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“You two get caught up. I’m going to grab a beer for Brian.” Justin kissed her cheek. “I’ll be on the patio. See you later, Finn.”
“Nice to meet you.” He turned his attention back to Lucy. “I can’t believe you’re married to Justin Hamilton. You were so shy as a teenager. How did you manage to meet a famous rock star?”
“It’s a long story, but I think fate had a lot to do with it,” she said. “How are you doing?” she asked with a glance around the room. “I mean, being back here?”
Finn took another sip of beer, considering how best to answer a simple question that was loaded with meaning. “In many ways, it’s like I never left.”
“Colleen would never believe that.” Her tone was matter-of-fact, if not a bit too defensive.
He winced from Lucy’s honesty. Deep down, he’d hoped that somehow this would be a new beginning, but the fact that Lucy knew how Colleen felt did not bode well for him. But he still wanted to know what her best friend thought about Colleen. “How has she been?”
“Lately? I’m not sure. I wish I could see her more often, but Justin and I spend most of our time in England. If you want to know, you should ask her yourself. Anyway,” she said, taking a deep breath, “it was a long time ago. Colleen has moved on with her life and I’m sure you have too.”
“Sure,” Finn said. “It’s what people do. They move on.” What a stupid thing to say. It was clear Colleen had a boyfriend and a life of her own. But he couldn’t shake her expression when she saw him.
“Come with me.” Lucy gestured to the patio.
Lucy led him to a table with a faded blue market umbrella. Justin was busy with his phone and the other guy—the man who sat next to Colleen during the funeral—was in the middle of taking a phone call. This must be Brian. As they got closer, Finn noted Brian’s designer suit and Italian leather loafers. Impeccably styled blond hair and trendy tortoise shell glasses completed the flagrant display of wealth. He looked just like one of Finn’s classmates from his prep school days. All they cared about was partying and spending their daddy’s money.
“Hey,” Justin said, putting his phone away, settling Lucy into a chair.
“You must be another one of Colleen’s cousins,” Brian said, getting to his feet and sliding his phone into his jacket. “I’m Brian Waters, Colleen’s boyfriend.”
“Actually, I’m not a cousin. Finn O’Connor.” He extended a hand to Brian. “I’m an old friend of the family.”
“Finn’s and Colleen’s fathers grew up together in New York,” Lucy said. “Finn visited every summer. He’s almost a member of the family.”
“Is that right?” Brian shook Finn’s hand and let go, scrutinizing Finn from head-to-toe. “Then you’re like a brother to Colleen?”
“Not quite,” Finn said. “Although her father had a huge influence on me.”
“Are you a history teacher, too?” Brian asked.
“No. I wanted to be, but I chose a different path.” Finn wasn’t interested in sharing anything personal with this guy. So, he shifted the conversation away from himself. “What do you do?”
“I’m the senior curator of photography at the Preston Museum. But I’m considering an offer at the Seattle Art Museum. They’ve been after me for years,” he said with smug confidence. “It’s my hometown and it would be great to be near my parents again. They have an extraordinary home in Broadmoor. It’s a gated community and—”
“Excuse me, Brad,” Finn interrupted, “I see someone I have to say ‘hi’ to.”
“It’s Brian,” Brian grumbled.
“My apologies.” Did he deliberately get his name wrong? Hell, yeah, he did. “Good to see you again, Lucy. Nice to meet you, Justin.”
Finn made his way through clusters of guests. Once he entered the kitchen, he took a bottle of water from the old refrigerator and drank it down in a few gulps. He had no right to be here. Not after everything that had happened.
He turned to leave the kitchen and narrowly avoided colliding into Mrs. Murphy.
“Finn?” Mrs. Murphy asked.
“Mrs. Murphy.” Not sure what to do, he reached for her hand.
“For goodness sake, you called me Mrs. Murphy when you were a boy. You’re old enough to call me Eileen. Come here,” she said, pulling Finn into her arms. “It’s been too long.”
“I’m sorry about Jimmy. He’ll be missed by so many people, especially me,” Finn said.
“He gave me strict instructions not to mourn him forever. But—it’s hard,” she said, her voice choked with sobs.
Finn embraced Eileen and let her cry for a few moments. He had so many memories of Eileen comforting her children, it was a bit surreal to be the one comforting her.
