Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 106935 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 535(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106935 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 535(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Chastened, I lower my eyes. “Fine,” I grumble.
“I’m just saying,” Finn adds, pulling no punches.
But that’s why I came here—for the unmitigated truth. I meet his eyes. “Are you saying I should stop?”
I’d rather eat metal.
He sighs heavily but doesn’t give an answer. “She used to date David, right?”
“Yes, but in college,” I say quickly, like that covers up my sin, the distance in years.
“You’re trying to make a silk purse, man,” he says.
Punch to the gut. Just what I need. I rake my hand through my hair in frustration. “Fine, okay? He went out with her in college, they stayed friends, and they’re still friends. There you go.”
“And she’s helping him plan his charity fundraiser, right? He mentioned her to me when I was chatting with him the other day about our social media. She’s hosting the auction with him tomorrow night, isn’t she?” he says, refusing to let me get away with anything.
“Yes,” I bite out, hating that he’s making me sound like such a schmuck. But this is why I came here. For an icy dose of reality, and Finn sure as hell is dumping the freezing cold bucket of water on my head.
“And how long have you been sneaking around with her?”
“Jesus, Finn. Why the hell didn’t you go to law school?”
He smiles evilly. “Because Wall Street made me more money,” he says, giving an answer I can’t argue with. He worked at a hedge fund before he started his own venture firm.
“If you need a second career, you should consider—”
“—How long, Nick? How long?”
As he cuts to the chase, I huff out a breath. “I met her in Miami. Didn’t know who she was. She didn’t know who I was. We spent the night together. Fast forward three months and several transatlantic texts and phone calls later, and we made plans to see each other when I moved here. Then, I ran into her at a diner with David. Turns out she’s David’s Layla, and we put on the brakes right away.” I stop to stare out the window before I confess the rest of my lies or in case he calls me on another euphemism. “I thought it would end there. We’d be friends, we’d keep the past in the past, but then…”
He nods, his gaze gentler, along with his tone. “And then?”
“And then I kept spending time with her prepping for the fundraiser, and seeing her, and…when I thought she was going on a date with another guy, I broke the fucking pen.”
“And did you tell her that?”
“I did, and then I told her a ton of other things. About Rose, and her parents, and the country club, and the things Rose’s dad said to me.”
Finn whistles. “Damn.”
“Yeah, exactly. And I tried to stop seeing her. But then, last night…” I flash back to last night. It belittles everything she shared to refer to it as a night spent together. I won’t reduce her vulnerability to that. “I fell for her.”
“Yeah, I got that impression,” he says heavily, then leans forward, pinning me with an intense look. “What are you going to do about it?”
I hold out my hands, helpless. “I should stop seeing her, right?”
“Will you though?”
“I should. Really, I should.”
“Nick,” he says, never looking away, clearly gearing up to give me some bad medicine. “You’ve been lying to your kid.”
I’m a bad father. I’m setting a horrible example. “I have. And you’re saying I should…?”
“I’m saying you should stop lying,” he says.
He’s absolutely right. And there are two ways to do that. I have to choose which one.
On that mic drop, he rises, claps my shoulder, and returns to his desk, sits in his power chair like the king of Manhattan.
With a satisfied sigh, he picks up his fork. “Did I earn my tiramisu or what?”
Can’t argue with him there.
33
TWO GIRLS AGAIN
Layla
On Friday, I’m running around the city to meetings, seeing Farm to Phone, then popping into the Mia Jane shop to grab some fresh mascara for tomorrow night’s fundraiser.
The busier I am, the less I have to think about how I’ll feel hosting a charity auction with the son of the man I’m falling for.
Or the fact that I can’t ignore these feelings much longer.
Storm’s helping a customer, so I head to the counter with the tube and hand it to a woman with a nose piercing. “I’ll take this little darling,” I say.
“Perfect. And when is your next event?”
“Soon,” I say, since I don’t know if Mia’s told her team that it’s the end of next week. “I’m just figuring out details with Mia.”
That must catch Storm’s attention since he spins around, indicates to his customer he’ll be right back, then heads to me. “You better not leave without saying hello and goodbye.” He pouts.
“Of course not, but you look busy, and busy is good.”