Love and Rumors: A Summer Sisters Beach Reads Contemporary Romance (The Summer Sisters Book 1) (22 page)

So who was she? What did she want?

He was missing a piece. And it wasn’t just the piece of his heart she seemed to have stolen in the night.

“I tried getting them to switch the booking to my name so I could get you a senior’s rate,” his father continued.

“You’re not old enough.”

His father flipped an ID card in his direction.

Finn spit out his coffee and laughed. “You’re kidding me, right?”

His mother sighed and threw up her hands. “I told him he’d gone too far, but he couldn’t resist. He likes the way people give him a second glance and ask to see his driver’s license.”

“What? It’s a nice feeling. It’s like being carded at the bar.”

His mother blew on her cup of coffee, and as her eyes lifted, Finn felt the earth shift ever so slightly.
Hailey
.

“Hello. I’m Hailey Summer.”

Hailey slipped past him, reaching out to shake his mother’s hand. She was a vision in her red dress and wild hair—which looked as though she’d brushed it, then dampened it, causing major havoc. He grinned up at her and lightly touched her waist, loving the way the fabric felt over her curves.

His mother looked slightly in awe and stood up in front of Hailey, one hand over her chest.

“I know she’s pretty, Mom, but you’re staring.” Finn pulled Hailey close and kissed the side of her head, inhaling her scent.

His mother blinked and gave herself a little shake. “I’m so sorry, it’s just that I’m such a fan of your work.”

“Uh, what?” Finn asked, his grip loosening.

“A fan?” Hailey echoed.

“Yes! The way you make wildlife come alive is simply incredible.” Finn’s mother tugged on his arm. “Have you
seen
her work?”

“Um, yes.” He pushed a hand through his hair and met Hailey’s eyes. “She took some photos of me yesterday. She, uh, revealed a side of me nobody else has.”

 
Hailey was changing his life just by being in it. He pulled her close again, not wanting her to be farther than a breath away.

“Consider yourself very lucky, Finian.” His mother gave him a look mixed with awe and wonder. “You don’t realize what you have.”

Finn rested a hand on Hailey’s lower back, guiding her to a chair. “I think I do.”

“No, this woman has won some impressive awards and doesn’t do portraits any longer. How you managed to snag her…” His mom blinked, taking in Hailey’s wardrobe. Her attention flicked to Finn and back. She gave a small smile.

“Hailey, this is my mother, Daisy Alexander. Apparently one of your biggest fans. Don’t give her your phone number or she’ll call you with career advice every day.”

His mother gave him a playful smack. “Oh, Finn.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Alexander.”

His father gave Hailey an eager handshake. “I’m Bob, by the way. So, I’m guessing you’re the girl who’s been slapping some sense into our son.”

 
Finn cringed as Hailey shot him a look, her face matching the hue of her dress. “Dad…”

“I can tell by that shit-eating grin of Finn’s—pardon my language—that he’d do just about anything for you.” Bob lowered his voice as though Finn wouldn’t be able to hear. “Maybe we could borrow your influence to work through a laundry list of grievances his mother has. Namely, his image.”

“Dad…”

Hailey was angling in her chair as though she was going to bolt. His parents were worse than the paparazzi that would undoubtedly start hounding them once word got out that he had a new crush.

All he wanted was a moment with her to solidify what they were before his real life interfered.

“Hailey and I have a few things to do today—”

“So? Will you work with him?” his mother asked Hailey.

“I’ve asked her to work on my image already, Mom, Dad.”

“I don’t think I’m the right woman for that job,” Hailey said quickly.

“Good money in that, I suspect,” his father countered.

Finn sighed. Ever since he’d started making enough to pull his family out of debt and out of that shithole community he’d grown up in, plus get his dad some proper health care, all his father had been focused on was money, money, money.

For Finn it had been money and fame. And with his focus on that, all the seven deadly sins had begun to line up, one behind the other. But that was it, wasn’t it? Own a sin or two or be a nobody who never did anything or went anywhere. Be voted most like to sit around with a thumb up his butt. Or in his case, voted most likely to become a starving artist.

Anyone could change their destiny. The process just might not look pretty.

“Can we see the photos you took yesterday?” Daisy asked.

“I don’t have them with me,” Hailey said.

“I have the ones you shared through online storage.” Finn ran to grab his tablet from the bedroom, flicking it on. He hurried back to the deck, worried he’d offered his parents a chance to give Hailey the third degree. Instead, she was sipping his coffee, sitting beside his mother, getting the scoop on his childhood temperament. If it had been anyone else, he would have felt exposed.

“Finian’s always liked turtles,” his mother said, reaching for the tablet. “But I didn’t predict this environmentalist side.”

“What environmentalist side?” he asked.

His father shot Hailey an appreciative smile. “You’re a good influence, my dear. You really should work with him.”

“Oh, Bob. They don’t want to mix business with pleasure,” his mother said with a sly smile.

“So? The turtles?” Finn asked.

“The tabloids are all over the whole turtle thing, Finian,” Daisy said. “That article with you down by the water has gone viral.”

“The article?”

“It was all about you saving the turtles. It started in the local paper here.”

“My sister is going to love you,” Hailey said, reaching over to give him a light hug.

He slipped from her grip. Derek was going to be livid. Two environmentally slanted news items in less than a week. Finn pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled slowly. This was how his career tanked. And Hailey was smiling as though it was the best thing in the world.

“Oh, Finian.” His mom leaned over the tablet. “Look at how handsome you are. Hailey, you are incredible. Look how you’ve portrayed my boy. You really see him.”

That, it seemed, was exactly the problem. She saw him, but not his career.

He stormed into the cottage, at a loss on what he should do.

“What’s wrong?” Hailey asked, joining him.

He pointed to the tablet she was carrying. “I need you to fix my image.”

She grinned. “You’re on.”

C
HAPTER
12

Well, helping Finian fix his image was proving to be a particularly bad idea. Photos she’d taken in her studio as well as out in public were spread over her worktable. And every single one of them he’d rejected. She had to check in on the Walkers, and get her show to Simone, and having him spend the past hour rejecting everything she’d suggested was starting to get to her.

“I hired you to fix my image,” Finian said, arms crossed. He looked so serious and business-sexy. If the world could see what he looked like right now he’d never have trouble finding work again. Too bad he was impossibly difficult.

“I don’t get it, Finian. You want me to bury the turtle stuff in an avalanche of bad-boy disasters? That’s not fixing your image, that’s building on what you already have.” She blinked back her disappointment and hurt.

“Who’s going to pay money for this version of me?” His cheeks flushed as he waved a gorgeous photo of himself hunched on the rocks, looking concerned over the rare turtle in the background. The perspective was dead-on perfect. “This isn’t going to rebuild the damage you’ve caused to my image, Hailey. Don’t you get it?”

Tipping her head up, she fought the tears.

“I’m sorry that being seen with me did damage to your precious image. God forbid you be seen with someone wearing clothes.”

“Hailey, don’t be a drama queen. You know what I mean. Two environmental articles in a span of two days. That’s not what the public imagines when they think of Finian Alexander. It’s incongruent.”

She shook her head, her disappointment a heavy weight in her chest. She’d thought he’d seen the beauty and art in what she did, and had falsely believed that he wanted it for himself. For his image. To build and grow out of this phase. Instead he was asking her to bury the real things that had happened while he was with her. He was rejecting her and the things she stood for.

She’d seen him maneuver last night. He’d held her up like a princess, while other people ran around, making his life effortless. He’d had locals take them parasailing, and wait in their boat while the two of them ate supper. He’d been polite and charming, but it was obvious who was being catered to, and there was no equal footing. And now she had put herself in a position where she was the assistant, hired to make his easy life perfect again. Not his girlfriend or equal.

Hailey puffed up her cheeks, then blew out slowly. But she was a professional. She could handle this. This wasn’t personal. This was his image. His career. His car-crash disaster. It was his choice. Not hers.

“Finian, we can’t work together. We have two very different visions, and I don’t want to fight with you.”

She couldn’t believe she was giving up a good paycheck by saying no to working with him, but Simone was right. Hailey had let the cottage and its needs lead to enough career sacrifices. And now it was leading to friction between her and the man she liked. She closed her eyes, knowing that once her family saw the For Sale sign on Nymph Island, she might regret this moment. But it was still the right move to make.

“Hailey, I hired you because you can do anything with that camera. You can
capture
my vision.”

“I don’t care how much money you have, Finian, I have a reputation to protect, as well. I live in the real world where it took years to build up to who I am today.”

“So have I.”

“Everything depends on my reputation.”

“Same here.”

They stared at each other as a breeze wafted through the open garage door, stirring papers.

“Then you understand why I can’t work with you.”

He let out a growl and pushed away from the worktable.

“Who do you want to be, Finian?”

He shook his head at her, his eyes filled with something she couldn’t identify.

“I know you see the other man you could be. You didn’t hire me, an award-winning nature photographer, to create some stupid fake drama. So why are you chickening out?”

Finian moved closer, loosely wrapping his arms around her shoulders. He kissed her lips with a gentleness that scared her. He rested his forehead against hers and sighed. “Oh, Hailey.”

“What?” She pushed away. That was a break-up voice. A you-don’t-understand-me voice that would soon say, “It’s not you, it’s me.”

“Don’t you want to be more than some car crash that people stare at, grateful it isn’t them?” She could barely believe she was pleading with him. When had she begun to care so much about how others viewed him? Was it when she’d slept with him?

No, it was before then. When she’d seen his exposed, vulnerable side, asleep in her chair. It was then that she’d felt the need to protect him. Not only from the world, but from himself. She had to convince him to see it her way. That the bad-boy persona was killing him. That he could be himself and get further.

Finian placed a hand on the back of his neck and stared at the ceiling, his T-shirt pulling across his muscular chest.

“Don’t you see who you could be?” she asked. “You could make a difference in this world. Use your power for good instead of evil.”

“Dammit, Hailey.”

“I’m serious.”

“You don’t know me.”

“Funny, but I think I do.”

“Well, you
don’t
.”

“Are you afraid the world won’t accept the real you—the man I’ve grown to care for?”

His eyes flicked to hers and his breathing halted.

She continued, “Are you afraid they’ll chew you up and spit you out?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“But don’t you want to be more? Don’t you want to prove to the world that you’re more than what they see? That there is a real man under this artificial shell? What’s holding you back? Why won’t you be that deep and meaningful man I see, and who can change the world?”

“This is exactly why I need this bad image, Hailey. Don’t you understand? It’s my chance to making a difference.”

Hailey scoffed and crossed her arms. “How?”

“The place where I grew up, Hailey. I made promises. Big promises. The only way I can reach those goals and meet my obligations is to be this man. This car crash you look down on. It pays the bills.”

He cupped her chin, met her eyes. “If anyone knows how hard it is to pay the bills with meaningful art, it’s you, Hailey.”

She tugged her chin away. “Yeah, and I’m doing fine.” Fine enough. Well, she would be if she didn’t have the heavy responsibility of the cottage.

“But art isn’t easy, is it?” He pointed to the stacks of framed photos she was taking to Simone’s. “Are those your most arty photos you’re taking for your show, or are you hiding the real you?”

She crossed her arms again. “You don’t know
me
, Finian. So don’t try and psychoanalyze me.”

“I can’t just suddenly go all artsy, Hailey. Don’t you understand that? I
can’t
.”

“So you’re going to reject your past? What about
Desperate Cowboy
?”

Finian threw his hands in the air and fell into her old armchair, sending dust motes dancing as he gave a dramatic sigh. “That was a lifetime ago.”

“It won awards, Finian. It was your start. Your roots.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” He turned his face away from her, his jaw set in a way that made shivers run up her spine.

After a moment’s silence he said quietly, “That movie is incongruent with the image I’m currently cultivating. The world wants to know if I can hold an Uzi in a convincing way, not whether I can keep up a five-minute monologue without boring the audience. I’m in a world where I need to work out, not convey fifty different facial expressions without looking hokey. I can’t turn around and go back to my past without losing everything. You have to understand that. I made my choice ages ago and I have to stick with it.”