Page 4 of The Nicest Thing

I looked at her, and she simply stared back at me. Was she trying to tell me Finn had feelings for someone? I immediately wondered how that would impact me asking him to play my fake husband—then discarded my doubts. He was my best friend. We didn't keep things from each other.

"If Finn was interested in someone, he would've told me," I said confidently.

"Would he?" Emmy said back.

"Well," Lavender said, "it's getting late. If Finn's not coming, I should go."

"Us too," the twins said in unison, standing quickly.

I gaped at them. "But we didn't even get to talk about Sabine and Torin's witty banter, the spice, the crazy-as-hell sixteenth chapter."

"That's okay," Tory said.

"We really just come for Finn," her sister added.

"And the cookies."

"Honestly, I don't even like books," Lavender put in.

I could hear Emmy and Maisie laughing as I tried to control my face. My left eye started twitching, and I didn't see that stopping any time soon.

"Do you mind if I take some of these for my sorority sisters?" Lavender said, reaching for the bookie cookies, and I snapped.

"Yes," I said, "I do mind."

As I snatched the plate back, she stared at me with her mouth open in shock.

"These are only for members of the book club. We eat the cookies, drink the tea, read the books and enjoy talking about them. If that's not you, feel free to leave."

"Fine, I will."

I thought I heard Tory mutter, "It's not like she needs more cookies anyway," to which her sister said, "I know, right." Maisie opened the door for them, and Emmy shooed them out. When the door shut, I finally collapsed on the couch.

"Well, that sucked," I mumbled.

"They suck," Maisie corrected, "but you were awesome."

"Yeah, I loved it," Emmy said. "When you grabbed the cookies, I nearly cheered."

"I like it when she said, 'These are only for members of the book club.'"

"We eat the cookies," Emmy said sternly.

I couldn't hold back a smile. "They take a long time to make."

Minutes later when the door opened again, we were still laughing.

I'd just taken a bite of my second bookie cookie—the twins could take their attempt to body-shame me and choke on it—but I paused as Finn walked in.

He was wearing a plain white t-shirt, black workout pants, and a black baseball cap.

My throat went dry as I gazed at him. Finn's shirt was dirty, his pants too, but only in spots.

There was nothing new about his appearance.

I'd seen him like this a hundred times. Still, heat filled my cheeks as I drank him in.

The clothes he wore fit him like a glove.

The shirt hugged his broad shoulders; the pants hung low on his hips, showcasing muscular thighs that I definitely should not be noticing.

But I couldn't help it. Finn was and had always been the most beautiful man I'd ever seen.

He plopped down on the couch beside me, and I forced myself to swallow. The baseball cap was too much. It made his light gray eyes even more piercing.

"Sorry," he said. "Practice ran late. Well, later than usual."

Finn threw me a smile, completely oblivious to the effect he had on me.

Thank goodness.

I cleared my throat then gestured to his shirt. "What happened there?"

"Oh, we were teaching the kids how to slide home. They had fun with that, kept asking me to demonstrate."

"Sounds like fun."

"It was. So, what did I miss?" he asked then looked around. "Where are the others?"

I shrugged. "They left."

"Did you discuss the book already?"

"No. Actually, they just wanted to talk about you."

He scoffed. "What?"

"It's true," Emmy said, and Maisie nodded.

Finn looked so surprised it made me smile.

"I think they were more interested in being in the Finn fan club," I said.

"Where did you find them anyway?" Emmy asked.

"At the campus coffee house," Finn said. "I was reading, waiting for my order, when they walked up to me. We got to talking. I invited them to book club, and they came."

His sister rolled her eyes. "Of course, they did."

"Who could resist that face?" Maisie teased.

Finn shook his head, but I knew she was right. We all did.

"Those poor girls never stood a chance," I said then asked him, "So, what did you think of A Heart of Fire and Ash?"

"I liked it," he said, "but I take issue with the lack of female dragons."

"Right! Why is it always the guy who's the shapeshifter?"

"Yeah, why can't the heroine be a dragon? It would be more original."

"Exactly," I said with a smile. "But I did like the romance."

"Me too," Finn said. "It wasn't as good as the ones you write though."

He smiled back at me, making my heart stutter, and I remembered the big question I still had to ask him. The words got stuck in my throat. Sensing something was off, he said, "What's up?"

"I need a favor," I said.

"Okay."

"It's kind of personal."

"I love personal."

"Finn."

"What? I do if it's about you."

Movement out of the corner of my eye drew my attention, and I looked over to find Emmy and Maisie, eating cookies and watching us.

They wore matching grins on their faces.

Suddenly very aware that we had an audience and were still in the living room of Magnolia House, I took Finn's hand and stood from the couch.

"Meeting adjourned," I said.

"But it was just getting good," Emmy said.

I raised a brow.

"Fine, Maisie and I know when we're not wanted."

"I should head home anyway," Maisie said and nudged Emmy with her elbow. "Lola's got a match tomorrow. I'm taking her, and then I have a long shift at the bar."

"I'll walk you out," Emmy said, adding, "but I'll be back. So, don't say anything too juicy."

Maisie threw me a wink. "Have fun."

After they left, Finn glanced at me, but I frowned. Knowing Emmy, she wouldn't stay away long. Not that I expected her to; she lived here. Still, I wasn't sure how much time it would take to convince Finn, so I said, "Let's go to my room."

"Sure," he said and followed.

Once we were both inside, I closed the door and turned to face him, releasing a mental sigh at the sight of Finn sitting on the edge of my bed, looking gorgeous as always with a smile resting on his lips.

"Must be serious," Finn said. "If you pulled me in here."

"Please, you've been in my room plenty of times."

With a happy sigh, he flopped onto his back, placed his hands behind his head. "Yeah, it's one of my favorite places."

You being in my bed is one of my favorite things.

Oof.

Focus, Rose.

This was it. If he had changed his mind and said no, I'd deal with the embarrassment. If he agreed…I was almost more afraid of that possibility. Best to just rip the Band-Aid off.

"I need your help, Finn," I said.

Sobering, he sat up and nodded. "Whatever you need, I'll do it."

My heart warmed at his words, but as I walked to the bed and took a seat beside him, I remembered my situation and grew cold once more.

"Yesterday, I told a stupid lie." I shook my head. "The stupidest ever. My readers will hate me if they find out. Worse, they'll never trust me again."

"Ah Rose, I don't know about that."

"I've seen it happen. Social media can be a fiery pit of despair. One wrong move, and people come at you with vitriol and hate—it's why I've been content to stay relatively unknown until now."

I paused then forced myself to continue.

"I have to sell more books, Finn. I have to. I really don't want to ask you this, but I can't afford for my author career to tank, not now."

Not when I had Grandma Rose to think about.

I met my best friend's eyes.

"Will you be my fake husband?" I said.

"Yes," Finn said.

I blinked.

"Don't you want to take a second to think about it?"

"Nope," he said then walked past me and out the door.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

Finn was already half-way through the living room as I jogged to catch up.

"I'm leaving before you can take it back," he said.

"I'm not—we still have to discuss the terms!"

At the entrance, he turned to face me, and I pulled up short.

"Okay, but it doesn't matter," Finn said. "I'm in."

I gulped.

"If you want to talk terms or whatever, find me tomorrow. I've got classes in the morning, practice with the Wolves after that. But just know, nothing you say will change my mind. Night, Rose."

"Night, Finn," I murmured.

Finn waved over his shoulder as he left, and I just stood there, staring. Excitement mixed with nervousness and a healthy dose of fear. I wasn't sure what to feel. But as I watched him go, enjoying the view a little too much as he walked away, one thing was clear.

This was either the best idea…

…or the worst.

I couldn't wait to find out which.