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“He was definitely trying to hide his laughter. I was just taken so off guard. I didn’t even know Finn was married.”
I stop there, leaving that sentence hanging in the air, in the hope that Sylvie will pick it up. And, like I knew she would, she does.
“Yes,” she says, sighing heavily. “Well, he is. But not for long.”
I throw her a confused and bewildered expression, as though I have no idea what she’s talking about, but I still don’t say anything. If I remain quiet, I’m bound to learn more than if I try and lead the conversation.
Sylvie shrugs when she sees my expression. “Finn’s getting a divorce. It’s awfully sad, really. But on the other hand, it’s kind of not. If you know what I mean.”
I shake my head, telling her I have no idea what she means.
“Well, you see. The woman he married is not very nice. I only met her once, but I know she’s made Finn miserable. They’ve been separated for a year and a half, and this should all be over by now. But it’s dragging on because Miranda is greedy. I just hope it gets sorted soon. It’s making Finn so very unhappy. But he does seem to have cheered up a bit since—”
My phone ringing cuts across Sylvie. I’m so tempted to ignore it, but Sylvie can see the screen, and knows who’s calling.
“It’s your Mom. You should talk to her,” Sylvie says.
Of course, I know I should. It’s been a few days since we spoke, and I know she likes to check up on me. I slide my thumb across the screen, and answer the call.
We talk for about twenty minutes. Mum asks all the usual questions. How are things? Am I settling in? Have I been stabbed yet? You know. That kind of stuff. I fill her in with what’s been going on, and then we eventually say goodbye.
“Oh, I love this song,” Sylvie says, once I put the phone back down. She leans over to the stereo and turns the music up. I would much prefer we continue talking about Finn’s situation, but the moment’s gone. It would be too weird to bring it back up again, and so instead, I try not to let my mind wander on what could be for the rest of the evening.
With the Den now completed, I’m back to being at a loss about how to fill my day. While he has not mentioned it to me directly, I did overhear Danny talking about getting a gardener to come and clean up the rear garden because it was getting a bit untidy. So today, after everyone went to work, I decided to take a walk into town, and see if I couldn’t find somewhere that sells some nice plant pots. I’m sure Mr. Shilliday likely has some, but I’ve yet to really take a look around the rest of the tiny town. Having been driven to and from the main street several times, I now know my way, and thus, take a nice stroll for the great distance of one and a half miles.
Upon reaching the main street of the town, appropriately called, Main Street, I slowly wander down the path, or sidewalk, as they call it here, and leisurely gaze through the windows of the shops as I pass. I am so distracted by what I see that I’m not looking at where I’m going, and suddenly walk into someone.
“Oh. I’m so sorry,” I blurt, as I bounce off a solid chest, and stumble a couple of steps back.
Strong hands fly out and grab me, and once steadied, I find myself looking up into the face of Nick Fenton.
“Hey,” he says, beaming a smile at me.
“Oh, hello,” I reply, smiling back. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”
“It was my fault,” he replies, raising his hands apologetically. “I came careering around that corner. You probably wouldn’t have seen me until it was too late anyway. But I must admit, it is nice to see you again.”
I drop my eyes and smile.
There’s an awkward silence that hangs between us because I have no idea what I’m supposed to say next. Whether Nick does, and is just waiting for me to speak, I can’t know, and thus, the silence continues.
“So, what are you up to?” he says eventually.
“I was just window shopping,” I reply, gesturing to the window beside us.
“Cool. Well, er, I should…” He pauses for a second. “Actually. Do you want to grab a coffee?” He points across the street to the bistro where Sylvie, Bree, and I had our lunch.
“I don’t know,” I say hesitantly.
After my discovery last night, Finn Brecken and how I feel about him, has been at the forefront of my mind. We’re hardly going to run off and get married, but his impending divorce does change things. For me, at least. I can’t speak for Finn. I’m pretty sure he likes being in my company. We laugh and joke, a lot. While he doesn’t linger, nor does he rush off when he no longer needs to be there, and while I’m no expert on men, I do have good intuition. He might not like me in the way I am beginning to like him, but he likes me enough to want to be in my company.
Nick Fenton, on the other hand, only happened to be at a BBQ. He seems nice, and he is very handsome, but in stark contrast to Finn, he’s extremely intense. He makes me nervous, but not in a good way, if that makes sense.
“Actually, I probably should be making my way back,” I say, looking up at an ominous, dark cloud that’s just blown over the town. If I start now, I might get back before the cloud deposits its contents.
“I promise I won’t keep you out long,” Nick says. “Besides, I’ll be heading back to the city in a couple of weeks. We might never see each other again.”
“I am grateful for your offer, Nick, but—”
