He needed to get ready for the rehearsal thing.
He cleaned up his workspace, put his tools away in the shed and whistled for Murphy, who hadn’t wandered far. The dog had been hanging out in the shade chewing on a bone and came running with it in his mouth. They walked back toward his house, Finn breathing a sigh of relief as the trees thickened along his path. He liked living where he did, in the thick of the woods, where the trees gave him some shelter from the harsh summer sun. He liked the pond where he could fish and the soft grass surrounding his house.
It wasn’t a big place, just a one-bedroom, but it was plenty for what he needed. And it gave him privacy. He was grateful that the Bellinis had offered up this parcel of land for him to build on. It had given him the independence he’d wanted.
Not that he’d been ungrateful to live in the house with them when he’d first traveled over from Ireland. Being an orphan and lonely as hell, he’d been happy to have a roof over his head and an opportunity to use his hands and earn some money. He’d learned a lot from Johnny Bellini and the other people who worked at the vineyard.
Two years after he’d moved in he’d asked if he could build his own place. Johnny and Maureen hadn’t hesitated before they said yes.
It wasn’t his property. He didn’t own it. But for now, it was his. And since he worked there and took care of everything, they didn’t ask him to pay rent, just to take care of the house and the property and to keep watch over that part of the land, which he would have anyway.
Eventually he’d buy his own land. He banked everything he earned so he could someday make that dream come true. Until then he was happy right here.
He got to the house and stripped, took a shower, then came out and put on his boxer briefs. He fixed himself a glass of ice water and fed Murphy, who, as usual, gobbled his food up in what looked like two bites, shoved his face into his water bowl, then went off to play. Finn took a seat on the sofa to relax and unwind for a few.
His phone pinged so he picked it up. It was a message from Brenna.
What are you wearing tonight?
His lips curved as he typed a reply.
Wanna know what I’m wearing right now?
He could already imagine her eye roll.
Not particularly.
He saw the three dots as she typed. Then stopped. Then started again.
Yeah, she was imagining all right.
Anyway, we’re having dinner in the barn after the rehearsal. Dress appropriately.
He waited for more. There wasn’t any more.
What the fuck did appropriately mean?
Jason was going to be there. He pulled up Jason’s number and called him.
“What’s up?” Jason asked.
“What are you wearing tonight?”
Jason laughed, then paused and said, “Oh, you were serious.”
“Yeah. Brenna told me to dress appropriately.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
He knew his friend would be on his side. “Exactly.”
“I don’t know. Hang on.”
He waited a few minutes, and then Jason was back.
“Erin said not jeans, and a button-down shirt would be fine. I don’t even know. She either lays clothes out for me or tells me what to wear. Makes my life so easy, man.”
That would be easy. “Okay, thanks.”
“See ya.”
Jason clicked off and Finn laid his phone down and went into the bedroom. His closet contained jeans, jeans and shirts. But he did have a couple of pairs of dress pants, so he pulled them out.
Would have been nice for Brenna to tell him he’d need fancy clothes for these fake fiancé shindigs.
He should probably consider buying more dress pants, in case Brenna wanted to go to places that required dressing up. Not that there were a lot of places in Oklahoma that required that. You could go to one of the finest restaurants around here and if you had on your nice jeans and a good pair of boots, you were considered dressed up.
One of the reasons he liked living here.
He put on his black pants and boots and a dark blue button-down, happy that the barn was air conditioned, because he was already hot as blazes in this getup. But for Brenna, he’d do it.
He dropped Murphy off with Johnny and Maureen, happy to see that Agatha and Puddy were also there tonight, so there was a doggie free-for-all. Murphy was having fun frolicking with the other pups. Johnny and Maureen didn’t seem to mind the canine chaos; in fact, Johnny sat on the floor playing with all three dogs. He knew he loved that man for a reason.
He walked toward the barn, meeting up with Jason just outside.
“They’re doing the rehearsal now,” Jason said, motioning toward the vineyard and the arch where a crowd was gathered. “Erin said we could go inside the barn and wait for them where it’s cooler.”
“Sounds good to me.”
They opened the barn doors and a blast of cold air greeted them. Finn breathed a sigh of relief and went straight to the bar and ordered a beer. Jason did the same. He noticed there were a few other people in there as well, no doubt family members or friends who weren’t in the wedding party. Finn and Jason went over and introduced themselves and found out they were cousins as well as some friends of both Esther and Brock who were helping out with the wedding and had been invited to attend the rehearsal dinner.
Finn didn’t know anything about weddings, rehearsals or dinners and who was invited or what went into them. He’d never been married, never gave it much thought. He figured when he fell in love and was ready to get married, then it would be the right time to start thinking about all those things. Or, the woman he was going to marry would plan it all and tell him what to do. He was okay either way.
They’d taken a seat at one of the tables near the door. “Are you involved in planning your wedding to Erin?”
Jason laid his beer on the table. “She runs her ideas by me. I say yes to everything she wants.”
Finn laughed. “Sounds like a good plan.”
“Hey, I’ve got no knowledge about weddings. Erin has everything. I’m leaving it to the expert. And she’s not over the top. She isn’t asking for weird shit like us coming down the aisle on giraffes, or trying to have Blake Shelton sing at our wedding or anything.”
“Could she do that?”
He laughed. “She probably could. She knows a lot of people. But so far all her suggestions have been reasonable. Plus, we don’t have a lot of time to plan this thing. It’s going to be pretty simple.”
“Simple is good. That’s the kind of wedding I’d like to have. Just me, my lady and my friends and family.”