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“Hi,” Colleen said, opening the door. She pulled a short, blue seersucker bathrobe tight around her waist. “Come on in. I have to finish getting dressed,” she said over a shoulder, dashing into the bedroom and closing the door.
“Damn,” Finn said under his breath. When he visited the Murphys, he’d seen Colleen many times in a bathrobe. But it was different now. The image of Colleen’s exposed skin, giving a hint of her cleavage would be hard to shake all day. He wandered to the window, glancing at the park below where a couple sat together on a bench holding hands, their heads close together in conversation. Around them, toddlers and children ran by, but they focused only on each other. He’d never known that type of intimacy, but he wanted to.
“I’d offer you some coffee, but Sean doesn’t have any,” she said, returning to the living room.
He pulled his attention away from the window to focus on Colleen. She was lovely wearing white jeans, a white V-neck T-shirt, and sneakers. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. “I hope you haven’t had breakfast yet because I’m starving.”
“Do you still like waffles?”
She stared at him with wide eyes. “Are you kidding me?” She slipped on a pale, pink linen jacket.
“Let’s go before the diner on the corner gets too busy,” he said, guiding her out the door.
Walking alongside Colleen on the cobblestone path, Finn glanced up at the Romanesque-style building. Finn said, “Out of all the art museums in New York, the Cloisters is the first museum you want to visit?”
She glanced over at him. “I love all things medieval. And besides, my favorite medieval manuscript is here.”
After finding the location of the manuscript on the map, Finn and Colleen made their way through the museum, stopping for a moment in a gallery with medieval stained-glass windows.
The light shone through the window, bathing the space and Colleen in a kaleidoscope of colors. She was stunning in the colored light.
Colleen turned and gave him a dazzling smile. “It’s even better than I imagined.”
Her eyes were bright with excitement, and her upbeat mood was contagious. He leaned in close to her ear, wanting to tell her how beautiful she was. Instead, he swallowed, and said, “Show me this manuscript that captivates you.”
They made their way to the gallery referred to as “The Treasury.” It was dimly lit to protect the centuries-old objects.
“Here it is,” Colleen said, practically bouncing on her toes with excitement.
Finn peered into the glass case that held several manuscripts. “Which one?”
“The small one,” she said, tapping on the glass, while peering in to take a closer look. “I wanted to focus my research on it.”
“It’s so tiny. It’s only about the size of a credit card.” He read the card out loud, “‘The Hours of Jeanne d’Evreux.’ Why did you want to research it?”
Colleen gave a small shrug. “It’s a prayer book, so the area with text can’t be altered. But the margins are filled with tiny drawings and all kinds of fantastic creatures. You have to look closely to see all the details. I wanted to research if the artist had access to magnification tools when he made the manuscript.”
Finn remained quiet, studying her as she gazed closely at the book from different angles, a myriad of emotions crossed her face. He wondered what she was thinking.
Colleen kept her attention on the manuscript, running her hand slowly across the glass case. “Oh, well.” She pushed away from the case with a final glance back. “Maybe someone else will tackle that research one day,” she said, regret evident in the hush of her voice.
His heart clenched. Despite having to give up her dream, she was still happy to be here. He wished he could do something to restore her dream. “I’m sorry you didn’t get to finish your degree.”
“Thanks, Finn.” She blinked away a few tears. “We should go. I need to get ready for my first day on the job,” she said, straightening her shoulders.
“You should,” he said in a low voice, waiting for her to look at him. “But I have a better idea.”
Finn took her hand, lacing his fingers around hers. She glanced over at him at the same time he looked at her. She gave his hand a squeeze. No words were said.
Her slow grin was the response he’d hoped for.
CHAPTER 15
COLLEEN
Only yesterday, Colleen hadn’t been sure how it would be when she saw Finn again, and now they were holding hands. Even after all these years, her hand still felt right in his.
Ten years. A decade. So much shared history from their youth, but so little knowledge about how the events of his life had shaped who Finn was today. Those pieces intrigued her because the cocky, rich player had been replaced by someone far more serious and cautious.
