Finn took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. They weren’t doing anything untoward, just drinking coffee and talking. They weren’t even touching. He had nothing to be jealous about. He shouldn’t be jealous at all. He didn’t care about Peyton that way. He was just dating her for a story. Nothing more. Somehow his body hadn’t gotten the message that Peyton was just a mark. He had spent the last few days studiously avoiding thinking about her. As soon as his mind wandered to her, he shut the thoughts down. He was getting too attached and he needed the space to get his head straight. They still had one more date and he needed to have all his willpower corralled in order to get through it without falling into bed with her again. He really wanted to fall into bed with her again. Finn watched as the guy, whoever the hell the fucker was, reached across the table to lay his hand over Peyton’s. What the ever-loving-hell? Finn’s fists clenched and before he knew what he was doi
Maybe she should take Daniel’s advice and read that blog. She was kind of pissed at them for spreading the drunk video of her, but if this In Like Finn guy could help her understand a man’s perspective, then wouldn’t that be good for her in the long run? Her whole issue with Dale had been her need to control where the relationship was going. When Dale hadn’t progressed to the next step in her plan in an appropriate amount of time, she had engineered a way for him to. Manipulated him. She wasn’t too proud to admit it, nor was she too proud to admit she had been in the wrong. When Dale hadn’t followed her carefully laid plans, she should have taken it as a hint that they weren’t on the same page. That he just wasn’t into her. Instead, she had course corrected so that for all intents and purposes it looked and felt like they were headed in the same direction. Maybe if she had understood men better, she wouldn’t have pushed so hard and that dreadful video wouldn’t have happened.
Finn sat at his desk staring at his computer screen and not getting any work done. He was supposed to be replying to his subscribers’ comments and questions, but just looking at the blog made him think about Peyton and what he was doing by deceiving her. He hadn’t been lying when he spoke to her earlier, he did want to spend more time with her. He did want to explore what was happening between them, but he was also still lying to her about why they met, and why he had been pursuing her. He hadn’t meant to spill his guts to her in that damned coffee shop. He definitely hadn’t meant to imply that they could have something beyond their next date, but he had and now he was suffering buyer’s remorse. But even that wasn’t entirely true. Part of him wanted to keep seeing her and let the chips fall where they may. Part of him was excited to see just how far down the rabbit hole he could go. The part of him that he had cut off after Chantel had destroyed his heart was growing back faster t
“I don’t see the problem,” Parker said, looking around the room. “It’s just a little bit of healthy competition. If anything, it adds a little bit of realism to your blog. How many men out there will have a straight shot at the woman they are interested in? This will give you something more to write about. The readers will love it.” “Yeah, but not if he spills the beans about who I am and what I do,” Finn said. “When are you seeing her again?” Carter asked. “Tomorrow night,” he replied. “Then you just have to make sure she is in love with you by the end of the date and then it won’t matter if Marks spills the beans or not. Seal the deal and finish the series and he won’t have any ammunition to use against you.” Carter still didn’t get it. And maybe it was only at this moment that Finn got it himself. He was trying to find a way to preserve his relationship with Peyton after the end of the blog series. If Daniel told her who he really was, then there was no way she would wa
Brian and Jonathon shared a look. “Finn Devereaux?” Peyton nodded. “Yeah. Do you know him?” “I think we went to the same university,” Brian said. “Have you known him long?” “We’ve been dating for a couple of weeks. I met him at the hospital when he was visiting his, well, his nephew, although they’re not really related. And then he stopped and helped me change my tire. We ran into each other a couple of times and then he asked me out on a date.” “Do you know what he does?” Brian asked. “He works for an online magazine or something,” Peyton said with a shrug. “We don’t talk about work when we’re together.” “TMI, Peyton,” Cassie said with a grimace. “Stop it,” she replied. “Get your mind out of the gutter. I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant we talked about other things. Work doesn’t come up.” Brian and Jonathon shared a look and then turned back to eating. It was weird and Peyton didn’t know what to make of it. The atmosphere in the room had
Peyton’s eyes skimmed over the article, her gut churning. “He did that,” she said, pointing at the computer screen. “He did what? Cooked for you?” “No,” Peyton said, shaking her head. “He took me to this little restaurant where he knew the owners. Apparently, he has never taken a date there before. We talked about family dreams and aspirations. Oh God, I feel like I’m reading a play-by-play of our date.” “You slept with him?” Cassie asked turning to her. Peyton dropped her head into her hands. “I did. It felt right. We had the best night and it just felt so natural, like we had been together forever, and sleeping together was just the next logical step.” Peyton looked up and shook her head. “No, there was nothing logical about it. It just felt right. Natural, normal, and the best sex of my life, and then he left and I didn’t hear from him for three days.” “Maybe he got scared,” Cassie said. “That’s what he said,” Peyton replied. “When I saw him again
Finn sat at the table in the restaurant and played with his wine glass. His suit felt restrictive, like his tie was cutting off his breath and his jacket felt like it didn’t fit him properly even though it had been tailor-made for him. Peyton was late. Not late enough to worry about yet, but late enough for a niggle of apprehension to wiggle its way into his psyche. It was a sign. He had decided that tonight would be the night that he would come clean with her. Lay it all out on the table. Bare his heart and soul to her. But she was late and that definitely had to be a sign that he shouldn’t go through with it. Carter would kill him if he did, anyway. There was just one more blog post in the series to write and Carter would advise him to wait until after the series was finished. But that felt wrong to Finn. The whole thing had felt wrong from the beginning and he wished that he had gone with his gut and refused the assignment. Now it was too late for recriminations. He did w
“With him?” Finn spat. “How much do you really know about Mr. Daniel Marks? Tell me, Peyton, has he told you what he does for a living? Has he told you about his own little website and blog? Has he told you that he had a photographer in that gaggle of paps that followed you around for weeks? Has he told you that the only reason he is pursuing you is because of my blog?” The color drained from Peyton’s face and Finn wished he could swallow all the words he’d just let loose on her. He hadn’t wanted to hurt her, but his heart was hurting and the vitriol that spilled forth was all his pain and confusion and self-loathing. “Get away from me,” she said, her voice low and dangerous. “Get the fucking hell away from me. I never want to see you again, Finn Devereaux and if you publish another word about me on that reprehensible blog of yours I will come after you so fast you won’t know what hit you.” Finn held his hands up in surrender. He shot a look at Marks who stood by g