by Tamie Dearen
“That’s awesome, Laurie.” Katie had mastered the art of looking innocent, though she could be quite diabolical. “So you’re saying you want to adopt kids and raise them, even if you don’t have a husband to help you?”
“Obviously, it would be easier with a husband, but I doubt I’ll ever meet a guy who feels like I do. Most guys are like Finn—they either want their own flesh-and-blood kids or none at all.”
Katie’s lips twitched at the corners, her eyes crinkling in suppressed merriment. “That’s really interesting, isn’t it Finn? It’s like I always told you, some women are strong enough to handle being a single mom.”
He tried to kick her under the table, but his shin found a table leg instead. “Ouch.”
His mother piled on, for added impact. “Finn loves children with special needs. He’d be quids in to adopt kids.”
With the conversation taking a turn for the worse, Laurie’s brows bent with determination. She put her fork down and cleared her throat. “Eh-hem… Susan… Katie… I need to say something…”
Cripes! She’s going to tell Mum we aren’t dating.
He couldn’t blame her. It wasn’t surprising she was ready to throw in the towel after thirty minutes with his mother and Katie. He’d had thirty-three years to get used to them, and they still drove him crazy.
Her right hand reached over and found his. She lifted their joined hands to the corner of the table, having attained the rapt attention of his mum and sister. He could only stare at their interlaced fingers, amazed at how natural it felt.
“If you want any chance of this working between Finn and me, you need to back off.”
Katie’s eyes grew so large, they looked like they might pop out of her head, but she kept her mouth shut.
Laurie’s chin had a barely perceptible tremble as she spoke. “I don’t think you treat Finn with the respect he deserves. He runs a multi-billion-dollar corporation and a charity organization that’s changed countless lives. You shouldn’t offer your opinions about his life choices unless he asks for them.”
Finn expected a sarcastic response, but it never came. Evidently encouraged by their silence, Laurie spoke again.
“And something else...” Her fingers squeezed as if she was drumming up her courage. “I think your meddling may be part of the reason Finn doesn’t want to get married. What woman would want to marry a grown man whose family treats him like a child?” Bottomless brown eyes peered at him in question. “Am I right?”
His throat too constricted to speak, he could only nod. Her words were nothing new. He’d expressed the same sentiments a thousand times, to no avail. But this time, something was different. It wasn’t important whether or not his family listened—it only mattered that Laurie had spoken out in his defense.
Katie’s brows lifted. Of course, she wasn’t fooled by Laurie’s speech. She knew, as he did, it was all for show. Yet he couldn’t help the warm feeling that spread inside. Laurie had gone out on a limb for him, as only a true friend would.
His mother sat back in her chair, lines deepening on her forehead. Laurie’s hand tugged, but he held on, wanting to present a unified front. If his mother or sister uttered one word of criticism about Laurie, he was ready to walk out of the restaurant.
Susan leveled a challenging gaze at Laurie, which she returned, lifting her chin.
“That’s not the first time I’ve been told to wind my neck in,” Susan remarked. “But it could be the most thorough job of it. Brilliant, really. Don’t you think, Katie?”
His sister nodded cheerily as she forked a bite of quinoa into her mouth. “True. A thorough flogging, and well-deserved.”
Finn let out the breath he’d been holding. World War III wasn’t coming after all.
His mum went back to her salmon. “I suppose we thought it was all in good fun. Didn’t know we had you wound up over it.”
“It gets old. I’ve asked you to leave it alone about a thousand times.” Reluctantly, Finn let Laurie’s fingers slip away so she could return to her dinner. He was pleased to see her appetite had picked up.
He owed her big time. She’d accomplished in five minutes what he’d failed to do over the last decade or more. In his head, he rehearsed how he would express his gratitude without making her feel awkward. He was pretty sure he knew just what to say.
Laurie’s jaw hurt. She’d never laughed so much in her life. The evening continued as before, except for the conspicuous absence of conversation about Finn’s desperate need for a spouse and children. Now their nonstop banter had no bite in it, and their witty exchanges kept her in stitches. She was actually sad when the evening was over. For one thing, she’d now seen yet another side of Finn Anderson—thoughtful, sweet and funny. As Susan would say, she “rather fancied” this new Finn.
No one made mention of having her play the piano after dinner, so the pressure was off. Though she was dying to play it, she’d prefer not to have an audience for her rusty performance. Even more enticing was the thought of having Finn perform a personal concert, and a small part of her hoped he might suggest it when he drove her home.
Earlier, he’d held her hand longer than necessary. What did that mean? Was it possible he felt a bit of attraction? Surely not. What would a man like Finn Anderson, one of Now Magazine’s most eligible US bachelors, ever see in her? Thank goodness she wasn’t attracted to him.
Okay, I admit I think he’s good-looking. But who doesn’t? That doesn’t mean I like the man. I’m not going to fall all over him just because he managed to be charming for one evening.
They might’ve stayed for hours, laughing and chatting over decaf coffee, but Lucy woke up and decided she was ready to eat. As they made a hasty exit before the baby’s wails caused any further disruption, Laurie received another round of enthusiastic hugs.
Exiting the restaurant, Katie pulled Laurie away from the other two and murmured. “You know, that speech you gave about Finn was awfully passionate.”
“I’m sorry about that, but somebody had to take up for him.”
“No, no. I’m not upset about it.” Katie shifted the baby carrier to the other arm, so she could lean closer and whisper, “But I wondered where all that passion came from.”
Laurie winced. Controlling her temper was one of her weak points. “That’s the way I am about everything, I guess. I get worked up pretty easy, and sometimes I lose it.”
“Is that all it was?” Katie’s lips curved into a mischievous expression Laurie had begun to recognize. “Because one would almost think you had feelings for my brother. Something beyond that of an employee for her boss.”
Before Laurie could think of a reply, Katie was headed down the steps toward the taxi, her tinkling laughter floating behind her.
“Ready to go?” Finn gestured toward the waiting limo.
Negotiating the steps in her heels, she was grateful to have his arm for support.
And that’s the only reason I like holding his arm. It has nothing to do with me having feelings for him.
“Yeah, right,” she mumbled her inner argument aloud.
“What did you say?” Finn asked.
His deadly blue eyes sought hers, shining with an emotion resembling genuine concern.
Stop looking at me like that.
She shook her head. “Nothing. Just talking to myself.”
Inside the limo, he gave the chauffer orders to drive to her apartment. He didn’t suggest stopping by his place to see his Steinway, and she didn’t have the nerve to mention it.
Halfway to her place, she heard a click, and a dim light filled the passenger’s compartment.
“I have to tell you something, and I wanted us to be able to see each other,” Finn explained.
Her heart sped up, wondering what he might say. It must be something serious. Or something special. In the warm glow, his eyes drew her into their web. She couldn’t look away.
“Okay.” Her voice came out breathy, so she covered by pretending to cough. “I’m listening
.”
“What you did tonight… defending me to my mum and my sister… that was amazing.”
“Maybe I should’ve minded my own business.”
“No. I’m glad you did it. It was brave and selfless.”
His frank admiration shot a thrill through her system.
“What I don’t understand is why you put up with them in the first place. Why don’t you cut them off when they act like that?”
“Believe me, we’ve had this discussion more times than you can imagine. But don’t judge them too harshly.” His fingers pushed his hair into an attractive disarray. “All that fussing is how they show love. My family is great, 99.9 percent of the time.”
“I can see that,” she said, a bit jealously.
“I put you in this awkward position tonight, making you pretend to be my girlfriend, and yet you defended me to my family. I didn’t ask for it—you did it on your own.” He shook his head as if he still couldn’t believe she’d stood up for him. “Those things you said… it made me feel something… something I’ve never felt with a woman before.
“Okay…” She could barely hear him for the blood pounding in her ears.
Oh my goodness. He’s going to tell me he likes me.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Laurie… I think we can be real friends.”
Chapter 7
Finn stretched out on the couch in Branson’s office like a patient in a psychiatrist’s office.
“I don’t know what else to do, Bran. I’ve tried everything to get along with her. Really, I have.”
“Somehow, you have to make it work.” Bran locked his fingers together and extended his hands over his head, palms-out, cracking his knuckles. He followed it up with a neck-popping head-tilt to each side. “All three of us have taken a share of Jarrett’s workload. And after yesterday’s news, we all have to do our part.”
“Yeah, I know.” Jarrett had called to say he was having a biopsy, since the CT scan showed a spot in his lung. How could Finn complain when Jarrett was facing this trial? “The oncologist isn’t wasting any time, is he, scheduling the biopsy on Monday? I’m going, even though Jarrett told us not to. So is Cole. What about you?”
“I’ll be there, but I can’t stay. I’m flying up for the day.”
“Maybe we can all fly up together, then. Leave at the crack of dawn.” Finn was already calculating how early he’d have to get up to complete his CF therapy before they left.
“Sounds good.” Branson sighed. “Back to the subject at hand—what’s Laurie doing that’s so terrible?”
Finn wondered how much he could say. After all, Laurie’s best friend was married to Bran. He didn’t want anything to get back to her. “Just between the two of us… she barely speaks to me.”
“She’s giving you the silent treatment?”
“No, nothing like that. She’s perfectly polite. And she’ll discuss anything having to do with the fundraiser. But when I bring up any other subject, she shuts the conversation down, cold.”
“I don’t see what the problem is. You only started working together on Tuesday, and you swore then the two of you couldn’t get along. Three days later you’re having civil discussions about your work project—I’d say you’ve made good progress.”
“That’s because you weren’t there on Wednesday night, when we went out to dinner.”
“You went out? On a date?”
Laurie must not have discussed their dinner with Stephanie, or else Stephanie hadn’t shared the details with Branson.
“Not a date, exactly. We went to eat with my mum and Katie—it’s a long story—but it went really well. In fact, while we were out, I realized Laurie and I could be friends.”
“At least you’re being civil with each other.”
“We can be more than civil. If I handle it right, I think we can be good friends, just like you and me.”
“You plan to interfere in her private life and trick her into marrying someone?” Branson teased, referring to Finn’s actions that resulted in his own marriage to Stephanie.
Finn chuckled. “I’m talking about the kind of friend who’s there for you when you need help.”
A ding came from Bran’s Braille-enabled smart phone, and he moved his fingers to trace the incoming message. “Nothing important,” Bran commented as he slid his phone into his pocket. “So this big friend revelation happened during dinner with your mom and sister?”
“Right. Laurie and I discussed it on the way home, and she was all for it. When I first mentioned it, she was kind of sarcastic, like ‘Guess I should feel honored you want to be my friend.’ But then I told her what I meant, how I’d be there for her like she was for me. I could give her some money if she ever needed it… stuff like that.”
“Maybe she was offended you offered her money.”
Finn sat up and covered his face with his hands. “You’re making it sound bad, but it wasn’t. All I did was offer to help her out in a crisis. I’ve said the same to you, and you weren’t offended.”
“I also wasn’t offended when you belched the entire alphabet, but that doesn’t mean Laurie would like it.”
“I was fourteen.”
“I’m sure I can come up with more recent examples.” Branson’s fingers returned to his keyboard, scanning something from the maze of moving dots.
“You’re such an expert on women since you’ve been married for an entire year,” Finn jibed.
“I don’t claim to be an expert, but I have to say, you make me look good in comparison.”
Bran laughed and, after resisting for a few seconds, Finn joined in.
“You really think that’s it? She’s mad because I offered to give her money if she was ever hard up? I wasn’t trying to insult her.”
“Why do you care, anyway? It doesn’t matter if you’re friends or not as long as you two get the fundraiser done, right? Unless you want to start dating her?”
Finn heard the hope in Branson’s voice. His friend had been after him to date for years, just like his mum and sisters.
“You know exactly why I can’t date. Nothing’s changed.”
“I don’t know, Finn. On Monday you didn’t want to spend a minute with Laurie. Now it’s Friday, and you’re upset that she won’t talk to you about the weather. I’d say something’s definitely changed.”
Finn’s heart plunged into his stomach with a thud. Why hadn’t he seen it before? Being friends with Laurie was like a scarecrow playing with fire. He was lucky she’d been resistant to him. Just think—I was about to invite her over to play the Steinway. “You’re right. Thanks for warning me, bud. That could’ve been a disaster.”
“On the other hand, I don’t want to discourage you if you’re starting to like her. I want you to have what I have. I’m the luckiest man on earth.”
Finn watched as Branson opened his thermal coffee container and painstakingly poured some into a mug, using his thumb to feel when the steaming liquid neared the top. In all the years they’d known each other, Branson had never complained about his blindness. But claiming he was the “luckiest man on earth” was new—something that started because of Stephanie.
“I’m happy for you, Bran. I really am. But I don’t need a woman. I have my friends and my family, and that’s all I need.”
“That’s like me saying I don’t need sight because I have ears and I can read Braille.” Bran shook his head. “You and Cole and Jarrett are awesome friends. I wouldn’t be where I am without you. But if you think having friends is as good as having a wife who’s committed to do life with you, for better or worse, you’re blinder than I am.”
For a moment, Finn let himself imagine how it would be to have a woman by his side. Someone who would be with him during his lonely hours of cystic fibrosis treatment. Someone who would sit by his side when he had to go into the hospital. Someone who would share his frustration when he had to keep a PICC line in for an extra three months.
But what did he have to offer such a wo
man? The inconvenience of hours of CF therapy. Constant worry about exposure to respiratory infections. Little chance of biological children, even with medical intervention. An almost certainty of being left behind as a young widow.
“I’m happy for you, Bran. But I’m afraid that’s not in my future.”
“Look, I know you’re always living your life like you could die tomorrow. But the truth is, you’re wasting it. If you’d gotten married when you graduated from college, you would’ve already had ten wonderful years of marriage.”
“Not if I’d married Jill.”
Bran laughed. “I wasn’t talking about Jill. No doubt you’d have been divorced by now if you’d married her. She was a piece of work. Probably the most selfish person on the planet. But come on, Finn. Surely you know you can’t judge every other woman based on Jill.”
As always, thoughts of his past with Jill brought bile into Finn’s throat. “Even if you’re right, it’s too late now. At twenty-three, I had a lot of dreams. Marrying Jill and having kids or adopting them was part of it. I romanticized the whole thing. I was ready to make the most of the time we had together. But I’m thirty-three now and a lot more mature. I have to face reality.”
Branson’s phone rang and he plucked it from his pocket, his fingers checking the incoming call. “I’m sorry, Finn. I need to take this.”
“No problem. I’ve got work to do.”
I can’t avoid Laurie all day.
The phone rang so long, Laurie thought it was going to voicemail.
“Hello?” Stephanie answered, breathless. “Are you there?”
“Hi, Steph.”
“I couldn’t find my phone. Heard it ringing in the bottom of the diaper bag. Found it inside one of the diapers—at least it was a clean one.”
“Ha. Guess that could’ve been bad.”
“What’s up? Are you at work?”
“Yes, I’m at work. But I was calling about tomorrow night. I think I’d better bow out of dinner.”
“You’re not coming? Why? Are you sick?”
