"Lance, what are you doing here?"
Having finished a pick-up game of basketball, Finn, Max and Campbell were hanging out in the common room when the blond lawyer knocked on the open door.
"Trying to find you." Lance glanced at the other two men.
Finn introduced Campbell. After a round-robin of handshakes, Campbell asked what they were all curious about. "How did you get on the base?"
Lance puffed out his chest a little. "Interviewing clients. We have a special pass. Saves all the paperwork. The military loves its paperwork." The four men chuckled in agreement.
"Is Emily with you?" The question spilled out of Finn's mouth. He scrambled to cover up his fumble, but Lance was already talking as if it was a perfectly normal question.
"Yes and no. She's finishing up with Lieutenant Casey. I slipped out when she wasn't looking." Lance smirked like a little boy who was contemplating something naughty. "Emily is much better at these things than me. It's one of the reasons my father hired her. She knows military procedure inside and out."
Campbell and Max side eyed each other in curiosity. Finn asked the obvious question. "Why?"
"Don't ask me. Always been a bit obsessed with the military. Was way before I met her. I always joke that she must love a man in uniform." Campbell shifted beside Finn as Lance continued. "But she gets a little too involved if you ask me. Remember last year there was that dust-up in Conbadar? Well, you'd think Emily had family there. She was upset for weeks."
The three sailors shared a look. They remembered it alright. Finn's shoulder was still recovering from the bullet wound. And Campbell, well his scars were not physical and would take longer to heal. Their unit had been stranded behind enemy lines for three days and out of commission for more than a month in the aftermath.
"I didn't know it made the news over here." Campbell had a worried look on his face. Finn wondered if he was concerned of how much Lily knew. Being a military wife didn't give her clearance to all his missions and Campbell had tried to downplay this particular horror show.
"Barely." Lance waved off the comment like it was a mosquito. "Most of us had no clue what she was talking about. But Emily was obsessed. She gets that way."
"What am I obsessed about?"
The four men turned in unison to regard Emily. Shoulder leaning against the doorframe, her crossed arms straining against the jacket of her navy-blue suit. A cord inside Finn went taught at the sight of her, here and he dug his fingernails into his palms.
"Emily," Lance bounced. "You found us."
"Yes Lance," she pushed off the door and entered the room, a twinkle in her eye. "I followed the trail of bread crumbs."
The taunt, so like the Em he once knew, bounced against his strained stance like a quarter on a properly made military bunk and Finn's fingers relaxed. From the first day they met, she had this uncanny ability to cut through his unease with her breezy attitude and charm.
Lance looked down at his chest and dusted off some non-existent specks before looking up at her and laughing. "Oh right. Did I mention I wanted to find Wainwright?"
"Mission accomplished I'd say." Emily turned her pleasant face to Finn and the muscles in his stomach seized, not in an anxious way this time. It was the day they met and a thousand other times she'd lit up his world all over again. How had he lived without her?
Oh right, he hadn't. Merely existed.
He couldn't believe Emily was here. On the base. Many times, he'd fantasized about her showing up to his barracks, having tracked him down, promising the letter was all a misunderstanding, telling him she had been searching for him all this time. Her standing before him was surreal. He blinked, fully expecting Emily to disappear.
She didn't. Instead, she beamed at him before her eyes moved around the room. Finn found himself holding his breath.
"Found a few other fine fellows I see." Her gaze landed on Campbell.
Again, Campbell stepped in when Finn was frozen in place. "Emily Montgomery? I've heard so much about you." He extended a hand.
She cast a quick glance at Finn before addressing Campbell. "Well, I hope you'll give me a chance to defend myself against the charges."
Finn racked his brain for a joking response. Campbell got their first in his usual calm Mr. Negotiator voice. "I'm always interested in both sides of the story."
"A very politically correct response." She wagged her finger at him. "I'll have to keep my eye on you."
Why was this so easy? Simply with her presence and a few well-chosen words, Emily made everyone in the room feel comfortable. Even the often painfully shy Max beamed at her, asking, "Can you stay for a beer?"
Finn silently begged her to say yes.
Lance made puppy dog eyes at her. "Oh please. It's almost quitting time. And Beth and Ben are with your father." He put his thumb and finger together with a small space between them. "Just one little drink?"
Emily addressed the crowd. "How can I deny the man this small pleasure?" Finn released balled fists he hadn't realized he clenched again. She was staying.
"Great," declared Max. "I'll get the beer."
"Emily doesn't like beer." Finn announced. "But we have lemonade."
Lance tapped Emily on the shoulder. "That's right, she's a real lightweight when it comes to alcohol."
"I just have better taste buds." Emily took one of the bar stools offered by Campbell and watched Finn. "Lemonade has more flavour, thank you."
Taking a bottle out of the fridge, Finn poured a tall glass for her and pushed it across the granite surface separating them. Foolishly his fingers lingered on the cold drink for a moment, hoping she would reach for it, and he could finally get the touch he longed for. He was vaguely aware of Campbell watching his every move.
Max slipped into the other empty bar stool. His soft voice almost drowned out by Lance's boisterous toast and the clink of bottles. "Emily, did you always want to be a lawyer?"
Finn concentrated on her answer, leaving Campbell and Lance to chat.
"Oh no. For many years I wanted to be a pirate," Emily winked. "But then I realized there were legal ways to rob the rich and give to the poor."
Finn found his lips curling upward and for once didn't try to suppress them. This was another part of Emily that Finn missed, her quirky sense of humour. Oh, who was he kidding â there was so much he missed about Emily.
Max regarded her with awe, like she was the lady of the lake rising out of the water, Excalibur in hand. Finn couldn't blame the man. She lit up the normally drab room, like a shooting star against the night sky.
"How is it you know Finn?" Max asked.
The beer Finn had been taking a sip of got caught in his throat. A look flashed across Emily's face but Finn didn't quite catch it. They both spoke at the same time.
"I was working for my brother."
"He was staying with Simon for the summer."
She directed her full attention to Finn, and it was like the sun had come out inside the base. "How is your brother?"
"Still trying to keep the Waterfront Bar afloat." Simon now owned the bar they'd both worked at, deciding to make Bridgetown his permanent home. "You should drop in and see him next time you are at the lake house. He'd love to see you."
This time he clearly caught the flash of disappointment as it cast a shadow across Emily's face. "My father sold the lake house. Almost two years ago now."
He couldn't imagine the white house with the red door without her. Her mother's family had owned the place for decades, the last place Emily had spent time with her outside of the hospital she died in. "You loved that place."
Her eyes locked onto his, "I still do." She responded in the present tense, her voice clear and strong. "I always have. I want it back."
Finn's heart skipped a beat. Were they still only talking about the lake house? Or could she be referring to something else? Each breath seemed to last an eternity as Emily held his gaze as if she was trying to tell him she meant him. His body betrayed him, angling her way he so desperately wanted to climb over the countertop keeping them apart and get down on his knees and beg Emily to give them a second chance.
He jumped when Lance slapped a hand on his shoulder, asking, "Are you in?"
Finn delayed tearing his eyes away from Emily. There was something important here and he didn't want the moment to end. But Lance shook his shoulders and repeated his question.
"In for what?" Finn tried not to growl. He liked the man but now was not the time. In that instant, he lost contact with Emily and the moment was lost. Her eyes fell and Emily was studying her lemonade.
"Saturday. Campbell says you fellows haven't had a chance to get out of the city in a while. We," Lance swivelled the bottle between Emily and himself, "know a great trail close by. We could make a day of it. Maybe take a hike. What do you say? You too, Max."
Emily's shoulders straightened. "I'm not so sure weâ"
Lance was quick to cut her off. "It's fine. We can write it off as a client interview. No one will care, Emily. Relax."
She nodded tightly. "You'd like it, Finn. It's lovely there."
The cavern in his chest pulsed at Emily's interest in having him there. This was not a fantasy or an illusion, there was something here, between them. The familiar feeling of what it was like to be wanted by Emily crept into his heart and took root. "Okay."
Her smile almost knocked him off his feet.
After they left, Campbell punched Finn in the arm. "Always wondered about your weird lemonade obsession."
Finn rubbed his bicep in mock pain. But he wasn't in pain. He was excited. He had plans to see Emily again. With time to plan. He should be able to find a way to get her alone, away from the maddening crowd on a long walk. Find time to talk. A chance to tell her what was in his heart.