He came toward them and wrapped his arms around both of them, hoping that his towel wouldn’t slip. “I’m so sorry, Little Finn.”
Tasha kissed her cheek. “Welcome to the Heartbreak Hotel, baby girl. Everyone who’s been kicked in the ass by love is welcome here. Let’s let Jeremy get dressed before he shocks your innocent eyes with his oversized sexiness and I’ll pour you a shot of tequila.”
He let her go, meeting Tasha’s gaze with a question in his. She shrugged and shook her head, which meant neither of them knew why Jen had decided to come here of all places. He would call her parents, but honestly? He was too much of a damn coward. He needed to talk to Owen first. He needed to know what was going on.
Why the hell hadn’t he called?
He got dressed as quickly as he could in his uniform of sweatpants and a t-shirt, his mind racing. Jen had been to his house a handful of times for barbecues by the lake with the rest of the Finn family, but she’d never come on her own.
The wedding was off, she’d said. That was his only clue.
Did she know what had happened? Did she know about Tasha and Jeremy’s parts in it?
“Is this night ever going to end?” He sighed, heading back down the hallway to take care of the two women who were the most precious to him.
If he ever got his hands on Scott, Jeremy would be drawing his comics from prison.
Chapter Eleven
“Coffee. Thank God.” He took a grateful sip and, not seeing the saint who’d brewed the pot, turned to his patio doors to enjoy the silence of the lake until the caffeine hit him enough that he could face this coming day.
He hadn’t been able to sleep without Owen beside him. He could smell the man’s scent on his pillows. Even when he’d ripped off the sheets and pillowcases and put on a freshly washed set, it was still there. Owen was still there.
But he hadn’t called. All Jeremy had gotten was a one-line text he saw when he woke up this morning.
Will talk later.
It was a shitty way to wake up. The most unsatisfying message in the history of texting. It gave him no clue where they stood, what Owen was thinking. Nothing. And later could mean an hour or a year. It felt like he was being blown off.
There were three women sitting on the balcony when he stepped outside, and they turned as soon as they heard him open the door.
Caught, Jeremy thought, like a deer in the damn headlights. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
He started to go back inside but Owen’s mother stopped him.
“Jeremy Porter, there you are, angel. We were wondering when we’d see your handsome face.”
Angel. He was still an angel. She must not know.
“Mrs. Finn, good morning.” He knew he looked shocked. He was. Shocked, barefoot and clinging to his coffee as if it were a life vest on a stormy sea as he looked down at Owen’s perfectly put together mother. He lifted a hand to run it self-consciously through his tangled hair. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“We’re family, you don’t need to be formal.” She smiled and gestured to the empty seat beside her. “And where else would I be when we have so much to talk about?”
Tasha bit her lip and stared down into her coffee cup. Jen’s expression was apologetic, but more at peace than it had been last night.
Jeremy sat down abruptly. “Of course.”
“I was just thanking Mama for taking care of everything,” Jen offered helpfully. “Cancellations and gift returns. She’s been checking things off the list since dawn.”
“It’s the least I can do,” Mrs. Finn insisted, her shock of short, red curls bouncing as she nodded. “I should have kicked that boy out of the house when you first started dating him. I’m sorry dear, but you know I’m right. He was never good enough for you.”
“Everybody knew,” Jen responded glumly. “I didn’t listen.”
Jeremy kept his head down. This was getting surreal. First Tasha, then Jen and now Ellen Finn. He was being invaded. Were they forming a kindly mob to politely run him out of town? Kill him with kindness?
Why was she here?
He’d found out last night that Seamus had been the one to sit Jen down and tell her about everything. Her fiancé’s stealing. His flirting. His threats to the Finn brothers and the images he’d sent. He’d thought she deserved to know. To be a part of the family meeting, since it directly related to her fiancé.
She’d handled it well. She’d shown Jeremy a snapshot of herself holding an embarrassing if not incriminating picture of Scott in one hand and a burning wedding invitation in the other. She was saving it to send to him after her brothers made sure he couldn’t use the ones he’d sent against them.