Page 85 of Study You

“I…don’t think so. I have to work tomorrow morning. But by all means, you go for your life.” Finn considered her next move. She didn’t have to confirm or deny anything. She could surely do the whole ‘how dare you’ attitude. But would Deena see through it? God, she hoped so.

“So…” Deena leaned in when Morgan walked away. “That’s why she was in here the night of your birthday?”

Finn’s brows drew together, even though she knew exactly who Deena was talking about. “Who?”

“Gillian Masters.”

Finn burst out laughing and shook her head. As she lifted her beer and gulped it down, Deena continued to watch her. “Oh. You…were serious? You think I’m sleeping with Gillian?”

Deena sucked in a breath and shrugged. “It would make sense.”

“Why exactly is that?” Finn sat forward, resting her elbows on the table. If Deena had her suspicions, Finn wanted to know.

“Well, I have seen the way you look at her, Finn. You take in every last word that leaves her mouth.”

“Because I plan to succeed in my degree. I’m not paying student fees each year to fuck it all up.”

“We all want to succeed. But you seem to want it that tiny bit more.”

Fuck. Finn hated this lying. She hated the secrecy, even if it was worth it when she fell into bed with Gillian at the end of each night. Still, she had promised everything would be okay, and she couldn’t turn her back on Gillian now. She was in far too deep. “Look, I’m not sleeping with or dating Gillian. Morgan sees things she wants to see. She’s just accused me of dating you if you remember that part?”

Deena stared back at Finn. “Oh, my God. You’re right. I can’t believe I’ve even just asked you that.”

“You see?” Finn lifted a brow. “Morgan runs this bar. She’s known me for years. We have this joke about how we’re always single…and I guess she just put two and two together and got five.”

“That’s fair enough.” Deena relaxed into her seat and crossed her legs. “Sorry, Finn. I just thought with her showing up here that night…you know?”

“Look, I’ll tell you something, okay? The house I’m working on is Gillian’s. She was waiting for friends that night, and once she saw me on my own, she offered to buy me a drink before I left. I’ve shaved quite a bit of time off the expected finishing date, so she was saying thank you. That’s probably why Morgan jumped to conclusions.”

“Why are you working on her house?” Deena had that suspicious look in her eyes again.

“Because she contacted me for a quote, not realising who I was. My quote came out as the better option, and she decided to hire me. That’s not illegal. Outside of uni, I do have a business to run.”

“Oh, God. I know. I wasn’t accusing you.”

Finn gave Deena a knowing look. She knew an accusation when she came across one. “Really? Because it kinda feels like you were.”

“No, I really wasn’t.” Deena lowered her eyes. “I feel terrible now.”

Yeah, Finn felt terrible, too. Because really, Deena was right on the money, and Finn was the one who was being dishonest. She didn’t like being that person, but she had to protect Gillian, and lying was the only way to ensure that. “Don’t. It’s okay. I’ll have a word with Morgan, though. Throwing things like that around could get Gillian fired if someone else heard it.”

“You’re right. You should probably mention that to her. Gillian is one of the best lecturers at that university. The last thing she needs is accusations flying around.”

Finn looked around the bar. It was packed for a Wednesday evening. “I’ll catch her some other time. The bar is rammed at the minute, so she won’t have time to talk.”

“Anyway, it’s really good to see you, Finn. I’m glad we could do this tonight. I felt really bad after I had to leave on your birthday. Things…seem to be picking up at home. The ex hasn’t been in touch for a few weeks now.”

“I’m happy to hear that. And I hope it stays that way.”

Deena puffed out her cheeks, her eyes wide. “Me too. I don’t know how much more I can handle.” She got to her feet and took her card from the back of her phone. “I’ll get in the queue for the bar. Same again?”

Finn, knowing she should probably call it a night, smiled. “Sure. I’ll have another with you.”

Chapter 29

Gillian had laid awake for the last thirty minutes watching Finn, her girlfriend oblivious to that fact. Those blue eyes had been glued to the ceiling, Finn’s brows drawn together, while she chewed on the inside of her cheek. Something was on her mind, and Gillian wasn’t sure she wanted to know what. It wasn’t often Finn appeared to be in a contemplative mood, only leading Gillian to believe that something wasn’t right.

Did she question it…or did she wait for Finn to come to her in her own time?

---