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Genna laughs. “That was probably an option.”
“Probably,” I mutter. “But the worst thing in all this is I keep wanting Dara to sleep in my bed.”
“Uh, how’s that a bad thing again? Your pretty, pregnant wifeshouldbe sleeping in your bed.”
“When we started this, I had this idea that we’d keep our relationship, you know,professional. She’s staying in the guest suite. We’d keep a cordial distance.”
I can hear Genna’s eyes rolling over the phone. “Have I ever told you that you’re a stupid man?”
“It was a practical idea. I don’t want her to get hurt.”
“Do you plan on hurting her?”
“No, of course not, but it’s just—”
“It’s just what?” She lets out a long sigh. “Look, I’ve known you a long time, Finn. You’re a good man even if you’re stubborn. But youarestubborn. Don’t let yourself ruin a good thing.”
“I’m not ruining anything.” I work my jaw, annoyed at this conversation’s turn. I want Genna to tell me I’m doing all the right things—but I also want her to be honest with me.
“I’m just saying, if you want the girl then let yourself go for it. Stop holding back just because you’re afraid.”
“It’s more than that.” I stare out the windshield, shifting in my seat. “Let’s say we give this thing a real try, and it doesn’t work out. I don’t know why, but something goes wrong and we fuck it up. What do we do then? We’re in this for the kid, so it’s not like we’ll get divorced and move on. We’ll be stuck in this awkward mess trying to push through a failed relationship.”
“All relationships are risky. You can’t go around refusing to get involved just because it might not be perfect. Nothing’s ever perfect. You have to work for it and you have to want it.”
“This is different. We’re having a kid together and we’re already married, which means we’re starting in a really weird place.”
“So what? Life’s weird. Deal with it.”
I grind my teeth. Genna can be so damn flippant sometimes. “Dara’s a nice person. No, listen, she’s agoodperson. You know how my family is, and if I get close to her, I’m going to corrupt her, and I don’t want that to happen.”
“Oh, right, so everyone you get near ends upcorrupted, just like me, huh?” She barks a laugh. “Get over yourself.”
“You are corrupted, you selfish asshole, and we’re not together,” I grumble. “But I mean it, you know how my family is. My parents already don’t like her. Nolan and Carson will always hold a grudge. Liam’s still Liam. What’ll happen five years from now? Ten years?”
“Nobody knows, but you also can’t torture yourself wondering. Just be happy for once in your damn life and stop overthinking everything.”
Genna’s right, despite being abrasive about it, and I know she’s right, but that doesn’t make it easy. Keeping things cordial and professional with Dara is a way to protect her from the seedier, more dangerous aspects of my life, but I feel those walls crumbling rapidly every time we’re around each other.
It’s undeniable, this thing between us, but I’m afraid it’ll fuck everything up. I want this baby to have a good life, and I’d rather raise him or her with a close friend than a woman I fell for but ruined everything with because our feelings got involved in a complicated situation. It would be easier if we could divorce ourselves from this, look at it like a partnership, and remain in neutral terms.
Instead, we’re fucking. And it’s really good.
I pull up to the McLaren house after a long drive. Their place is nice—large, expansive, but not as lavish as the Crowley mansion. I park near a row of sports cars and get out, stretching my legs, when a woman in a simple white tennis dress comes out the front door, shading her eyes.
“Finley Crowley?” she asks, walking toward me.
“Finn,” I say.
She smiles. “I’m Tessa McLaren, Robin’s mother.” She shakes my hand. Tessa’s got thick, dark hair, and is significantly younger than her husband, though still in her late forties. But she does remind me a lot of her daughter. “Come out back, Robin’s waiting.”
“I apologize for dropping in like this.”
“No apologies necessary. We were expecting you.” She takes me around the side of the house and through a gate. “You should’ve seen how happy Robin was after you called and broke things off with her. I know, it’s strange, but she was so liberated. I’ll be honest, the arranged marriage thing, I didn’t really like it, but my husband insisted.”
“Robin’s a very smart woman,” I say, keeping my tone level. “I’m sure she’ll find a good match when she’s ready.”
“She absolutely will.” Tessa stops and faces me before we leave the shadows of the foliage beside the house. “Since you did that favor for my daughter, I’ll do this favor for you. My husband is angry. He’s very, very angry, and he doesn’t plan on letting you off the hook anytime soon.”
