Page 46 of Match Made in the Maldives

“Dad, seriously,” I say with a chuckle. “Tricking me like that. Could you please not mention that to anyone? Even mom.”

“Cross my heart.” He makes an X on his chest with his pointer finger. “Though it’s a bigger deal in your head than in reality. Finn’s family. We’d be lucky if you two got together.”

“But what if…” I can’t even finish the sentence.What if we don’t work out? What if he ends up not wanting me?

“Finn’s a good man. But Finn doesn’t always recognize that. Sells himself short. Whatever has happened between you, I’m sure he’s scared more than anything. Worried about losing you. But the love you have for him, the love you’ve got for each other is deeper than romantic love. That endures no matter what.”

“Aaron will hate me dating Finn.”

“He’ll get over it. Might seem strange at first, but he’d like you together more than he realizes.”

“He freaked out yesterday,” I say, leaning into my father’s warmth and comfort.

“Your brother may have underestimated your feelings for each other. It’s one thing for you to have a secret affair. Another thing if it’s love.”

I want Finn in my life. Need him. If I went to him right now on my hands and knees and he turned me away, I’d still only ever want the best for him. I’d hurt until the day I die, but I’d rather have him in my life as a friend than not at all.

“Promise me you’ll give something a chance, if you really want it.”

“Sure,” I whisper.

So what do you want, Lou?

“I mean it,” my dad says. “Just like you and your business. It’s hard right now, not the success you’d imagined, but it can be one day. You’re giving it a shot, and I’m proud of you for that.”

He stands up to go, and my vision has faded into a watercolor painting.

“Same with Finn,” he goes on. “Who knows what’s there? But sometimes you don’t have the end in sight. You just have to take that leap and improvise. Might not be perfect, now or ever, but it could get pretty damn close.”

I crawl into bed that night, wishing Finn had spent more time in my room so I could catch his scent on my pillows. I hope he’s okay and holding up. When I check my phone, disappointment barrels into me when I notice he hasn’t texted. I feel like I’m living with my heart outside of my body. What I wouldn’t give to soar to his side this instant.

Chapter Seventeen

Finley

“You can go home now, little bro,” Blake says as he passes me in the hospital hallway.

“They might release her today. I’ll stick around.”

“This is just like you. Swooping in last-minute, acting like a superhero and shit.”

I grind my jaw.Do. Not. Engage.Since showing up yesterday to help Mom, I’ve had to bite my tongue against more than one of his snarky comments.

“The doctor who did her early morning check-up said she saw a lot of improvement,” I say. “Heading home today’s a possibility since she’s on track for a full recovery, but because of her age, they may want to keep her another twenty-four hours.”

“Well,” he says, examining the bouquet of tulips in his hand, “not like we need you here, anyway. Surprised you cut your trip to paradise short.”

“She had to have her appendix taken out. Of course I’m here.”

When I received the message from Blake yesterday, Aaron and Mel were the people to help me figure out what to do. But beforeI got out a word, Aaron apologized for how he’d acted. Maybe Mel talked some sense into him, or maybe he came around to the idea of me and his sister together.

“It’s kind of weird,” he’d said with a laugh, “and we should set some boundaries on what you tell me about, like,stuff, if you date and all. But I was being an ass.”

At least I had my best friend back. But nothing could take back what happened between me and Lou, and nothing would change her mind.

Mel located the hospital where my mom had been admitted, and I had no choice but to leave the resort. But I walked past Lou’s room twenty times wondering whether I should go in and say goodbye, even though she’d be asleep. I regret not doing that. When I got on that seaplane, she already felt half a world away. By leaving, I turned my back on how close we’d grown over the past week, treating it like some vacation affair. If it weren’t for my mom’s surgery, I would have marched right into Lou’s room, waking her and everyone else up because I don’t care—I love her so damn much it hurts.

Telling anyone about us scared me, though, and I’d ignored how Lou was practically begging to make things work. That she wanted to be together so badly, she didn’t mind if her family found out.

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