Liv had been serious. If Finn agreed to marry her and stay with her for eighteen months—Stanley had stuck his legal-eagle nose in and added the extra six—she’d pay him one million dollars. One million dollars to do with as he pleased. Finn had walked out of Dr. Bishop’s office to see his patient with the promise that he’d think about it.
For the last five days, that was all he’d done. Think about Liv and George. Had he thought about the million dollars? No, because that just ticked him off. Liv had put him in a difficult position.
Whether she blamed him or not, she could foreseeably lose George because of him. And didn’t that just slay him. Most women would have rightly laid into him for the part he played, but not Liv. She was kind and sweet and understanding, and she couldn’t lose George. She’d already lost too much. And George? She was thriving now, happy and settled. He couldn’t handle the thought of her being taken from Liv. What it would do to the both of them.
So where did that leave him? Stuck in the middle of yes and a definite no. He didn’t want to stay in Harmony Harbor for more than a year. He wanted to go back and work in the Congo where what he did actually made a difference. Some of his patients at the clinic might argue that he was making a difference in their lives, but it wasn’t the same. He needed the adrenaline rush, the adventure, to test his skills, his boundaries. He needed to be a hero like his brothers.
What he didn’t need was to be married to a woman he admired and respected and lusted after…He released an irritated breath at the thought. It wasn’t like he lusted after her all the time. Just every once in a while. Like when she wore her classy, expensive clothes and her hair in the sleek knot and her lips were painted cherry red and…Fine, he pretty much lusted after her all the time. Now that he thought about it, that was way worse. Because as much as like could turn to love, so could lust. He both liked and lusted after Liv.
Then there was George. He couldn’t play the role of adoptive father to a little girl he could easily love. And there was his answer. He was avoiding Liv because he didn’t want to tell her he couldn’t do it. Whatever else she needed from him, he’d do. He’d lie on the stand. He’d give her what money he had. But he would not, could not, put himself in the position where he might fall in love with Olivia Davenport.
“Hey, son, glad you made it,” said his dad, who was leaning against Ladder Engine 1 when Finn walked up beside him on Main Street.
“I didn’t have a choice. Griff and Liam are whipped. They threatened to carry me in the parade if I didn’t come.” The parade was part of an annual festival in Harmony Harbor honoring the patron saint of fishermen, St. Peter. It was put on by the Italian American fishing community and had been going strong for more than eighty years.
His dad grinned. “You were safe. They got tagged to carry St. Peter.”
Finn debated walking back to the house. Everyone in town would be out, which meant his chances of running into Liv and George were high. Then again, the festival was a big deal, drawing crowds from all over, as evidenced by the hordes of people packed onto the sidewalks, while others gathered on porches that were decorated with bunches of green, white, and red balloons.
As the Navy band led the parade down Main Street to St. Peter’s Park at the waterfront, kids with painted faces waved miniature Italian and American flags and laughed at the groups of men dressed in colorful and flamboyant costumes following behind. The costume wearers would be competing in the greasy pole contest later that day. A telephone pole was greased and suspended on a platform over the water with a flag at the end. It was a competition Finn had won in the past.
Sophie’s brother Marco, Liam’s best friend and a fellow firefighter, walked by wearing an Italian cap and shorts. “Good luck, Marco! Do the house proud,” his dad called out.
“You got it, Chief,” Marco yelled as he blew kisses to the women in the crowd. He stopped to pose for selfies with a couple of his female fans and called to Finn, “Shame you couldn’t compete this year, Doc.”
“Careful, I’ll be the one looking after you when you do the splits on the pole,” Finn shouted back, chuckling when his brother’s best friend paled and then gave him the finger.
“Here comes Rosa.” His father grimaced as Marco’s grandmother, wearing a pink checkered dress and apron, advanced on her grandson. “Looks like he’s getting into trouble for giving you the finger.”
“Serves him right. Someone should talk to her about cuffing him on the back of the head like that though.”
“Marco does, for all the good it does him. Now there’s someone I’d like to see Rosa cuff.” His father scowled at Doc Bishop, who’d just rounded the corner of South Shore Road. “He’s started up the feud again between your grandmother and Rosa. Chief Benson called me yesterday. He’s days away from charging both Rosa and your grandmother for public mischief if they don’t stop calling in complaints against each other. Your grandmother even tried it on me. Told me I needed to go to DiRossi’s deli and put out a fire. She said it was electrical so to just go in there with the hoses blasting.”
“Not that I want to get in the middle of this or start something else, but you know that Dorothy and Ava started working at the clinic, right?”
“Yeah, Griff told me about it. I think it’s great. Everything’s working out, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, Ava’s doing great. And Doc Bishop’s over the moon. He has a crush on Dorothy. He follows her around like a lovesick puppy.”
“Dorothy’s dating Ava’s dad, isn’t she?”
“Yeah, but who knows, right? Last I heard you were dating Maggie Stewart.” His dad made a face like he didn’t know who Finn was talking about. “The beautiful artist who owns the gallery on Main Street, Impressions. The one you spent every day with for two months sitting for your naked painting.”
“A lot you know. I wasn’t naked in the painting.” His father looked away. “Here come your brothers.”
Finn hadn’t seen the painting, but he’d heard all about it. Maggie had incorporated his mother and sister in the portrait. Not long afterward, things went south between Maggie and his dad.
Finn should be the last one teasing his old man. He was doing the same thing. He wouldn’t marry Liv, even if it was in name only, because he was afraid he’d fall in love with her. But unlike his dad and Maggie, he hadn’t gone on a real date with Liv. He kind of regretted that now. Which was stupid. It was already hard enough to let her go, and all they’d ever done was kiss a couple of times. As though thinking about her and the last kiss they shared was powerful enough to conjure her out of thin air, his eyes met hers across the street.
She wore a white summer dress, her hair held back from her face by a pair of red-framed sunglasses. Her nose and cheeks were pink, her delicate shoulders red. He fought the urge to cross the road and give her hell for not putting on sunscreen. Then he remembered he’d have to say something if he did. He’d have to tell her he couldn’t marry her. So instead he pointed to the sun and her shoulders. She smiled and held up a wide-brimmed white hat with a red floral band.
He found himself scowling at her. Why couldn’t the woman be a bitch? He’d been avoiding her for days, and she was smiling at him. She frowned and then gave him a look like, Oh my God, what is your problem? All I did was smile at you. And that was another thing that ticked him off—she called him on his jerky behavior, and he liked it.
She lifted a hand, waving at someone with a warm smile on her pretty face. Finn glanced at his father, who was waving at Liv with a grin on his. “God, I’m good.”
“Careful, old man. You stick your nose in my business, and I might stick mine in yours,” he said, relieved to finally see his brothers approaching carrying the life-sized statue of St. Peter. At least they’d take his father’s mind off Liv.
“Your brothers look happy, don’t they? Did you ever think you’d see Griff with a son? All the heartbreak he and Ava suffered, and now look at them. Does a body good, it does.”
“Are you channeling GG or something?”
“What are you talking about? Can’t a father be happy for his sons?”
“Yeah, sure, Dad.” Finn waved at his brothers and their wives. He hadn’t really registered George wasn’t with Liv until he saw her in the parade with Mia. The two girls were swinging their joined hands and waving to the crowd.
George spotted him and broke free. “I missed you.” She hugged his legs, and he ruffled her hair. He smiled down at the sweet, upturned face, unable to block an image of her grandparents taking her from Liv. “Come on.” She grabbed him by the hand and tried to drag him onto the road and into the parade.
His throat was so tight that he was surprised he managed to speak. “I’ve gotta put Miller out.” He saw the pinch of disappointment on her face. “How about I catch up with you at the carnival tonight? I’ll win you a teddy bear.”
“Promise?” she said, as though unsure he would keep his word.
She wouldn’t be wrong. He’d been thinking that, after a day of parades, boat races, and the greasy pole competition, Liv would take her home early. He still held out hope and said, “You bet. Now get back in the parade before they leave you behind.”
He didn’t meet his father’s eyes. He could tell how his dad thought things would go by the way he was rocking on his heels and whistling.
Finn was lying on the couch in the living room on Breakwater Way, just about to congratulate himself on earning another reprieve, when a text came in at 8:00 p.m. from Liam. Get your ass in gear, bro. We’re waiting for you at the spinning roller coaster.
He thought about pretending he was sleeping or in the shower and didn’t see the text, but he wouldn’t put it past his brothers to come and get him. He grabbed a sweatshirt on the way out the door. It didn’t matter that it had been in the low eighties today; the carnival was set up along the waterfront and it was cool at night.
He said hello to the couple next door as he made his way down the street. They were new to the neighborhood. The mom was carrying a giant-size pink dog and pushing a sleeping baby in a stroller while the dad carried what looked to be an exhausted three-year-old. Finn wondered if he could still get lucky. Maybe Liv was on her way home with an exhausted five-year-old. Then he reminded himself it was George. A kid who was a little bit like he used to be.
As he turned the corner, he stopped for a minute to take it all in. The bright lights from the rides that made it look like it was the middle of the day, the smells of cotton candy and corn dogs competing with the briny ocean air. The whirr of the rides, the ding of the bells, the laughter and chatter of happy people having fun.
It brought back memories of all the times he’d gone to the carnival as a kid, as a teenager, as an adult. He looked over and saw the circle of white lights in the distance. Sometimes, like now, the memories were as beautiful as they were painful. He remembered bringing his little sister Riley along with him and his girlfriend and his mom and dad taking a ride on the Ferris wheel.
He walked down the hill and spotted what had to be the spinning roller coaster. Sure enough, he caught sight of his dad taking a turn with George and Mia. Liam was in a car with Lex, and Griff and Ava were in another one. Sophie and Liv stood at the railing waving to the girls.
“The old man looks a little green. Ferris wheel is more his speed,” Finn said as he walked toward them.
“Hey, stranger, we haven’t seen you in a while,” Sophie said, giving him a playful whack.
He rubbed his arm. “You’re as bad as your grandmother. How did Marco do in the greasy pole competition?” he asked, hoping to avoid talking about what he had to talk about for a little longer.
“I can’t believe there’s anyone in Harmony Harbor who doesn’t know he won. He’s threatening to rent a billboard. But his win isn’t the biggest news. Tell him, Olivia.”
He looked down at her. “Hi,” he said, his voice gruff, probably because the lights were gleaming in her hair and sparkling in her eyes and making him think of things he shouldn’t think about.
“Hi,” she said back, her smile different than it used to be or maybe he was just imagining things.
Sophie frowned. “Umm, is something wrong with you two? You’re looking at each other as if it’s the first time you’ve met.”
Great. He didn’t know what Sophie was picking up on, but whatever it was, his brothers and father would zero in on it like Miller on a bone. He had to get this over with before they got off the ride. Before he had to look at George and know she might end up being taken from Liv because he wasn’t brave enough to take on his fears and let them in his life.
Because as much as he’d convinced himself that a judge would see through the lies, some might believe the case against Liv because she had money, and they’d put themselves in her shoes, a woman who’d been lied to and betrayed and now was raising the child her late husband had with another woman. They wouldn’t know that Liv had more compassion and kindness and love to give than half the people on the planet.
“Liv, I gotta talk to you for a minute. Sophie, can you guys look after George? We won’t be long.” Pulling Liv after him, he didn’t give either woman a chance to refuse.
“Finn, what’s going on? Slow down.” Liv tugged on his hand.
“Sorry,” he apologized to her and the man he almost walked into. He needed to find somewhere less crowded, somewhere more private to talk to her. He looked over at the ring of lights. “You wanna go for a ride with me?”
She followed the direction of his gaze. “The Ferris wheel?” She made a face when he nodded. “I don’t like heights.”
“I promise I won’t rock the car. You’ll see, it’ll be worth it. The view’s amazing.” Especially now that the sun was starting to set and the sky was streaked with purple and crimson.
“Okay,” she said reluctantly.
He led her to the thankfully short line. From where he was standing, he could see his brothers disembarking from the spinning roller coaster. All he’d need was for his family to join them on the Ferris wheel. He helped her into the car. Once they were strapped in, it moved as the operator loaded another couple on.
Finn caught her shiver and peeled off his sweatshirt. “Here you go. It’ll be cool when we get to the top.”
“I’m beginning to think this was a really bad idea,” she said, looking up, he assumed, at the car at the top.
She wasn’t alone. He was beginning to think this was a really bad idea for an entirely different reason. “What big news did Sophie want you to tell me about?” He hoped he hadn’t just walked into that, but he didn’t want to tell Liv he couldn’t take her up on her proposition until the ride was going.
She buried her face in her hands and shook her head. “I still can’t believe she did it. I mean, I’ve seen her in action, so I’m not surprised she could do it. I’m just surprised she got away from me. But you know how fast she is. She—”
He removed her hands from her face. “I can hardly make out what you’re saying. You’re babbling.”
“We were out on one of the boats in the harbor watching the greasy pole competition.”
He thought about what Sophie said and the context in which she’d said it. “She didn’t.”
“She did. The third guy had fallen off the pole, and they were fishing him out of the water, and George says, ‘That’s easy. Why do they keep falling off?’
“I told her why, and the next thing I know, she’s gone. I panicked, and we all started looking for her. Two of the men who’d fallen off the pole dove in to search the water, and then all of a sudden, we hear people yelling, and she’s climbing on the platform. She scoots past the next man in line and shimmies her way down the greased pole to grab the flag. She set a record not only for the youngest to win but also for the fastest time.”
He started to laugh. “Poor Marco, she ruined his big moment.”
“It’s not funny.”
“Trust me, it’s hilarious. I bet Liam loved it.”
“Yes, but you’re not getting the point. People, cell phones, the moment has been recorded for posterity, and—”
He got it now. “For any judge to see.” The Ferris wheel was now turning, making its lazy circles, and they were at the top. It was oddly quiet, the sounds of the carnival and of the ocean fading, everything below them looking small.
“You’re right, the view’s worth it,” Liv said, looking out over the town with a crescent moon hanging above the copper-topped roof of the town hall and the clock tower.
There was a light wind off the ocean and it gently rocked the car. She shivered a little, and he put his arm around her, tucking her in beside him. “You put on sunscreen,” he said as a way of distracting her. The scent of coconuts was doing more than distracting him.
“I thought I’d better after the look you gave me at the parade.” She had her head on his shoulder, tipping it back to look at him. “Is that the only reason you were mad at me?” She asked the question quietly, as if she knew.
And looking into her big, whiskey-colored eyes that reflected the light from the moon and the stars, he knew he had to do whatever it took to make sure she didn’t lose George, even if the thought of what he stood to lose terrified him. “I should have known the moment you dragged me down the hill with you that you were gonna end up being a pain in my ass, Sweet Cheeks.”
Her eyes went wide, and she drew back to whisper, “You’re going to marry me?”
“No, you’re gonna marry me.”
She laughed and threw herself in his arms and kissed him. But he’d never know just how good that kiss would have been because she launched herself at him with such force that the car started rocking, and she started screaming, and down below he heard his family cheering, including a little girl with a husky voice.