Miss Prim's Greek Island Fling

Those designs had won awards.

She closed the lid of the laptop, sagging in her seat. ‘I’ve had you pegged all wrong. For all these years you haven’t been flitting from one daredevil adventure to another. You’ve been—’ she gestured to the computer ‘—making people’s dreams come true.’

‘I don’t make people’s dreams come true. They make their own dreams come true through sheer hard work and dedication. I just show them what their dream can look like.’

In the same way he’d burned the vision of her dream shop onto her brain.

‘And another thing—’ he handed her another cracker laden with cheese ‘—Aspirations isn’t a one-man band. My partners are in charge of the day-to-day running. Also, I’ve built an amazing design team and one of my super-powers is delegation. Which means I can go flitting off on any adventure that takes my fancy, almost at a moment’s notice.’

She didn’t believe that for a moment. She bet he timed his adventures to fit in with his work demands.

‘And in hindsight it’s probably not all that surprising that you don’t know about my company. How often have we seen each other in the last four or five years? Just a handful of times.’

He had a point. ‘Christmas...and occasionally when you’re in Geneva I’ll catch you when you’re seeing Rupert.’ But that was often for just a quick drink. They were on the periphery of each other’s lives, not inside them.

‘And when you do see me you always ask me what my latest adventure has been and where I’m off to next.’

Her stomach churned. Never once had she asked him about his work. She hadn’t thought he did much. Instead, she’d vicariously lived adventure and excitement through him. But the same disapproval she directed at herself—to keep herself in check—she’d also aimed at him. How unfair was that!

She’d taken a secret delight in his exploits while maintaining a sense of moral superiority by dismissing them as trivial. She swallowed. ‘I owe you an apology. I’m really sorry, Finn. I’ve been a pompous ass.’

He blinked. ‘Garbage. You just didn’t know.’

She hadn’t wanted to know. She’d wanted to dismiss him as an irresponsible lightweight. Her mouth dried. And in thinking of him as a self-indulgent pleasure-seeker it had been easier to battle the attraction she’d always felt simmering beneath the surface of her consciousness for him.

God! That couldn’t be true.

Couldn’t it?

She didn’t know what to do with such an epiphany, so she forced a smile to uncooperative lips. ‘You have your adventures and you do good and interesting work. Finn...’ she spread her hands ‘...you’re living the dream.’

He laughed but it didn’t reach his eyes. She recalled what he’d told her—about the promise he’d made to himself when he’d come of age—and a protest rose through her. ‘I think you’re wrong, Finn—both you and Ned. I think you can have a long-term relationship and still enjoy the extreme sports you love.’ The words blurted out of her with no rhyme or reason. Finn’s head snapped back. She winced and gulped and wished she could call them back.

‘Talk about a change of topic.’ He eased away, eyed her for a moment. ‘Wrong how?’

She shouldn’t have started this. But now that she had... She forced herself to straighten. ‘I just don’t think you can define your own circumstances based on what happened to your parents. And I’m far from convinced Ned should blame your father for everything that happened afterwards.’ She raised her hands in a conciliatory gesture. ‘I know! I know! He has your best interests at heart. And, look, I love your uncle Ned.’ He came to their Christmas dinners and had become as much a part of the extended family as Finn had. ‘But surely it’s up to you and your prospective life partner to decide what kind of marriage will work for you.’

‘But my mother—’

Frustration shot through her. ‘Not every woman deals with tragedy in the same way your mother did!’

‘Whoa!’ He stared at her.

Heck!

‘Sorry. Gosh, I...’ She bit her lip.

What had she been thinking?

‘Sorry,’ she said again, swallowing. ‘That came out harsher than I meant it to—way harsher. I just meant, people react to tragedy in different ways. People react to broken hearts in different ways. I’m not trying to trivialise it; I’m not saying it’s easy. It’s just...not everyone falls into a decline. If you live by those kinds of rules then—’