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They strolled to the patio. Large, whicker couches filled the space. Sections of pruned brushes sprouting fragrant flowers grew from earthen pots. A small, glass coffee table was the perfect size to kick his legs up.
Finn resisted the urge and planted his feet on the floor. The patio overlooked the pool and the water shimmered brightly. Toads and grasshoppers lifted their voices in a throaty concert that was almost deafening.
He turned to Jewel. “Something on your mind?”
“No.” She tipped her chin up and soaked in the expanse of the star-lit sky. “Yes.”
He cocked his head.
Jewel licked her lips, gaze still locked above. “Do you think I’ll ever be normal?”
“Normal?”
“I want to be like everyone else,” Jewel croaked. “I want to feel comfortable in short dresses and wear high heels and makeup. I want to hold an intelligent conversation with a man. I want to stand in an elevator without anyone’s help.” Her eyes flitted to his. “As much as I appreciated it.”
“Well,” Finn settled his hand on his knee, “normal is highly overrated.”
“You can say that.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know,” her hands fluttered, “you’re… abnormally good-looking.”
“Abnor—is that a compliment or an insult?”
She laughed.
He smiled softly. “If there’s one thing I know, it’s that we’re all just people searching for some meaning in this crazy life. No one is ‘normal’. There’s really no such thing.”
“I guess you’re right.” She studied him.
“What?”
“That was deep.”
“You sound surprised.” He arched an eyebrow at her. “I’m a very deep person.”
She giggled. “Right.”
He noticed her smile and jerked his chin back toward the building. “You ready to jump back in?”
“Actually, I’d prefer to go home.”
“Home?” He blinked. “But the reception just started.”
“It’s been a long day. I’m proud of myself for getting through it, but I don’t think I can handle any more.”
“I’ll take you home. But first, you should tell your friends. I don’t want Carrie to track me down and smother my face with a pillow because she thinks I kidnapped you tonight.”
Jewel laughed so hard she snorted.
Finn watched her with a grin. When she wasn’t diving into corners and hiding from the world, she was so breathtakingly beautiful it made his chest hurt.
“They are protective,” Jewel wiped her eyes. “And I could totally imagine Carrie doing that.”
He grinned and twirled his key ring on his finger.
“I’ll be right back,” Jewel said, rising to her feet and traipsing past him.
