“I had to tell her something—she heard us arguing before she came in the door.”
“Are you cuh-razy?” Laurie flung her arms around. “Why didn’t you tell her the truth? Why not introduce her to your real girlfriend? Are you dating some chick who’s afraid to meet your mother?” Laurie thought she might sympathize with her. Susan was a bit intimidating, even though she seemed nice.
“There is no girlfriend. Mum kept insisting that I needed to start dating, so I made up a relationship.”
“You lied to your mother?”
“I just wanted to make her happy.” Finn climbed off his knees and flopped into her desk chair, covering his face with both hands.
“Look, Finn, I’d like to help you, but…”
“Yes. Please.” He dropped his hands, folding them under his chin, his imploring blue eyes pinning her in place. “Just until tonight. Then you can break up with me.”
“I don’t know… I don’t like to lie.”
“You don’t have to.” He jumped to his feet, his voice rising with excitement. “You can say we haven’t been dating long.” He nodded his head, tapping a finger to his brow. “Which is technically true, right? If she asks how we met, be honest—we met through Bran and Steph.”
“Don’t you think she’s going to notice we don’t get along?”
“No worries. I’ll be so nice you won’t think I’m the same person. And since she heard us arguing, she won’t be surprised if we’re a little stiff.”
“Or you could come clean and tell her the truth.”
The blood drained from his face, his entire demeanor wilting. “That’s not a good idea.”
“Why did you lie in the first place? You’re a grown man. Your mom can’t make you do anything you don’t want to do.”
His fingers massaged his temples. “Listen, I’m not in the habit of deceiving my family, but Mum… She means well, but she worries about me. I think it’s because of the CF. Maybe she feels guilty or something—I don’t know. She’s determined I need someone else in my life or I’m going to be lonely and miserable.” He let out a long, slow breath. “All I wanted to do was make her happy.”
“How long has she been nagging you?”
He shrugged, scratching the back of his neck. “I don’t know. Maybe ten years?”
“Ten years!” She must’ve yelled it, because he jumped and stared at her like she might throw something at him. “You haven’t dated anyone for the last ten years? Why not?”
His hands tucked into his pockets as his lower lip pushed forward. “I have my reasons.”
“So, you’re saying it’s none of my business.”
Pain flashed in his eyes before he looked away, refusing to answer.
I can’t believe I’m considering this. “What’s in it for me?”
His eyebrows arched high, a grin splitting his face. “Anything.” He lifted his hand like he was swearing an oath. “I’ll do anything you want.”
“You’ll be super nice and polite?”
“Absolutely!” He beamed. “I’ll be the most supportive guy you’ve ever met.”
“You probably shouldn’t go that far,” Laurie warned.
“Why not?”
“Because I might be really ticked if I find out you could’ve done it all along and chose to be a jerk.”
His head bobbed, sharply. “Point taken. Okay, I’ll be fairly polite and partially supportive, but I’ll still give you a hard time.”
“Sounds more likely, anyway.”
The corner of his mouth kicked up in a crooked grin. He jutted his hand forward. “Do we have a deal?”
“Not quite.”
The hand fell to his side. “What else do you want?”
“You agree to call every single one of these donors and make them agree to shell out again this year.” She pointed toward the computer screen.
“I’ll do it,” he answered without hesitation.
“Today,” she added.
“Agreed.”
“And you’ll stay on this project with me until Jarrett comes back or the LA Fundraiser is over.”
From his expression, you’d think she’d asked him to walk across a bed of hot coals. “But Branson would do just as good of a job—probably better.”
“Never mind… you can tell your mother the truth.”
