Molly held up her hand. “It’s not what you think.” Dizziness crashed into her as dominoes tipped in her head. While Molly was fairly certain Sabrina knew Finn was the object of her affections – from a rather ill-timed, drunken night of hating Finn O’Brien at the top of her lungs – this was bad.
Sabrina telling Russell was probably not life or death. Russ wasn’t a gossip queen. She was pretty certain he’d keep his mouth shut. But if Russell said it in passing to Linc – then the lid was off the box and containment was impossible.
Wait, had Cleo already told Lincoln?
He was a smart man, a reasonable man. He had sisters. Maybe he would understand the gravity of everything and know better than to rat her out to her brother. There was probably some hockey-brother-code that meant he should tattle on her, but hopefully he’d see reason.
“She didn’t… it’s not…” Heat closed around her throat and her vision tunneled.
“Shit, Molly, take a breath. It’s okay.” Cleo’s cold hand slipped into Molly’s as she said something to Sabrina. Who knew how long later, Sabrina handed her a glass of iced water.
“He can’t find out. You don’t understand. This thing with…” She couldn’t even say his name out loud in case the walls heard. “We’re barely off the ground, we don’t even know if it’s going anywhere… There’s nothing to tell.”
Sabrina placed the drinks tray on the table, slipped into the booth next to Molly, and wrapped an arm around her. Stroking Molly’s bicep, Sabrina shushed her. “It’s okay. I won’t say anything, I promise.”
Cleo squeezed Molly’s hand. “I haven’t told Linc. You’re good. He won’t find out. Well…” She leaned back and took a sip of her mule. “I mean, he might if you keep reacting like…” She waved an open palm in front of Molly’s face. “Like this every time Finn’s name comes up.”
“I remember the night at the bar.” Molly buried her head in Sabrina’s shoulder. “I remember telling you I was in love with a hockey player.”
Why did Sabrina’s rhythmic stroking of Molly’s hair feel so good?
Sabrina hummed. “It didn’t take long to figure out who you were talking about.”
“Russell too?” Molly’s voice was barely a whisper. If she was so freaked out and terrified of word getting out that she was even considering a – gag – relationship with Finn, was it the smartest thing in the world to pursue it?
Sabrina’s shoulder jiggled with movement. Molly pulled back and found her laughing. “What?”
“Russ didn’t exactly catch on right away. It took a little explaining, and a lot of sign posts for him to get from A to B. He hasn’t said anything to anyone though. He knows it’s a… sensitive situation.
Molly snorted. Sensitive was an understatement. “I don’t want them to fight and lose each other because of me.”
Cleo and Sabrina both nodded. “But you can’t let fear of how your brother will react control whether or not you take a chance on Finn.”
Damn. Sabrina was smart.
“What if we break up?”
Sabrina cupped Molly’s face and shook her head like Molly was an idiot. “You broke up the day you met.”
“I don’t understand.” Molly wrinkled her nose.
“You’re meant for each other, and you fought it from the get-go. While you haven’t been together, you’ve forced yourselves apart – that’s way worse than any break up.”
Cleo reached a hand over to Sabrina for a hi-five. “She’s right, Mol. You said you’ve had feelings for him from day one. Ignoring them, burying them, watching him be with other women… you’ve been broken up for as long as you’ve known him. It’s time to see what could be if you just let it.”
Ugh. She was surrounded by hopeless dreamers who loved romance novels and Disney movies. “Real life doesn’t work like that.”
Bre squeezed her arm and slid back off the bench. Molly almost forgot she was working and wasn’t eating lunch with Cleo and her. She picked up her mule and took a few deep swallows.
“Molly, I don’t know what you’ve done or haven’t done yet with that boy, but you broke the seal. All your repressed ooey-gooey feelings for that man are going to seep out of the cracks in your chest until they consume you. You can’t fight fate.”
“Dang.” Cleo held out a fist for Sabrina to bump. “Girl, you are wicked smart.”
Sabrina gave a little curtsey. “You and I both know, the heart wants what it wants. I’ve seen you fight it, Molly Morrison. Nothing good comes from denying your feels.”
Molly chuckled. “You said ooey-gooey.” She drank more of her drink.
“No deflecting.” Cleo leaned over the table and flicked Molly’s forehead as she was drinking, causing Molly to spray precious alcohol over the table.
