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Colleen’s mom looked up and exclaimed, “Finn. Thank you for your toast to Jimmy. It was wonderful. Wasn’t it, Colleen?” Her mother waited for her answer.
“Thanks, Finn. My dad would have loved it.” She tried to sound polite, but she was exhausted.
“It’s the least I could do,” he answered.
“I’m so glad you and Molly came,” her mother said.
“I appreciate the invitation. Anyway, I wanted to say goodbye.” Finn slowly shifted his gaze from her mom to Colleen. His dark suit and white shirt emphasized his blue eyes.
Colleen looked into Finn’s eyes, unable to slow her speeding pulse. Would this be the last time she ever saw him? The question sparked a range of conflicting emotions. They’d been friends—maybe they would’ve become something more than friends—but he rejected her. That was a long time ago. There was no point in speculating about what could have happened between them. She had no doubt Finn must have countless women competing for his attention. She couldn’t push away the nagging thought of him with other women bothered her more than she wanted to admit.
Her mom pulled Finn in for a hug and whispered something into his ear.
Finn closed his eyes for a moment and nodded.
“Let me go find Molly to say goodbye,” she said, scurrying out of the kitchen.
Someone bumped into Finn and he stepped closer to Colleen. “So,” he said, a little flustered, “it was good to see you again.” Another uncomfortable pause followed. “Look—um—I want to—”
Colleen knew she had to shut this down right now. The sooner he left, the better. Otherwise, she might make a fool of herself again. “Goodbye, Finn.” Colleen pushed past him and headed back to the patio. She gathered a few paper plates and napkins scattered around tables and tossed them into the garbage.
“Wait a minute,” Finn said, following her.
Ignoring him, Colleen picked up a couple of beer cans from the side of the pool, chucking them into the recycling container.
“Colleen, stop for a minute. I want to talk to you.”
She spun around, hands on her hips. “I don’t have anything to say to you and I don’t want to hear anything you have to say to me.”
“Please. Let me talk to you and then I’ll leave.”
His voice was tense, but she was intrigued by his hopeful expression. She would allow him this opportunity to talk to her. Colleen took a quick look around the patio. Most of the people had moved back inside. With a curt nod, she took a seat on a white plastic chair.
Finn sat next to her. He leaned forward with his arms on his thighs, and his hands clasped together. “I told you before I wasn’t sorry for that night. But I want to explain why.”
After all these years, he was going to tell her why he tossed her aside. “Go on,” she said in a quiet voice, a little wary about what he was going to say.
“I came on too strong, and I scared you.”
Colleen remained silent, turning her attention to the cracks in the concrete patio. He didn’t scare her that night. The truth was that even though they’d only kissed, she’d never been kissed like that before. His passionate kisses had unleashed her inhibitions.
“But I’m not sorry for kissing you, or wanting to be with you,” he said, his voice low and insistent.
Colleen turned to him. “Then why did you tell Sean it was no big deal?”
“You were paranoid about Sean seeing us alone in the park. I was trying to brush it off so he wouldn’t tease you about it later.” He ran a hand down his face. “And to be honest, I was surprised you turned me down. I didn’t handle it well because I was also a lot drunker than I admitted.”
She lowered her head in frustration, taking a deep breath. She’d been humiliated by how Finn tried to make a joke about them being together.He’d listened to her while she shared her hopes and dreams, invited her to New York, and then kissed her. For years she’d clung to the belief that even though he never contacted her, his words had been sincere. A cold wave of insight washed through her. He probably hadn’t meant a word he’d said to her that night. It was like being pushed aside all over again.
“Are we done?” She wanted to put this chapter behind her once and for all. She had to get as far away from Finn O’Connor as possible.
He took a deep breath. “Look,” he said in a calmer voice. “I should have contacted you sooner to apologize, but there was so much going on with my father.”
Colleen lifted her head. Now he was moving into another sore point, but this one affected her family, not just her. “What he did wasn’t your fault. Even though your father cheated him out of money, my father never blamed him.”
“I did offer to give him his money back, but he refused,” Finn said, his voice firm.
“Yes, you did. Do you want to know why he didn’t accept your offer?”
