Faked (Ward Family #2)(68)
But maybe, just maybe, I hadn't screwed it up beyond repair.
Finn watched me carefully, as did Scotty.
I shrugged. "So I, what? Show up and apologize and hope she doesn't slam the door in my face?"
Finn exhaled slowly. "I have a better idea, if you're willing to come somewhere with me."
"Where?"
"You won't want to go at first."
I eyed him because I could only think of a few places I'd refuse to go with my little brother who was weirdly, inexplicably, trying to help me with this.
"But she'll be there?" I asked.
Finn nodded. "She will."
I held Finn's gaze. "You've got yourself a deal."
Chapter Twenty-Five
Claire
"I knew it," I whispered to Lia. "I told you I'd be the only one wearing a dress."
People milled around the center, and all those jerks wearing jeans and leggings and cute T-shirts were like one giant taunt when I thought about the fact that I'd shaved my legs for this.
Lia rolled her eyes. "It's a sundress, calm down."
Tugging at the hem, I gave her a mild look. "Says the girl wearing jeans."
She ignored me, and I conceded the fact that she'd gotten me here, and the fact that I was showered and shaved and wearing something that made me feel pretty was still a freaking miracle.
Yes, the week got better when I started speaking to Lia again, but there was no lying to my heart that things were fixed.
All week, I'd turned my head around and around and around what to do about Bauer.
Bauer, who was haunting my dreams now.
Who hadn't texted or called.
And who was still the first person I thought about when I woke up. The last person I thought about before I went to sleep.
Lia caught me watching snowboarding competition replays on YouTube the night before, and instead of chastising me, she plopped onto the couch, slung an around my shoulders, and watched quietly alongside me.
And if there were bags under my eyes to match the blue of my dress, it was because the videos I'd watched triggered some serious sex dreams where Bauer was flipping me around in the snow like we were recreating a Cirque du Soleil on ice or something.
I took a deep breath to get those memories out of my head because hello, it was never appropriate to reminisce about one's sex dreams at a party at a community center that helped little kids.
When Lia saw Finn and touched my elbow to let me know she was going off to talk to him, I took a second to study the space.
It was wonderful. Big and bright and airy with colorful murals decorating the walls and spaces for kids to sit and play and create and learn. The framed photos hung on the walls were easier to focus on than the faces of the strangers milling around the room, so I took my time walking along the perimeter, grinning at some of the gap-toothed smiles captured on film.
Whatever Finn's parents' faults were, and they had them, they'd done good work here. And maybe they were one of those couples who were so focused on helping other people's kids that they couldn't even recognize where they'd gone wrong within the four walls of their own home.
I stopped to study a picture when I felt someone approach. My heart sped up before I heard the voice, which didn't belong to Bauer.
"It seems we need to reintroduce ourselves to each other," Richard Harper said softly.
I turned, giving him a sheepish smile. "Did Adele tell you?"
Hands in his pockets, he smiled back. "She did. Just before I handed the check over."
"Richard," I said, "I can't tell you how much it killed me to lie about who I was."
He glanced at the photo behind me. "Lie is a harsh word, Claire. And I'm not upset at you because it sounds like you were put into a strange position, based on the decisions of a lot of other people. Your sister, Adele, and Bauer," he said, watching my face carefully.
There was no controlling my expression when he said Bauer's name, so I looked down. "That's true. But I was a guest in your home, and I wasn't raised to deceive people, so I hope you can forgive me."
"Already forgiven." He rocked on his heels. "Adele and Tom might've been a little ... overzealous in their approach, thinking I needed someone to impress me in order to listen to what they had to say, but even if they went about it in the wrong way, they're doing a lot of good here. And you, young lady, will do a lot of good someday too. I hope you realize that."
"I hope so." I smiled.
"I told Adele she should hire you, actually."
"You did?"
He nodded. "Your passion for kids, your background, you'd be a perfect ally for children who could desperately use one."
As I looked around the space, it was easy to see myself there. Except for the tie to Bauer. Because the truth was, I still didn't know exactly how to approach that. And working for his parents might be a strange connection if he refused to ever see me again.
Because no matter what Lia said, I could show up on his doorstep, and he still might've decided that we were completely done.
One weekend of fun because he genuinely believed that was all he was capable of. And I didn't know if my heart could handle hearing that from him again.