Finn wasn't prepared for the sight of the woman he loved. Eight years of longing gone in the blink of an eye. She was standing before him.

When Lance had invited him to his son's birthday party, Finn had accepted out of boredom. He couldn't hang out with Campbell and his family for another night. They were amazing and always made him feel like more than just a guest in their home. But Finn knew that Campbell's reprieve stateside was limited and the man needed to spend time with his wife, Lily. Alone.

Part of him required a break from the front row seat to the couple's obvious adoration for each other. They had been high school sweethearts torn apart when Lily's family had moved away. Somehow, years later they found each other again and picked up as if they had never spent a moment apart. They married within a year. Finn had the pain of seeing Campbell without Lily and the pleasure of him with her. He preferred the latter and wished them nothing but the joy they so richly deserved.

But sometimes it cut a little to close to the bone. Their story had the happy ending Finn wasn't allowed to have. His split from Emily hadn't been forced by family obligations. There was no chance for reconciliation. Emily had simply decided he wasn't good enough for her. She left in the middle of the night, like a coward, leaving a measly one-page Dear John note that didn't explain anything.

So, to combat boredom, when the lawyer had asked him out the blue to come to his house, Finn found the opportunity for birthday cake a good idea. It was usually hard for Finn to connect with new people, but he instantly liked Lance and the feeling felt mutual.

The last thing Finn expected on this sunny afternoon in the suburbs was to run into Emily Montgomery.

He stared at her, drinking in every aspect. How had his memories been so insufficient? The sun glinted off her hair, the red highlight shinning in the light. Memories of twirling a strand of her locks around his finger flooded his brain. Her sweetheart face was flush with colour, perhaps from the effort of holding the squirming toddler in her arms. The pictures on the internet were pale in comparison to the living specimen. Then he found her eyes. Those soft grey irises sucked him in and he was drowning in her.

Someone was speaking but Finn couldn't understand the language. Emily opened her mouth and the picture before him came to life.

"Finn and I have met before Lance."

"Oh, at the office?"

"No. We knew each other a long time ago. Before law school."

Finn was vaguely aware of Lance looking between the two of them. Unable to tear his eyes away from Emily, he confirmed her story, then blurted out, "Why are you here?" It came out harsh and felt a pang of guilt as Emily took a tentative step back from him. He wanted to reach out and make her stay but his body felt frozen.

Lance put an arm around Emily's shoulder and answered for her. "Well we can't have Ben's birthday without Emily, now can we?"

Finn's mouth went dry. Were they together? His eyes darted between a smiling Lance and a calm, cool Emily, the child settling in her arms. They were the picture of a perfect family. None of his investigations ever mentioned Emily marrying. He searched often enough, dreading the day he might see her smiling in an engagement photo or worse, a white gown.

Looking at the child in Emily's arms, Finn felt his blood pounding through his veins and he resisted the urge to rub his chest. He never thought to search for birth announcements. Emily didn't have to be married to have a child. A child with Lance.

The train running through his head made it hard to concentrate. He barely heard Lance's next statement.

"Ben just loves his aunt, doesn't he?" He took the child out of Emily's arms and kissed him on the forehead. The boy squealed with delight and grabbed at his father's nose.

Aunt? If Emily was the baby's aunt then the boy wasn't her child.

And if it wasn't her child, she might not be with Lance. It might not be too late.

"Lance is married to my sister," Emily confirmed what Finn was hoping to be true.

"Mary?" Finn raised an eyebrow. He couldn't imagine this genial man committed to Emily's shrew of a sister.

A hint of a smile threatened Emily's lips and Finn found it easier to breathe at the sight. "No, my younger sister Beth."

"Speaking of, here comes my angel now." Lance stepped away to greet his wife, a very pregnant woman with short blonde hair, leaving Finn alone with Emily.

Finn scrambled to find something to say to the woman who haunted his dreams and was now standing in front of him in living colour. Over the years he had played out this scenario in his head multiple times, using different tactics in each version.

Sometimes he yelled at Emily, letting his fury fly. Other times he demanded to know why she broke her promise, why she did what she did. And more times than he cared to admit, he envisioned pulling Emily into his arms and kissing her, begging her to take him back.

But now the moment was here, his mind threatened to not work.

"There you are." A tall blonde woman with perfectly straight hair wearing a pink sundress slid up to Emily's side.

"Here I am Mary." Emily sounded agitated at her sister's appearance. Finn couldn't look at the woman. The last time he saw her, she was pushing a single piece of paper across his brother's bar at him. She had been smiling like a Cheshire cat with glee at the pain she was about to inflict. The sound of her perfectly pink manicured nails tapping on the wood surface became the soundtrack to his soul being crushed as he read the damning words in the note. The pitiful "I'm sorry" ending blasting his heart into a million shards.

Emily was introducing her sister. "You remember Finn Wainright?" Her voice wavered a little at the pronunciation of his name. Mary gave Finn the once over and feigned to look confused. "He used to work at the Waterfront Bar... Simon's brother." Emily prompted.

"Oh, the one that ran away to the army."

Finn wasn't sure but he thought he saw Emily flinch at her sister's words. Finding his voice, he calmly replied. "The very one."

"And you're back now?" Mary made it sound like an accusation.

"Only temporarily."

Mary pursed her lips together. "Hmmm. Well, it's lovely to see you again." Finn highly doubted that. "But I need to steal my sister away." Turning to Emily she continued. "You really must say something to Sophie. She's insisting on not coming to the Hampton's this summer. Please come and make her change her mind."

Emily glanced at Finn, then back at her sister. "Mary, Finn is our guest." Then she turned her full attention to Finn. Unconsciously he stood up straighter. "Can I get you a drink or something to eat?"

Mary grabbed Emily by the arm, pulling her away. "Technically he's Beth's guest, she can look after him."

The younger blond moved into line with her other sisters. "That's Emily. Always looking after others." She held out her hand in Finn's direction. "Hi Finn, I'm Beth, Lance's wife. I'm so glad you could join us. Lance has been raving about you."

Finn shook Beth's hand, making eye contact at the woman who's looks mimicked Mary but who's personality he hoped for Lance's sake, was more akin to Emily. "Nice to meet you. I'm a fan of your husband as well."

"And you know my sister?"

"Yes, Em and I..." Finn turned back to where Emily had been but found only empty air. He searched for her, spotting her across the room with Mary and another woman. "...yes. I believe you were with your Aunt in Japan at the time."

A strange look filtered across Beth's face as if she was reliving an unpleasant memory Finn thought.

"Right." In a flash, the look was gone. "Well, that was a long time ago."

"Yes," agreed Finn. But it felt like only yesterday.   

Oh Mary. She is such a ... well. Did you know she did an interview for my "Interviews With Your Favourite Characters" project.  Yup.  You can find out a little more about her and even ask her your own question. Check out the link in the comment here ----->