We were all laughing, as were the members of the crew around us.
“You two have quite a history. I imagine this one’s going to stick.” Lane smirked.
“I think it’s already sticking, Lane.”
And that wasn’t a lie.
fourteen
Reese
“What do you think?” Maggie asked as we stood in front of my new office space, looking at the logo she’d just painted on the window.
“I love it. It’s perfect. Thank you so much.” I took a couple of pictures with my phone to send to Finn, and we both hurried inside as the wind began to pick up.
“It looks so good. This has to make it feel very official.” Maggie and I had grown up together, and she owned Buttons & Boots, one of my favorite boutiques just a few doors down. She was an artist at heart, and painting was her true passion.
“It does,” I said, reaching into my purse and handing her the envelope with the money inside. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“Pfft. I’m thrilled that you’re making your dream a reality. I knew that working at Barley’s Party Supplies was not your end game. I’m proud of you for taking the leap.”
I motioned for her to sit in the cute chair that I’d been storing in my parents’ garage. It was a white-and-pink floral armchair I’d had recovered shortly before I’d moved, when I thought I’d be moving in with Carl. I took the seat behind my desk.
“Yeah. I was ready for a change.”
“You’re not kidding. I mean, the job is a big change, but dating Finn…” She clapped her hands together, and the widest grin spread across her face. “I’d say you upgraded with both.”
The comment caught me off guard. Not that Finn wasn’t the greatest guy I knew, but I didn’t know that Maggie wasn’t a fan of Carl.
“Thank you. Yeah, I’m really happy. But Carl and I are still friends. I still care very deeply for him.”
She winced. “Oh, man. I didn’t mean to imply anything bad about him. I just, well, I always felt like he wanted you to be on board with his plan. It always seemed like it was his way or the highway. I don’t doubt that he loved you like crazy, as much as a man like Carl can.”
A man like Carl?
“What do you mean, ‘as much as a man like Carl can’？” I pressed, because I understood my family and Finn having an issue with Carl, but not someone who didn’t know all the details of what had gone down between us.
“I just mean that I think Carl thinks very highly of himself. His first love will always be—well, Carl.” She chuckled. “But all those years of you and Finn hanging out all the time, it was never like that. You both always celebrated one another in every way. And I saw you do that with Carl, but I never saw him reciprocate that with you.”
My heart raced a bit at her words because I knew deep down there was some truth to them. Maybe that was why I’d decided to go to London.
Maybe I hadn’t been selfish at all.
Maybe I’d been trying to show him that I was just as important as he was. It was true. It was Carl’s way or no way, and after a while, that had gotten old. I’d lost myself and my identity while doing everything for him, his way. There was more to this than I’d realized, and now, talking with Maggie, I was seeing things more clearly.
“Yeah, Finn is a natural at making everyone feel like they’re the most important person in the room.” I chuckled.
“He’s charming, that’s for sure. But he’s never looked at anyone the way he looks at you. I’d always thought he was in love with you. I’m just glad he finally realized it.”
I sucked in a breath.
What was she talking about?
I mean, he was a damn good actor. But we hadn’t been pretending before now.
“I don’t know about that. This is new for us. We realized our feelings during our time apart.”
She raised a brow. “Maybe you did. But I think his were there long before yours were.”
I’m guessing she was confusing friendship with romantic feelings. Because I never doubted that he loved me for a minute—but not in a romantic way. Finn had the attention span of a toddler when it came to women.
Everyone knew that.
He wasn’t a womanizer like Jessica made him out to be. The man would never lie or risk hurting someone. He was honest about who he was. We’d talked about it dozens of times.
In fact, the only time he’d ever lied in all the years that I’d known him was right now. Because I’d asked him to.