Page 91 of Rules in Love
“Finn told you about the kids?”
“He sure did. I’ve been watching you two watching each other for weeks. I always thought to myself,Does she know? Does he know? I think they both know. I caught him singing in the kitchen the other day and harassed him until he spilled. I think it’s fabulous. People were even gambling on when you’d finally get together. Teddy won. Didn’t he tell you?”
“No, he didn’t,” I sighed. “It would seem I’m quite out of the loop with the men in my life.”
“Two hundred and fifty dollars he pocketed. He seemed to have an unfair advantage over everyone else since you have such a close friendship, but I digress.” Moving to sit beside me, Jan patted my leg and gave me a sympathetic smile. “I’m sure everything is fine with Finn. He seems a lot like my husband. Hard-working, determined. Always looking to make sure things are just so, and so fixed on his ideals. Just look at his three-year plan to set up a firm in his hometown. It’s a lot of pressure for a young man. Self-inflicted, but still pressure all the same.”Three-year plan? His own firm? His hometown?Not sure, willing, or able to say what I wanted, I nodded, forced a smile, and began picking at my nails. “Sometimes I forget you’re only twenty-four and twenty-five. You both had to grow up so fast, and you’re so mature in so many ways. But I sense you’re both still babies when it comes to matters of the heart. Take it from this wise, old woman. You can’t control your heart or a stubborn man any more than you can control the weather. If Finn is off in a huff, let him sulk and lick his wounds. He’ll come paddling back once he sorts things in his mind and has all his ducks lined up in a row.”
With my head spinning, and after assuring her I didn’t think Finn would be interested in being a cover boy, I left Jan’s office determined to stop chasing Finn, just as she said. But also, even more determined to learn why our company HR lady knew his future goals when I, his girlfriend, didn’t.
Ten minutes later, I had called him six times and left messages varying from,
Me: Hey, me again. Just checking in. You don’t need to talk. Just let us know you’re okay.
to…
Me: Finn Austen. I am going to throttle you if you don’t call your sister or me back.
Teddy sat beside me and began playing with my pouting bottom lip. “Any news on the Finn-inator?”
“No, Teddy. There’s bloody not, and I’m getting really worried. Evie said he hasn’t ‘chucked a sickie’”—Teddy’s eyes crossed in confusion—“taken a day off,” I explained, “since high school. That’s not exactly true because he had a day in bed with me not long ago, but still. Why won’t he just send a message to say he’s okay?”
“That, I can’t help with, my pet. But I can help with this. Grab your bag and hang onto your curls. I’m taking us out for lunch.”
“Would you be paying for this lunch with the two-fifty you earned gambling on your best friend like a racehorse?”
“Uhhh.”
“Yeah, uh. I hope you haven’t spent it all already. I’m comfort eating.”
Once seated in the most expensive restaurant I could be bothered walking to, I called Finn again, then threw my phone across the table when he didn’t answer. “Tell me again, why do people get into relationships? Having no one to worry about seems awfully attractive right now.”
“As attractive as Finn shirtless?” Teddy asked as he retrieved my phone from his caprese salad.
“Obviously not,” I snapped.
“Didn’t think so. Trust me, Scar. The land of singles is highly overrated,butit is once again the land I call home.”
My own worries disappeared as I almost choked on my Pimm’s. “What? Teddy! Did you and Asher…?”
“Split like a gymnast? Separate like your tits in that push up bra? Yeah. Yeah, we did.”
Throwing myself across the table, I wrapped my arms around Teddy’s neck and squeezed the living shit out of him.
“I’m so sorry, my love. You looked so happy the other day. What happened?”
Teddy’s reply was just a grunt and wriggle, but I realized it was because he couldn’t breathe. I relaxed my grip, and after two or three steadying breaths, he replied, “Don’t worry about it. You have enough on your plate with Bindi Irwin missing. Let’s just talk about you and Finn and how proud I am of you for standing up for yourself and not shagging him senseless.”
“Thank you. I was kind of proud of me too, but now it’s backfired. Finn’s run away, I feel like rubbish, but I will not marinate in my misery anymore. I want to talk about yours.” I squeezed him tighter and brought out the big guns. “Bloody tell me what happened, or I will call your mother and tell her how much rent I pay.”
“Fine. Fuck, there’s no need to bring the Queen of Mean into it. I will tell you if you get off me and stop squishing my salad.”
“Oh. Sorry.” I slid off the table, wiped the dressing off my pink-and-white-polka-dot dress, removed the olive from my neck, and returned to my seat. “Go ahead.”
“So, last night, after you stormed out, Evie, Nate, Asher, and I were sitting around, bitching about—I mean,talkingabout—you guys and the whole dual hot-orphan thing. Then Evie shared some memories of her mum and dad. Nate told us about his folks, and I complained about the duke and duchess. All eyes turned to Asher and his contribution was, ‘They’re great.’That was it.”
“Hmm. Okay, so how did you go from that to breaking up?”
“I’ll get there, but it’s a long story, so bear with me.” After taking a few mouthfuls of lettuce, he continued, “I could see by Ash’s body language that he didn’t wanna go there, so I let it slide. But when we left, I asked if he wanted to go to his place or mine. Of course I didn’t want to go to Brooklyn—it was more of a test. Asher said,‘No, we can’t go home. Dad’s home.’Then he just froze.”
