Part 39 (1/2)

”No,” Archer said. ”It wasn't. So I'm going to hope like h.e.l.l you didn't let her think it was, no matter how badly she stepped on your ego.”

”That's completely bulls.h.i.+t. This isn't about my ego.”

”Your stupid pride then,” Archer said. ”I was with you when your dad died, don't forget. I know how your life changed. And I realize we're talking about a soul here and I don't like to speak ill of the dead, but you and I both know the truth. Yours and Sean's life changed for the better when your father was dead and buried.”

Finn let his head fall back and he stared at the ceiling.

”You know what I think happened?”

”No,” Finn said tiredly, ”but I bet you're about to tell me.”

Archer smiled grimly, and true to his nature, didn't hold back. ”I think you fell and fell hard, and then you got scared. You needed an out and she gave it to you. h.e.l.l, she handed it to you on a silver platter. Well, congrats, man, you got what you wanted.”

At his silence, Archer shook his head and headed for the door. ”Hope you enjoy it.”

Finn sat there stewing in his own frustration, both bad temper and regrets choking him. Enjoy it? He couldn't imagine enjoying anything, ever again. He looked around him. In the past, this place had been his home away from home.

But that feeling had migrated to Pru's place two floors up.

Just as his emotions had migrated to the same place, over softball, darts, hikes, and long conversations about what they wanted out of their hopes and dreams, often chased by the best s.e.x he'd ever had.

He hadn't realized just how far gone he was when it came to her. Or how lost in her he'd allowed himself to become.

But he was. Completely lost in her, and lost without her.

He hadn't seen that coming. He'd a.s.sumed they'd continue doing what they'd been doing. Being together. h.e.l.l, it'd been so easy it'd snuck up on him.

And he'd fallen, hard.

That wasn't the surprise. No, that honor went to the fact that in spite of what she'd done, he was still in love with her.

And, he suspected, always would be.

Chapter 33.

#LifeIsABowlOfCrazy Pru was up on the roof with Thor, watching the fog roll in when she felt someone watching her. ”I'm not going to jump, if that's what you're worried about,” she said.

Archer stepped into her line of sight and crouched at her side. ”Of course you're not, you're stronger than that.”

She felt a ghost of a smile cross her lips. ”You sure about that?”

”Very.”

She turned her head and met his gaze, and saw that he knew everything. She sighed. ”For what it's worth, I realize that I should've told him from day one, but I thought if he knew, he wouldn't give me the time of day and I wanted to help him.”

”He doesn't like help.”

”No kidding.”

Archer smiled. ”Finn's got the world in black or white. Like . . . the Giants or Dodgers. Home grown or imported. Us or them. For me, and for you too, I suspect, it's not so simple. He's a smart guy, though, Pru. He figures things out. He always does, in his own time.”

She shook her head, kissed the top of Thor's, and rose. ”That's sweet of you to say, but he won't. And I don't expect him to. I made a mistake, a really big one. And sometimes we don't get second chances.”

”You should,” Archer said.

”He's right.” This was from Willa, who appeared from the fire escape and came over to them. ”Everyone deserves a second chance.”

”Where's Elle?” Archer asked.

”She couldn't climb the fire escape in her heels and she refused to leave them behind. She's taking the elevator.”

Spence showed up next. He came from the fire escape like Willa and held Pru's gaze for a long beat before nodding and stepping out of the way, making room for the person hitting the rooftop right behind him.

Finn.

He climbed over with agility and ease and dropped down, coming straight for Pru without a glance at any of his closest friends.

Pru's heart stopped. Everything stopped including her ability to think. She took a step back, needing out of here. She wasn't ready to face him and pretend to be okay with the fact that they were nothing to each other now.

”Wait,” Finn said, reaching for her hand. ”Don't go.”

G.o.d, that voice. She'd missed him so very much. Feeling lost, she looked at the others, who'd backed off to the other side of the rooftop to give them some privacy. ”I need to go,” she whispered to Finn.

”Can I say something first?” he asked quietly. ”Please?”

When she nodded, he gently squeezed her hand in his. ”You told me you made a mistake and that you wanted to explain,” he said. ”And I didn't let you. That was my mistake, Pru. I was wrong. We each made mistakes, not just you. And I get that we can't pretend that the mistakes didn't happen, but maybe we can use them to cancel each other out.”

Her heart was a jackhammer behind her ribs, pounding too fast for her veins to keep up with the increased blood flow. ”What are you saying?”

”I'm saying that I forgive you, Pru. And in fact, there was never anything to forgive. Can you forgive me?”

The jackhammer had turned into a solid lump, blocking her air pa.s.sage. ”It's . . .” She shook her head and tried desperately to keep hope from running away with her goose sense. ”It can't be that easy,” she whispered.

”Why not?” He reached for her other hand, taking advantage of her being stunned into immobility to tug her into him. Toe to toe now, he cupped her jaw. ”Our last night together, you said something to me when I was drifting off.” His gaze warmed. ”You said it and then I felt your sheer panic, so I let it go. Or that's what I told myself. But the truth is that I was just being a coward.”

She had to close her eyes at his gentle touch because just the callused pads of his fingers on her felt so right she wanted to cry.

”I love you, Pru,” he said quietly but with utter steel.

Her eyes flew open and her breath snagged in her lungs. She hadn't realized how badly she'd needed to hear those words but . . . ”Love doesn't fix everything,” she said on a hitched breath. ”There are rules and expectations in a relations.h.i.+p. And there are some things you can't take back. What I did was one of those things.”

He shook his head. ”Life doesn't follow rules or expectations. It's messy and unpredictable. And it turns out love is a lot like life-it doesn't follow rules or expectations either.”