Silver eyes full of light focused on Finn. The weight of Emily's look cemented him in place.
If Finn was a weaker man, he'd assume there was hope in her lingering gaze. His lungs expanded and the ache in his chest caught fire. The sounds of the party faded away, replaced by the steady thumping of his heart as he swam in the illusion that Emily might want him to stay.
"I could." He forced the words into the open air, studying Emily's reaction. It was ever so slight, barely recognizable, but he'd swear on his life her breath caught. Followed by rapid blinks over glossy eyes. She gravitated toward him, her fingers stretching in his direction.
"Hmmm. Well, it's lovely to see you again." The mask of perfection accompanied the false sweetness of Mary's voice. "But I need to steal my sister away." She snagged Emily's hand and tugged her in the opposite direction. "Sophie is trying to ruin our summer plans, insisting on not coming to the Hamptons this summer. You need to convince her otherwise."
Emily glanced at him, then back at her sister. "Mary, Finn is our guest." Emily's auburn hair, not wound in a tight knot for once, swung over her shoulders as she turned her full attention to him. His throat constricted and his chin lifted, causing his shoulders to straighten. The corners of her mouth curled up. "Can I get you a drink or something to eat? Beth made these crab puff things. They're really good."
Finn resisted the urge to take Emily's hand and play a perverted game of tug of war with Mary, where Emily was the prize. Mary grabbed Emily by the arm and forced her away from the conversation. "Technically, he's Beth's guest. She can look after him."
With an eye roll, Emily acquiesced to her sister's demands. Beth rubbed her swollen stomach. "That's Emily. Always looking after others."
As Emily floated away from him, Finn forced his mouth to work. "Yes."
"Dad." Beth called over an older man in a linen suit, carrying a martini. "You remember Finn?"
Mr. Montgomery's gaze morphed from politician pleasant to disgusted dad as he drew closer. "I most certainly do."
Finn matched the man's stony glare. He had commanders and admirals who tried the same intimidation techniques on him, and he'd learned to bear the brunt of their hostility like the hull of a ship against the brutal sea.
"Finn, let me take that from you." Beth held out her hand for the gift, seemingly oblivious to her father's animosity. "And let me get you that drink. Lance mentioned a pale ale you might like." Without waiting for a reply, she twisted away, leaving Mr. Montgomery and Finn staring at each other.
"What exactly do you think you're doing?" Mr. Montgomery's pale blue eyes bore into him, eyebrows a straight line of contempt.
"I'm about to drink a beer." The flippant remark spilled out of Finn.
"You know what I mean."
Finn straightened. "I do not, Sir."
"Interfering with my daughter." The fury in his whispered accusation would have made Finn flinch if he hadn't been on guard.
The man made it sound like Finn planned on kidnapping Emily from this party, take her back to his ship and have his way with her. He let that idea roll around in his mind for a fraction. If he didn't know for sure she wanted nothing to do with him, he'd propose the scenario to Emily as a dose of his own medicine.
"Leave." Phillip leaned in. "And don't come back."
First Mary, now her father. What did this family have against him? Finn rose to his tallest and peered down at the man. "Your daughter is handling a case I'm involved in." Across the room, a woman with cropped black hair embraced Emily. From the reaction of Mr. Montgomery, Finn assumed Emily had not shared their conversation from the other day.
He could stay and fight for her. The Navy was the second best thing in his life, but eight years of constantly being on the move had started to wear thin. Thoughts of a home, a permanent address to send his mail to instead of a general box, a family like Campbell and Lance enjoyed, had germinated in his brain. The helicopter accident had hammered home the desire for more. The yearning to share his life.
The first best thing in his life kissed her friend on the cheek and Finn's throat constricted. Emily had said their kiss could never happen again. Yet she had kissed him.
Finn met Mr. Montgomery's glare. "Besides, I might stick around town for a while."
The silver temples of Emily's father flexed, and he stepped forward, blocking Finn's view of Emily. "How long till your 'feelings' get hurt and you run away with your tail between your legs again?"
"I didn't run-"
Her father barked out a mirthless laugh. "Didn't you say that to me once before?" Emily's father mocked him in a high, taunting tone. "I'll never leave her, Mr. Montgomery."
The accusation hit him like a punch him in the gut. It was true. A lifetime ago Finn had stood in the foyer of the lake house in Bridgetown, being told he wasn't good enough for the man's daughter, that he should leave her now and spare Emily the heartache. Finn had replied with the solemn promise, vowing never to leave Emily under any circumstances.
"I watched my wife waste away to nothing before she died. Then I had to live that hell again when you abandoned my daughter." Emily's father's eyes burned with a hatred so bottomless guilt crawled up Finn's spine even though he was innocent.
He ached to protest, trying to rub away the all too familiar ache in his heart. "I didn't aban-"
The other man barreled on, vomiting his feelings on Finn. "Emily barely survived. It took years to get her back to..." Mr. Montgomery shot back a swig of his martini. A boney finger poked Finn in the chest. "If you think I'll let you stroll into her life and stomp on her heart again, you're sorely mistaken. I may have been ... absent last time. But I'm here to protect her now."
Confusion coursed through Finn. Back in that foyer, Emily's father had expressed dislike over the differences in their social status with bitterness, but this level of loathing was intense. He acted like she was the injured party. Finn hadn't abandoned Emily. It was the other way around.
Lost for words, Finn scrambled to protest when a hand covered in gold rings slapped Mr. Montgomery on the back. "You look like you lost another round of poker, Phillip." The older man in a green polo shirt laughed. "It's our grandson's birthday party. We should be having fun."
The resemblance to Lance, both in looks and manner, shone through, and Finn guessed this must be Mr. Simpson. Phillip's face transformed like a marshmallow caught on fire, his bright smile aimed at the newcomer. "If I recall, I won our last game of poker. Don't you owe me an electric car?"
Mr. Simpson tossed his head back and roared with laughter. "True, true. Mint green I believe."
Finn slipped away from the two men and sought a quiet place. In the empty kitchen, he pressed his forehead against the cool wall and tried to grapple with Philip Montgomery's words as they rattled around in his head. Her father blamed Finn for leaving, for hurting his daughter. No, for devastating her. The logic was backwards.
Of course, they would take her side. Emily's family hated him.
Maybe she'd felt some remorse over the way she'd treated him. Shame over crushing his heart with a single page breakup, no proper explanation of what he'd done wrong.
Finn removed his phone from his back pocket to text Simon. His brother might be able to shed some light on Emily's state of mind back then. A string of texts popped up on his screen from his Team Patriot group text.
Max: My sister is worse than Commander Valdez
Finn grimaced. Because of a raging storm at sea, his crew had been stranded for a week on the Commander's carrier. Every ship has a rhythm and pace, but the Commander had his seamen wound tighter than a clock spring. Nothing was ever good enough.
Max: Need to escape
Max: Let's do that boys' night.
Max: Now
Max: You name it, I'll be there.
"You look like you need a beer." Finn pushed away from the wall and spun around as Lance crossed the kitchen. He pulled on a cabinet door to reveal a fridge. Two beers in hand, he offered Finn one.
"Thanks." Finn twisted off the cap and let the cold liquid quell the burning ire, threatening to crawl up his throat. "Are there any good clubs around here?"
"My son's party that boring?" Lance tapped his chest like the question hurt him. The illusion didn't last long. Lance was unable to hold the look as it morphed into a smile. "Don't look so mortified. I get this isn't a military man's idea of a great way to spend an afternoon."
Finn leaned against the countertop. "I don't think I fit in here."
Hand on the marble, Lance paused as he raised the beer bottle. "Not sure I do either."
The self-depreciating humour lifted one of the bricks sitting on Finn's chest. "Could have fooled me."
"I still think I'm going to wake up one day to find it's all a dream. Beth, Ben, the little one on the way."
Finn couldn't believe his ears. "Why?"
Lance clinked his bottle against Finn's. "Did you know I met Emily first?" Finn shook his head. "Yup. First day of law school. I was late for class and ran into the packed auditorium just as the professor was locking the door. Half the room snickered at me. Lawyers, especially lawyers-to-be, can be quite competitive, and they smelt fresh blood."
Lance grinned. "But in the front row sat this stunning woman." His eyebrows raised. "The best part? While others were gleeful over my potential demise, her smile offered hope."
Finn could almost see the scene playing out like a movie. Of course, Emily would see Lance's predicament and try to make things better. Everywhere she went in Bridgetown, her generosity followed like the cape of a superhero. Whether helping the town library sort through books, volunteering to run the children's camp art classes or even sitting on a bench talking to one of the town elders, Emily met the world with compassion. Her smile had brightened his day many a time.
"Make no mistake, I beelined for the empty seat beside her and ensured I got her number. Asked her out immediately."
"Did she say yes?" Finn wasn't sure he wanted to know.
"Took some convincing, but I won her over." Knots formed in Finn's stomach and back. He liked Lance, but hated the idea of Emily on a date with him. "I pulled out all the stops. Best restaurant, best table. Brought her roses. Walked her home."
Finn's fingers curled around the neck of the beer bottle. "I get the point."
"No." Lance's hand landed on Finn's shoulder. "The point is, it was all a waste. Kissing her was like kissing my sister. I think she knew by then it wasn't working out, but still let me kiss her."
One of the knots in Finn's stomach loosened.
"After that, we became friends. She might be my best friend." Another knot untied. Aside from the initial attraction, which Finn couldn't blame the man for, it was a comfort to know Emily had this man looking out for her. "My best friend who invited me home for Thanksgiving that year and introduced me to the most amazing woman."
"Beth?"
"Beth Montgomery." Lance gazed into the distance. "One look and I was a goner. She stole my heart in an instant." Finn yearned to tell Lance he completely understood the sensation. Emily had shifted his world the moment she walked into the Waterfront Bar and Grill, ordering frings because the special combo of French fries and onion rings was "the best of both worlds," according to her.
"When you fall that fast..." Lance ran a hand through his hair. "It's like being knocked unconscious. One moment you're sitting at a dining room table about to enjoy stuffing and gravy and the next you'd do anything just to make the woman who sat across from you laugh."
A high-pitched giggle wafted in from the other room, and Lance shifted beside him. "I know, cheesy, right? But you won't find it so silly when it happens to you."
A confession caught on Finn's tongue. Lance didn't notice his struggle. "Anyhow, I've been trying to make Beth laugh for four years now. So far, so good. But I fear the day she might tire of my shenanigans. Or the day I wake up and find out this is all a dream. I don't know what I'd do without her."
Finn raised his beer between them. "Here's hoping you never find out."
He didn't say the "because it's hell" out loud.