What did you have in mind?
I tell her about my plan: that we start the morning off with a hike and then spend the second half of the day at the beach. I don’t offer up golfing because frankly, I won’t be doing that. And I don’t think Violet would like it anyway.
It’s about two hours to get to Ingonish, so we’ll have to leave pretty early.
I can do early, she says. But, Finn, we spent the whole day together. You don’t have to spend so much time with me because of our… arrangement.
Arrangement? I ask her, grinning fiendishly.
You know what I mean, she says, blushing. Shouldn’t you be spending time with your brother who you came here to see?
I don’t quite know how to explain to Violet the undercurrent of tension between my brother and I. Thankfully, in this case I don’t need to, since I have a solid excuse.
He’s still working until closer to the wedding, and besides, I’m not spending time with you just because we’re pretending to date. We had fun today, and Allie’s already been to all these places. I need someone to come see it fresh with me.
She can’t seem to meet my eye, but nods in agreement all the same.
I park the car back in front of our two cabins, side by side. A team.
Violet, I say, feeling like I need to reassure her. I’m glad you’re here. I’m glad we’re in this pretend relationship together, and I’m very glad it means I get to spend more time with you. All right?
I hate that part of her thinks I’m only doing this for my own personal gain.
All right, she says, sounding like she might believe me—only tentatively. But let me check with Alba, I think she mentioned something about a sandbar tomorrow.
All right, I’m sure we’ll find a day when everyone else is working.
I step out of the car and walk around to help her down from the large step from the Jeep to the ground.
I have such an impulse to kiss her goodnight, but I don’t think I’m allowed to do that. It feels like crossing a line, but the urge to do it is still there.
Now that I’ve had a taste of her, it feels only natural to reach out for more.
This is not real, Finn, I remind myself. It’s practice, so when the time comes you can get it right.
But it does mean that I can’t kiss her whenever I want to—that realization makes it feel like there’s metal in my mouth. I hate it.
So instead, I clear my throat and say, See you tomorrow, Violet.
Chapter 22
VIOLET
I DO SEE FINN THE next day—and the day after that—even as we get sucked into a vortex of plans with our friends. But several more days pass in a blur before we find ourselves planning another outing just the two of us.
Finn knocks on my cabin door a few minutes after six o’clock to head out for our drive to Ingonish.
There’s an easy silence between us. It’s so early, neither of us is inclined to talk much. We cycle through playlists and I fight the urge to doze off, horrified by the idea of falling asleep with my mouth open—or snoring god forbid—in front of Finn.
But it’s easy to stay awake once we take the five-minute Englishtown ferry ride and get onto the Cabot Trail itself. My mouth keeps popping open at the huge, rolling green hills and the cliffs overlooking the ocean on my right. Some parts of the road are a little too close to the edge for me, and I feel thankful I’m not the one driving.
We stop for coffee and breakfast at a place called The Clucking Hen, which Alba recommended when I texted her last night to say Finn and I would be going along the Cabot Trail today. She hadn’t said much else, only sending the smug-looking emoji as her initial reply before following up a few minutes later with the breakfast recommendation. I wonder if that nicety had actually come from Rose.
I feel badly that I’m not spending time with Alba today. But she is working, I remind myself, and everyone has more time off closer to the wedding.
Once we’ve eaten and are both highly caffeinated, I start pestering Finn about his work, about Scotland, about his life in general.
Now you can answer one of my questions, he says, voice teasing. I feel my stomach drop, worried he’s going to ask me something that requires opening up more than I already have to Finn. Instead, he asks, What’s your favourite film?
