Page 100 of Finlay

“You arenotweak, Chester,” Finn said fiercely, clasping the back of my neck and bringing his forehead to mine. “You were abused and manipulated. You were under the control of another but yousurvived.”

A sob broke from me, but Finn didn’t falter. He didn’t letme go. “You could’ve given up, Chester, but you didn’t. You kept going, day after day. And look where you are now. You have a whole new life that’s just yours. Yours, not Matt’s. He can’t take that away from you.”

“Even that wasn’t me though,” I said between sobs. “I didn’t do any of this on my own. I had help.”

“Ye may have had help getting started,” Finn said in a low voice. “But who set up Thistle Do Nicely? You. Who employed Reid? You. Whose work do customers come back for again and again? Yours. Who turned that empty house on the loch into a home? You did, Chester.”

He kissed my tears away. “You might’ve had a helping hand getting here, but you’re the one who’s made a success of it. You could’ve shut yourself away in your house and never faced society again. I wouldn’t have blamed ye for it.”

The tears were dwindling as Finn’s words burned away the guilt and the shame. As he replaced Matt’s vitriol with his own support.

“You’re so damn strong, Chester. Look how far you’ve come after what you’ve been through. It took me over a hundred years to be ready to move on with my life, but you? You’ve managed to do it in less than a year. If that doesn’t tell you how strong ye are, I don’t know what will.”

I wasn’t sure how long we stood there, foreheads pressing together, Finn’s hand around the back of my neck. It could’ve been a minute or an hour.

When I finally lifted my head, Finn smiled. “Does that make you feel better about any of your fears? It’s okay if it doesn’t.”

“Well, we’ve looked at it in a very broad way.”

“Aye.” Finn’s forehead crinkled. “I wanted you to think about all possible future relationships.”

“That’s the problem though. We’ve taken you out of the equation.”

He wasn’t keeping up with me. “And?”

“And—” I touched his cheek as I flayed myself open. “—you’re the only one I can picture being part of the equation. There’s no point in me thinking about potential future relationships, because I can’t imagine being with anyone other than you right now.”

Finn went completely still. “Really?”

“Really. I’m not saying I’m ready to dive in head first, but you’re it for me, Finn. If I can’t make it work with you, I’m not sure I want to attempt it with anyone else.”

Joy flashed over his face, so bright it was almost blinding. “Fuck. Okay, well, let’s put me back in the equation.”

“That’s what I was saying.”

“No.” He rubbed his nose against mine and grinned. “I meant in the context of your fears.”

“You don’t have to, Finn.”

“But I want to.” He took both my hands in his. “Is that okay?”

If I weren’t already convinced he was the one for me, this would’ve sealed the deal. Finn was literally asking permission to address each of my fears and explain how it might affect the relationship he foresaw for us.

He was beyond perfect.

“It’s more than okay.”

“Walk or stand?”

“Let’s walk,” I said. The wind had picked up while we’d been stood there and my coat definitely wasn’t thick enough. “And if you wouldn’t mind letting me borrow your body heat, I’d be immensely grateful.”

Finn drew me into him with a chuckle, his arm a steady weight around my shoulders. “That’s as good a place tostart as any, I guess. A relationship with me would come with body warming as standard.”

I snorted. “Always handy to know.”

“And I’d never expect ye to change, Chester.” His tone turned serious as he continued. “Or to stop being yourself. This is the version of you I’m falling for—why would I want anything else?”

I snuggled closer to him. “There’s too much logic there for me to argue with.”

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