Three Days Later
Chloe
It had been three days since I'd spoke to Finn, since the night he came through my bedroom window. I hadn't thought of too much other than him, but I wanted to make sure I was ready for a relationship before approaching him. He was as fragile as I was. No reason to start something that I couldn't finish.
The meeting with my Dad a few days back went relatively well. He liked my designs and even allowed me access to one of his manufactures to start working on a prototype for the women's wind-breaker I designed. It wasn't what I wanted to do with my life, but it was a first step in helping him see me for the professional I was becoming.
With only ten days until Christmas, I had a list of gifts I needed to get, mostly for my brother, but I was running out of time. I had a piece of toast and then headed out for the morning and made sure Parker was still planning on taking me snowboarding for the afternoon. I'd decided over the last three days that I wanted to learn how to do it. I would have asked Finn, but we had some damage repair to get through.
After talking about everything with Parker, he confessed to lying about me still being with Seth simply because it seemed to be in my best interest to steer clear of Finn. I was pissed, but I understood where my brother was coming from too. He was all for me calling Finn, but I needed to make sure I was completely for it too.
I picked up my purse and paused by the door as my brother called for me.
"Chloe. Wait. I wanna go."
"Shopping? Have you lost your mind? You're the worst shopper in the universe."
"Come on. I don't want to stay cooped up here. Let's go shop, eat lunch and then we'll go hit the slopes and I'll teach you some tricks."
"Yeah, let's start with the one where I stay vertical on the board."
We laughed and I moved out into the garage. I got into the Cherokee and buckled up as he got into the other side.
"I invited a friend to go boarding with us. Hope that's okay." He turned toward me.
"Yeah, sure. Just show me the ropes and then you and your friend can go get lost." I winked and pulled the car out. "I'm glad the roads haven't been too bad this Christmas. Sometimes they are so bad here. I remember as a kid having to help Dad put those track thingies on the wheels."
"Chains?" He snorted.
I popped his arm. "Hush or I'll take you into every pantie store I see."
"Please?" He growled and I rolled my eyes.
I'd forgotten I was dealing with a sixteen year old boy. He wasn't a kid anymore, oddly enough. Neither was I, and I needed to stop acting like it in several areas of my life.
"I think I'm going to call Finn today." I turned on the heater and waited for my brother's reaction.
"I think that's a great idea, actually. He's the only thing that can keep you here, so I'm all for him."
I glanced over at my brother. "Keep me here?"
"Yeah. I don't want you to go back to Cali. Neither does Dad. We were talking about it last night when you conked out on the movie." He smiled and leaned back in his seat. "It's fantastic having a woman around the house. We get to eat, have clean clothes... and feel loved."
"Awww, you feel loved by me?" I teased him, reaching over to pinch at his chest and ears.
"Alright. Never mind. Get your ass back on a plane." He pulled from me and laughed. "Stop. I'm ticklish."
"Finn's not the only one that could keep me here, Parker. I would consider it for you and Dad."
"Right, but he'd be enough to sway the vote." Parker shrugged. "And honestly, after thinking about everything, I think maybe I misjudged him. He didn't seem like a playboy asshole the other day. He seemed like a normal guy to me."
"He is. I think we've all done a lot of misjudging each other." I turned into the large shopping mall and parked. "You ready for this fun day?"
"Just get me a hot chocolate and a nudie mag and leave me in the food court."
I laughed and snorted at my brother and his antics. "I am not getting you a hot chocolate. You'll be jumping everywhere."
He slipped his arm into mine and chuckled at my response. "Where are we eating lunch?"
"It's ten in the morning. I seriously have to get a few gifts today. That's my focus."
"Okay, but that still begs the question. Where are we eating lunch?"
"The Chinese place on the top floor? You like their soup and egg-rolls, right?"
"I do. I'll meet you there. I'm going to go look at the game stores. Like an hour?"
"Two." I pulled from him and walked toward a large department store as the lights and Christmas music beckoned me to come.
"Two? Come on, Sis."
"One and a half." I called over my shoulder and walked in, stopping by the fragrance counter and smelling three different types of men's cologne. The last one smelled like Finn.
"Yum," I mumbled and found the largest box of it.
"Chloe?" The feminine voice beside me caused me to freeze. I didn't know any girls in Aspen.
"I'm Kari, Finn's friend from school." She moved up beside me and extended her hand. The nasty snarl she wore a few nights before was gone and her expression was almost kind.
I shook her hand and nodded. "And what can I do for you, Kari?"
"Nothing. I just saw you and thought I recognized you. I'm glad I did. I needed to apologize."
"For what?"
"For being a bitch the other night." She pursed her lips and let out a long breath through her nose. "Finn's such a great guy and I think all of us around here and beaten him up and taken him for granted for far too long. The other night when he got upset was the first time I'd seen him show emotion about anything since we were kids. Like a part of him died when he lost his mother, and then slowly over time it kept getting worse. I know he gets around, but I understand why."
"Your point?" I didn't want to be rude, but I couldn't help myself seeing that this bitch was unbelievably rude to me only a few nights back.
"No point. Just an apology. I was jealous and acted like a jerk. I'm sorry."
"It happens." I glanced around to see if he was somewhere behind us. Seemed like him to start sending flowers and people to help me see the good in him. It was ingenious, which was right up his alley. "Did he put you up to this?"
"Finn? Heavens no. I haven't seen him since the other night. He's working his ass off no doubt. He wants to build his own lodge, but money has always been so tight for him and his Dad." She smiled. "Anyway. I'm sorry and I hope things work out with you guys. He deserves a good woman."
"And you think that's me? That I'm a good woman?"
"I don't know, but I think he believes that, which is enough for me." She nodded and turned, walking back into the crowd.
I reached for my phone and dialed his number.
He answered on the first ring, breathless. "Chloe."
"Hey. Sorry it took so long, I was just..."
He cut me off. "No apologies. I told you to take your time."
"You working?" I looked around at all of the people milling about. Most of them were couples, holding hands and having a good time together. It made me long for him all the more.
"Yeah, but I get off around two. You want to get together and talk?"
"No. I want you to join me and Parker on the slopes. He's going to teach me to snowboard."
Finn snorted, and my lip raised in a smile. "Confession time."