. I’m fine. I’m just ready to get back to normal.”
“I’ll miss you. We all will. Won’t be the same here without you.”
“Don’t guilt-trip me.”
“I don’t mean to. I’m just telling you how I feel. I got used to having you around again and seeing you every day. I’ll miss you when you’re gon
e.”
“You’ll be so busy with Chelsea and the baby that you won’t even notice.”
“You’re right. I’ll be busy, but I will notice you’re not here. Trust me on that.”
“Look, I appreciate that you guys like having me around. I like having you around, too, but this place isn’t real life, at least not for me.”
“Fair enough. I hope that no matter where you go, you’ll find what you’re looking for.”
“So do I.”
“I’m always here for you. I hope you know that.”
“Of course I do. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”
“Sounds good. Sleep well.”
“You, too.” Finn walked away from his father feeling unsettled and uncertain about the plan that had made perfect sense to him only a few hours ago. The push-pull of Chloe’s rejection coupled with his family’s dismay about his pending departure had him questioning everything.
Maybe he should stay until the baby was born. But the baby wasn’t due until mid-June, and he’d promised Clint he’d be back by the first. If he stayed for June, he would end up staying for the summer to finish whatever Mac had lined up for them next. And the cycle would continue.
No, it was time to go.
Chapter 4
Over the next few days, Finn dedicated himself to working long hours to help finish the final punch list at the Wayfarer. To celebrate the finish line and as a thank-you to the family members who’d done most of the work, his cousin Janey was having everyone over for dinner, which would be fun.
As he hung stall doors in the women’s restroom, Finn was looking forward to the gathering and some family fun after working through the weekend to get everything done. Although, he was also dreading having to tell Mac he was leaving.
He was hanging the last of six doors when he heard Riley calling for him.
“In here.”
“Hey, there’s someone here for you. Chloe?”
Finn was so surprised, he nearly dropped the heavy door on his foot.
Riley leaned against the wall. “Something you want to tell me?”
“Nope.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yep. Don’t you have stuff to do?” Finn put down the door, leaning it carefully against the wall.
“Want me to finish that for you?”
“No need. I can do it when I get back.”
“From where?”
“Chloe wanted to see the Wayfarer. I’m going to show it to her. End of story.”
“That sounds like the start of a new story.”
“It’s not like that.”
Riley studied him intently. “You’ve been acting weird lately. What’s up with you?”
“Nothing is up with me. Move so I can get by, will you?”
Riley stepped aside, but Finn felt his brother watching as he went out to the main part of the building to find Chloe. Today she wore a denim jacket that covered her colorful arm and black jeans that hugged her sexy curves. Her hair was in a ponytail, and her head was tipped back as she studied the complex set of beams that secured the structure from the inside.
“What do you think?” Finn asked when he joined her.
“I’m trying to figure out how you did that.”
“Carefully. It took four freezing days in February, two cherry pickers and seven men to make the building hurricane-proof. Those were some good times.”
A smile lit up her extraordinary violet eyes. He found himself staring at the face he’d tried—and failed—to forget after she gave him the brush-off.
“How did you get cherry pickers in here?”
“See those walls of windows over there?” He pointed to the beach side of the building. “They open like garage doors to bring the outdoors inside in the summer.”
“That’s very cool.” She shifted her gaze from the windows to him. “I was impossibly rude to you the other night, and I apologize. I’ve felt bad about it ever since.”
“You weren’t rude. You were honest.”
“I wasn’t, actually.”
Was it his imagination or was she blushing? The idea of this badass woman blushing did funny things to his insides. “What do you mean?”
“I’m not uninterested.”
“Oh.” Finn couldn’t think of a single other thing to say, because his brain had gone completely blank.
“So not only was I rude, I’m also a liar.”
He laughed at the self-deprecating face she made. “Most true liars don’t confess their sins, so you should probably cut yourself a break.”
“I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings. We had a nice evening, and I was a jerk.”
“You weren’t a jerk, and you can make it up to my hurt feelings by coming to a party with me tonight.”
“Oh, um…”
“Unless you don’t want to—and I wouldn’t blame you. The entire McCarthy family will be there along with various friends, so it’s not your average party but somewhat of a family blowout. Feel free to say no if that’s not your speed.”
“You make it hard to resist such an enticing offer.”
Finn laughed at her witty reply. “One thing I can promise is you won’t be bored.”
“It sounds like fun. I’d love to go.”
“There’s just one thing…” Finn knew he had to warn her. It wouldn’t be fair not to.
“What’s that?”
“If we show up there together, they’ll have us married with children before the night is over. That’s how my family rolls.”
“Marriage and children, huh? That’s an awfully big commitment for a first date.”
“That’s what I’m saying. Maybe we should do something else.”
“I wouldn’t want you to miss your family thing on my account. I know most of them already, so I’m not afraid to wander into the snake pit. If you aren’t…”
“I’m not afraid.” The heated zing of attraction that’d been so present the other night arced between them even more intensely than before, making his mouth dry and other parts of him tingle with interest. “Want to see the rest?” He needed to do something besides stare at her, or he’d have an obvious problem on his hands before too much longer.
“I’d love to.”
“Right this way.” He led her into the huge, state-of-the-art kitchen, where they encountered Nikki, consulting with the executive chef she’d hired. Finn hadn’t met him yet, but he’d heard great things about him from Nikki.
“Hey, Finn, come meet Anthony. Anthony, this is Finn McCarthy, another of the partners.”
Anthony, who had a full head of light brown hair and blue eyes, shook Finn’s hand. “Nice to meet you. There sure are a lot of you McCarthys.”
Finn laughed. “Yes, there are. This is Chloe Dennis, owner of the Curl Up and Dye salon, the best place to get your hair cut on Gansett Island.”
“The only place,” Chloe said, sounding amused.
Anthony shook hands with Chloe, who flinched subtly, but Finn noticed. “That makes you a good person to know around here.”
Finn glanced at Chloe, concerned about the flinch, but not wanting to embarrass her. “You know Nicholas, right?”
Nikki scowled at him. “Don’t call me that at work, Finnbar. And it’s nice to see you, Chloe.”
“You, too, Nicholas.” Chloe laughed. “Sorry, but that’s funny.”
“I think so, too.” Finn liked her more by the minute. “The McCarthys are great givers of nicknames that stick like glue.”
“Good to know. I’ll have to watch my back. Is Finnbar your real name?”
Nikki snorted with laughter. “No, that’s my name for him.”
Chloe laughed along with her. “I love it.”
“You going to Janey’s later, Nik?” Finn asked.
“That’s the plan. See you there?”
“We’ll be there.”
She raised a brow. “We will?”
Finn realized his strategic error after he’d already made it—giving Nikki a heads-up th
at he planned to bring Chloe. “No need to call the scoop into the Gansett Gazette.”
“I’d never do that, but I hope you told poor Chloe what she’s in for.”
“I warned her, and she still wants to come.”
“You’re a brave girl.”
“Don’t scare her off. I like her.” He curled a hand around Chloe’s arm, like that was the most natural thing he’d ever done, and gave a gentle tug to get her away from Nikki before Nik talked her out of going with him to Janey’s. “Come on, let’s go see the rest.”
“See you later,” Chloe called over her shoulder to Nikki and Anthony. “She seems really cool.”
“She is. My brother is nuts about her.”
“I’ve seen them around town. They’re cute together.”
“So cute I want to barf half the time.”
“Awww, are you jealous that your brother has a girlfriend?”
He led her past the reception desk, upstairs to the hotel. “I was—and I haven’t admitted that to anyone, by the way. But I’m getting used to it now. They’re really happy, and if he’s happy, I’m happy. I do miss having him to run around with.”
“You guys are close?”
“Very. Always have been.”
“That’s very sweet. I can see how it would be an adjustment to have him move on.”
“It was, but I’m over it. She’s perfect for him, and I like her a lot. They put up with having me underfoot as a regular third wheel, so it’s not like he’s forgotten he has a brother or anything.” He opened the doors to one of the eight hotel rooms, where Shane was touching up the paint.
Shane turned to greet them. “Hey, what’s up?”
“I’m showing Chloe around.”
Chloe waved to Shane. “How’s it going?”
“Good. I thought you were having lunch with Katie today?”
“I am. After this.”
Finn looked at her. “You know Katie?”
“I’m one of her bridesmaids. We met when she came in to get her hair cut more than a year ago and hit it off.”
