Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 128211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 641(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 641(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
And then, without hesitation, he turned to me.
“But I’m not sorry for this.”
He grabbed my hand — bold and sure — and lifted it to his mouth, pressing a kiss to my knuckles with a reverence that stole my breath.
“I love her,” he said simply. No drama. No theatrics. Just the truth that had been burning between us since the first day we boarded the Sinking Sun.
My heart split wide open.
The table was silent, stunned into a stillness that felt deafening. Finn rubbed his thumb over my knuckles, his eyes never leaving mine.
“And maybe the thing I’m most sorry for is not realizing that sooner.”
My eyes welled, pulse thrumming in my veins. I wanted to kiss his face off.
Before I could say fuck it and do just that, Gisella let out a sharp, incredulous laugh.
“Oh, sure,” she snapped. “What a romantic story you’ve spun. Star-crossed lovers against the big, bad reality TV show. But even if you did call it quits with me before you shagged her, you obviously had feelings before that. Don’t act like you’re innocent.”
Palmer snorted.
That had all the heads spinning to him, Gisella most of all, her brows furrowed in offense. Palmer shook his head at first, like he wasn’t going to elaborate on that reaction.
But then, he laughed and said, “You know what? Fuck it.” He leaned forward, pressing his finger to the table with his eyes on Gisella. “Are you really going to sit there and pretend like I wasn’t in your bed that same night?”
My jaw hit the floor, along with half the table. Bernard was the only one seemingly not shocked. He sat back with his hands threaded behind his head and a giant grin. “Here we go.”
“What?” Leah gasped, her hand covering her mouth.
Cameron let out a low whistle. “So that whole thing when you kissed me in the hot tub — that wasn’t to piss Finn off, was it? You were trying to make Palmer jealous.”
Gisella paled, her façade cracking under the weight of the accusation.
“Wow,” Leah breathed. “So Cameron wasn’t enough? What, did you plan to hook up with every guy on the boat and just pick which one suited you best?” She shot a glare at Eli. “Have something to tell us, too?”
Eli threw his hands up. “Don’t look at me, bru. I was all in for Em.” His expression was hard when it met mine. “What a chop.”
“I’m sorry, Eli,” I croaked. “You didn’t deserve that.”
“Damn right, I didn’t.”
Bernard picked up his drink and gave it a swirl. “Bloody hell. Someone pass the popcorn.”
I tried to hold Eli’s gaze as arguments erupted around the table, but he shook his head and looked away, not giving me the time of day.
And he didn’t owe me that. He didn’t owe me anything.
The only person who did look at me as Gisella and Cameron and Palmer screamed at each other was Leah. She didn’t say a word, but there was a softness in her gaze. I knew it wasn’t the time, but something about the way she looked at me told me she had room for forgiveness in her heart for me.
Not now. But one day.
Finn caught my eye in the chaos, his demeanor calm and steady. He jerked his head slightly toward the exit.
Let’s go.
Without a word, I slid out of my chair, following him through the crowded restaurant and out into the quiet night. I barely registered Luke and Lexi trailing us with their cameras until we hit the curb, Finn throwing a hand up for a cab.
When we were finally tucked inside, the doors closing out the noise, I let out a long, shuddering breath. “Well, that was unexpected,” I said with a laugh, leaning into Finn as he put his arm around my shoulders. “You know this isn’t going to change anything, right? Not their perception of us, not the world’s either.”
Finn rubbed my shoulder with a sigh of his own, kissing my hair. “Maybe not. But I spoke our truth.”
“I hate that we hurt them so much,” I said, voice low with the aching honesty. “I shouldn’t have used Eli to make you jealous.”
“I should have told Gisella I didn’t feel the same way she did — not just when we got here, but well before.” He scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “I think I wanted to believe it, that I was moving on. I wanted to be all in with her. But I knew I wasn’t even before I saw you again. And once I did…”
“I know,” I said. “You fucked me up bad, too.”
He laughed at that, turning those ocean eyes down to me. “Should I apologize to you as well, then?”
“I think we’ve had enough apologies between us to last a lifetime.”
“Hopefully, we won’t add any more.”
“I’m sure we will,” I said. “Love is messy. We’re human. We’re not meant to be perfect.”