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“I came to talk to you.” He sprawled into the corner of the couch. “I wanted to talk to you about—” Man up, O’Reilly. You want to talk about your future. Together. “Cal.”
A legitimate excuse to end up on her doorstep, knowing full well the kid would be at work.
He told his inner voice to shut up. “Did he ever give you a reason why he bailed on university?”
“He said it was stupid.” She dropped onto the opposite end of the couch. “That he knew he would never finish, and he didn’t want to waste our money.”
“Ah.” Finn had to give the kid credit. He’d come up with a more than reasonable excuse.
She shrugged. “Sort of valid, right?”
“Yes, but that’s not the real reason.”
“He spoke to you about it?” She looked at him in awe. “He refuses to talk to me or Mark.”
“He probably just needed someone removed from the situation to be a sounding board.”
When Finn didn’t continue, she grew impatient. “Well, what did he say?”
He didn’t relish betraying Cal’s confidence. But she had a right to know—so her family could fix what was broken.
“He’s afraid of being left behind again. He thinks if he leaves, he’ll lose you.”
She blinked. “That’s insane.”
“V, it makes sense. Foster care, Mark leaving. You’re the only person he feels he can count on. He’s terrified if he leaves, you’ll start living your own life and he might lose you, too.”
She shot him her best are-you-crazy? look. “That would never happen.”
“You and I both know that. He doesn’t.”
“But—” Her eyes drifted away as she contemplated his words. “It’s ridiculous.”
“Maybe. But it’s how he feels.”
Her shoulders had slowly crept up toward her ears. “So, you’re the foster child whisperer now. You came here today to tell me I’m wrong, and that I’m raising my own brother incorrectly. Great.”
“Did I say that?” Finn ran his hand through his hair. He should have stuck to his original plan to talk about his feelings. About her. “Christ. This is exactly why I swore I wouldn’t get involved in your family drama.”
“You’ve made that very clear on many occasions.” She shrugged. “But why now?”
“I—” He’d come here to tell her he wanted to take the next step. With them. To try a real relationship.
So much for that idea.
Kylie stirred and started to scream from her nest on the floor. His cue to leave.
He shook his head sadly. “How did we manage to get through weeks of kinky sex and continue a lifelong friendship, only to have our parenting philosophies torpedo it all?”
“We knew from the beginning we had different philosophies.” Veronica studied the carpet. “It was inevitable, I guess.”
She watched as he walked across the living room. Just before he got to the doorway, she said, “Thanks for telling me. About Cal.”
He nodded, then walked out the front door.
This was definitely the end. He’d been too afraid to man up and tell her he loved her, and instead he’d betrayed the confidence of a teenager because he was a chickenshit. He only hoped their twenty-year friendship could still come out unscathed. And if it didn’t, at least he opened her eyes to the reasoning behind Cal’s behavior. At the end of the day, he only wanted her to be happy. For Cal to be happy.
Then again, even if he had been brave, tonight had proven he was not the man he’d thought he was. A baby whisperer he was not. He had been defeated by a diaper. If he couldn’t do that simple task, how was he going to deal with the really important stuff? And why would any woman choose a man who couldn’t even take care of his own child?
