Page 93 of Capture The Moment

Nina gave her a shaky smile. “No thanks. I’ll let you two get back to dinner. I thought I smelled fried chicken when I first walked in.”

“Finn ate most of the chicken already, but there’s still potatoes.” It was a small attempt at humor, but Harper snatched it up.

“Hey,” he said, feigning being offended.

“That’s ok,” Nina said as Harper and Finn (and Daisy) followed her to the door.

Nina had her hand on the doorknob when Harper said, “You know, just because Blake’s gone, it doesn’t mean that you and I can’t be friends.” She was continually surprising herself lately, and it felt damn good. Maybe it was time for a new beginning for all of them.

“I’d like that,” Nina said and rewarded her with a genuine smile that time. And then she turned to Finn and said, “Take good care of her.”

“I will,” he said, putting an arm around Harper’s waist.

After Nina left, they walked back into the kitchen, and that’s when the reality of the situation hit Harper square in the jaw. Slumping down at the table, she put her head in her hands and breathed deeply, trying to regain control of her emotions.

“It’s ok, sweetheart. You don’t have to hold it in on my account,” Finn said from behind her as he rubbed her back soothingly.

She nodded and waited for the tears to come, but shockingly, they didn’t. After a few more deep breaths, she looked up at him over her shoulder and said, “I’m ok. Really.”

Looking relieved, Finn sat back down at the table, even though neither of them continued eating. “I was expecting it to be a lot worse,” he said thoughtfully.

“Me too.”

“Maybe Nina’s finally growing up.”

“Maybe.”

“Did you really mean what you said to her?”

“Which part?”

“The part about thinking Blake would have approved.”

For being such a big, strong man, he looked almost vulnerable when he said it, and she realized that she wasn’t the only one who needed reassurance sometimes. “Yes. I do.”

Patting his legs, he said, “Come here.”

So, she went to him, sitting sideways across his lap and resting her head against his broad chest.

“I’m proud of you,” he said.

“What for?”

“For the way you treated Nina. You could have been furious with her for coming over here and questioning you like that, but you weren’t. You treated her fairly and with respect. And I love you for that.”

Harper’s head popped up to see his brilliant blue eyes gazing down at her softly, lovingly. “Finn, I…”

“Shhh. Don’t say anything. Please,” he added.

“But I…” It was right there on the tip of her tongue, and she really wanted to say it, but then her cell phone rang, startling them both.

She could see the phone from where she was sitting and saw McKayla’s name flash on the screen. “It’s my sister. I should probably get that.”

“No problem,” Finn said, looking almost relieved by the interruption.

But as Harper hopped off his lap and went to answer the call, she felt anything but relieved. She’d been so close, and it had been the perfect opportunity to tell him how she was feeling, but now the moment had passed. And she wondered when she would get another one.