Page 58 of Sunshine
“Izzy and I are hiking this morning, then having a picnic.”
He makes a play for the antipasto baguette, and I shove him aside but he’s too big for it to have an impact as he weaves around me and takes a slice.
“Cool,” he says around a mouthful of sandwich. “Mind if I come?”
“Uh…”
“Come where?” Daisy appears out of thin air, slips around me, and nabs a muffin from the batch I’ve boxed up in a container.
“I’m taking Izzy on a hike,” I tell her.
“Oh, it’s the perfect day for it.” Daisy’s bottom lip sticks out in a disappointed pout. “I’ve got trail rides this morning, or else I’d go too.” She reaches up to kiss my cheek, then does the same to Finn. “Have fun,” she calls on her way out.
“We will,” Finn shouts back as he drops into a dining chair with his apple and half-eaten sandwich and— When the fuck did he steal that muffin?
I glance toward the stairs, then the front door, impatient for Poppy to get here but praying for a few more minutes so I can deal with the problem that is my brother. When did he become a fucking joiner?
“Daisy said your date didn’t work out,” he says.
“Where have you been? That was two weeks ago, and no. It didn’t.”
“Sorry, bro. That sucks.”
“Yeah. I mean, no. I mean, these things happen.”
“True. So, what happens next? Five bucks says Daisy’s already got another candidate lined up. Am I right?”
“No. I don’t know. Shit. I hope not.”
Finn chuckles quietly and shakes his head. “So, you’re not interested in finding someone? I’m not suggesting you get married, but what about someone to have fun with?”
I think about Poppy and what we’re doing. It’s undefined and spontaneous and messy, so by default, we’re doing exactly what Finn’s talking about—having fun—but it makes me uncomfortable to think about her that way. What I do know is that as long as we’re doing whatever it is we’re doing, I have no interest in thinking about other women, let alone dating them.
“I can find my own dates if I want them, and there’s zero chance I’ll let Daisy push me into one of her blind fix-ups again.” I cross my arms and regard Finn with a smug smile. “You’ve been single for at least as long as I have. Keep yapping, and I might accidentally suggest to our matchmaking little sister that you’re the brother who needs help—not me.”
He scowls. Hard. “Fine. I’ll shut up.”
“Good.”
It’s then that I notice Poppy hovering by the back door, and I wonder how much of our conversation she heard. When she realizes she’s sprung, Poppy walks in like she wasn’t trying toeavesdrop and grins brightly as she checks out the boxes and bags of food I’m stowing in my insulated backpack.
“Hey,” she says. “What’s going on here?”
“Hike,” Finn says around a mouthful of muffin. “Picnic.”
“Oh?” Poppy glances at Finn, then at me. “And you’re making enough food to last a week in case he gets lost in the woods?”
“No.” I try to act nonchalant like this wasn’t all a plan to spend some time with Poppy and my daughter away from my family. “I organized Liz to cover for me at the restaurant so you, me, and Izzy could revisit one of Mom’s old trails.”
Poppy’s face is unnaturally still, and she rolls her lips like she knows what I’m trying to do—and that I was thwarted by my big brother.
I shake my head with a tired but amused chuckle. “Finn’s going to tag along too.”
Finn grins like a clueless goofball and stuffs the last morsel of muffin into his mouth.
“Sounds like a good time.” Poppy offers a high-five to Finn, that he returns with a sharp smack. “Let me run upstairs to make sure Izzy isn’t wearing her ballet slippers and bathing suit, and I’ll steal a pair of Daisy’s boots while I’m at it.”
“I bought Izzy new boots,” I tell her, and Poppy looks pleasantly surprised. “But you might need to check she’s wearing the right socks.”
