Chapter Twenty-Five

Aiden took a shaky breath.

Two days after the blowout, and one minor burn on his wrist from his misadventures with the oven, he stood outside of Finn’s house. All he had to do was raise his fist and knock. Or, Aiden considered, he could do a repeat of Millie’s sick gift and ding-dong ditch the bag of homemade brownies and beer.

No. He’d already taken that path, running away from his problems. And look where that wound him up? Creating even further issues for himself and others. It was time that he squared up and actually dealt with the mishaps in his life rather than burying his head in the sand and ignoring them until life inevitably went on.

And he really needed to talk to Finn, even if it meant worsening things between them.

He lifted his hand and knocked. The door opened not one second later. Aiden thought that he’d have a few moments at least to compose himself before he had to face Finn, but life had other plans.

Finn’s eyes widened, seemingly just as surprised that Aiden was standing there as Aiden was that he’d answered so quickly.

“Aiden.”

“Hi,” Aiden replied, weakly raising his hand in a wave.

“I’ll leave you both to it.” From behind the breadth of Finn’s shoulders, Marlee stepped into the doorway with a pleasant smile on her face. “Bring Millie with you for dinner on Sunday.”

“Yeah.” Finn nodded, dazed. “I’ll see you then. Wait, do you want a ride back?”

Marlee shook her head, bypassing Aiden’s stiff form with grace. “I want to stop by Tam’s.”

“After?” Finn pushed.

“I swear”—Marlee tapped the side of Finn’s cheek—“you act like I’m completely incapable.”

“I don’t—”

“Sunday, dinner. Don’t forget.” With the briefest of touches to Aiden’s shoulder as she passed, Marlee made her way across Finn’s yard and toward Tam’s shop, leaving the two of them in a state of hush that Aiden wasn’t quite sure how to break.

So he said the first thing that came to his mind and handed the bag to Finn. “I made these. Not well. But I tried. There’s beer, too, in case they taste really bad.”

“What are they?” Finn asked, hesitantly rummaging through the bag.

“Hazelnut brownies.”

Finn quickly withdrew his hand and scrunched the bag shut. “I’m allergic to hazelnuts.”

“You are?” Aiden didn’t cry out, dismayed, but it was a damn close thing. Composing himself, Aiden tried again. “Fuck, I completely forgot. I owe you a triple apology, then.”

Finn handed the bag back. “For trying to poison me.”

“And assuming I knew more about you than I clearly do.” Although Finn did have a point with the unintentional poisoning. “And for sticking my big foot in things I have zero business getting involved with. I broke the boundaries of buddies-who-bone. I thought I knew more than I did and acted without thinking how that would make you feel. And that was grade A asshole of me. I get that.”

Finn crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the doorway. Giving Aiden an opportunity to continue—one that he grasped with two eager hands.

“You’re this incredible guy who invited me into your home, and you’ve put every single person in your life in front of you. So when Tam told me how much that boat meant to you, I got lost in thinking that maybe I could be someone who puts you first.” Aiden shuffled on his feet, nervous. Words weren’t exactly his strong suit, and yet they wouldn’t stop coming. “You’re right. I tried to fix something that wasn’t mine to fix. I overstepped, and I fucked up. Hell, I feel like I should even apologize for that awful poster.”

“It really was terrible.”

“Right?” Aiden let out a nervous laugh. “It was so bad. What was I thinking? I wasn’t—that’s the thing. If I was thinking, I wouldn’t be here in the first place. I would be back in Ireland, sorting my shit out, finding somewhere new to live. Paying my goddamn rent.”

Aiden had never once been late with rent, so that one stuck niggling at him.

“But instead I’m here. Deluding myself with a man who deserves more than I could ever provide. Messing his shit up as well as my own.” Aiden took a deep breath. Finn stared down at him expectantly. “But as much as I messed up here, I really think you’d be messing up if you didn’t go ahead with this. I know in my gut that people want to help you and that they’re excited to. There’s a real opportunity here to sav—”

No. Not save—that was implying the business needed saving. Which, okay, it did, but Finn looked one second away from pushing Aiden out the door, so he needed to cool the jets a bit.

“A real opportunity to make a difference to Schultz’s Scuba. I dunno, I’m not great with business stuff. Just at least maybe talk it over with Ryan or something?”

Swallowing, Aiden nudged the doormat once again and composed himself.

“So that’s it. That’s my apology.”

Finn was silent for a moment, arms still over his chest and with that same critical expression. Those curls were back, threatening to fall into his eyes. Aiden bit back the urge to brush them away. “It wasn’t a great apology.”

“I didn’t exactly write it down,” Aiden snapped, exasperated. He rubbed his cheek, unsure what to do with his hands. “I’m sorry. Again. This has been a stressful few days.”

“Yeah, no shit,” replied Finn with a low exhale. And for the first time since arriving, Aiden noted the dark bags beneath his eyes. “Listen. Do you want to come in?”

“I… Do I?”

“It’s up to you, Aiden.”

Aiden wasn’t going to lose this opportunity.

“I really don’t have anything else to say,” Aiden said as he hesitantly closed the door behind him.

“I know you don’t,” Finn said without delay. “But if I’ve learned anything about you, it’s that you’re good at talking.”

Aiden chose not to question whether Finn was calling him a blabbermouth or not, figuring that he didn’t exactly have a leg to stand on in this situation. So he remained by the door, hands clasped behind his back and bag dangling from his wrist.

His eyes darted around the room. To the couch they’d cuddled up on to watch Finding Nemo, the armchair they’d fucked on after diving, the kitchen table where he’d made Finn and Millie breakfast. Ryan’s house felt sterile in comparison to here.

“Believe it or not, I have something to say.”

Aiden didn’t believe it, but he kept his mouth shut.

Leaning against the arm of the couch, hands braced against his thighs, Finn was the one to avoid his gaze this time. “I don’t agree with what you did. I think it was presumptuous and sneaky.”

Swallowing, Aiden drew his attention back down to his shoes.

“But—”

Aiden’s head shot back up. There was a but?

“—you meant well by it. Even if you did it in the worst way possible.” Finn paused, holding out one of his hands. “Pass me a beer?”

Dutifully, Aiden tossed a can over. Finn caught it with ease and uncapped it in one swift move.

“Marlee had a point, as much as I’d hate to admit it.” Taking a long chug of the beer, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I don’t take help easily. Chances are, if you brought up the idea to me, I would’ve… I dunno, gotten annoyed that you thought I needed help. But I got annoyed anyway. And the fact is that I do need it. That Ryan and I need it.”

Finn turned his attention toward the rows of photographs, many of which included Ryan. Marlee was in a few of them, too, and Aiden hadn’t noticed that before.

“After our parents passed, it was just Ryan and me. Everyone was mourning. How could I ask them to help any more than they already had? I’m the eldest; it was my responsibility to take care of Ryan.”

Finn’s voice grew quieter as he spoke, grip around the can tightening. “It still is. Getting help feels like I’m failing him—like I’m failing our parents.”

“Finn…” Aiden didn’t know how to finish that thought. All he wanted to do was bundle Finn into his arms and reassure him.

“I know how ridiculous that sounds. It’s a boat, not a person. But it’s what we have left of them.” For the first time since starting his tangent, Finn lifted his head to meet Aiden’s gaze. “Marlee came by to tell me how much thought you put into this. How you included her each step of the way.”

Aiden nodded, a soft frown on his face, unsure where Finn was going with this.

“And that Tam was in on it. You didn’t mention that.”

“I didn’t think to,” Aiden replied quietly.

“And apparently a lot of people are excited for this thing.” Finn crossed his arms over his chest. “The most successful event my company has ever run, and I wasn’t involved with the planning. Go figure.”

Bravely, Aiden took a few slow steps toward Finn, dropping the bag to the floor as he ventured ever closer. “Millie picked the color scheme for the event,” he said, hesitantly reaching out to take Finn’s hand.

Aiden’s breath hitched when he accepted it.

“My own kid was in on it?” Finn asked with an unsure laugh.

“Not fully,” Aiden said. “I told her I was planning a party for a friend.”

“Sneaky.”

Aiden grimaced, his hold on Finn’s hand relaxing. He moved to pull away, but Finn held on to his hand tighter.

“This time I mean in a good way. Can you imagine Millie organizing this thing? She’d want crowns and horses all over.”

Boldly, Aiden asked, “Who says they aren’t involved?”

The brief panic that flashed over Finn was enough for Aiden to smile for the first time in days.

“Hey.” This time, Aiden was the one to squeeze Finn’s hand back. “I know I overstepped, and I didn’t know enough about you before doing something as big as this. But what I do know is that you have a lot of people who love you, people who want to help you. It’s not just you that has to take care of everyone.”

Let me take care of you, Aiden wanted to say. But he didn’t dare. He was still standing on uncertain ground with this man—were they still friends?—he wasn’t about to push where the wall would likely crumble.

“Yeah,” Finn said, but he didn’t sound convinced. “Ask, next time you have some big idea.”

Aiden froze and hesitantly asked, “You’re going ahead with it?”

“I’d be a right dag if I didn’t,” Finn said, thumb smoothing over the back of Aiden’s hand. “I’ve got a fifty-fifty chance of getting an investor, and that’s looking less likely with each day of radio silence. This is the next best bet.”

Aiden blinked, unsure if he’d heard him right. “Really?”

“Really,” Finn replied, tight-lipped. “Don’t look too smug. I’m still annoyed as hell with you.”

“That’s fair.”

Finn leaned back, Aiden’s hand falling free from his grasp. “I have the makings of brownies in the kitchen. Do you want to try again without the poison?”

It was an olive branch if Aiden ever did see one, and he’d be a fool if he didn’t take it.

Finn didn’t invite Aiden to stay that night, and he didn’t expect him to. Baking brownies in his kitchen while Finn watched the wedding episode of their show was more than he could have asked for.

Even if the brownies came out like a charred mess straight from Adie’s kitchen.

“Come back tomorrow evening,” Finn said as he walked Aiden to the door. “Bring me up to speed on what you’ve been working on.”

Aiden went on his way, content in the knowledge that he hadn’t burned every bridge between him and Finn. Not one part of him would have been all right going home without some kind of even ground between them. If he had to say goodbye to the relationship they’d had before this shit show, then so be it.

Instead, Aiden could focus on helping Finn.

With Finn’s say so, this time.