“How was your day?” he asks.
“Busy, but productive. Finished a large MS I’ve been working on for a week.”
“MS?” His eyebrows scrunch in confusion.
“Sorry, professional lingo. MS means manuscript.”
His face relaxes and he nods.
“How was your day?”
“School kicked my ass. These shortened summer semesters slam so much together. I lost all track of time until my alert told me it was time to meet you. I didn’t have time to go home and change.”
“You look great!” I say a little too loudly and slap my lips together, feeling heat creep up my face.
He gives me a small smirk that sends my heart back into overdrive. It’s unreal how his presence alone has me bumbling like an idiot. Even when I turned twenty-one and my friends got backstage concert passes to meet Blake Shelton, I never stuttered. They fawned and shed a few tears, but I shook his hand and told him how much I enjoyed his music.
But this man sitting in front of me affects me all the way to my bones. I’m worse than a fifteen-year old at a Justin Bieber concert. At this point, I can’t deny it anymore. As crazy as it sounds, I’m convinced he’s the man Simon was referring to in my dream. And that makes me certifiable because it’s impossible to create a man in your dreams.
“Thanks, but I’d have preferred to change. However, given the risk of being late and missing out on even a minute with you had me rethinking my plans.”
“Really?” I rasp quietly.
“Really,” he confirms.
The screeching of children in the play tubes snaps me out of my fog, and I glance over his shoulder to make sure Winnie is okay.
“So tell me about the MS you finished today.”
“It was a RomCom, which means romantic comedy, for a long-time client. She’s set to publish in six weeks. We’ll do another round after she cleans it up, but this was the critical edit that will hopefully help shape her story.”
“Do you like romantic comedies?”
“I like romance any way I can get it. Simon and Johnny always made fun of me and my addiction to the over-the-top fictional romances. This is a somewhat new adventure for me, though. The book editing fell into my lap. After I graduated, I worked with mostly publications, papers, magazines, and freelance work, helping with special projects.”
“How’d it fall into your lap?” He sits back and extends his legs under the table. One rubs against mine, and that damn tingle circles in the spot his skin touches.
“You know we lost my mom when we were teenagers, right?”
“Yeah, I remembered, but your dad also mentioned it the other day after the funeral. I’m sorry.”
“Thank you. It was rough, but Dad did an incredible job with us. But after she died, I became the woman of the family. When Simon learned he was being deployed, we all gathered together and discussed how we’d help. I was already living in North Carolina to be close to him and Winnie. Luckily, the Marines gave him so much prior notice, we got a good plan together. There was no question Dad would get temporary custody of Winnie until Simon came home, but Johnny and I wanted to be a part of it. So I relocated here with Winnie to start the adjustment. My company was wonderful at first, letting me work from home, but most of my business clients were still in North Carolina. So we worked out a good deal, and they started shooting freelance work my way. It took about six months, but I built up a base of local clients. Eventually, I was able to get some contracts in place. One of the reporters who works with the newspaper contacted me about helping her with her debut novel into the Indie world. It took off from there.”
“Do you like it?”
“Oh yeah, I love it. But even more, I love the life it provides for me. There was no way I was moving back in with Dad at my age. This allows me to be independent and also set my own schedule. For the summer, until we get Winnie into school, she spends two or three nights a week with me.
“Don’t get me wrong, Dad is perfectly healthy, but it’s hard to go from three grown children out of the house to having an energetic four—almost five-year old. And a girl at that. So this schedule allows Dad some time to himself and the ability to keep up his personal life. His law firm also requires a lot of his attention, sometimes into the evening. Johnny also helps a lot.”
“That’s so selfless.”
“I guess, but to me, it’s family. I insisted on this. It’s my promise to Simon. Winnie will grow up in a loving environment with a woman’s influence always around to guide her if needed.”
Finn runs his fingers through his hair and looks at me wearily. “It’s none of my business, but what about her mom?”
There’s the million-dollar question. I think to myself.
“Her name’s Elisa, and she’s still alive, but she gave all custodial rights to Simon. There’s a whole lot more to the story, but I can’t tell you when Winnie is ten feet away and may come busting back here any second. As far as she knows, her mother is a beautiful woman who lives somewhere else. As she gets older, we’ll have to share more, but for now, it works.”