Chapter Four

Nana’s words echoed in Finn’s ears. A day is all you’ve got.

Never had something rung truer. Maggie was here. In his sleepy little town. She’d filled his shop with a new breath of fresh ocean air the moment she’d walked through his door. Something had sparked inside him. A light he’d long since extinguished.

And she was single. She could be his. For real this time.

An opportunity presented itself, full and bold, and he’d be a fool to not hook onto it and reel it in. Sitting there in the diner, watching Maggie glow, his heart stirred. He’d be the first to admit, his Nana and sister could be more than overbearing at times, but Maggie had taken them on like a professional. Listening to her interact with them, fully immersed in her stories… It all felt right.

Now here he was, following Nana and Maggie, pushing a shopping cart around the grocery store while they walked arm in arm busting out in fits of giggles. He didn’t want the laughter to end.

But it would. This was temporary.

She lived in a different world, and their paths were never destined to cross. She was West, he was East. He was salt, she was sugar. He was dirt and earth and wind and water, and she was light and laughter, glitz and glamour, and she sparkled in the spotlight just like that enormous rock she sported on her finger. That was a life he could never give her. What could he ever offer to make her choose him over that? And in just a few days’ time? He needed a plan, and fast.

His chest tightened, and he paused for a moment to catch his breath while the women approached the bakery counter, pointing at fruit-topped pastries and gushing over chocolate ganache. He needed to make Maggie see, show her how wondrous life in Rockport could be, with him.

Thoughts and ideas of things he wanted to show her crashed about in his mind. The mussel flats he used to play on during low tides at the beach, and how you could find small pearls inside them. How beautiful sunset was on summer nights. Friday night football and the Lobster Festival that came to town every August, complete with parade and beauty pageant. Small-town life might be slower, but it was beautiful and it was home.

She’d see.

He’d show her home.

Operation: Win Back the Bride had just begun, and it started with prying Maggie away from Nana. She was a witty one with good intentions and a loving heart, but if he let her keep up her antics at this pace, Maggie would be on the first flight out by nightfall. Half the time, even he couldn’t tell if Nana was being truthful or was up to something, and by the way she was eyeing the baker behind the counter, he’d wager she already had something up her sleeve.

He edged the shopping cart closer to eavesdrop on the conversation.

“Ken is the best baker in the Bay area. Your vision will be a masterpiece when he’s done with it.” Nana lightly pushed Maggie front and center. “Ken, this is Maggie and she’s marrying my Finn. I’m seeing a summer wedding…rustic…white.”

“Well, I’d be happy to whip something up for you.” Ken smiled and nodded at Maggie while handing a pie box over the counter to Nana. “Three tiers, fresh flowers, none of those fondant monstrosities. Maybe a surprise custard filling that will just wow the socks off your guests. I can see it, Ellie. I get you.” He pointed two fingers at his eyes and then back at Nana.

“Thank you, Ken. Oh! We need to go see Angie, the florist. How do you feel about peonies?” Nana whisked Maggie from the bakery, venturing deeper into the aisles. “Finn, are you coming?”

He sighed. This shit needed to be shut down. “Nana, light of my life”—he took her hands in his—“why don’t you go grab your groceries? Maggie and I will get something for dinner, and we’ll meet you up front at the register. Tess is waiting in the Jeep, remember.”

“Oh yes, that’s right. We can talk about the wedding later.” She scooted off down an aisle toward the dairy section.

“I’m sorry about Nana. She’s excited.” A tightness crept along his spine, settling in his neck.

“No, don’t be! I think it’s kind of cute.” Maggie adjusted her purse and glanced at the shoppers passing by. “I feel really bad about disappointing her, though.”

“She’ll get over it.” They stopped in front of an endcap filled with junk food perfect for a stay-in movie night. “So, what do you want for food?” he asked, tossing a bag of salt and vinegar chips into the cart. A movie night sounded awesome. Scary movies meant covering eyes and cuddling close under the stars. He had a projector in the barn somewhere. He could do a movie night. Two more bags of chips found their way into the cart.

“Oh, I’m not too picky,” she replied, casually picking up one of the bags of chips, scanning the ingredients, then placing it neatly back on the shelf. “This looks good,” she said, picking up a prepackaged veggie kabob from the center section cooler opposite the endcap of junk.

He side-eyed the questionable-looking green things she held up for inspection like one of those game show prize presenters. “Moose steak with a side of…whatever that is on a stick?”

She crinkled her nose.

“Pasta it is.” Finn turned toward the dairy section, thinking he should probably grab some of the real pasta instead of the dry boxed stuff back in aisle three. There was just something about reconstituted plant matter substitute that didn’t sound all that appealing. He spotted Nana covertly spying on him near the bread section and turned toward Maggie. “Would you like to go out for dinner? I know a great little place. Quiet. Vegetarian options,” he blurted. One-on-one time, face-to-face, in a nice little place in town might just be the reconnect they needed.

“I’d rather just eat and go to bed, if that’s okay. My flight was brutal, and tomorrow is going to be a really rushed day for me. I’m hoping we can get this taken care of and I can catch a red-eye out.”

Ouch. She brushed him off, the fruit smoothie in her hand being of more interest than going out. She dropped it into the shopping basket next to the sour gummy worms. He grabbed a package of pumpkin ravioli—that seemed fancy—some organic sauce with a name he couldn’t pronounce and shredded parmesan while Maggie engrossed herself in the label of something called Super Green.

“Hey, my brothah!”

Finn immediately recognized the greeting from his friend, Holokai, a monstrous bear of a man, who could play a ukulele like it was nobody’s business. “Kai, good to see you, how you been?” They shook hands in greeting.

“Can’t complain. Life is good. Have the bumper sticker to prove it. I saw your grandma over by the cheese. She says you gettin’ married for real, bro? Mahalo!”

A panic built inside him. “Dude.” Finn tugged at the hair on his nape, unsure as to how to tell his friend about Maggie, especially seeing as Kai had been at their Vegas wedding. He angled his body, opening up the view of the redheaded beauty perusing his junk-food-laden shopping cart.

An audible gasp released from Holokai’s mouth. “Duuude.”

Finn nodded. “Dude.”

“Is that the girl from Vegas? What’s she doin’ here?”

“It’s a long story, man, but the condensed soup version? We’re still married.”

Kai gritted his teeth, scrunching his nose. “What do we think of that? Do we want to still be married? She still your girl?”

“I want her to be. I just… We haven’t spoken in eight years. She showed up at my shop this afternoon, and it all went to hell. My Nana thinks she’s my fiancée. She’s really here for a divorce.” His palms were sweaty. Did the store turn the heat on or something? His secret could slip at any moment. “Don’t say anything, man. No one knows.”

“I feel you.” Kai nodded. “Your secret is safe with me.” He hesitated. “So this is a good thing?”

“What I wouldn’t give for a do-over, man.” He watched Maggie from the corner of his eye, slyly replacing his junk food with pieces of fruit and healthier stuff she’d have to force him to eat, and smiled. It was adorable, watching her flitter about the store handing off his Pringles cans to passing employees. “I need to convince her to…stay.”

“Then woo her.”

Finn eyed his friend.

“Not woohoo her…” he said, giving a small pelvic thrust. “Woo her. Remind her of why she married you in the first place. Not because of the dare, but of what she saw in you. Hey, think of it like this. You’re already one step ahead of every other guy out there. You’re already married. Now you just need to show her why you should stay that way. You convinced this island boy to try out a new ocean. You can with her, too.”

Maggie’s gaze caught his, and she grinned. She recognized Kai. She was walking toward them. Oh God, was he visibly sweating? Where was Nana? He didn’t want her anywhere near Maggie in case shenanigans were about to be thrown down.

“I know you.” She pointed a finger at Holokai’s floral shirt. “Right?” Her eyes widened as if she were suddenly questioning life itself for a brief moment. “Vegas.” The word barely escaped on a whisper from those pouty lips.

“How could you forget this face?” Kai framed his cheeks with his palms and grinned.

“What brings you to this side of the ocean?” Maggie asked.

“I wasn’t in a good place, and my homeboy here convinced me Maine was just as amazing as the Big Island, and I had to come see for myself. And then I found myself a girl.” His eyebrows wiggled fiercely. “She’s my ocean now.”

“That’s so sweet.” She smiled genuinely, the sparkle in her eyes captivating his thoughts. “Well, umm…” Maggie paused, glancing around the store.

She was uncomfortable. This had to be awkward for her. “Good seeing you, man,” Finn blurted. “I need to go find Nana before she invites the entire store over tomorrow. You still coming?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.” Kai gave him a light punch to the shoulder, winked at Maggie, and headed off toward produce as Nana veered out into the main aisle.

“I’ve got my stuff, let’s go!” She waved them to follow her as if she were marching into battle and the registers were her intended target. Finn chuckled, found his shopping cart, and blindly followed her to register four.

He let Nana go first, absently placing his items behind the divider on the belt, replaying Kai’s words in his mind. He could do this. He could show Maggie he was worthy, and so was his little town. Rockport was a far cry from the city lights, but what it was lacking it made up for in quaint charm and charisma. He just had to show her. And he had only two days. No problem.

He internally cringed, hard.

Finn grabbed the last few items from inside the cart, then looked down at his hands. He held a cucumber and a small container of a cheese dip of some sort, which he didn’t remember putting in there. He glanced at the moving belt. He didn’t remember putting any of that in the cart, in fact. Where was his beef jerky? And sour gummy worms? “Where’s all my stuff?” He turned toward Maggie.

She looked him dead in the eyes and calmly stated, “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” as she placed a vegetable wrap on the conveyor, staring him down.

His mouth twitched briefly. Game. On.