“Yeah. It was good that this early opening for a wedding date came up. Less to think about and plan for and just . . . I don’t want to say get it over with, but . . .”
“But get it over with?” Clay asked with a crooked smile.
Jason laughed. “Yeah, I guess so. It’s not that I don’t want Erin to have the wedding day that she’s dreamed about. I just saw how miserable she was on the wedding day she didn’t get to have. I want this one to make her happy.”
Finn pinned him with a look. “Hey. She’s marrying you. That’s enough to make her happy.”
Jason smiled. “Thanks.”
After they were measured and Jason got a receipt for the order, they headed out.
“Burgers and beer?” Jason asked.
“I’m down,” Clay said. “But I have to pick Alice up at the airport at eight thirty.”
Finn looked at his phone. It was just six right now, so plenty of time, especially since they were already in the city and closer to the airport, making it easier on Clay. “I’m game.”
“Let’s go.”
Finn’s mouth watered. They decided on Republic Gastropub because they had awesome burgers, as well as a big selection of craft beer.
The cold beer tasted damn good. Despite it being mid-September, it was still hot outside, and since Finn spent most of his days working outdoors, the cool AC and the beer hit the spot for him.
“How are things going with Brenna?” Jason asked. “You two still engaged?”
Clay paused mid-drink. “Wait. You’re engaged? What did I miss?”
Finn set his bottle on the table. “We’re not engaged. Not really. She wanted me to play the part of her fiancé for her ex-husband and his wife for this wedding she was in, so I agreed.”
Jason took a long swallow of his beer, then grinned. “But that wedding is over and you’re still seeing her, right?”
“Well, yeah. But there’ve been extenuating circumstances. It was going to be four days and done. Then there was a barbecue with friends from the wedding. And then we were supposed to go to the bride and groom’s place after their honeymoon, but the groom’s been traveling so that’s been put off. Which means we’re still fake engaged. And while we’re still fake engaged, we’re dating.”
“Sounds to me like those circumstances mean you like her,” Clay said. “And she likes you. So you’re continuing this whole fake engagement thing because neither of you wants to back out of your arrangement?”
Finn shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know. We haven’t discussed it. It’s just there.” Like a lot of things they never talked about.
“Could it be time to tell Brenna how you feel?” Jason asked. “And ask her how she feels? Maybe take the whole fake thing to something real? If that’s what you want.”
“It’s what I want. I don’t exactly know what Brenna wants.”
As they ate dinner, he thought about it, then thought some more. Was this a good time to screw up a good thing? Then again, he wasn’t the type to tiptoe around something important. Maybe it was time to bring it out into the open and have that discussion. It had been a while. Brenna had seemed relaxed with him, and they were having a lot of fun.
He didn’t like the idea of rocking the boat, especially with Brenna, who was shaky at best when it came to having a relationship. But it was high time they had a conversation about how they felt—he needed to tell her how he felt.
But like everything else where Brenna was concerned, timing was everything.
He’d find the right time, and then they’d talk.
CHAPTER
• • • • • •
twenty-three
BRENNA JOTTED DOWN notes as Honor gave her report on upcoming weddings and any changes to the schedule. Fortunately, no one had asked for changes or additions, and since Erin and Jason’s wedding was on the horizon, it was good that there were no upcoming disasters. The last thing any of them needed—especially Erin—was a disaster. This wedding was going to go smoothly.
Erin went over the financials and those were all in order as well, so Brenna was up.
“The harvest went even better than anticipated. We had an excellent yield this fall.”
“That’s such great news,” Honor said. “I thought we had a big turnout, too.”
“We sold a lot of bottles of wine that day,” Erin said. “Good for business.”
Brenna nodded. “I’ll say. We booked several wine tastings, so hopefully we’ll get some repeat customers. Oh, and Honor, a recently engaged couple who was there for the harvest said they were going to contact you to set up a tour and possibly book a wedding.”
“That’d be Helen Tollson and Travis Silver. Helen called me and she and Travis are scheduled to come in for an appointment next week.”
“That’s awesome,” Erin said. “Any other business?”
Honor shook her head.
“I don’t have anything,” Brenna said, closing her notebook and preparing to get up.
“Let’s talk about Finn,” Erin said.
Brenna frowned. “What about Finn?”
“Oh, I don’t know. How about the way he nuzzled you at the harvest, convinced you to stomp grapes, and how attentive he was to your every need?”
And here she thought no one had been paying any attention to them. She was wrong.
“First, he didn’t nuzzle, and second, he was working the harvest like everyone else. If something needed to be done, he did it—also just like everyone else.”
Erin looked to Honor. “See how she tries to deflect?”
“Hmm, I noticed. It’s like she doesn’t want to talk about him.”
“She doesn’t,” Brenna said. “Are we done now?”
“No, we’re just getting started,” Erin said. “You know how you were just going to playact the whole fake fiancé thing with Finn for the wedding weekend? We’re well past a weekend, Bren. And you’re still playing with Finn. Why is that?”
“Oh, you know I meant to explain that to you, Erin, but then I realized it was none of your damn business.”
Honor snickered and Erin shot her a glare. Honor held up her hands. “Sorry. Sorry. Yes, why is it that you’re still playing at being engaged?”
Brenna loved her sisters. She honestly did. Except when they butted into her personal life. “Did you miss the ‘none of your damn business’ comment, Honor?”