“All right,” Finn said slowly, surprised she was willing to take him on. He was pretty sure he had intimidated her, so this act of courage was unexpected. It was possible it made him like her a little.
“I’m not a cougar. I wasn’t looking for a younger man. I don’t know what I was looking for, and maybe that’s the problem. I never thought I would find anyone. I never thought I was good enough. But I am. I deserve love as much as anyone else.”
She raised her chin slightly. “It was never my intention to be caught in a passionate embrace on television. I apologize for that and any embarrassment it may have brought your family. But I don’t apologize for loving your brother. I don’t apologize for caring about him and wanting the best for him.”
She drew in a breath. “I know he’s too young. I know he has a lifetime of experiences waiting for him and I shouldn’t get in the way of that. God has nothing if not a sense of humor, because I can’t help being in love with him.”
Finn had been with her right up until she said she was in love with his little brother. But before he could speak, Aurelia turned to Stephen.
“Your brother is right. You don’t belong here with me. Go home. Finish your degree. Get a job doing what you love. Live your life.”
She sounded sincere, Finn admitted, if only to himself. Under any other circumstances, he would’ve believed her and been impressed as hell.
Stephen moved toward her. Finn knew what was going to happen. His brother would yell and stomp and pout until he got his way, his actions proving that he wasn’t ready to be in a relationship. But it turned out Finn was wrong.
Stephen cupped Aurelia’s face in his hands. “I know that’s what you believe. I know you think being with me only hurts me. But you’re wrong. You are everything I have ever wanted. I will go to college and finish my degree. I will get a job. But I’m going to do it here. With you. There is nothing you can say to make me go away. I love you.”
Finn could feel the emotion between them. He felt like an outsider caught staring at something intimate.
Stephen turned to him. “I was wrong to run away. Coming here the way I did only reinforced your idea that I wasn’t a man. I was acting like a kid and I deserve to be treated like one. I’m sorry for screwing up. I’m sorry you had to come after me. I know you have a business and responsibilities. But I didn’t think of any of that. I only thought of myself.”
Finn wouldn’t have been more stunned if Aurelia had morphed into a squirrel and started dancing. “It turned out okay,” he said roughly.
“Not yet, but it will.” Stephen faced Aurelia again. “I want to marry you. I know it’s too soon, so I’m not asking. I’m just letting you know where I think this is going. I’m going to finish school and get a job. I’m going to keep on seeing you. A year from today I’m going to ask you to marry me. And on that day, I’ll expect an answer.”
Finn waited for the fury, but there wasn’t any anger. There wasn’t even a mild annoyance. If he had to name the emotion surging through him, it was regret. Not because his brother had grown up, but because he, Finn, didn’t have anything close to what Stephen had with Aurelia. His kid brother had won the prize.
It wasn’t that he wanted to be in love. Not exactly. What he wanted was something different. Still, he couldn’t escape the sense of having missed out on something important.
“I’ll get out of your way,” Finn said.
“You don’t have to go,” Aurelia told him. But she was looking at Stephen as she spoke.
“You two have a lot to talk about.”
He thought his brother might want to make sure things were okay between them, but Stephen was too busy kissing Aurelia. Finn backed out of the room, stepped onto the walkway and closed the door behind him. One brother’s situation solved, another to go.
He walked down the street, wondering what to do about Sasha. How to get him—
He stopped by Morgan’s Books and stared blindly at the display in the window. There was nothing to do about either of his brothers. Dakota had been right all along. His job was done. He’d parented them as best he could, and keeping them safe forever wasn’t an option. He had to trust they were ready to make their own decisions. It was time.
DAKOTA STARED at all the clothes spread across the bed. It was as if a department store had exploded in her mother’s bedroom.
“I didn’t know you owned this many things,” she said, putting Hannah into her playpen. “When was the last time you cleaned out your closet? Are those leg warmers? Mom, the eighties were a long time ago.”
“You’re not funny,” her mother snapped. “If you think this is humorous, you’re wrong. I’m in crisis here. A really, really big crisis. I feel sick to my stomach, my head hurts, I’m retaining enough water to sink a battleship. I’m a woman on the edge. You need to respect that.”
Her mother sank onto the bed where she sat on several outfits, crushing them.