Page 118 of Just Do It
‘No. No, of course not.’
‘I mean it!’
‘I know!’
‘Stop smiling!’
‘I’m not!’ he said, the corners of his mouth tilting. ‘Not intentionally anyway. You’re making me smile!’
‘How on earth am I doing that?’
‘Because you always did. And probably because you’re currently more mad at someone other than me.’
‘Yes. Well. Like I said, I’ll come back to you.’
The words, spoken without thought, hung between us in the still, warm air of the evening. Finn’s eyes locked onto mine and we both stood there. I wanted to say so much, say that I would do just that, that I wanted that. But the words stuck in my throat. His expression clouded and the smile of before returned but this time it was draped in sadness.
‘Please don’t look at me like that,’ I asked, my voice barely a whisper.
‘Like what?’ His own voice was low and cracked.
‘Like I just broke your heart.’
‘You did.’
‘You broke mine first.’ My throat was so tight and raw, I could barely get the words out.
‘I know. And it was, without doubt the stupidest, most idiotic, most unforgiveable thing I’ve ever done and, by the looks of things, I’m going to spend the rest of my life regretting it.’
‘Finn…’
He closed the distance between us in a flash, his hands taking mine, lifting them to his lips to kiss before holding them tight against his chest. ‘It’s true. I’ve known it for months. Pretty much since I made the senseless decision to believe Friedrich’s claim that you were just using me to make him jealous, which by the way, he said had worked.’
‘I really am going to kill him!’
‘I’ll help you move the body.’
The laugh bubbled treacherously in my throat – I’d strictly forbidden any lowering of defences.
‘I couldn’t ask you to do that.’
He huffed out a dry laugh. ‘Believe me. It would give me great pleasure.’ The expression on his face turned serious. ‘I would do anything for you, Elizabeth. Give anything to turn back time, tell you about that call. Discuss things with you. Ask you if you felt the same.’
‘Of course I didn’t feel the same!’ I snatched back my hands and gave Finn a hefty thump on the chest at which he let out a satisfying ‘oof’. So satisfying that I did it again.
‘You idiot.’
‘Believe me. There’s no name that you could call me that I haven’t already called myself but,’ he wrapped his hands gentlyback around mine, ‘I’m going to hold on to these for now. You’re leaving bruises.’
‘I wouldn’t want to spoil the shirt-off shots that programme no doubt has you doing. You’ll be quite the pin up when it comes out.’
For the first time since we’d met again, I heard the low, melodic rumble of his laughter.
‘It’s not funny!’ I snapped, pulling at my hands to which Finn held tight.
‘Oh, I beg to differ. It’s hilarious.’
‘No, it’s not! Do you ever watch television? Most celebrities these days are either from soaps or one of a myriad of reality shows.’
