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“Yeah, I know.” She closes her eyes. “He asked me not to go into detail.”
“How about we pretend like you tried really, really hard, but I kept pushing and pushing and finally tricked it out of you?”
She stretches her legs and sighs. “Honestly, it’s not all that complicated. Finn is currently waging a war of revenge against everyone that wronged him. No big deal. Just a touch of murder.”
I blink rapidly. “Excuse me?”
“Here’s the thing about your husband.” She leans toward me, eyebrows raised. “He has a temper.”
“I noticed that.”
“And sometimes, he can get a little violent.”
“I… assumed that.”
“He’s turning that temper and that violence against you-know-who.” She waggles her eyebrows. “Anyway, it’s all very exciting, except it’s not and now here I am.”
I let that sink in. Finn’s starting a war against the McLaren family—but what does that mean? They don’t have any soldiers. It’s only Clive, his wife, and his daughter, plus whatever staff they have on hand. That’s not the same as going up against a rival gang or something. What’s Finn thinking?
I wish I were there so badly it hurts. I want to hear his voice, feel his palms on my skin, taste his lips against mine. I want him to cook me breakfast, tuck me in at night, and wash my back in the shower.
It’s startling how I’ve gotten used to him bossing me around, and how much I’ve grown to love it.
Which makes me lean toward Genna. I grab her hand, squeezing. She looks somewhat bewildered—I get the sense she’s not good with emotions. “We were taking it seriously. He and I.”
She softens slightly. “He mentioned that.”
“I wanted to give it a shot.” I fight back the lump in my throat, refusing to cry. That’d only freak poor Genna out even more. “I mean, I still do, but it’s kind of hard when I haven’t heard from him in days.”
“He’s okay, seriously, Finn’s way stronger than you probably realize.”
“I know that.” I hold her hand tighter. “I’m just afraid. Not for me, but for him.”
“Don’t be. He’ll get out of this.” She grins and pats the back of my hand. “Meanwhile, we get to spend a lovely vacation in the middle of—” She hesitates, smile slipping. “Where the hell are we again?”
I laugh, unable to help myself. Genna looks so out of place in my little small Iowa town, to chic and beautiful, but I love her so fiercely in this moment and I’m so happy she’s here.
“Do you want to stay here? With me and my family, I mean. We have a room—”
“No, thanks,” she says quickly, pulling her hand away. “That’s a super nice offer, but, uh, I found an adequate hotel, and this trip is on Finn’s dime, so I’m going to enjoy myself.” She hesitates. “Can I enjoy myself? Here, I mean? You know, am I going to get stoned as a witch if I look at a woman the wrong way?”
“No,” I say, laughing softly, but my laughter dies down after I consider for a second. “Well, maybe.”
“Great.” Genna sighs. “I miss Boston already.”
“Cheer up. We have mini golf!”
She groans and puts her face in her hands.
I happily tell her all about the competing gas stations, the three restaurants, the movie theater that hasn’t been updated in thirty years, and the mall, which also hasn’t been updated in thirty years. She shifts deeper and deeper into her seat. By the time I’m done, she’s basically a puddle on the floor.
“He wanted me to pass a message along,” Genna says as she stands and stretches, getting ready to head out. “Don’t take this the wrong way, okay? Because I definitely don’t want to do this, but he insisted.”
“Uh, okay.”
She pulls me to my feet and hugs me. I’m startled for a second. She hugs me tight, and once I settle into her embrace, my eyes closed, I can pretend it’s Finn’s arms wrapped around me—except Finn doesn’t smell like strawberries, and he doesn’t have big, soft boobs, and his hair isn’t huge. But it’s close.
“There. Don’t get any ideas.” She pats my cheek fondly. “I am never, ever going to hug you again. Now, I’m off to the lovely Days Inn where I am booked into their finest suite. Here’s hoping I don’t see any roaches.” She crosses her fingers, looking miserable.
