Page 65 of Molly's Mr. Wrong
“Yeah. It did.” The mental ones, anyway. The physical ones...not so much. “Thanks for inviting me.”
Molly opened her car door and Finn stepped back. “Hey,” she said softly. “Since I’m here—” and since they were not at odds with each other “—tell me about Chase. What did you mean about him going nowhere but up?”
One corner of Finn’s mouth tightened briefly. “His dad died in prison.”
Molly’s mouth fell open. “I...uh—”
“Chase is not his dad. He’s a good kid.”
“But still.”
“We can’t all come from Ozzie and Harriet backgrounds.”
“I realize that. I just feel protective of my sister. I don’t want her involved with anyone who would—” she made a helpless gesture “—I don’t know, screw up her life?”
“I get that. I’m sure Chase doesn’t want to be involved with anyone who would screw up his life, either. He’s working hard, Molly.”
“What’s his mother like?”
“Not dangerous, if that’s what you’re asking. She’s a sweet woman who got hooked up with the wrong guy.”
And that was exactly what Molly was hoping her sister wouldn’t do. She suddenly had more questions. Lots of them.
“He’s never been in trouble.”
“Not like I was.”
She gave him a dark look over the top of her glasses. “That’s not reassuring.”
“He thinks Georgina is perfect.”
“Well, I’ll give him a couple points for that.” She let out a sigh. “I don’t want to come off as a snob.” A lift of his eyebrows told her that was exactly what she was coming off as, which ticked her off. “I’m just being protective, okay? There’s a difference. If I was a snob, I would look down on Chase because of his background. I don’t. I think he’s a nice kid.”
“But not nice enough for your sister?”
Molly crossed her arms. “Positions reversed...how would you feel?”
Finn considered. “I’d be okay with it. His dad is dead.”
Molly pressed her lips together, then unfolded her arms. “I don’t want to ruin what’s been a nice evening.”
“Then trust me when I say that Chase is a nice kid who won’t do your sister wrong.”
Molly bit her lip, and then opened her car door. “I wish I could, Finn...but I just don’t know.”
“Here’s the thing, Molly...”
His tone stopped her as much as his words. She glanced over at him and he said, “Like it or not, you judge people. Chase is not good enough for your sister, and I’m not good enough for you.”
“I never said you weren’t good enough.”
“It was heavily implied.”
“What I said has nothing to do with your worth as a person. It has to do with what I can and cannot deal with in my life.”
“How am I so lacking?” He reached out to put his hand on the top of her open car door, essentially caging her in.
She dropped her chin, tried to find words before looking back up at him. He was watching her closely, as if her answer honestly mattered—whether he wanted it to, or not. “It’s not a lack. It’s incompatibility.”
