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But my normal type just stole all my money, so maybe I have bad taste.
“Since both of our lives are ending, how about this?” His voice sounds like velvet as he leans closer. I try not to breathe, try not to think, as his words wrap around my brain like silk. “There’s a hotel two blocks over. I’ve stayed there before. I’ll rent their most ludicrously expensive room, and we’ll spend one last night before we’re forced to face reality tomorrow morning. No strings attached. No past, no future. Just tonight. Just you and me. Just as boyfriend and girlfriend for a few hours.”
My heart’s going insane. Sweat beads my back. I want to fan myself. The way he’s looking at me is laced with pure lust and desire.
I’ve never done this before. I met Lucas in college freshman year and we’ve been dating ever since. I thought he was the one and only.
Until he ripped out my heart and stole all my money.
Now, all I have is Finn. My fake boyfriend for one evening.
I should tell him no, go back to my apartment, and start getting my resume together.
Instead, I chew my lip, and slowly nod.
Looks like I really have gone totally insane.
“Just one night,” I say. “I can be your girlfriend for just one night.”
His eyes seem to sharpen and he licks his lips. He likes that. I can tell he likes it very much.
“Come on, girlfriend. If all we have is one night, I want to savor every single second I can.”
Chapter3
Dara
Finn takes me from the bar, his hand wrapped around my waist protectively, and leads me to a nearby hotel as promised. It’s called The Newcastle, a sleek and modern structure tucked between two office buildings with gleaming marble floors, smiling, beautiful staff members, and the sort of prices I couldn’t afford even when I had money.
“Your room is ready, Mr. Crowley.” The front desk girl beams at him like she’d love to throw her ovaries at him.
But Finn doesn’t notice. “Thank you.” He accepts the room keys. We ride the elevator together, Finn looking at me like he’s mentally undressing me already, until we arrive at the top floor.
“Holy wow,” I say as we step into the room.
It’s like a palace: gorgeous carpets, modern furniture, a full bar, a jacuzzi in the bathroom, and a balcony that looks out over Boston.
Finn pops champagne. “To being your boyfriend,” he says. “And to our upcoming funerals.”
I toast and drink, grinning, dizzy with the lavishness. “You don’t actually stay here often, do you?”
“Rarely. Only when I need to get away from my family. Which, now that I think about it, happens more than it should.”
“You don’t get along with them?”
“That’s not it.” He steers me onto the balcony. We stand, looking out at the buildings, at the houses.
God, Lucas would’venevergiven me something like this.
“What is it then?” I prompt, sensing that he needs to talk this out.
He hesitates like he’s not sure how to answer. But he says, “I love my family. I love my brothers, my father, my mother. The men we employ. Our business interests. Everything that comes along with being a Crowley. Only it’s that the pressure is constant. The politicking, the bickering, the backstabbing, the infighting, it’s never-ending. Sometimes, I need space to think my own damn thoughts without hearing my brothers sniping at everything I choose.”
I sip my champagne, my stomach doing twists. “What exactly do you do again?”
He stares at me, face blank. “I manage clubs.” He hands me a card.Finn Crowleyis emblazoned at the top beneath a logo for something calledClub Hazard. “Visit sometime. You might like it.”
I slip the card into my clutch. “I will. Thanks.”
