“Are you?”
He looked at me, sharp and earnest, even with his glassy eyes. “Every day.”
I swallowed hard, overwhelmed.
“And,” he said with a small smile, “I finally found your wedding present.”
Sophie made a disgruntled noise. “You better not have gotten us anything. You’re present enough.”
“That feels lazy. I couldn’t very well say happy wedding day, use me for your pleasure as you see fit.”
Sophie’s cheeks flushed and she arched a brow. “Why not?”
Finn leaned forward, my hand still caught in a death grip.
“That’s a Tuesday,” he told her.
A laugh caught in her throat and she leaned back. “Finish your sandwich.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he teased, only letting go of me to do as he’d been told.
The three of us finished our late lunch, and Finn stacked the plates when we finished and brought them into the kitchen. Sophie and I shared a look while he cleaned, an unspokenquestion trying to decide how best to move forward with the rest of the day. I believed Finn when he said any emotion over Neil had been pent up and left over, and I believed him when he said he was okay, but that didn’t mean I wanted to rush something and send that truth into jeopardy.
Finn finished the dishes and turned, ass resting against the counter and dish towel damp in his hands.
“I can have Hunter come pick me up if you want, or you can take me to my car.”
“Why would you go?” Sophie asked.
Finn studied her, chest heaving on an inhale. “I didn’t know if the two of you had plans.”
“We didn’t.”
“I don’t want to intrude.”
“You’re not,” she said, just as quickly.
“We can watch a movie.” I stood and went to Finn at the sink, wrapping my arms around his waist and pressing a kiss against his chin. “We can go to the beach. We can go shopping.”
“I’ve had enough shopping for the day,” he muttered, casually flinging one arm around my shoulders. He gestured for Sophie with his free hand, tapping his fingers against his thumb until she got up and joined us. He tucked her against himself, against me, and we both breathed in the candied fruit scent of her shampoo.
“What do you want to do?” she asked him.
“I want to not be babied.” He kissed the top of her head.
“Then go wash your face.” Sophie’s elbow knocked into me as she pinched Finn’s ribs. “You look like you’ve been crying.”
Finn yelped and shoved both of us away, rubbing at the spot just above his hip where she’d gotten him.
“Well, maybe a little babied,” he corrected with a laugh.
Sophie ushered him down the hallway toward the bathroom, the two of them laughing as they went. I collapsed onto thecouch, the earlier adrenaline rush of Finn’s uncertain arrival wearing off. I listened to the quiet murmur of their voices, hinging my body in half and resting my elbows on my knees. Even with my head between my legs, my stomach roiled.
And then Finn was there, his hand in the middle of my back, fingers tracing down my bent arm. He sat down on the floor at my feet, skin smelling like face wash…the air like Sophie’s perfume.
“Hey,” he whispered, brushing his fingertips across my cheek. “Hey.”
“I’m fine,” I told him.