Page 112 of The Moment He Couldn’t Walk Away

“Why do I have to be good with that?”

“Because you’ll be living there with me, which means you may have to rent out your house.”

She thought about that. “Mabel would like more land.”

“She would.”

“And Jonathan is going to manage Circle Left for me, so he and Caleb are moving in when Hank and Nancy move out,” Nina said.

“When did that happen?”

“It was as I was walking to girls’ night at the Rollaway. He was buying waffles and said he’d like to be the manager. I agreed.”

“He’d be good for Circle Left,” Finch said.

“Agreed. So yes, I’ll move onto the Burns land with you, but I want a say in decoration.”

“Done.”

She looked at him as they headed back to the Swing Through Café. “I’m not sure it’s healthy to be this happy, Finch.”

“Me neither, but we’ll work through it together.”

She liked the sound of that.

They both had healing to do and things in their past to work through, but they would do it together, and to Nina that was enough.

“We’re having kids too,” Finch whispered in her ear.

“Yes please,” she whispered back, the smile reaching every inch of her face.

People were filling up the café as they entered.

“Go get ’em, tiger, and remember, be impartial and pick something because you like the taste of it, not because someone is glaring at you. Okay?” Finch said. “And if anyone threatens you, I’ll sort them out.”

“I hope the losers speak to me again,” she said, kissing him again.

Climbing up to take her seat beside the other judges, she looked at the plates lined up before them and then at the crowd. Some were wearing matching shirts that said the name of a baker.

“No pressure,” Ryder said from beside her. “You find anything?” he added out the side of his mouth.

“Yes, a book with bank accounts and lots of numbers. We gave it to your uncle.”

“Good. Glad that’s done with, then,” he said.

“Sorry I’m late!” Dee said, climbing up to join them in a pair of tight white jeans and a pink shirt with a sparkly heart on the front that surprisingly wasn’t showing her chest but was so tight, it had to have been a bitch to get on.

“Right, then,” Tripp said, joining them. “Let’s begin. Judges, start eating and mark on your paper which cake you think is best. We will then tally the votes and decide the winner.”

“I’m not sure I’m ready for this,” Callum Taylor said, two down from Nina. He was eyeing the crowd nervously.

“Suck it up. You made Lyntacky home when you fell in love with Mom,” Ryder said, taking the first piece of cake.

They ate and tried to ignore the tension growing in the room.

The café looked festive, with its tree and lights, plus wreaths of ribbon-wrapped greenery around the walls. Carols played softly in the background. Looking for Finch, Nina found him beside his sisters. He smiled, and she felt it through her entire body.

“Stop that, you’re making me sick,” Ryder said.