Page 73 of The Hot Shot

A brilliant grin lights his face. I’m happy to see it. This is the Finn I know, the one who doesn’t leave me confused and bleeding for him. “It was totally worth getting yelled at,” he says.

I roll my eyes. “Were you going to ask me something?”

He sobers a bit, but there’s a hopeful light in his eyes. “Come to California with me.”

“What? For your family holiday?” I squeak like a startled mouse.

“Yes.” He nudges my shoulder with his. “Come on, it’ll be fun. My family will love you. And my mother is a great cook.”

I eye him with suspicion. “What aren’t you saying?”

The lobes of his ears pinken. “Okay. While we’re there, I was thinking we could tell her that we’re together.”

I halt so fast, Finn walks a step forward before noticing to stop.

“Oh, fuck no,” I say, shaking my head.

His brows rise as if he has no fucking idea why I’d object. The liar. “Come on, it isn’t that bad.”

“It’s worse. You want to lie.” My fingers curl into a fist. “To your family.”

“Yes, I do. Because she won’t stop, Chess. Not as long as she thinks I’m this poor, brokenhearted sap who needs a woman to mend him. It doesn’t matter what I say, she has a fucking bee in her cray-cray bonnet.”

“Well...”

He takes a step closer. “The press is already circulating pictures of us together. Of you living with me.”

“What?” My skin prickles with horror.

“Surprise,” he says with weak humor. “Britt told me. And I’m sorry for that, Chess. I didn’t think about them invading your privacy.”

“It isn’t your fault.” I swipe my hand in the air as if I can push away the whole shitcake of photographs of me with Finn being spread around like bad tabloid copy.

“Regardless, my mom follows my press religiously. She’s kind of proud that way.” His mom is adorable.

“She’ll have seen us together, which is probably why she called this morning. If I tell her we’re just friends, she won’t believe it anyway.” Finn ducks his head and makes a sound of frustration before looking back up at me. “If we say we’re dating, she’ll finally accept I’ve moved on with my life. And I can enjoy my mother’s company without wanting to run away screaming.”

A reluctant smile pulls at my lips. Who am I to criticize how he handles his family?

I love my parents, but they annoy me so much that I haven’t even told them about the fire. Not something I’m proud of, butnot something I want to remedy, either. “So you want me to be your lady beard?”

He blows out a breath. “I want you to go home with me because I want to spend my favorite holiday with you. Life is more fun with you in it, Chess.”

I’m in serious danger of melting into a sloppy Chess puddle. Thankfully, he keeps talking.

“But if you’re so inclined, then, yes, I would appreciate it if you could play the part of doting girlfriend for the duration.”

“You know, it never goes well when people pretend to be in a relationship for the sake of the parents,” I tell him. “It’s rom-com law. Next thing you know, you’ll be onstage somewhere, confessing your well-meaning lies into a mic while dozens of strangers look on.”

Wind sends strands of hair whipping around the edges of his cap, and he steps a little closer, his body blocking the cold, as his eyes search mine. “It doesn’t have to be pretend, you know.”

My breath halts then leaves in a rush. “What?” The question is more of shock than confusion. But he answers it anyway.

“You and me. We could be real.” The blunt tip of Finn’s thumb brushes back a wild lock of my hair and then lingers along my check. “We could stop dancing around this and enjoy each other.”

Panic claws up my chest. “Finn...” I try to draw in a breath. “I’m living with you...”

He smiles, his thumb still stroking. “Which makes things convenient.”