Too bad for her, I’m not a quitter.
I’m a fighter.
Always have been. Always will be.
Sure, Kennedy might have turned the tables on me for a second, but like hell will I let her back me into a corner and try to take what’s mine. I’m not giving up pretty boy so easily. Not without one hell of a fight, anyway.
My hands are already curled up in fists, imagining how I’m going to claw her pretty eyes out if she says one more thing that pisses me off, when I realize that the intimidating, no-nonsense Barbie is nowhere in sight.
Nothing about the Kennedy that is standing in my presence now is threatening. Actually, she kind of looks like someone just took her inheritance away and told her she will have to work at a fast-food joint in my neck of the woods to make ends meet.
“Yes, I love Finn, but like a brother. Nothing more. That torment lies with someone else, unfortunately,” she confesses, her blue eyes taking a somber shade.
“That bad, huh?” I retort, taking stock of how defeated she looks.
“The worst,” she half-chuckles, half-laments, rubbing the engagement ring on her finger.
“Let me guess. He’s not the same guy who gave you that rock, is he?”
“Like Finn said, beautiful and smart. I think I’m going to like you in our little group.”
“It didn’t sound that way a minute ago.”
“What can I say?” She unapologetically shrugs with a wide grin to her lips. “I believe that someone will only show their true nature when they are put under pressure. I just had to make sure Finn wasn’t getting conned by you.”
“He’s not,” I bite back.
“Oh, I know,” she beams. “It’s written all over your face how you love him just as much as he loves you.” She snickers amused.
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to. You were about two seconds away from punching my teeth in.”
“I still might,” I grunt.
She continues to giggle as she opens the dressing-room door to grab the dresses from one of the clerk’s hands, who apparently had nothing better to do than stand post outside until Kennedy made her next request.
Rich people. I don’t think I’ll ever understand them.
Well, maybe I’m starting to understand a little bit of Kennedy, at least. If she went through all this trouble just to make sure Finn’s feelings were protected, then I guess she can’t be all bad. Not many people would have put in the effort or the time to look out for a friend. Sure, she’s still a Northsider, but then again, so is Finn—the sweetest, most intense man I know.
Maybe that’s just how they are bred on the Northside—sweet as apple pie one minute, and put the fear of God in you the next. Who fucking knows? There’s only one of them I care about anyway. I won’t waste my time on the others.
“Try this dark-red one. I think it will bring out your best features,” Kennedy singsongs, shoving a silk dress up against my breasts.
“My boobs?” I joke, relaxing a little.
“No, your eyes. It’s one of the things your boy gushed over the most.”
I laugh at the idea of Finn gushing while I put the dress on. The minute the silky fabric touches my skin, it’s hard not to stand straight facing the mirror to admire it.
“Wow. I think we found a winner on the first try,” Kennedy exclaims excitedly, her eyes trailing all over my body.
“Yeah? Do you think Finn will like it?”
“I think after he’s lifted his chin off the floor, he will love it.”
“So my eyes pop in this, is that what you’re saying?”
“Honey, everything pops! You have killer curves, and that dress is shouting them all out. If I didn’t have my boy troubles, you might get me batting for the other team,” she goads, and I can’t help but laugh at that.
Who would have guessed that the dean’s daughter was such a flirt?
I let my eyes focus on the mirror’s reflection one more time and tell her, “This isn’t me, you know?”
“Looks like it is to me.”
“But it’s not. It’s just a fancy dress on a girl from the wrong side of the tracks.”
“Does that even matter? Who cares where you were born. It’s the destination ahead of you that counts.”
“Is it? Sometimes I feel like I’ll never outrun where I came from,” I mutter, looking at the lie reflecting in front of me.
Kennedy comes up behind me, placing her chin on my shoulder like a long lost friend would. My eyes fix on hers, and I see genuine understanding in them.
“We’re all trying to run from our past, Stone. Finn included. The only thing we can do is make sure the place we are running to is better than the one we left. Do you understand?”
I give her a tight nod, perfectly understanding what she is trying to tell me. It doesn’t matter if you’re born dirt poor or filthy rich. That shouldn’t define us. Only the choices we make in life should.
And it dawns on me that I’ve already made my choice.
I choose Finn, just as he has chosen me.
Chapter 22
Finn
I should have gone to her dorm and picked her up.
Why did I have to listen to Stone and agree to let her come in a damn Uber all the way from campus? If I hadn’t caved to her demands, then she would be wrapped around my arm this very minute. Instead, I have to wait anxiously for her arrival, making each second without her presence more excruciating than the last.
“Are you really going to have that ugly-ass scowl stitched on your face the whole night? Because I have to tell you, brother, it’s not a pretty look,” Easton taunts, taking a full gulp of his champagne.
“Leave him alone, East. Can’t you see he’s nervous enough?” Kennedy comes to my aid, throwing me a comforting little wink. “She’ll be here soon. Don’t worry, Finn. Okay?” she adds sweetly, bumping me on the shoulder in an attempt to relax my impatient mind.
I nod, giving her my own thin smile, but deep down, I’m worried as hell.
What if Stone is second-guessing her decision, and has fallen head-first into her doubts? She didn’t exactly jump at the chance when I asked her to come. What if this is just too much for her, too soon? What if she doesn’t show because of it?
Fuck! I should have picked her up myself. But the brat batted those fucking gorgeous, green eyes at me, and before I knew it, I was buried deep inside her, making my dad’s birthday party the last thing on my mind.
“Damn it, Finn. You’re going to give yourself a coronary. Your girl will show up eventually. She probably just had some mishap with her dress or her makeup. Girls are frilly like that,” Colt chastises, making fun of my pain.
“Not Finn’s girl,” Kennedy explains boastfully. “She’s special. Different.”
“Sure, she is. They’re all special,” Colt replies sarcastically, stopping one of the waiters passing by to grab his own champagne flute.