AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I watch them go, hands shaking. The stranger remains by my side, hovering close. Not touching me, but near enough that I’m intensely aware of his presence. I smell something musky and spicy, a heady, subtle cologne.
I feel brutalized. Why the fuck did that just happen? Johnnie’s completely in the wrong—he can’t talk to me that way. I’mhisemployee, he’s supposed to be my manager, there are rules about this sort of stuff. I barely even stood up for myself.
But I know, deep down, this is going to blow back on me.
It makes me sick. Guys like Johnnie get away with everything, while girls like me end up with empty bank accounts.
“Thanks for that,” I say, glancing at my temporary boyfriend. “Finn, right?”
He nods, frowning at me. “I take it you knew that guy?”
“He’s my manager at work.” I groan, rubbing my face. “I think I might be fucked.”
“Sounds like you need to switch jobs.” He continues staring, not looking away, not ashamed of his gaze. It’s strange and intoxicating. I’ve never been approached by a handsome stranger like this before—then again, I’ve also never been assaulted by a work colleague in public before either, or been dumped, or had all my money stolen. It’s a day for firsts.
“If I know Johnnie, I doubt I’ll have much of a choice.” I curse and look at my phone. Still no reply from my douchebag ex. “Look, I’m having a really, really bad day. I just want to go into that bar, get a drink, and try to forget my problems for a few hours. I really appreciate your help though.”
I’m mentally counting all the cash in my clutch. It’s enough for one, maybe two glasses if they have something cheap-ish. And there’s always my trusty credit card.
“Let me buy you that drink,” Finn says quietly. “Just to make sure that asshole doesn’t come back.”
I hesitate, but the zeroes in my bank account make this decision easy. “Just one,” I say, holding up a finger. “Since you’re my boyfriend and all. But I’ve been aggressively hit on enough for one day.”
His lips pull into a tight smile, the lines around his intensely blue eyes crinkling. It’s a handsome smile, one I suspect he doesn’t use all that often. “It’s my pleasure to take care of you. I do enjoy spoiling my girl.”
“That’d be a first for me,” I say as we walk into Trevi’s together. “My real boyfriend—myex-boyfriend now—he was the cheapest guy I’ve ever met. Did you know you can rinse out plastic sandwich bags and reuse them at least two more times?”
“Sounds awful.” Finn’s hand finds the small of my back as he steers me through the post-work crowd toward the bar. He walks with confidence, heading straight through the crowd without cringing away from people. It helps that he’s big, one of the biggest guys in the place.
I shiver, enjoying the feeling of his big palm against my body. Lucas never touched me like that. He was strictly anti-PDA. It’s almost sad that this total stranger is touching me more in public than my actual boyfriend ever did.
We get stools side by side at the far end of the bar. He orders a whiskey and I ask for a gin and tonic. When the drinks arrive, he holds his up for a toast. “To being your boyfriend,” he says. “I’ll happily provide anything you need and more.”
“Thanks,” I say, blushing like crazy. “But apparently, all I need is a bodyguard and a new job.” We touch glasses and drink.
I lean forward on the bar. Finn studies me for another second, swirling his whiskey. “You said you were having a bad day, even before that guy approached you,” he says. “I could tell you weren’t happy.”
My eyebrows raise. “You were watching me?”
He hesitates. “I noticed you. I was on the phone across the street and saw you sitting there, looking like your world was ending. I asked myself, what’s an absolutely gorgeous girl like that looking so upset for?”
I let out a soft snort. “Is that some kind of line?”
“Not at all. It’s the truth.” He takes another drink. “I’m having a bad day myself. Maybe I’m on the lookout for it.”
“What’s going on with you?” I say, and quickly add, “You don’t have to tell me. I know it’s rude to ask, but misery and company and all that.”
“You’re my girlfriend. That’s what partners are for, right? Listening?” He leans forward like a heavy weight’s shoving down his shoulders. “Tomorrow, I’m getting engaged.”
My eyebrows slowly lift. “Uh… congratulations?”
He grunts, finishes his drink, signals for another. “Problem is, I’ve never met her before. I was told her name, her age, and that’s it. I’ll see her for the first time when we make it official.”
“That’s…” I trail off, not sure what to say. Finn is sinfully handsome, the kind of man any woman would gladly wrap her legs around. It’s hard to imagine this guy is having problems with women, much less needing someone else to pick his wife for him.
“It’s strange,” he says, speaking into his whiskey. “An arranged marriage. It’s old-fashioned, embarrassing, and frustrating. But I don’t have any other choice. In my family, the youngest does his duty, no questions asked.”
“I take it you’re the youngest.”
