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I know!I mouth back with a grin.
While Finn is helping Alyssa to her room, I quickly get the coffee ready. When he steps back into the living room, I set the mugs on the coffee table, and we take a seat on the sofa.
“Alyssa seems nice,” he says with a funny smirk.
“Oh God. What did she say to you?” I palm my forehead and groan. “Her brain-to-mouth filter doesn’t work sometimes.”
Finn chuckles. “Let’s just say she has your best interest at heart.”
I’ll have to talk with Alyssa when Finn leaves. “I haven’t known her long, but it’s like we’ve been friends for years. I got lucky finding her. I’m glad she applied for the job at Alessi’s for me.”
“Me too.”
I swing my head toward Finn. Sincerity shines from his eyes. “Really?” I ask.
“It’s crazy, I know.” He grins at me.
We pick up our coffee mugs and sip the brew in comfortable silence. When I finish, I put my mug on the table and turn to him. A question has been on my mind since I saw his leg. I rub the spot over his pants. “How did you get the scar?” There’s so much I don’t know about Finn. I want to catch up on everything I’ve missed.
Shifting in his seat, he places his mug next to mine. “Doing something stupid.”
I frown. “What did you do?”
For a moment, he stares at the floor.
Maybe this is something he doesn’t want to talk about. I shouldn’t have brought it up. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to tell me,” I say.
He pulls in a deep breath. “That’s okay. If you’re being open about your past, I can too.”
I avert my eyes away for a second. I hate that there’s more to tell him. How can I? It will destroy his relationship with his father.
“The day of your wedding, I came to see you.”
I snap my head up with a gasp. “You did? No one told me. Why did you come?”
“I wanted to talk to you. Change your mind. He was nearly as old as my father. There had to be a reason you married him.” Finn rubs his forehead. “Your parents came to the door. They wouldn’t let me inside. Told me you’d made your decision. You were the happiest you’ve ever been, and I needed to accept it. When I think back, they couldn’t look me in the eye. They couldn’t look me in the eye because they felt guilty for prostituting their daughter for money.”
God, if I’d seen him that day, there was no way I could have gone through with the wedding, no matter the consequences. My throat clogs with emotion.
“I called out to you. I didn’t even know if you were in the house. But I yelled and tried barging inside. Security guards at the door had to drag me away.”
Tears slide down my cheeks, and I swipe them away. How could the people I thought loved me more than anything in the world have done something so horrendous—to their only child…to Finn? Just to get themselves out of trouble?
“After they kicked me off the property, I sped away in my car and wrapped it around a power pole. It was a miracle I survived the accident. I spent weeks in the hospital.”
Feeling ashamed for what I caused and needing to comfort Finn, I place my head on his chest. Finn wraps his arms around me. I’m so grateful he doesn’t reject me. “I’m so sorry for the pain I caused you. No one told me about the accident.” If they had, there was no way they could have kept me from him.
Finn places a finger under my chin and tilts my face up. “It’s in the past. Let’s forget about it.”
Hope springs into my chest. “Does this mean you’ve forgiven me?” He grows still. I stop breathing as I wait for his answer.
“I…I’m trying.”
I exhale with regret. Of course it’s not going to be so easy. He’s spent years hating me. Years thinking the worst of me. He’d stopped loving me. Feelings can’t come back with the snap of his fingers.
He must have sensed my disappointment, because he says, “We’re friends, right? That’s a good start. It’s a lot to absorb. Give me time.”
“Okay.” I nod. But I don’t have time. He’ll be gone in a few weeks. His life will go on without me.
