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Chapters (57)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Chapter One
  6. Chapter Two
  7. Chapter Three
  8. Chapter Four
  9. Chapter Five
  10. Chapter Six
  11. Chapter Seven
  12. Chapter Eight
  13. Chapter Nine
  14. Chapter Ten
  15. Chapter Eleven
  16. Chapter Twelve
  17. Chapter Thirteen
  18. Chapter Fourteen
  19. Chapter Fifteen
  20. Chapter Sixteen
  21. Chapter Seventeen
  22. Chapter Eighteen
  23. Chapter Nineteen
  24. Chapter Twenty
  25. Chapter Twenty-One
  26. Chapter Twenty-Two
  27. Chapter Twenty-Three
  28. Chapter Twenty-Four
  29. Chapter Twenty-Five
  30. Chapter Twenty-Six
  31. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  32. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  33. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  34. Chapter Thirty
  35. Chapter Thirty-One
  36. Chapter Thirty-Two
  37. Chapter Thirty-Three
  38. Chapter Thirty-Four
  39. Chapter Thirty-Five
  40. Chapter Thirty-Six
  41. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  42. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  43. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  44. Chapter Forty
  45. Chapter Forty-One
  46. Chapter Forty-Two
  47. Chapter Forty-Three
  48. Chapter Forty-Four
  49. Chapter Forty-Five
  50. Chapter Forty-Six
  51. Chapter Forty-Seven
  52. Chapter Forty-Eight
  53. Chapter Forty-Nine
  54. Chapter Fifty
  55. Acknowledgments
  56. Discover More
  57. About the Author

I didn’t either. Finn kept his stare straight ahead at the wall while I locked mine on his profile. We remained motionless, awkwardness seeping into the silence until it was unbearable. Resigned, I released a deep exhale. “This isn’t going to work out, is it? It’s too hard. It shouldn’t be this much work, should it?” I’d never felt this strongly for a man before, but the truth was we were practically strangers. My brain knew this. I just needed my heart to catch up.

He faced me and shook his head. “I wish I could snap my fingers and magically turn things around, because for the first time in a long while, I want this. I want you. But I can’t promise there won’t be more nights like last night. I can actually guarantee there will be.”

I took his use of the phrase “nights like last night” to mean not only his dad going off the rails, but also him verbally attacking me while Finn did nothing to stop it. No. “And I’ll never be okay with feeling as hurt and abandoned as I did last night.”

He frowned. “I’m so sorry.”

I hugged myself and forced a smile. “It was fun while it lasted though, right?”

His lips quirked. “We’ll always have Pinkie’s.”

I nodded. “That’s that, I guess,” I said, touching a finger to my quivering chin. “I’d better pack and check out before Lorraine comes a-calling.” I turned my back on him to avoid breaking down to his face. I opened my door, desperate for him to leave immediately and stay forever at the same time. “Good luck, Finn.”

He stepped into the hallway and gave me one final sad smile. “I’ll miss you, Adi Gellar.” He studied my face so intently, like he was trying to memorize every freckle, then turned and walked away.

When he was gone, I sank against the door and whispered, “Farewell, Fancy Finn.”

Chapter Forty-Six

Chapter Forty-Six

Why did people do the exact opposite of what would make them feel better? For instance, why was I listening to the recording of my interview with Finn when hearing his teasing voice brought it all back? It was Saturday night, two days since I’d returned to the city from Pleasant Hollow, and after teaching a morning spin class and working an afternoon shift at the café, I was in for the night and draped across my couch. I played the interview from the beginning again. Even ten minutes in, a laugh would slip into Finn’s answers—residual hilarity over my mistaking him for the token Pleasant Hollow single guy.

There were so many things to love about Finn—he was funny, sensitive, hardworking, gorgeous—and I did. Being the center of his attention, both in and out of bed, was everything, and I reveled in it.