either side of the yard made the area completely secluded from neighbors.
Finn walked to the middle of the yard where a fire pit sat waiting to be lit. "Wait right here for a minute," he said, running back up the porch steps and disappearing into the cabin. A few moments later, he came to her with his arms full.
"I could have helped you with that stuff," she said, taking a large heavy blanket out of his hands, so he could set the other things down.
"It's okay. I didn't bring you here to do manual labor."
"Hardly. I do harder labor during one hour at the diner."
"That you do. Why do you work there anyway, if you don't mind my asking?"
What was the right answer? Could she tell him she needed the money? Could she risk opening up to him? Could she risk him walking away from her if he knew she was broke and barely supporting herself? No boyfriend—not even one who wasn't rich himself—wanted to have a leech as a girlfriend.
Not that Finn was ever going to be her boyfriend. But she wasn't quite ready for her time with him to end yet either, and maybe it would if he knew she couldn't make ends meet.
"I do a lot of charity work for a local shelter, and a couple of times we held fundraisers at the diner. We would all work the shift for the owner and, in turn, he donated our wages to the shelter as well as the proceeds from the day's sales. And however much we could finagle out of the customers while we served them. Emmett asked me to come back for a shift a couple of times to help out when he was short-staffed. After that, I guess I decided I liked working for Emmett, and I liked being somewhere totally different than the Meadow where I could talk to new and interesting people every day."
Mostly true. Of course, it hadn't been Emmett asking her if she could come in for a shift. It had been her begging him to take her on as a full-time employee and convincing him that she was actually going to work. The truth was giving over the tips she'd earned on those fundraiser days had opened her eyes to how much money she could make on one shift between her wage and tips.
And in her current situation, she couldn't turn that kind of money away.
"That's really nice you're doing work you enjoy."
She shrugged, not used to talking about her work since no one actually knew she did it. Certainly, she'd never tell Reid about her job.
Grabbing the edges of the blanket, she and Finn laid it out on the grass, close enough to the fire pit that they'd be able to feel its heat once it was lit and still far enough away that they wouldn't have to worry about an ember sparking and hitting the blanket. She had a feeling their blanket would be hot enough without any extra sparks.
Even while setting up the blanket and big throw pillows, the electricity crackled between them with every fleeting glance. Definitely no fire needed here. This one hadn't stopped smoldering from their last date.
After the blanket was laid out, they each grabbed a couple of big throw pillows to sit on and got comfortable. Another couple of blankets stayed folded off to the side for later if needed for any reason. She could think of a few.
"I hope this is okay for you. I know it's not some fancy restaurant in the city, but I guarantee the view is better from here."
"Are you kidding? This is perfect. The river looks so beautiful." She'd never been on dates outside the Meadow until she met Finn, and she was happily surprised—again—by how much she enjoyed the more casual tone of these dates. Everything was so laidback and comfortable and relaxing. For the first time ever, she didn't feel like she had to be on her best behavior on a date. She could be herself.
He smiled, looking genuinely thrilled she was happy with their date plans. "Just wait until you see the sunset from here."
"Do you come up here a lot?"
"In the summer I do. Colin likes to host big barbecues here."
"It's nice you're so close to your brothers. I've always wanted a sibling relationship, but it never
Finn walked to the middle of the yard where a fire pit sat waiting to be lit. "Wait right here for a minute," he said, running back up the porch steps and disappearing into the cabin. A few moments later, he came to her with his arms full.
"I could have helped you with that stuff," she said, taking a large heavy blanket out of his hands, so he could set the other things down.
"It's okay. I didn't bring you here to do manual labor."
"Hardly. I do harder labor during one hour at the diner."
"That you do. Why do you work there anyway, if you don't mind my asking?"
What was the right answer? Could she tell him she needed the money? Could she risk opening up to him? Could she risk him walking away from her if he knew she was broke and barely supporting herself? No boyfriend—not even one who wasn't rich himself—wanted to have a leech as a girlfriend.
Not that Finn was ever going to be her boyfriend. But she wasn't quite ready for her time with him to end yet either, and maybe it would if he knew she couldn't make ends meet.
"I do a lot of charity work for a local shelter, and a couple of times we held fundraisers at the diner. We would all work the shift for the owner and, in turn, he donated our wages to the shelter as well as the proceeds from the day's sales. And however much we could finagle out of the customers while we served them. Emmett asked me to come back for a shift a couple of times to help out when he was short-staffed. After that, I guess I decided I liked working for Emmett, and I liked being somewhere totally different than the Meadow where I could talk to new and interesting people every day."
Mostly true. Of course, it hadn't been Emmett asking her if she could come in for a shift. It had been her begging him to take her on as a full-time employee and convincing him that she was actually going to work. The truth was giving over the tips she'd earned on those fundraiser days had opened her eyes to how much money she could make on one shift between her wage and tips.
And in her current situation, she couldn't turn that kind of money away.
"That's really nice you're doing work you enjoy."
She shrugged, not used to talking about her work since no one actually knew she did it. Certainly, she'd never tell Reid about her job.
Grabbing the edges of the blanket, she and Finn laid it out on the grass, close enough to the fire pit that they'd be able to feel its heat once it was lit and still far enough away that they wouldn't have to worry about an ember sparking and hitting the blanket. She had a feeling their blanket would be hot enough without any extra sparks.
Even while setting up the blanket and big throw pillows, the electricity crackled between them with every fleeting glance. Definitely no fire needed here. This one hadn't stopped smoldering from their last date.
After the blanket was laid out, they each grabbed a couple of big throw pillows to sit on and got comfortable. Another couple of blankets stayed folded off to the side for later if needed for any reason. She could think of a few.
"I hope this is okay for you. I know it's not some fancy restaurant in the city, but I guarantee the view is better from here."
"Are you kidding? This is perfect. The river looks so beautiful." She'd never been on dates outside the Meadow until she met Finn, and she was happily surprised—again—by how much she enjoyed the more casual tone of these dates. Everything was so laidback and comfortable and relaxing. For the first time ever, she didn't feel like she had to be on her best behavior on a date. She could be herself.
He smiled, looking genuinely thrilled she was happy with their date plans. "Just wait until you see the sunset from here."
"Do you come up here a lot?"
"In the summer I do. Colin likes to host big barbecues here."
"It's nice you're so close to your brothers. I've always wanted a sibling relationship, but it never
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