“Hey,” Esther said when she came by. “Am I missing the real party?”
Brenna stood and hugged her. “Honey, you and Brock are the party tonight.”
Esther grinned. “That’s true. But after Brock and I say hello to a few more of our relatives, we’re joining this shindig. It looks like you’re all having way too much fun.”
True to her word, Esther and Brock ended up at their table. And then the entire group went out on the dance floor together and partied their asses off song after song. Brenna was grateful that Finn not only had joined in but had been instrumental in giving her one of the best nights of her life. A night, in fact, that she had been dreading. Out of all the people here, Finn had found the fun group and dragged her right into the middle of them. And even better, whenever Brenna glanced her way, Allison looked pissed because she was stuck at a table with a bunch of people who seemingly had zero interest in dancing. Or laughing. Or having fun.
It couldn’t have gone better.
The reception ended at midnight, though several people had left before then. Brenna and her sisters helped Esther’s and Brock’s parents load gifts into the cars, and then everyone who was left lined the driveway and blew bubbles at the newlyweds as they made their way to their car and drove off. After that the rest of the reception guests climbed into their vehicles and departed.
Brenna breathed in and exhaled.
“How did it go?” Erin asked.
“Better than expected, actually, thanks to Finn.”
Finn looked over at her. “To me? What did I do?”
She smiled at him, feeling warm and satisfied for reasons she couldn’t explain. “Everything right.”
His lips curved.
“Okay, then. Only one more day of this and we’re done,” Honor said. “Just a champagne brunch, and then it’s over.”
Oh, right. There was still brunch to get through tomorrow morning. Today had been the longest event, and she’d survived it, thanks to Finn. She leaned against him and he instantly slipped his arm around her waist.
“It’s almost over,” Erin said. “We’ll handle it.”
“Of course we will.”
“I’ll make sure everything’s being cleaned up,” Honor said.
Erin nodded. “I’ll go with you.”
“I can help,” Brenna said.
“No.” Honor held up her hand. “You were in the wedding. You’ve done enough. We’ve got this.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely,” Erin said. “Go get some rest.”
She had to admit she was kind of wiped out. “Thanks, both of you. Good night.”
“I’ll walk you to the house,” Finn said.
She might have objected, since the house was only a short walk from the wedding venue parking lot. But he had his arm around her and it felt good. And maybe she wasn’t ready for this feeling to end. So they strolled together, neither one of them in a hurry to get to her front porch.
“I need to get Murph,” he said as they walked up the steps to the door.
“Okay.”
He opened the door and whispered softly, and the dog came running.
“Hey, buddy. Did you have a good time tonight?”
She watched as he ruffled the dog’s fur, then let him run off into the dark to do his business.
He turned to her. “Did I tell you how beautiful you looked tonight?”
There it was again, that feeling of being blanketed by warmth. Not the oppressive-August-heat kind of warmth, but a fuzzy, low heat that spread within her, as if the stars in the clear sky tonight had sailed right through her and blasted her with their light.
She laid her head on his shoulder. “Thank you. Oh, and before I forget to tell you, you looked amazing in your suit.”
“Thanks.”
He tipped her chin with his fingers and kissed her, a soft, sweet kiss. He started to pull back but she wound her hand around his neck and rose up, pressing her lips to his, diving in for more.
He obliged, wrapping both arms around her, giving her the kind of kiss that made the hair on the nape of her neck stand up. His tongue slipped between her lips and her heart did a wild dance of Oh, hell yes, we want this! and she wished they weren’t right outside the door of her parents’ house, because she really wanted to be alone with him to explore, to unbutton his shirt and slide her hands all over his naked skin.
Finn was the one to break the kiss, his breaths coming out hard. His eyes were dark with desire, which only made their situation more frustrating, because she wanted to explore that desire with him—right now.
But she knew right now wasn’t the right time—and so did he. Murphy had come back and was staring at both of them. He had to get his dog home. And she also knew—
What? What did she know? That this fantasy had to end?
She sighed.
“See you tomorrow?” he asked.
She gave a quick nod and turned the knob and went inside the house. She closed the door and leaned against it.
It had been a good night. A really good night that had ended in one outstanding kiss. But why did it have to end? If she hurried, she could meet him on the way to his house.
She reached behind her and put her hand on the doorknob, seconds away from opening it.
But something stopped her.
What was it? Why couldn’t she just go for it, have some fun with Finn and then move on with her life? Why was she always so racked with indecision?
“Dammit,” she whispered, then let go of the doorknob and walked up the stairs to her room.
CHAPTER
• • • • • •
twelve
WHEN FINN FIRST saw it, the barn looked nothing like it had the night before. Instead of all the fancy decorations and lots of tables and a deejay platform, today there were only two long wood tables decorated with glass vases filled with wildflowers, along with champagne glasses and plates, giving the room a more rustic look.
When the hell did people sleep around here? He knew they had caterers to deal with the food, but Brenna, Erin and Honor were buzzing around like a swarm of bees wearing dresses. It made his head spin. He walked up the one wide wood step, into the barn.
“What can I do?” he asked as he reached Brenna.
“The table needs straightening,” Brenna said, ignoring him. “It’s crooked.”
“It’s not crooked,” Honor said. “It’s perfectly straight.”