Page 34 of The Dangers of Daydreaming

“Excuse me?”

“—Spine,” he finished with twinkling eyes. “For the last ten minutes. The beach always fixes everything.”

“Could it break off my mom’s engagement for me? That’d really help.”

His teasing grin turned pitying, and I looked back at the water to avoid seeing it.

“You don’t like him?”

“No, he’s fine,” I said, disgusted that I was even sharing this. “I’m the problem.”

“Meaning?”

“You know, I think you were right. Feelings are gross.”

Half his mouth hitched up in a little smile, but he didn’t say anything.

My shoulders sagged. “Meaning, he seems super nice. He’s got a stable job, doesn’t only talk about himself, and he isn’t my age, which is a bonus. Woohoo,” I gave a fake cheer, twirling my fingers in the air. “But my mom’s a romantic—she has thought every guy she dated was fantastic, thought they were all marriage material. And they weren’t.”

Finn made a sound of contemplation. I hated to consider what he might be thinking. Probably that I was worse than a petulant toddler, complaining over my mom finding love. Maybe I should tell him I felt exactly like that, but I wasn’t able to do anything about it. Deep down, this all just seemed wrong.

I couldn’t stand the silence, so I filled it. “Two weeks ago, she moved up the wedding. It was supposed to be a Christmas wedding—she even learned how to use Pinterest to pin pictures of evergreen centerpieces and red velvet bridesmaids' dresses. But she and Brian decided they didn’t want to wait that long, and now they’re getting married next month. One month. In Mexico. She just sent me a bunch of pictures of wedding dresses, and I feel like a horrible daughter because I amsoglad I am here instead of there. I don’t want to watch as she rushes to the altar, blinded by… by…”

“Love?” Finn asked.

I winced and barely avoided wrinkling my nose in disgust. “Sure, that, I guess.”

“So that’s the problem? You don’t think she could be in love with this guy for real.”

It wasn’t a question, but I needed to defend myself—to prove I wasn’t crazy. “She's happiest when she’s alone, you know. She thinks she’s happier when she’s in a relationship, but she was miserable married to my dad, and once she gets over the break-up, she’s like a new person. She gets out of the house, does stuff, and makes friends… She’s just happier.”

“Is she happier, or does she just put on a good face?”

I pressed my eyes closed. I didn’t even know why I was telling him all of this, I could barely make sense of it in my own head, but I knew my mom. I had been around longer than anybody. Any of the boyfriends, even my own dad—I knew her better. And love was not the answer to her problems.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to push, just trying to figure out how to help.”

I shook my head. “Don’t worry about it. I didn’t mean to unload my family drama on you.” And when he’d had such a hard day. Another brick of guilt settled on my chest to add to the lovely little chimney I was building.

His lips lifted in a crooked grin. “I kind of like it, it takes my mind off my own.”

“If you want family drama, let me tell you about this fiancé my cousin has. Talk about someone who shouldn’t get married…”

Finn laughed, his head tipping back with the entertainment. “You really don’t like love, do you?”

“No, seriously, this guy is a piece of work. I’m contemplating standing up and objecting at their wedding like I belong in a Taylor Swift song.”

“Do youneed a date for the wedding? I’ll stand up and object with you if this guy is a real jerk.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I think I’m okay on the date front.”

“Is that your way of saying you already have someone going with you?” He wasn’t smiling, but everything in his expression outside of his lips made it look like he was. His eyes were creased with amusement; even his cheeks looked like they held back a laugh. There was the Finn I knew—not the sincere, serious one, but the one who would flirt and tease with a scarecrow if it was wearing a skirt.

“No, that’s my way of saying you live in a different country than I do.”

He lifted a shoulder. “They have these things called airplanes.”

“You are very funny. I think I will stick with my tried-and-true date, though.”

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