“Hey, Finn.” She smiles as she walks in. Claire is the only girl in the family, the baby and the only one who doesn’t have the same dark hair our father had. Instead, she looks remarkably like our mother with coppery red hair falling in waves down her back. The older she gets, the closer she comes to the memory I have in my head of our mom. Not that I tell her that. I’ve seen how uncomfortable it seems to make her when others compare her to Abby King. I’ve never asked her why. For all that we King kids are close, we tend to shy away from talking about our parents. It’s as though we have some unspoken agreement to avoid painful subjects.
Claire makes her way to the counter and shoots me an impatient look.
“You ready?”
I nod. “Sure. I just need to let Hannah know I’m leaving so she can watch the desk.”
I debate my options. I could walk down the short hallway to Hannah’s office, poke my head in her door and tell her I’m leaving for an hour. Or I could call her. Both options would require my speaking to her and her speaking to me. I’m not sure she’ll speak to me at all given her earlier anger. The internal debate lasts all of 10 seconds before I pick up my cell phone and send her a text. I ignore the internal voice telling me how much of a coward I am. Instead, I tell myself I’m giving her time to calm down. She’s angry. She probably doesn’t want to speak to me right now anyway. It’s really for the best. I turn back to Claire who’s watching me with narrowed eyes.
“Ready,” I say, smiling. “I’m starving.”
“Hm,” Claire says as she follows me outside.
We take Claire’s car into town, making small talk as she drives. We talk about the weather, the Jester and Mack’s—the restaurant owned by our twin brothers. We both know the drill. The important stuff has to wait at least until we’ve ordered our entrées. No one wants to argue on an empty stomach. We go to our usual lunch spot—a local diner that has the best corn chowder I’ve ever tasted—and sit in a corner booth. We’ve been here enough that we don’t need to look at a menu. The server comes over with 2 glasses of water and takes our order. After she leaves, Claire waits exactly 3 seconds to pounce.
“What’s wrong with you and Hannah?”
I sputter, nearly choking on the mouthful of water I’d been attempting to swallow. I cough and wipe my mouth with a napkin before responding.
“Nothing,” I say. “Nothing’s wrong with me and Hannah.”
She arches an eyebrow at me. “Then why aren’t you speaking?”
I shake my head, avoiding Claire’s gaze. “We’re speaking,” I mutter.
Claire snorts. “You texted her when she was 10 feet down the hall. You could have called or even walked to her office, but you were clearly avoiding her. Why?”
Damn Claire and her nosy ways. I sigh. “We had a minor disagreement this morning. No big deal.”
“It seems like a big deal if you’re not speaking.”
“It’s not,” I say. “I just need to apologize, and I haven’t done it yet. So, I’m sort of, maybe, avoiding her for the time being.”
Her eyes narrow. “Hm.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
She shrugs. “Nothing.”
“Fine,” I say. “She was being unprofessional, and I called her on it. Granted, I didn’t do it in the best way. But I wasn’t the only one in the wrong.”
“I see,” she says.
“What?”
Claire looks thoughtful. “It’s just that I’ve known Hannah for a long time and she’s always taken pride in her work. It seems out of character for her. That’s all.”
“Trust me,” I say.
“What did she do that was so wrong?”
“Fine. I walked into reception this morning and she was openly flirting with one of the guests.”
Claire waits a beat before letting out a dramatic gasp. She puts a hand on her chest. “Flirting, you say? Oh, my!”
“Shut up.”
She fans herself and does her best impersonation of Blanche from The Golden Girls. “Well, I think I feel a case of the vapors coming on. Don’t tell me more. I may faint.”
I sit back in the booth and glare at my sister, wishing I’d never told her anything. “You finished?”
Claire grins. “I think so. For now, anyway,” she says, back to her normal voice. She studies me for nearly a full minute as though she’s taking my measure.
Now my eyes narrow. “Spit it out.”
She rolls her eyes, a habit that has annoyed me since she turned 10. “Just that the only 2 people in this town who don’t see that you and Hannah have the hots for each other are you and Hannah.” She shrugs. “I don’t know why you both don’t just go with it. See where it leads.”
Now I roll my own eyes. “First Wyatt and now you. Listen to me. Hannah and I are friends. That’s all. And even if either of us wanted more, it can’t happen. She’s an employee.”
Claire sighs. “You and your honor,” she says. “Listen, Finn. That honorable streak is one of the reasons I love you, but I think it holds you back from going for what you really want. Wouldn’t it be a shame if you missed out on something amazing because of it?”
I’m saved from having to reply by the arrival of our food.
After the server leaves again, Claire meets my gaze. “Give it some thought,” she says in a gentle voice. “I just want you to be happy.”
We eat in silence for several minutes. Eventually I speak, leaving the topic of me and Hannah alone in favor of Claire’s life.
“What about you?” I ask. “Any big plans?” We
