Chapter 12
Finn closed the front door after Kismet darted inside the house and disappeared. Probably in search of Nina, though he knew she’d left already since her rental car wasn’t parked out front. He paused for a moment, thinking about how quickly he’d gotten used to seeing her each day. Leaving before she got up this morning had taken some willpower.
Then there was the not kissing her again the past couple days. That had taken a strength of will he’d never quite exercised before. But he was going to change all that.
Starting tonight.
He hung up his jacket and headed into the kitchen, thinking about the plan he’d set up with Kyra when he’d stopped by the bakery. All she had to do was win the bid for his date using his money. It wasn’t cheating when the veterans still got all the cash, and with that out of the way, he’d be free and clear to win Nina’s date.
Tomorrow, he’d take her to a nice restaurant for Valentine’s Day where he would continue his campaign to convince her that the connection between them deserved a fair shot. It deserved a lifetime, but he couldn’t go that far too soon or he’d risk scaring her away.
A soft whine sounded behind him. When he started to turn to look at Kismet, his attention caught on the slip of paper lying on the butcher block. At first, he assumed it was the note he’d left that morning, but a closer glance revealed much prettier, more feminine handwriting than his.
He snatched it up in anticipation, only to have crushing disappointment rush in as he read her words.
Finn, thanks for compromising with me the past two weeks. It’s been fun, but I have to get back to L.A. sooner than I thought. Best of luck with your farm. ~ Nina
Wow.
He hadn’t expected her to just up and leave. And with only a casual few words, as if the moments they’d shared didn’t mean anything to her.
He rubbed at the tight, burning sensation in his chest. Behind him, Kismet whined again, and he turned around to see her holding a green wine bottle in her mouth.
“Sassy girl,” he admonished in a low voice. “I told you, stop digging in the recyclables.”
The shepherd ducked her head in shame and dropped the bottle. As it rolled across the old, cracked linoleum toward him, it occurred to Finn he didn’t drink wine, and he didn’t recall Nina having had any, either.
When he scooped up the empty bottle, movement inside had him pulling out the cork to dump a rolled slip of paper into his palm. Curiosity burned bright as he unrolled the note.
“Ah ha,” he said to his dog after reading the first line. “It’s her perfect guy message in a bottle from her screenplay.”
She must’ve written it down for visual inspiration. Reading through the requirements Nina had come up with for her main character, he smiled as her humor shined through in the snarky personals-style ad. If the rest of her writing compared similarly, hers would be a chick flick he might actually enjoy.
He set it aside and went upstairs to get ready for the fundraising event with a heavy heart. An assessing look in Nina’s bedroom confirmed she’d definitely left. Knowing she wouldn’t be at the auction took away every last shred of anticipation that had been building for the evening.
As he shaved and showered, his thoughts kept returning to the list of ten requirements her fictional character had come up with—or she’d come up with for her character. Either way, he couldn’t help thinking he actually met a few of them.
Then he recalled when they’d driven to Green Bay for the movie, she’d reached to turn up the volume when Tim McGraw came on the radio. Finn had said he liked his music, and she’d said the country singer was her favorite. Especially his song, “Humble and Kind,”—the same song referenced in the bottle message.
The contact email in the message also intensified his growing suspicion.
bemyhero (at) priley…
Considering she worked for Peyton Riley, he wondered if it could be a real email address. And would that make the note real and not fiction?
If it was real, who did it belong to—Peyton or Nina?
The details nagged at him as he pulled on clean jeans and buttoned a navy blue dress shirt. He slipped on his black suit coat, but skipped the tie. Tonight would be torture enough without a noose around his neck. Then again, he would still have Kyra bid on him. Because even if Nina wasn’t there, since he’d met her, there was no one else he wanted to go out with on Valentine’s Day—or any other day.
Which made him even more determined to find out about this message in the bottle. When he went back downstairs, he called Eric Riley and managed to come up with a believable excuse about the house so the guy would hand out his famous cousin’s cell number. Except, Peyton didn’t answer. He hung up in frustration and looked at the email address again. Sending a message might be his only option to get answers anytime soon.
His cell rang, and when Peyton’s number popped up, he nearly dropped his phone in his haste to answer. “Hey, it’s Finn. Thanks for calling back.”
“Sure. Sorry I didn’t answer, but I’ve been getting some weird calls, and I had no ID on your number until Eric texted that you might call. Something about the house?”
“Not really, but I do have a question…”
“Shoot.”
“Is the message in the bottle yours or Nina’s?”
“What message in the bottle?”
His heart did a little flip. Had to be Nina’s, then. “Which one of you is in a book club?”
“She is. I don’t have a whole lot of reading time. Why?”
“Did they all take a trip recently?”
“Um…last June they all met up on some island in the Caribbean for a week.”
Her screenplay was actually based on a true story. His grin spread wide as he murmured, “She’s the one who didn’t toss her bottle.”
Peyton made a frustrated sound on the other end of the line. “What in the world are you talking about, Finn? What bottle?”
“Forget the bottle. Nina told me a story about the book club but I wasn’t sure if it was about her or you.”
“You could’ve just asked her.”
“Not really. She left.”
“What? What do you mean, she left?”
“She went back to California this afternoon.”
“No way.” She muttered under her breath as if trying to convince herself it wasn’t true. Then her voice came across clear and strong. “No. Nina wouldn’t do that. Whatever she told you, you must’ve misunderstood. She just didn’t want to tell you about the Valentine’s Day auction out at Whispering Pines, though I still don’t understand what the big deal is if you know.”
He didn’t either, but that didn’t change the fact she was gone. “There’s nothing to misunderstand. All her stuff is gone, Peyton. And she left a note that said she was going home.”
“Uh-uh. I know she was nervous, but she wouldn’t skip out on the auction. Not after she gave her word.”
Peyton’s certainty raised his hopes.
“Go to the auction, Finn. She’ll be there.”
“I sure hope you’re right.”
“I am. I promise.”
He reached over to scoop up the bottle message and slipped it into his pocket. His gut told him he was going to need all the ammunition he could get. “In that case, when’s her birthday?”