The next afternoon, Olivia leaned against the kitchen counter in her home on Primrose Lane, going over the guest list. She’d begun making lists practically from the moment Finn gave her the wonderful news last night. She had lists on her phone, lists of wedding ideas, and pictures of them on her iPad, and at last count, she’d written fifty-five names in the pretty spiral notebook she’d found tucked away in her nightstand. The gold cursive inscription on the pink cover fit perfectly with how she was feeling: You Can Never Have Too Much Happy.
Today she was filled with happy. George was happy too. Olivia smiled as she watched the little girl creating her own illustrated list with glitter pens at the table. Her fears, the almost paralyzing panic that she might lose George, had dissolved the moment Finn agreed to her proposal. She just wished she could have been a tad less enthusiastic in displaying her gratitude. If she had been, she might have gotten to enjoy his kiss.
Any hope of a repeat was lost when, in the middle of accepting the family’s congratulations under the lights of the Ferris wheel, Finn’s dad received a text from Aidan. He’d arrived at the family home on Breakwater Way. From what she’d picked up of the conversation, Aidan wasn’t in a happy place. So the Gallagher boys, along with Colin, went back to their childhood home, and the women and kids went their separate ways.
Unlike Liam and Griffin and their significant others, Finn did not kiss Olivia good night. His father did. He sweetly kissed her cheek and welcomed her and George into the family. It was a lovely moment that was only slightly ruined by the look of utter panic that came over Finn’s face.
They hadn’t discussed it, but she imagined the panic was due to Finn keeping the true reason for their marriage from his family. He wouldn’t want them to get attached to the idea only to have their marriage end eighteen months from now. She understood how he felt, and there was a part of her that thought they should come clean. At least to his family.
But the more people who knew, the more likely that Celeste’s private investigator would find out. And in the end, Olivia was hoping it would be a moot point. The last thing she had expected was to fall in love with Finn. In her mind, it followed that there was a possibility that he might come to see her as more than a friend. After living together as man and wife for more than a year, surely he’d get over his commitment issues.
The thought made her nervous. She’d sent him a text advising him of the date of their nuptials and hadn’t received a response. Ava had told her he was booked solid at the clinic today, so maybe he had to work late. Olivia had texted after five because she didn’t want him to worry she was going to become one of those annoying wives who couldn’t go a couple of hours without hearing from her man.
But there was a teensy problem with that. She needed to hear from him ASAP because she’d basically booked the priest, flowers, cake, and DJ before realizing she maybe should have consulted him about his plans for next week.
There was a loud knock, more of a banging really, and Wolfie barked and scrambled from under the table. In his excitement to greet the person at the door, he nearly knocked George off her chair.
“I’ll get it,” George yelled, jumping off the chair and racing after the dog.
From the amount of noise they were making, someone could legitimately believe there were hordes of children and dogs in the not-so-large Cape Cod on Primrose Lane. She wondered if that’s why Finn’s expression as he entered the house was a cross between ticked off and shell-shocked.
He looked down at George and Wolfie jumping excitedly at his feet and then slowly raised his gaze to Olivia. “Are you flipping insane?”
She wasn’t quite sure how to respond and shrugged. “They’re just happy to see…” Oh no, excited and happy weren’t a good combination. “George, hurry, put Wolfie out—”
Finn’s eyebrows drew inward in confusion as he looked down. Then his head shot up, and he jumped back. “Your dog just peed on me!”
She pressed her lips together, trying to stifle an inappropriate laugh, chalking it up to nerves. They weren’t married yet, and Finn could back out at any time. “Sorry, he’s a little excitable,” she said, struggling to keep the laughter at bay.
“You think this is funny?” he said in an exasperated voice. “Why do I even bother to ask? Of course you do, because I’m marrying a loon toon.”
“I am not a loon toon,” she said, no longer amused.
“Livy’s not a loon toon. You’re a cranky pants,” George said as she wrapped her fingers around Wolfie’s collar.
Finn grimaced and crouched down. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called Liv a loon toon or insane. I’ve had a bad day, and”—he narrowed his eyes at Olivia—“I’ve just found out I’m getting married in…a week.”
She mentally filled in his pause with his favorite curse word and winced. “I’m sorry for the short notice, but I can explain.”
“Yeah, you can. After I’ve had a shower and changed.” He gingerly removed his shoes and carried them to the front step.
“Oh, sure, okay. I can have supper ready for when you come back if you’d like.” She didn’t cook, but surely she could have something delivered in time.
He came back inside loaded down with two suitcases and a duffel bag. “I’m not going anywhere. My dad kicked me out. Apparently, he can handle only one son at a time. And since we’re getting married in a flipping week, I figured—”
She stared at him. “You’re moving in?”
He sighed and put down his bags. “George, would you mind giving me a minute and taking Wolfie outside?”
“Will you play catch with me after?”
“Yeah, but right now I’d like to get out of these pants, so…” He raised his eyebrows.
George cheered, let go of the dog’s collar, and ran off calling, “Wolfie!”
As the two of them raced outside, Olivia opened the cupboard under the sink to grab a roll of paper towels, floor cleaner, and two garbage bags. She turned at the same time Finn dropped his chinos. He wore a pair of blue boxers that matched his eyes. Heat flooded her cheeks because there was a part of her that was definitely not thinking about his eyes.
She was wondering how those strong, long, and muscular legs would feel pressed against hers in bed. What he’d look like without the boxers when he walked into the shower. She thought perhaps she’d made an appreciative sound in her throat because Finn said tersely, “If you’re done checking me out, I could use one of those bags.”
She was about to give him a testy, “You don’t have to be so cross,” but a glance at his expression stopped her from uttering the remark. She thought perhaps he was embarrassed by his scars.
He had no reason to be. There were three long, purple scars crisscrossing his upper thigh, and two thick, shiny pink scars on his knee, though there may have been more on his calves and shins but they were concealed by a sprinkling of dark hair. He wore a pair of black socks, so she couldn’t see the scar on his foot and ankle.
“If you’re grumpy because you’re self-conscious of your injuries, you’re being ridiculous. Most women find scars attractive. They’re evidence of your heroics.”
He rolled his eyes and then motioned for the garbage bag. “I wasn’t a hero. I was just doing my job.”
“Right, because running into a hail of bullets to rescue the sick and injured is part of your job description,” she said as she laid out the paper towels on the wide-planked hardwood floor. “I…” She trailed off because looking up at him from where she was crouched at his feet gave her a clear view up the leg of his boxers.
“Liv.”
She heard the amusement in his voice and bent her head. “Mmm-hmm,” she said as she returned to cleaning the floor.
“Look at me.”
“I’m a little busy right now. Why don’t you go have a shower?”
“That’s the plan. I just wanted to know where your bedroom is so I can unpack my bags. Thought you might want to show me which drawers are mine.”
“My bedroom?” she asked, a flutter of nerves causing her voice to come out as a squeak and her cheeks to heat.
“Yeah, where else would I sleep?”
“Um. Okay. I just thought…” She threw the paper towels in the garbage bag, stood without looking at him, and murmured, “I’ll be with you in a minute. My room’s up the stairs on the right. Leave something for me to take up.”
She didn’t have to look at him to know her offer offended him. She couldn’t say that bothered her since she was pretty sure he was amusing himself at her expense. The bedroom thing had to be payback for springing the wedding on him so fast.
After washing her hands, she looked out the open kitchen window to check on George. She’d made a maze for Peter the rabbit and was putting him through his paces. Wolfie lay nearby watching.
Olivia glanced at the entrance before heading upstairs. Of course, Finn hadn’t left her anything to take up. She walked into her bedroom and froze. He’d dumped the entire contents of his suitcases and duffel bag on the white down comforter of her king-size bed, half of his clothing landing on the floor. He wasn’t here for more than five minutes, and he’d already turned her bedroom into a disaster zone.
The shower was running in her en suite, conjuring an image of him standing naked behind the steamy glass enclosure, his sleek, muscular body covered in soap bubbles. A breathy sigh escaped from between her parted lips as she imagined running her fingers over his broad shoulders, down his…Finn walked out of the bathroom. Naked.
A choking sound sputtered from her mouth. “You’re naked. You’re naked in my bedroom. You just walked into my bedroom naked.”
“You’re gonna have to learn to share, Sweet Cheeks. It’s my bedroom now too.” He gave her one of his annoyingly sexy grins and sauntered past her to…
She slapped a hand over her eyes as he bent to retrieve something from his suitcase by the closet.
“Should have known you’d be a prude, Princess.” Apparently teasing her was his entertainment for the day.
A draft of cool air brushed past her, indicating he’d just walked by. She lowered her hand in time to get a full-frontal view as he closed the bathroom door with a cocky grin on his face. It wasn’t lost on her that he had a lot to be cocky about, but still…
She marched to the door and knocked. “It’s all right. You don’t need to open the door. I just want to…” He opened the door. She kept her eyes glued on the small scar at the corner of his mouth. “I understand you’re upset I went ahead and booked everything for the wedding without consulting you, but I—”
“I don’t care about the cake, the decorations, the music, who’s on the guest list, or if it’s outside or inside. All I care—”
She’d planned enough weddings to realize that the majority of grooms just wanted to know when they were supposed to show up. So Finn’s reaction shouldn’t hurt her feelings. She should just be grateful that he’d agreed to marry her. “Oh, I see. Well, I won’t bother you any more about the details. If you can meet me on the beach in front of the manor at five to eight next Monday, I’d appreciate it. Thank you,” she said, turning to walk away.
A large hand closed around her wrist. “Liv, I just wasn’t expecting all of this or for it to be happening so fast. I thought we’d get married at the courthouse next month or something.”
She turned and dropped her eyes to his feet, relieved to note on the way down that he’d draped a towel around his waist. Though she couldn’t deny that his bare chest was a sight to behold. His feet were big and beautiful too.
“I know it’s not a real wedding, but I think for it to be believable we have to put some effort into it. Besides that, I’m a wedding planner and have a reputation to uphold. And you’ve never been married before. I wanted to make it nice.” She took a steadying breath and lifted her eyes. “But if it’s too much for you, I can tone it down. It’s really not formal or fussy. I just wanted to make it a fun night for everyone. We’ll be celebrating July Fourth as much as our wedding. I can’t change the date though. The judge will already be suspicious. I think it’ll be more believable if we get married quickly. And we had a cancellation at the manor.”
He smiled. It wasn’t cocky or sexy or annoying; it was blindly beautiful and warm. “Okay, July Fourth at five to eight on the beach at the manor. Now I’m going to grab a shower, and then you can show me your plans while we’re having dinner. How’s that sound?”
“Great.” She smiled. “Thank you, Finn. I understand how much you hate the idea of getting married, even if it’s a pretend wedding. I appreciate the sacrifice you’re making for me and George. I truly am grateful.”
He curved his hand around her neck and bent to touch his lips to hers. “You know, Princess, I’m beginning to think the fringe benefits might just outweigh the sacrifice.”
Finn was having more fun at Liv’s expense than he should, but she was such an easy target. “So what you’re telling me is that, in one week, I’m marrying a woman who refuses to cook?”
Liv pursed her lips like she was thinking it over and then nodded.
“I don’t know; that might be a deal breaker for me, Liv,” he lied as he dug into the smoked salmon pasta primavera she’d ordered from DiRossi’s. He didn’t care if they cooked their dinners or bought them. If all their meals were as good as this one, he’d be a very happy man.
She glanced out the window to where George was playing with one of the neighborhood kids. While Finn had been putting away his clothes, George had eaten. It took him longer than he expected because Liv had cleaned out two drawers of her lingerie and sleepwear and had yet to put them away, which was distracting. Because while the woman’s outerwear was boringly classy and expensive, her lingerie and sleepwear was outrageously sexy and expensive.
It also took him longer than expected because Liv, on the pretense she was checking on him, was really making sure everything was neatly folded in his drawers. Since all he’d ever done is throw his clothes in a drawer, folding time added up.
“It’s not like you’re not getting anything out of the deal, Finn. A million dollars is a substantial amount of money. If you invest it well—”
He slowly lowered his fork from his mouth. “You were serious about the money?”
“I don’t joke about money, Finn.”
He laughed, pointing his fork at her. “You are seriously hot when you talk like that. Nothing sexier in my book than a smart and capable woman. You sound like you’re the head of a Fortune 500 company.”
“I leave that to my cousins. I manage the foundation.”
“What kind of foundation?” He knew about the company, but he hadn’t heard about the foundation.
“We have several charitable organizations under the Davenport umbrella. U.S. and multinational. The one I’ve been most involved with is Helping Hands.”
He stared at her. He’d heard of Helping Hands. “They’ve got a great reputation, Liv. They’re very well respected. I’ve actually worked with a couple of docs who were sponsored by your organization. They’re first class.” He sat back in the chair. “Just how involved are you?”
“I’m the CEO.”
“Well, I’ll be damned, Sweet Cheeks. You are one hell of an impressive woman.” And she continued to impress him the more she talked about her vision for the foundation. Her belief that the programs should be initiated by the people of the community for their community. She felt too many NGOs—not-for-profit organizations—went in with their own mandates. They didn’t listen to the people they were there to help. Helping Hands’ mandate was to give the people a voice and a hand up.
Finn shared some of his concerns about what he’d seen over the years and the changes he thought that could be implemented to make programs work better.
“You know, I could use someone with your experience and expertise at Helping Hands. Even if you just wanted to sit on the board. I think you’d find it interesting.”
“I appreciate the offer, Liv, but I need to be on the front line.”
“Right, of course. But you won’t be going back before our eighteen months are over, will you?”
He could tell by the slight lift of her chin that she was ready to fight him on this. And he didn’t want to fight with her. He wanted to enjoy the night and listen to her talk some more about how she was going to save the world. Which is why he said, “I’m not going anywhere until this is settled with George, okay? However long that takes, I’m here for you. For both of you.”
She nodded, but he could tell it wasn’t the answer she wanted.
“And, Liv, just so we’re clear, I won’t be taking the million dollars. I’m doing this because I want to. You and George are important to me.”