Page 69 of Capture The Moment

Shoving his hands through his hair, Finn said, “I don’t feel guilty.”

“Well, I do.”

And there it was. The elephant in the room, or the ghost as it were. Just like she’d told Julia earlier, there was no getting around this barrier between them. There would always be something or someone there to remind them of Blake.

“Do you want me to leave?”

She looked at him closely for the first time since he’d arrived. When she’d answered the door, he’d looked just as excited as she’d been, and now this. “No,” she said.

He sighed. “Come here.”

Indecision must have been written all over her face, because he added, “I just want to hug you.”

It struck her that he was always there to comfort her right when she needed it. She took two steps and was instantly wrapped in his warm embrace. Nestling her head against his chest, she inhaled deeply and said, “Smells good.”

“Thanks. It’s Polo by Ralph Lauren.”

She slapped him on the arm. “Not you! The food!”

“Ouch!” Finn said and took a step back.

And then a laugh escaped, followed by another and another until she was full-out snorting with laughter. Somehow, the tension had morphed into uncontrollable giddiness.

“That’s it. Keep laughing while I dish out our dinner,” Finn said, pretending to be offended.

By the time she’d calmed down, he’d dished out sweet and sour chicken, fried rice, and egg rolls, and now he was rooting around in the refrigerator for some drinks.

While he was bent over, she came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Finn?”

“Yeah?”

“You smell good too,” she said softly.

With two beers in his hands, he turned into her arms and gave her a quick kiss. “Thank you.”

During dinner, they ate quietly, each lost in their own thoughts.

“Guess that was another one of those weird moments, huh?” Finn finally said between bites.

“I’d say so. I was shocked when Trish showed up here. She usually calls first, and even then, she doesn’t come over very often, especially since…”

“Blake died,” he finished.

Harper swallowed hard and stared down at her plate.

“Hey. You don’t have to do that, you know?”

“Do what?”

“Hide from me or pretend that it doesn’t hurt. I know that it still hurts like hell.”

Glancing up at him, she nodded.

He reached over and ran the back of his hand gently across her cheek. “It’s better if we talk about it, don’t you think?”

She shrugged. “I used to think so, but now I don’t know.”

“Why? Because we made love?”