“No, I’m not. I’m thinking that there’s no amount of money in the world that will make me want to marry you now,” I reply.
“Forget about the wedding for a moment.”
“Oh, don’t worry. It’s forgotten,” I shoot back sarcastically.
He shakes his head and goes on, “The money is a donation. And the monthly deal still stands. No matter what happens between us, you’re getting that money. Believe it or not, Ashley, you have actually made me see the problems these kids face and I actually do want to help them. I don’t know how best to do that, but you do, so it makes sense for me to donate the money to you and let you do what you do best.”
“Right. And I’m supposed to believe there isn’t a catch?”
“Oh, there’s a catch,” Finn adds quickly.
Here we go. I raise my eyebrows.
He smiles. “Help Gemma. Get her into the system and find her a place with a nice family. A family who will care about her and give her a chance.”
“When did you grow a conscience?” I snap irritably.
“Well, according to Gemma, it was around the time I wanted to impress this girl,” he teases with a lopsided smile.
The way he looks just now makes my heart melt. But if he thinks being cute is going to work on me, he’s very much mistaken. My heart might respond to him, and my body certainly does, but for once, I’m doing things Finn’s way and making the decisions with my head instead of my emotions. “It didn’t work. You didn’t impress me in the slightest” I lie. I am kind of impressed he’s willing to help someone like Gemma. But it’s too little too late as far as I’m concerned. “Thank you for helping Gemma. Now if you don’t mind, I have things to do.”
He makes no move to leave. He doesn’t even get up off the bed. He just nods his head slowly, like he’s thinking about something. “Yeah, I see that. I mean your pillow isn’t going to cry into itself, is it?”
“Why are you taking so much pleasure in my misery?” I demand.
“I’m not,” he answers quietly. “But I know you. And I know you’ll rise to the challenge if one is put in front of you.”
“Whatever,” I say, although I have to admit he’s nailed it. I’m already planning things in my head. “You went to the office looking for me before you even met Gemma, so why don’t you tell me why you’re really here?”
Maybe if I pretend to hear him out and then tell him to leave, he’ll actually go. It’s the only reason I asked him why he’s here. It’s not like I care what he has to say anymore. Not even a little bit.
22
Finn
This is my moment. My chance to tell Ashley everything. But the way she’s looking at me with such disdain, the way she’s made it clear she’s only entertaining talking to me because I had news on Gemma, tells me it’s a waste of time.
It’s too late for Ashley and me and to be honest, I would rather her remember me as the guy who helped a homeless kid, instead of the guy who stood begging for her approval. I stand up. “I came here to tell you I’m sorry about what happened at the party, and to try to explain it all to you. But it’s clear you don’t want to hear it, and so I’m just going to go. You can call me anytime if you need anything for the charity.”
I move my hand towards my pocket to pull out the check I’ve already written.
“You know for a long time I thought you were arrogant and only into yourself,” she explains. “Sometimes, I still do. But I never thought you were a coward until now.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re here. I’m here. You have your chance to finally tell me the truth, but you’re too much of a coward to take it,” Ashley snaps back. She looks at me, staring straight into my eyes. A challenge.
“You want the truth? Fine. Here it is. The truth is, I do care about you, Ashley.”
“No, you only care about getting your hands on your grandpa’s company,” she counters. “You said as much to your father.”
“That’s not true,” I counter.
“Oh, really?” Ashley sneers.
“Yes, really.” I sit back down on the bed. “Aren’t you the least bit curious about why my father suddenly thought I had feelings for you?”
Ashley shrugs.
“He thought it, because he saw it, Ashley. And he knew something you don’t. He knew that my grandpa had a change of heart. There’s another will. One dated later than the original one, where my grandpa came to his senses and removed the marriage stipulation. So I can marry you, or not marry you, and either way, I get the company. I found out the night I went to my parent’s house for dinner.”