Page 39 of Capture The Moment
“Stay right there. Don’t leave. I’m going to take the dogs out, and I’ll be right back,” Finn said firmly.
Right. Where would I go? I’m trapped here until my furnace gets fixed. I knew that staying here was a mistake, and tonight proved it. She paced the room while Finn was outside, wondering how she was going to fix this. Things would never be the same between them again. They’d crossed an invisible line that couldn’t be uncrossed. Their relationship was irreparably damaged, and it was all her fault. She refused to assign any of the blame to him. She’d been the one to initiate the kiss, to lean into his touch, to want…well, to want things from him that she shouldn’t want. EVER.
What would Blake think of his wife and his best friend kissing like they had? He’d never been one to show jealousy, but surely, he’d hate the idea of her being intimate with his best friend. The fire had died down now, and she shivered even though the furnace was still running. She was standing in the middle of the room, hugging herself, when Finn reentered without the dogs.
“Where’d you put them?”
“In their crates for the night so we can talk. Let’s sit down.”
“No. What I have to say won’t take long.”
“Harper…”
“No, Finn. Listen to me. This was all my fault. I’m not blaming you for anything.”
“I was a willing participant.”
“But you wouldn’t have been if I hadn’t…forced myself on you.”
He laughed but in a sarcastic way. “Believe me, you didn’t force me to do anything.”
She didn’t stop to think what that meant. Plowing forward, she said, “Well, it won’t happen again. Correction: it can’t happen again.”
He eyed her for a few seconds but didn’t speak.
“It was wrong of us. Of me. I don’t know what came over me.” But that part was a lie. She’d been building up to this moment for weeks, unbeknownst to him. Thank God he’d blamed her moodiness on something other than her wanting him.
“It’s not wrong of you to want that kind of connection, Harper. It’s human nature. It’s normal.”
Shaking her head vehemently, she said, “No. It’s not normal to kiss your husband’s best friend.”
“You feel guilty.”
“Yes! Don’t you?”
Shoving his hands deep into his pockets, he stared at the floor for a few seconds before replying, “Yes and no. It never would have happened if Blake were alive. We both know that. But he’s not here anymore, and we are, and sometimes, things just happen.”
“Things don’t just happen, Finn. People make them happen.”
Frustration rising, he said gruffly, “Fine. If you want to keep beating yourself up about this, be my guest. But guilt makes for a lonely bedfellow.”
“Who said anything about bed? You and I are not going to bed together!”
“Obviously,” he said wearily.
Sighing, she said, “I’m going home tomorrow morning. I don’t think I should stay here any longer.”
“Ok.”
“What? No argument?”
“No. That was Brad who just called, the furnace guy. He had a last-minute cancellation. He’ll be over to fix your furnace tomorrow morning.”
“Thank God.”
“I’m going to bed,” he said abruptly and started to walk away.
“Wait.”
