Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 78807 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78807 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
We get stools side by side at the far end of the bar. He orders a whiskey and I ask for a gin and tonic. When the drinks arrive, he holds his up for a toast. “To being your boyfriend,” he says. “I’ll happily provide anything you need and more.”
“Thanks,” I say, blushing like crazy. “But apparently, all I need is a bodyguard and a new job.” We touch glasses and drink.
I lean forward on the bar. Finn studies me for another second, swirling his whiskey. “You said you were having a bad day, even before that guy approached you,” he says. “I could tell you weren’t happy.”
My eyebrows raise. “You were watching me?”
He hesitates. “I noticed you. I was on the phone across the street and saw you sitting there, looking like your world was ending. I asked myself, what’s an absolutely gorgeous girl like that looking so upset for?”
I let out a soft snort. “Is that some kind of line?”
“Not at all. It’s the truth.” He takes another drink. “I’m having a bad day myself. Maybe I’m on the lookout for it.”
“What’s going on with you?” I say, and quickly add, “You don’t have to tell me. I know it’s rude to ask, but misery and company and all that.”
“You’re my girlfriend. That’s what partners are for, right? Listening?” He leans forward like a heavy weight’s shoving down his shoulders. “Tomorrow, I’m getting engaged.”
My eyebrows slowly lift. “Uh… congratulations?”
He grunts, finishes his drink, signals for another. “Problem is, I’ve never met her before. I was told her name, her age, and that’s it. I’ll see her for the first time when we make it official.”
“That’s…” I trail off, not sure what to say. Finn is sinfully handsome, the kind of man any woman would gladly wrap her legs around. It’s hard to imagine this guy is having problems with women, much less needing someone else to pick his wife for him.
“It’s strange,” he says, speaking into his whiskey. “An arranged marriage. It’s old-fashioned, embarrassing, and frustrating. But I don’t have any other choice. In my family, the youngest does his duty, no questions asked.”
“I take it you’re the youngest.”
He nods. “And right now, my duty is to cement an alliance for my father.” He glances at me. “It’s all very complicated.”
“I’m sure it is,” I murmur, trying to imagine what he’s going through. “Do you want this? To get engaged, I mean.”
“If anyone else asked me that question, I’d say that I want to do anything for my family, including this. But since you’re my girlfriend…” He hesitates a moment, and his mask slips. Something deeply flawed, deeply pained shows through his eyes. “No, Dara, I don’t want to get engaged to this girl, much less marry her.” He raises his new drink, smiling bitterly. “But I do what I must.”
“I’m sorry. I honestly can’t imagine that.” I hesitate, take a long drink, and clear my throat. “Actually, I sort of can. But in reverse? My boyfriend, a guy I thought was going to propose, dumped me this morning.”
“That’s rough. I’d never dump you before five in the evening, at least. That’s just common courtesy. Wait until after work.”
“Right? But it gets worse. He dumped me, while holding my roommate’s hand and explaining that he’d been cheating on me with her for the last three months. Her name’s Christine, by the way, and I hate her. Also, they’re moving to Mexico, getting married, having babies, and oh, yeah, he stole all my money.”
Finn’s eyes widen and he whistles. “You have to be kidding? He stole all your money? How’d he manage that?”
I groan, putting my face in my hands. “A month ago, he said we should start merging our accounts. You know, since we were going to take the next step in our relationship? Stupidly, I believed him, and gave him access to all my banking information.”
“Oh, shit,” Finn says, putting a hand on my leg. “Don’t blame yourself. The guy sounds like a full-on grifter scumbag.”
I lick my lips, looking at him. I like the weight of his hand on my leg. It’s suggestive, a little wrong, but it feels good. I scoot closer to him without thinking. “Hard not to blame myself. I mean, they’d been screwing around for three months and I never noticed.”
“If I ever meet this piece-of-shit ex of yours, I’ll hurt him for you. As your new boyfriend, it’s my duty to defend your honor.”
“While that’s extremely possessive, I accept.”
“What can I say? I’m protective of what’s mine.”
“And I’m yours?” My eyebrows arch.
His fingers dig in tighter. “Right now, you are.”
I lick my lips again, unable to help myself. My heart’s racing wildly. What the hell is going on right now? Are we flirting? Am I really flirting with a guy that’s getting engaged tomorrow when I was just dumped this morning?