Navy Blue - A Second Chance Romance (Complete)

Navy Blue: Chapter 16

When the door to her aunt's hospital room finally opened after talking with the doctor, Emily scanned the concerned faces before her, foolishly hoping Finn would be waiting in the hallway.

He wasn't.

Disappointment settled on her shoulders like the weight of a family sweater. Of course he'd left.

What was there to stay for?

Certainly not her.

A rush of blond hair filled her view, and Lance pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm sorry I didn't wait for you."

She leaned into his embrace. "It's okay."

"We came as soon as I got your message. I had trouble keeping up with Campbell and Max." He tapped his stomach. "I might need to start hitting the gym again."

She gave him a weak smile. "Campbell and Max were here?"

"Yes. They were worried about you. Well, you and Aunt E. How is she?"

"Unconscious. Trauma to her head. Must have hit it when she fell. There's swelling." Beth wrapped an arm around her husband and Emily pulled on Ben's sailor boy shirt. "We have to wait. But nothing was broken, so that's good."

She tried to smile, but the muscles in her mouth refused to work. Emily surveyed the hallway once more, hoping Finn might return. Down the way, Mary stood, talking animatedly with her father. Emily headed for them. "What did you say to him?"

Her sister blinked rapidly, feigning shock or disgust at Emily's tone. "Who?"

"You know who." Mary shrugged. "Finn. What did you say to Finn?"

"Oh, soldier boy. Nothing. He didn't stick around long enough. Bolted out of here as soon as his friends showed up." She licked her lips in a way Emily knew her sister had said something to make Finn uncomfortable. "Maybe he thought you trying to jump his bones in a hospital was in bad taste."

Emily opened her mouth to protest, but instead of matching Mary's viciousness, a weak, "It wasn't like that," eked out. Mary's words crawled into her mind and set up camp. She had initiated the kiss. Mary could be right. Finn had run away from uncomfortable situations before.

"Girls." Their father's eyes shifted back and forth. "People are watching us."

A woman in green scrubs brushed past them. Mary decided discretion was the better part of valour and found herself desperate to see her favourite aunt huffing down the hallway.

"You're thinking about him, aren't you?" Beth handed her a paper cup with steam slipping from the hot liquid inside.

One of the hardest parts about being pregnant for Beth was cutting out her caffeine fix. She insisted on buying everyone coffee at any opportunity, claiming the aroma kept her going. Seems even hospital vending machine java made the cut.

Emily felt the prickle of a blush starting. "Who?"

Beth tugged them over to a bench and settled in, patting the space beside her. "Finn Wainwright. Who else?"

The blush bloomed. There was no point in lying about it. "Is it that obvious?"

"Yes." Beth had always been the blunt one in the family. "Why didn't you tell me about him?"

Emily studied her hands. In Japan, Beth took over her life, and there was little sister bonding time. By the time she returned to the States, there was nothing to tell. Her father and sister refused to refer to Finn in even the most general way, and since most of Emily's depression had occurred at school, Beth was shielded from it.

Besides, telling her about Finn would have meant telling Beth she had chosen her over Finn all those years ago. Because of Beth, Emily lost Finn. Beth carried around enough guilt from her past actions. Emily wanted to spare her anything additional.

Or perhaps it was Emily's own guilt at not putting Finn first that kept her quiet.

"It didn't seem important." Emily sipped the bitter coffee, deciding it matched her mood. "By the time we came back, he was ... gone."

"But he's here now." Emily nodded. "And you...like him?"

Like was too simple a word. Emily brushed the notion away. "We're. I don't know. We were close once. Time changes people. I don't think Finn... likes me ... anymore."

Beth pinched Emily's knee and giggled. "Not from what I saw. He seemed to like you just fine when he was kissing you."

"Technically, I kissed him." Emily entwined her fingers with Beth's fingers. Her heart warred with her head and the logical excuse tasted like acid on her tongue. "He was just being nice."

"Emily, I might not have much experience in these matters, but I do know that no man kisses a woman the way he kissed you unless he really, really likes her." Beth drew out the second really.

"Do you think so?" The flame she kept alive in her chest for eight years rippled with hope.

Beth nodded her head aggressively. "I do. And I think you should kiss him again. Or at least find out if he'd like to kiss you."

Emily tried to keep her lips and her heart from turning up at Beth's words. She made everything sound so simple. "I'd like that." Then she frowned, the flame gusting in the wind of reality "But... I can't."

The flame fluttered. "I can't Beth."

"Why? What's stopping you?"

A mirthless chuckle erupted from Emily. "For starters, he's a witness in my client's defence. I should never have kissed him in the first place. It could jeopardize the case."

"Minor technicality." Beth loved to use legal jargon around her and Lance. Emily suspected it was her way of fitting in.

"Well, more like a major technicality."

"Okay. But after the case. Then you can—" Beth wiggled her eyebrows "—try the kissing thing again."

"I think you've been streaming too many romantic comedies." Emily released Beth's hand and brushed off her jeans. "Finn has a very different life. Not sure he can stick around Washington to date his ex-lawyer."