Page 18 of October (New Orleans #10)

F inley knew Molly was lying to her. She just didn’t know why.

Everything with the puppies had been amazing.

Molly had snuggled into her side and had been there for the whole hour they’d had with the dogs.

Wells had slept adorably on Finley’s stomach, and they had talked quietly whenever they could get away with it and had played with the other puppies, who seemed to be content with trying to wake Wells up.

The puppy had been surprisingly resilient, which Finley admired.

She had wanted to sleep, so she had done so.

The woman in charge had said that Wells might be going through a growth spurt because she had been sleeping more recently, but she’d also made sure to tell Finley and Molly that Wells was healthy, probably because she wanted them to adopt her.

Finley hadn’t given much thought to getting a dog, and that had mostly been true because of India’s stance, but when she’d been with those puppies last night, she’d actually considered applying for Wells if Molly didn’t.

Then, she’d heard the woman say the thing about older dogs, and that had been it for her.

If she was going to get a dog, it would be an older one who needed someone to show them how much they were loved.

She wanted to take some time to think it through first, though, because she didn’t want to get a dog and either regret it or not be able to give them the kind of home they deserved.

She hadn’t thought much about it after dropping Molly off the previous night, but as she stared at her kitchen counter and saw the brochure, it came back to her mind.

Finley read through the brief information and decided that it might not be the best time for her to get a furry friend right now after all.

She was going through a lot of changes, including ending things with India, who still seemed to think they were meant to be, despite Finley telling her so many times that it was over for good this time.

At coffee, she hadn’t exactly said Molly’s name, but she had told India that there was someone else she was interested in, and that was how she’d known that it was over this time.

Thinking about Molly now, she sat on the stool at the kitchen counter that opened into the living room and picked up her phone.

“Hey,” her sister said. “Shouldn’t you be at work?”

“I’m leaving in a few minutes,” she replied.

“Everything okay?”

“I don’t know. Maybe so. Maybe not.”

“India?”

“No,” she replied.

“Really? It’s always India.”

“It is not always India.”

“Well, let’s see. You like your job. You have friends. You have hobbies. What you don’t have is a girlfriend that I like, and sometimes, you seem to agree with me.”

“Hey,” she said through her laughter. “And, yeah, that’s true.”

“So, what did she do this time?”

“Nothing. We’re still broken up.”

“Really?” Her sister paused. “I had it on my relationship tracking calendar that you would’ve given in by now and taken her back. Shouldn’t you be waking up and having lackluster morning sex after the passionate make-up sex from the night before because you’re still trying to reconnect?”

“I regret telling you things,” Finley said and shook her head, but mostly at herself because her sister wasn’t wrong.

“What’s going on, Fin?”

“India and I are really over this time.”

“Okay.”

“And I went on a date with someone else.”

“A date or just sex?”

“A date,” Finley confirmed.

“ You actually went on a date with someone other than India Sheridan?”

“Yes, that’s what I’m saying.”

“The woman you were into?”

“Yes,” she replied. “Molly.”

“That’s great, Fin. I thought for sure you were just talking a big game, but that you wouldn’t go through with it.”

“Yes, I know. You think I have no backbone when it comes to India.”

“Because that’s true,” her sister argued.

“But you’ve also never talked about another woman when you were with her or since you met India, at least. Then, out of nowhere, you were mentioning this Molly woman.

I thought you just had a crush, which makes sense because India is not the woman for you, and you were bound to realize that at some point or just end up miserable, but you actually went out with someone else. That’s awesome, Finley. How did it go?”

“Um… That’s actually why I’m calling. It was weird.”

“To be expected, right? First date with someone else in years.”

“No, it was fine at first. Better than fine. It was the best date, actually. Then, something happened at dinner. I don’t know what exactly, but Molly changed and started acting a bit strangely.

She ordered food that was off. She had wine when she’s more of a beer person, and I’d already ordered a beer.

She also hardly talked after that and then made up some excuse about being on her period and not having a tampon with her when I dropped her off. ”

“Well, that happens to the best of us.”

“And if it were true, that would be fine, but I could tell that she was lying.”

“How?”

“I just could. It took her an extra second, like she was thinking about what to say instead of just being honest. Now, I don’t know what to do because I really like her.

I thought I would kiss her goodnight and we’d arrange a second date, but she smacked a quick one on my cheek and couldn’t get out of there fast enough. ”

“You need to talk to her. What if she wasn’t lying, and you’re reading into it? Or, if she were, then you need to find out the reason. Could be innocent, right?”

“Yeah, I guess. Molly gets nervous a lot.”

“At work?”

“Not work specifically.”

“Around other people?”

“Not that I’ve seen.”

Her sister laughed and replied, “Oh, Finley… You’re an idiot, then. If she’s nervous around you, that’s a good thing. It means she has something to be nervous about. She likes you.”

“I know she likes me. I don’t know what happened at the end of our first date.”

“Ask her. It’s really not that hard, Finley.

You find the girl at work, make sure it’s a good time, and you discuss what happened like adults.

If she lies again, though, or just doesn’t tell you, I don’t know that going out with her is the best idea.

But if she tells you the truth, and it’s all good, you set up that next date.

I do have to go to work myself now, so I’ve got to hang up.

Call me later and let me know how it went. ”

“Yeah,” she said.

“And, Fin?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m really proud of you. I’m glad you’re doing this, even if it doesn’t work out with Molly.”

“Thanks,” Finley replied.

◆◆◆

She arrived at the office only a few minutes later than normal, but Molly wasn’t at her desk.

Her stuff was there, but her laptop was gone.

She was probably in her first meeting of the day.

Finley went to the server room to meet up with Levi and Rusty and talk about the day’s plans.

Then, she went into the floor’s kitchen and got herself a cup of coffee.

When she returned to her desk, Molly was leaning over the new hire’s shoulder, pointing out something on her computer and explaining it to her.

Molly glanced up at her a few seconds later, meeting her eye, but Finley couldn’t read her expression, and the new hire recalled Molly’s attention, so Molly dropped her gaze back to the screen.

The talk wouldn’t be happening right now since Molly was busy, so Finley sat down and turned to her own computer.

When Molly returned to her desk and got back to work, Finley turned toward her in her chair, but Molly wasn’t turning to face her.

Finley decided to give up for now and got back to work.

“Hey,” Molly said to her after about twenty minutes. “Coffee?”

“Um…” Finley pointed at the cup on her desk.

“Oh, right. Well, coffee for me?”

Finley nodded and said, “Sure. Kitchen?”

“Not here,” Molly replied.

Finley wasn’t sure if this was going to be good news or bad, but Molly wanted to get out of the office, so she followed her until they were on the sidewalk.

“So, I owe you an apology,” Molly said once they were a safe distance away from the office.

“You do?” Finley asked, pretending like she had no idea what Molly was talking about.

“Yes, I do. I was awkward last night at dinner and then after.”

“You were,” she said. “But I understood.”

“Yes, you did because you’re amazing, and you planned such a great night for us.” Molly sighed as they stopped at the light. “It really was perfect, Finley.”

“I thought so, too.”

“I’ve liked you for a while,” Molly confessed. “Like, a long time; an embarrassingly long time, actually.”

“Embarrassingly?”

“Yeah, since we met. I’ve sat there and watched you and India get back together over and over again, wishing I could just muster up the courage to ask you out every time you were single, but I knew you’d get back together with her eventually, so I hadn’t.

This time, you told me it was over for good and repeatedly, but I think, in the back of my mind, I’ve still been trying to deal with the possible heartbreak if that happens. ”

“Molls, it’s not–”

“I’m not saying that it will for sure. I’m just saying that that’s how it feels. I was sitting at the table, and for some reason, it hit me that this is what I wanted, but I’m also terrified that I won’t get it because you’ll go back to her, or I’m just your rebound girl.”

“You’re not my rebound girl, Molly.”

“Sometimes, it’s hard to know that, though.

That’s what I was thinking when I ordered the wine.

I didn’t even want it, but I thought that India probably ordered wine on your dates and had salads and dressing on the side, which was dumb of me.

I know what you said before. I know you like those things about me; that I don’t do those things, I mean, but I still did it because I didn’t know what else to do. ”

The light for them to go across the street changed, but Molly made no move to walk.

“So, I acted weird because I wasn’t acting like myself at all, and then I lied about the period thing because I didn’t know what else to say.”

“Thank you for telling me,” Finley said before she took Molly’s hand and held it in her own. “I don’t want or need you to be anything you’re not, Molls.”

“I know.”

“And I know I’ve said this before, but I don’t want India. If I did, I’d probably be moving into her place this weekend, but I’m not doing that. I’m here with you.”

“I know,” Molly said, not meeting her eye.

“Molly?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re not my rebound girl. I’ll admit that I don’t think I liked you how you liked me right away, but that’s because I was with someone else and had my own crap going on. I like you now, though, and I’ve liked you for a while, too. You’re the reason I ended things with her for good this time.”

Molly did look up then and asked, “I am?”

“Well, sort of. I’m not in love with her anymore, so that’s the biggest and, I think, most important part, but the reason I knew for sure was because I started having feelings for you, and I haven’t had feelings for anyone else before, even when we were broken up all those times, so I knew it was time. ”

Molly smiled and said, “Really?”

“Yes, really,” she said with a small laugh.

“So, I didn’t ruin it?”

“No. But, Molls, no more lying to me, okay? The football one, I understand, and this one is small in the grand scheme of things, but if we’re going to go out again, I want to go out with you , not the woman I broke up with, and no one else, okay?”

Molly nodded and asked, “Want to try again?”

“Yes.”

“Tonight?”

“Tonight?” Finley asked in surprise.

“Yes. You did this to me yesterday, and it’s morning, so you’re getting more notice than I did about our first date for our second one.”

“That’s fair, I guess. Want me to make a reservation or something?”

“No, I’ll plan this one,” Molly replied as the traffic light changed to walking again. “Coffee?”

“And a cookie?”

“Yes, but you should let go of my hand.”

“Oh, shit. Sorry,” Finley said, dropping it.

“No, not because I don’t want to hold it. I do. I’d love to hold your hand while we walk. But–”

“Work people all around?”

“Yes,” Molly replied, and they walked across the street. “Also, make sure to get your own cookie this time because I’m not sharing today.”

“Oh, yes, you are. I want a bite, Molls.”

“A bite? You ate half of it.”

“I made up for that with another cookie, and there were puppies.”

Molly laughed, and Finley had to resist taking her hand again. She wanted to hold it in her own as they walked, like they would have had they been walking in any other part of the city.

“Well, there were puppies, so… Fine. You can have half of my cookie.”