Page 36 of Camera Shy

I glower at her. “Is that why you’re here so much?” I grab my steaming cup of coffee off the counter and inhale. Lennox does make a great cup of coffee.

“You’re better company than my roommate,” she says, sipping from her own mug. “Do you want creamer? I bought some of the oat milk stuff you like.”

“Oh yeah?” Opening the fridge, I find it stocked with a few new items. Tonic waters, yogurt, fruit, my preferred brand of orange juice, and some deli meat for sandwiches. “Well, Lennox, you’ve redeemed yourself. I think I’ll keep you.” I pull the safety seal off the creamer and douse my coffee.

“Sorry about your dad,” she offers. “He called the first time, and I figured if you were around, you’d let it go to voicemail. But then he called again and again, and then something dawned on me.”

“What dawned on you?” I ask, leaning against my kitchen island.

“How else would you know if something happened to your sisters?”

Fair point. I wouldn’t. I don’t really keep in touch with my dad’s daughters.

“I know Griffin is a dick and all, but you always said your sisters were innocent in all this. You’d want to know if either of them was in trouble.”

It’s true. My half-sisters and I have a shared disdain for my dad. From what I understand, Molly and Alaina also keep him at arm’s length. We’re spread out across the country. I’m in Las Vegas, Molly lives in Baltimore, and Alaina attends college in Fort Lauderdale. We keep him busy with his annual apology tours; he treated all our mothers like shit. But we have nothing against each other. We just don’t have much in common. We’re connected by blood, but nothing else.

“He’s coming into town on the nineteenth of next month. Do you want to go to dinner with us?”

Lennox sticks her finger in her mouth and makes a gagging sound. It’s worth noting that Lennox is my mother’s sister’s daughter. They are the lead chairmen of the We Hate Griffin club, so I’m not surprised she doesn’t want to break bread with Dad.

“Fine. Abandon me then.”

Lennox takes a tepid sip from her cup. “Why don’t you just tell him to get lost? Cut ties if you don’t want him around, Finn. You’re justified.”

“He’s finally paying Mom her fair share of alimony. He even gifted her flights to Greece for her and her boyfriend. Everything is at peace. I don’t want to kick up the drama again.” I rotate my finger in the air. “Not to mention he cosigned the mortgage for this house. I owe the man my company for one dinner a year, at least.”

“If I were you, I’d kick him in the teeth after the way he—”

“Can we change the subject?” I ask. “This is far more Griffin and family drama than I want to deal with on a late Saturday morning.”

“Fine. What are you doing tonight? There’s a whiskey tasting at Rue 52 that my friend is hosting. It’s far tamer than the foam party. Want to come?”

“Nope, I have plans. Although if you plan on once again popping by uninvited tomorrow, please pick me up the Southwest rolls with the black beans. The eggrolls always taste better the next day for some reason.”

Lennox holds her mug to her lips and blinks at me. Her glib smile grows. “You have plans?”

“Yes.” I think. Maybe. I plan on heading over to Dex’s hot tub at eight. I’m not sure if Avery will be in the tub waiting for me or hiding under the bedroom covers upstairs. I don’t know what the fuck that was last night.

I’ve done the mirror affirmations thing for my clients a hundred times, but never like that. When a boudoir client is really insecure or nervous, I’ll place them in front of a large mirror and get them comfortable with looking at themselves, with smiling naturally. I’ve never undressed any of my clients. I am a consummate professional. Never once has that scenario been sexual…until last night.

Watching Avery cry, or more like twist up her face and try not to cry, broke my heart. I wanted to fix it. Last night, she didn’t need someone to tell her she had a sweet smile and great charisma for the camera. She needed a man she was attracted to, to tell her she was fuckable. More than fuckable. She needed me to see her naked and want her. Approve of her. Praise her. So I did.

But today, I’m wondering if I did more harm than good. No matter what happens, I refuse to be the second man to break this girl’s heart. If I’m not ready for something legitimate and real…if she’s only here for a few months…we should probably just be friends.

“What plans?” Lennox asks.

“I’m hanging out with the girl next door again.” Hopefully.

“Ah, Dex’s fish babysitter?”

“Yup. Her name is Avery. Cool girl. She’s easygoing, funny, and smart. Hey, speaking of which—what do you think about our website?”

“It sucks,” Lennox responds without hesitation.

I roll my eyes. “Excuse me. I built our website.”

“Yeah,” Lennox says, flashing me a snarky smile. “I said what I said.”

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