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“Cal, you’re practically family to him. That had nothing to do with me.”
“Stop making excuses,” Cal told her steadily. “You love him, too.”
She gasped and froze in her seat with a forkful of eggs halfway to her mouth. “I… I most certainly—” She couldn’t make herself deny it. She covered her face with one hand. “Do. God, I’m such an idiot.” Tears filled her eyes again. “I’ve loved him since I was eleven years old. Eleven. That’s a long fucking time.”
“Language.” Cal smirked.
She squeezed her eyes shut. “I think it’s time I accept we are never going to happen, and get over it.”
“Why do you say that?” Cal raised an eyebrow and he held up a hand to prevent her from answering. “I know. Kids. You’ve done your bit. Yada, yada, yada.” The he frowned, his eyes clouding over with regret. “I’m sorry, Sis. We would never have come to live with you if we’d known it was going to mess up your life.” He studied the table.
“Whoa. Who said anything about messing up my life? I have loved every minute spent with you and Ali. Every. Single. Minute.”
“Even the time I got suspended for pulling the fire alarm?”
“Maybe not those minutes.”
Mark laughed. “Don’t you see how much we love you, Cal? We wouldn’t have changed a thing. Not ever.”
“What about Finn?” Cal asked her, a hint of hope in his gaze. “I know you and he—”
“Will still be friends.” Not. She didn’t think they could ever go back to the way they were. “But the affair is over.”
“But you love him.”
She squirmed in her seat. “Sometimes that’s just not enough.”
“Just as well,” Mark said casually. “He thinks he’s not good enough for you.”
His words sent a dagger to her heart. This was a new development and most certainly not the reason why she and Finn had agreed to part.
“Not good enough? What’s that supposed to mean?” she demanded.
“I talk
ed to him yesterday.” Mark helped himself to more bacon and pressed it onto a piece of toast before he folded it and chomped down on it. With his mouth half full, he continued, “He thinks he’ll be a bad parent. That no woman would pick a man who can’t take care of his own kids. Especially you, since you’re so good at it.”
“What?” Since when had the tables turned? She was the one who couldn’t handle the baby. “No. Things were so much easier after he showed up. I actually started to believe maybe raising babies wouldn’t be so tough.” That raising babies with Finn was something she could do after all. Something she wanted to do.
“Well, he’s now convinced he sucks at it. Frankly, I’ve never seen him so low.”
“That’s just…insanely wrong.”
Oh, Finn. He’d already been having a tough time dealing with all the attention his brothers were getting, and asserting his own wishes and needs. He just didn’t know how and where he fit in. And now this. Of all the people to doubt his own ability as a parent…!
But she didn’t doubt it for a second. And she knew exactly where he fit in. Exactly what he had been put on this earth to do. He was a born mentor, a natural teacher. He had worked wonders with Cal, and every single kid he’d taught in the program. It was time someone recognized that. It was time for Finn O’Reilly to be recognized for the amazing man he was.
And she knew exactly what she had to do.
Chapter Fifteen
The back door to Carmel was wide open when Finn pulled into the lot. He was instantly alarmed. It was early in the morning and none of his staff usually showed up before noon. He got out of his car and grabbed his cell phone, his finger hovering over the nine.
He approached the back door and stepped over the threshold. The restaurant was quiet. Dark. Exactly the atmosphere for a burglar to make his living.
Before Finn moved farther inside, the crackle of gravel caught his attention. Another vehicle was pulling into the lot.
The sedan was nondescript. The getaway car?
