Third Time's the Charm

by K. Evan Coles

  Luke met Finn’s smile with a big one of his own. “I’d like that.”

  They crossed Tremont Street and headed onto Boston Common, chatting as they walked through the old park. Finn swore the skin on his hand tingled everywhere it had touched Luke’s.

  He bit back another grin. Luke made him think all kinds of goofy thoughts. They’d only spent about an hour together total, but Finn already wanted to know more about him. A lot more, and as soon as possible.

  “Do you really run marathons?” he asked. With a start, he thought he should have asked about Ella, the newly discovered niece, but Luke didn’t miss a beat.

  “Yep,” he said. “Not professionally or anything, but just for me. I try to run at least two every year and shorter races in between. I ran Boston in the spring and I’m planning for New York in November.”

  Finn nodded. He was no stranger to working out but anything over five miles sounded like an invitation to have his ass kicked. “How much mileage do you put in during a week?”

  “Depends on how hard I’m training. Right now, around forty.” Luke chuckled at Finn’s low whistle. “There’s a treadmill in my basement and that baby gets a lot of use.”

  “I’ll bet. Do you run solo?”

  “Mostly, yes. But my brother runs too, and he’ll come along when he’s around. My friend Simon’s good for shorter distances, but he starts whining at around the eight-mile mark. Simon’s the business partner I told you about,” he added.

  “The guy from Starbucks?”

  “Yes. We co-own GLS Solutions with our third partner, Gillian.”

  Finn raised an eyebrow. “GLS? As in—”

  “Gillian, Luke and Simon, uh-huh. Officially, the acronym stands for Global Language Systems, but I think most people figure out the not-so-hidden meaning without trying very hard.” Luke chuckled. “That’s what happens when you dream up an idea for a company over appetizers and beer.”

  “For real?”

  “Absolutely.” Luke held a hand over his heart. “Simon and I met at MIT as undergrads, and we were recruited by a firm based in Charlestown after graduation. Gillian already worked there, and she’s the one who decided we’d be friends.”

  Finn hummed. He thought Gillian might have some things in common with Paul. “I have a friend like that, too. Bossy and brilliant?”

  “That sounds about right,” Luke said. “Gilly’s one of my favorite people in the world. Anyway, there we were—just starting out and broke, like every other recent graduate in the office. A group of us started pooling our money on Friday nights and we’d go to a pub near the office that ran a special on wings and nachos. It got so we could buy enough to qualify as dinner, though I use that term very loosely.”

  “Hey, you covered some major food groups, so I’m not going to judge.”

  Luke laughed. “Good point. Gillian, Simon and I got to talking one night about how great it would be if we could write our own stuff instead of getting stuck working on projects we didn’t like.” Luke stepped out of the way of a group of passing kids wearing towering balloon hats. “Obviously, that’s not uncommon talk among people with boring jobs, but Gillian kept bringing it up, even weeks later. One day, I threw the idea back out to Simon over lunch. He surprised me by wanting to talk about it, like how we could get funding and where we could set up shop. We realized we didn’t want to let the idea go either, so we didn’t.”

  Finn cocked his head at Luke. “So that’s it? You upped and created a business?”

  “No. I wish it had been that simple.” Luke smiled at him. “We knew we needed investment money, and the three of us built a business plan and took it to my dad. He’s kind of a stock market wizard, and he and my mom are loaded,” he added.

  “Wow. Talk about lucky.”

  Luke nodded. “My parents invest most of their money and they live comfortably, but you wouldn’t guess they’re pretty well off. They paid for Pete and me to go to college on the condition that we were on our own after graduation and figured out how to support ourselves.”

  “Which you did,” Finn prompted.

  Luke made a ‘so-so’ gesture with one hand. “If living in a crappy studio apartment and pooling my spare money with friends for beer and cheap eats is supporting oneself, then yes, I did.”

  “I’ve been there,” Finn replied with a laugh. “Pretty sure I ate enough ramen noodles during med school to feed my hometown.”

  “I ate more than my share of ramen trying to get GLS launched. I still love it.”

  “Hah, me too!”

  Luke beamed. “Anyway, we worked out of my apartment for the first year. Simon and Gillian practically moved in with me—which sucked, by the way, because it was a very small crappy studio apartment.”

  Luke paused, and Finn could tell by the intensity of his gaze that he wanted to say something more.

  “I told you I wouldn’t hesitate with awkward stuff, so let me get this out in the open. Simon and I dated for a while, back when we were first getting the business off the ground. We were together about a year before it ended,” Luke added when Finn’s eyes widened. “Things were pretty tense for a while, but Gillian made sure we stayed friends.”

  Finn nodded, though his insides were a sudden jumble of surprise. The chemistry he’d seen between Luke and Simon in the coffee shop hadn’t been his imagination after all. “She ran interference for you?” he guessed.

  “Yep. Made sure we stayed on the straight and narrow and saved arguments for after work. And we did a lot of arguing.” Luke smiled sheepishly. “It seems ridiculous now that so much time has gone by, but she helped us make our friendship stronger. With each other and her.”

  “I think I know where you’re coming from,” Finn replied. “Paul and I were together in med school,” he said. “We broke it off after he got matched at MGH. Then he met Mick, his husband. We’re still tight, though. I told you he’s the reason I found out about the job here.”

  “You guys work together a lot?” Luke asked.

  “Yes and no. Paul specializes in infectious diseases while I’m in emergency surgery, but we team up regularly. We had time to work things out after we split, though. I can’t imagine running a business with someone during a breakup.”

  “I wouldn’t recommend it.” Luke smirked. “It wasn’t easy, but we figured out ways to make it work. The three of us still met up for beer and snacks with our friends from the firm every Friday, too, and by the end of year one, we’d poached a couple of them and completed four major projects.”

  “How long ago was that?” Finn asked.

  “Twelve years now.” Luke spoke lightly but with obvious pride. “We were in an actual, teeny-tiny office space by the middle of year two and hired more staff in year three. We were tired and stressed and terrified a lot of the time and it was hard—really hard. Sometimes, it still is. But the beer and nachos idea became a reality.”

  “And you stayed friends,” Finn mused. “That’s quite something, Luke.”

  “I can’t imagine going to work every day and not seeing Simon and Gillian,” Luke told him. They exited the park and crossed Beacon Street. “I know a day could come when one or more of us decide to leave GLS, but I hope it’s a long time before that happens. Sounds corny, right?”

  “Frankly, no. I think it’s kind of amazing. You have real roots here, Luke—family, friends, your business. And you’re still so young. It’s a little mind boggling.”

  Luke eyed him askance. “Like you’re old. Not to mention you save people’s lives for a living.”

  “Sure, and I was trained how to do that. I still don’t have a permanent place for my stuff right now, and I’ve been changing jobs every couple of years.”

  “I see your point, but my life seems boring in comparison.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t say you’re boring at all.” Finn licked his lips. An odd longing had grown in his chest as Luke spoke, and Finn felt surprised to understand he was ready for something different in his life—stability.
/>   “I’ve been so focused on my career for such a long time,” he said. “Undergrad and med school, followed by my internship and residency. Training to be a doctor has been my whole life and anything outside of it is a blur. I dated and kept up friendships, but it’s almost as if it happened to someone else. I was too busy to focus for very long on anything outside of hospitals and patients and it’s like I floated through Chicago for years without ever touching down. That’s a shame because it’s such a great city.”

  Finn shook his head. The intensity of his own regret took him off guard.

  “You can always go back, Finn,” Luke said. “I’m sure you already have your choice of hospitals in any city that interests you.”

  “Sure, I suppose.” Finn hitched his bag up on his shoulder and smiled as Luke reached over and helped him. “My family would love it if I ended up back in my hometown, but I’m not sure I want that. Besides, I’m here now, and I want to focus on Boston. I’ll still be working a lot, of course, but I don’t want to look around a year from now and realize I don’t know anything about my new home city or the people in it.”

  “Sounds like you’re on the right path,” Luke replied. They paused on the corner of Charles Street. “Your friends got you out for dinner the other night, right?”

  “More like guilted me into going out. But I ended up meeting you, and that made my night.”

  Luke shared a smile with Finn. “Mine too.”

  For a moment, the world around them seemed to slow. The noise of the crowds and traffic faded out, leaving just the two of them, standing on a busy street corner on a summer afternoon. Luke captured Finn’s hand again, and the simple touch warmed Finn’s whole body. His heart squeezed a bit when Luke finally stepped away and the world sped back up.

  “I should go,” Luke murmured. “I’ll message you, okay, Doc?”

  Finn wanted to roll his eyes at the nickname, but it made him grin. “Okay. I’ll call you when I can, too. If you don’t mind waiting a week for lunch, I’ll be back on a human sleep schedule by then.” He paused. “I’d like to know more about Ella, if you feel comfortable talking about her.”

  A big smile spread across Luke’s face. “I’d like that. By the way, I can always bring you coffee and sandwiches in the event you need an emergency lunch.”

  Finn laughed and forced himself to let go of Luke’s hand. “I like the way your mind works, Luke.”

  Chapter Seven

  A week later, Luke met Finn for an early lunch on Tuesday and told him about Ella and Peter and how they made their family work. Finn asked Luke to lunch again on Wednesday, and they met for a third time on Thursday.

  “Is eating lunch at eleven-thirty in the morning a doctor thing or a you thing?” Luke asked as he and Finn worked their way through a platter of fish tacos. “I’m digging the brunch vibe.”

  Finn laughed. “Maybe a combination of both. I’m at the mercy of my schedule and if I work all night, I wake up feeling dead hungry and wanting food as soon as possible.”

  “Good to know. Would it be weird to meet four days in a row, or is that pushing the laws of responsible lunch dating?” Luke ignored the heat in his cheeks and focused instead on the way Finn’s eyes warmed.

  “I’d love to break some laws with you tomorrow, but I can’t. I’m working a double, seven to eleven.”

  Luke’s disappointment mixed with genuine sympathy. “Ugh. I hope you don’t mind me saying, but that sounds terrible.”

  Finn barked out a laugh. “It’s not my favorite thing, but I’m used to it.” He wiped his fingers on his napkin and studied Luke for a moment before he spoke again. “What about Saturday? Do you think you could get away for dinner? Or do you need more notice than two days?”

  “Actually, your timing couldn’t be better. Ella’s having a sleepover with some friends and our babysitter is staying overnight to chaperone. I am, for all intents and purposes, a free man for the whole evening.” He remembered how many hours Finn would be working and his smile faded. “You won’t be too tired to hang out?”

  Finn waved off Luke’s concerns. “Meh, I’ve been tired for the last ten years—a double shift is no big deal if I get some sleep ahead of time. Why don’t you come over to my place? I’ll get some dinner together and show off my new furniture so you can ooh and ahh as appropriate.”

  “I like this idea.” Luke wiped his mouth with his napkin to disguise his grin. “I’ll bring some wine and sweets, if that works?”

  Finn’s eyes twinkled. “I’ll take the wine, but I bought some ice cream yesterday. Just bring yourself, Luke, and that’ll be sweet enough.”

  Back at the office, Luke didn’t bother hiding his broad smile, even after Gillian and Simon pounced and demanded details. He was too busy riding a goofy, Finn-inspired high to mind being teased.

  “So let me get this straight,” Gillian said as the three of them exited Starbucks later that afternoon. “Finn wants to cook dinner for you at his new place, which he somehow managed to furnish while working nights at the hospital?” She exchanged a glance with Simon. “That can’t be right.”

  Luke frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “He’s obviously hiding something, Luke. Like a house-elf.”

  Luke grinned at her over Simon’s snort of laughter. Gillian’s daughter had long been obsessed with Harry Potter, and this wasn’t the first time Gillian had mentioned the magical creatures who acted as manservants to the wizarding world.

  “I hate to disappoint you, but I’m almost certain Finn’s not a wizard—he wouldn’t be healing Muggles if he were,” Luke said. “And I don’t know if he’s cooking. For all I know, we’ll be eating Szechuan food out of cardboard cartons.”

  “He’ll probably set up a picnic.” Simon gave an enormous eye-roll. “There’ll be a box of wine, cartons of noodles, and you’ll throw out your back when you and Finn try to make out on the floor. I swear to God, Luke, this level of romantic dreck makes me want to vomit.”

  Luke leaned past Gillian and smacked Simon’s arm. “I hate you so much.”

  Gillian tucked her hand into the crook of Luke’s elbow. “It’s nice to see you having fun, you know. You haven’t been this smiley in far too long.”

  “It’s preferable to all that moping around you’ve been doing,” Simon threw in with a smile of his own. “What’s Ella doing on Saturday?”

  “Hosting a sleepover at my place,” Luke replied. “Melissa’s planning a popcorn candy thing, which means there’ll be rainbow-colored stains all over the kitchen. Again.”

  “Girl, just paint the whole kitchen over in rainbow swirls and get it over with.” Simon sipped his latte with undisguised relish. “Are you planning on introducing Ella to your beau anytime soon?”

  Luke pursed his lips. He’d thought about introducing that very topic several times since his first coffee date with Finn. However, he and Finn were still getting to know each other, and Luke knew it wasn’t the right time.

  “Maybe a bit further down the road, sure,” he replied. “In the meantime, Finn seems interested when I talk about Ella, and I think that’s a good sign.”

  Gillian hummed. “Agreed. What about Ella? Does she know about Finn?”

  “Please.” Simon scoffed. “Ella saw Finn and his big-ass umbrella that first night. She stared hard enough I thought her eyeballs might fall out of her head. There’s no way she’s not curious about him, not if she knows how often Luke’s seen him since.”

  “She knows we’ve been out a couple of times,” Luke confirmed. “The odd thing is that I can’t get a read on how she feels about it.”

  “What do you mean?” Gillian asked.

  Luke stared down at his coffee cup and gathered his thoughts before he spoke. “She doesn’t seem put off or enthused, really. It’s not like my social life has anything to do with her day-to-day life in fourth grade, but I guess I expected something stronger than vague semi-interest?”

  Simon and Gillian exchanged a glance and a bubble of apprehension formed
in Luke’s chest. “What?” he asked.

  Gillian shrugged. “Ella may not want to admit she doesn’t like you having a boyfriend.”

  “I don’t have a boyfriend.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  Luke huffed out a laugh. “Pretty sure. We’re still working up to an actual date, Gilly.”

  “You’ve seen Finn three times this week alone, Luke,” Simon said. “That’s atypical behavior for you, and we all know it. You’re also having dinner with him in two days and Ella’s not going to ignore that.”

  “Point taken. Still, she never showed interest in the other guys I dated. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised this isn’t any different.”

  “This is different,” Simon insisted. “Ella’s never met any of the guys you dated. But she’s seen you with Finn and that’s different from hearing you talk about some faceless guy.”

  Luke ran a hand over his hair. “None of the other guys stuck around long enough for me to introduce them.”

  “Is that why you’re hesitating about introducing her to Finn? You think he’ll disappear too?” Gillian asked.

  “I’m not hesitating at all,” Luke said. “It just seems too soon. Finn and I have only been out a few times, and he hasn’t seen me in uncle mode. He also doesn’t know how much work it takes for me to keep up with Ella. Or that I’m embarrassingly obsessive about scheduling everything.”

  Gillian flapped a hand at him as they approached the entrance of their building. “It sounds like Finn knows Ella’s a big part of your life. What’s the worst that could happen if you introduce them?”

  “Oh, I don’t know.” Luke slowed to a stop. “Maybe they’ll hate each other on sight. Maybe every moment in each other’s presence will be like lighting myself on fire, ending with me having to say ‘Hey, Finn, you’re gorgeous and lovely, and I still can’t believe you want to talk to me, but this isn’t going to work out because my niece hates you and doesn’t give a damn about my sex life.’” Luke stared at his wide-eyed friends and drew in a deep breath. “That. That could happen.”