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Cora smiled. “That sounds like a fun adventure.”
“Yes, he always did love to travel. I think he might have done more of it, too, if he hadn’t decided to go into law.”
Cora remembered Finn’s story about his father being unjustly accused. If that had never happened, what a different life he might have had. Her gaze roamed over the photos of lush mountain ranges and barren desert canyons, until she landed on an image of a man and woman at the beach. The pretty woman’s head was thrown back, midlaugh, and the man looked awestruck. They were so clearly in love.
“My mom and dad,” Genevieve said wistfully. Then she pointed to another photo of two little kids. “And that’s me and Finn. As you can see, I was the bane of his existence.”
Cora looked at the photo of the mischievous little girl in a polka dot swimsuit, grinning as she held a bucket of water over her older brother’s head. He was busy building a sandcastle, oblivious to the deluge that was coming.
“What the picture doesn’t show,” Finn said from behind them, “is how I chased my sister down the beach with a hermit crab in retaliation. She was a tiny terror back then.”
Cora turned to smile up at Finn. He’d just come in from the patio, and his windblown hair was a glorious mess. She had the ridiculous urge to reach out and ruffle her fingers through it.
Genevieve gasped in mock outrage. “I was perfect.”
“Perfectly terrible, yes,” Finn said, his eyes sparkling with amusement.
Genevieve nudged him with her shoulder, and Cora suddenly felt like an intruder. This was one of those sibling relationships she’d always wished for but never had.
Genevieve’s phone chimed. “That’s the timer for the baked brie. I have to go pull it from the oven.” She was gone before Cora could respond.
Someone in the living room switched the music, and the crooning lyrics to “How Long Will I Love You?” floated in the air around them.
An awkward silence followed, where Cora was very aware of Finn standing beside her in the narrow hall. She hadn’t seen him since the night he’d arrived with Liam at Magnus’s lake house, and before that she’d only seen him at The Rolling Log. That was twice he’d rescued her, three if she counted the time he’d hauled her over his shoulder during the barn fight. She suddenly felt sheepish and a little shy.
“How’ve you been?” he asked softly.
“Oh, I’m fine.” Cora waved a hand like the fiasco with Magnus at the lake had been no big deal. “All in a day’s work, you know?”
Finn wasn’t amused. “I hope Magnus gets the book thrown at him.”
“Me, too,” Cora said with a sigh. “But he’s not going to go down without a fight.”
A muscle clenched in Finn’s jaw, and for a second Cora remembered how he’d looked as the undefeated Jackrabbit. She had so many things she wanted to ask him. It was strange how long she’d known Finn, but never reallyknownhim. Now that she’d seen a secret piece of his past, there was an intimacy between them she hadn’t expected. Maybe this is what happened when you each witnessed the other’s potential downfall. His in the cage fight, and hers in the lake.
“Finn.” Even though she was uncomfortable, Cora forced the words out because he deserved an apology. “I’m sorry I was so hard on you back at the barn that night. I was just really scared for you, and it made me so angry to think you could’ve gotten hurt because of me.”
“Don’t apologize.” He looked pained. “You did nothing wrong, Cora. All of that was my own doing. Let’s just put it behind us, okay?”
She nodded. “Thank you for the other night at the lake. You helped Liam find me, and I’ll never forget that.”
“He really cares for you,” Finn said quietly.
She looked up in surprise. “Liam? Yes, he’s a good friend.”
Finn leaned a shoulder against the wall, staring into his wineglass. “I saw you both on the dock.”
“Hmm?” Heat flooded her face, and she pretended to examine one of the photographs. Please don’t let this go where she thought it was going to go.
“Together.”
Crappity crap crap. He was talking about that frantic kiss she’d given Liam after he pulled her from the water. What was she supposed to say to that? “Oh, right. I was feeling a little crazy from adrenaline. It was a weird night.”
“Understatement of the year,” Finn said with an attempt at levity.
She didn’t know how else to respond. There wasn’t anything going on between her and Liam. Not yet, anyway. “Can you please forget what you saw?”
“Of course.” Finn’s expression became unreadable. He was so good at that. “I only meant you deserve to be happy, Cora. And if he gives you that, then I’m glad for you both.”
