Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 132834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
“Savannah, what is it?” Finn crossed his arms over his chest, the grin wiped from his face. “I love you. You love me. Let’s get married.” He stopped as if something had occurred to him. “Is it Nicky? You know I love him, right? I never really thought about being a dad until I came back here, but we get along great. I’ll be a good father.”
“I know you will,” I said immediately. “It’s not Nicky. He loves you too. He can’t wait for tea after school so he can jump into whatever you’re doing in the kitchen. I love the way you are together. You’ll be a great dad.”
“Then what?”
I took another sip of the cocoa, deliciously sweet, even cold. “I want us to be on the same page,” I said. “I—”
“Savannah, just spit it out. Whatever it is, we’ll work it out.”
“Are you going to want to leave after the terms of the will are up and you get your inheritance?”
Finn went stiff, his face frozen in surprise. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re here for the inheritance,” I reminded him. “You want the money to open your own restaurant. And Sawyers Bend is still the town you grew up in, the town you swore you’d never come back to.”
“If I recall,” Finn drawled, “you swore the same thing. And yet here you are.”
“I know. I never thought I’d come back to Sawyer’s Bend. I wanted to be more than the housekeeper’s daughter.” I shrugged, shaking my head, a smile slowly curving my lips. “Shows what I knew, right? My path back here isn’t one I would have chosen, but now that I’m here, I want to stay. I love my job. I love being near my mom. I love working for your family, and I love running Heartstone Manor. And I need to know if your dreams are somewhere else.”
Finn was silent for a long moment, studying me. “Is this a deal-breaker?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I love you, and I want us to be a family. I want to have at least one more baby if you do too. But before we do this, I need to know what your plans are. I know we can’t plan everything. If we could, neither of us would be here.” I was babbling. I snapped my mouth shut. Only Finn could make me babble like this. Usually, I knew exactly what I wanted and exactly what to say, but I was in over my head here.
“You’d leave your home for me?” he asked slowly.
I hated the sound of that. I did. Before I gave him the yes that wanted to pop out of my mouth, I forced myself to think about it. Would I leave Sawyers Bend for Finn?
As the seconds ticked by, I knew the answer. Home wasn’t a place. It was wherever Nicky and Finn were.
“I love this town and my life here,” I said, “but I love you more. I want you to have your dreams, even if they aren’t here.”
“I’m not here for the inheritance,” Finn said. “I was. That’s the only reason I came home. I thought I could stick it out for a few years, grab whatever Prentice left me, and take off. Open my restaurant somewhere else.”
“And now?” I had to ask.
“And now,” Finn shoved his hands in his pockets. “Like you said, I’m not happy about the things that set me on the road I took, but I’m glad I left after the kidnapping. I’m glad I went to France. I had a different life over there. I got to be a different me. Maybe the person I would have been if I hadn’t grown up with my father. I don’t know.”
He pushed off from his leaning position at the counter and stepped forward, close enough that I wanted to throw myself into his arms. I waited where I was, needing to hear what he would say next.
“I do want my own restaurant, but I never had a clear picture of where or exactly what. I just knew I wanted to run my own place. And, yeah, it’s a real mind fuck, but I love Sawyers Bend. I love Heartstone Manor. It’s not the same house with Griffen and Hope in charge. It feels like the home I always imagined it could be. I love being back in the kitchens. I love being near my family. And this place is like foodie central. Not just Asheville, but Sawyers Bend and all the places in between. Tourists come here looking for good beer and good food. We have some of the best restaurants in the east within fifty miles of where I’m standing. Living in Sawyers Bend won’t stop me from running a world-class restaurant.”
“Really?” Relief washed through me. I’d been afraid I would have to choose. Home or Finn. I knew the answer was Finn. Would always be Finn. I hadn’t truly thought I could have both. Not once the terms of the will ran out.