Page 51 of Falling for Finn

“Yeah, our acting skills are fire.” She meets my gaze in the reflection of the mirror. “No one doubts it, even those who know we’re pretending.”

Unspoken words swirl between us, and there’s so much I wish I could say. The last thing I want is for things to be awkward between us before she leaves. So I push those thoughts away.

“I’m going to get dressed and check in with everyone, then we can head that way.”

“Okay, gimme twenty to finish up.”

“Make it fifteen.” I wink, and she rolls her eyes.

After I put on my clothes, I call my grandmother and mom, and they confirm everything is in place and all we need to do is show up.

Next, I call Levi, and I brew a pot of coffee as we chat.

“I’m probably going to leave and start heading that way. Don’t want to get stuck in traffic,” he tells me.

“Perfect. Be on yourbestbehavior today. You know Aspen’s here,” I warn.

“Ugh,” he groans. My best friend was never a fan of her. “Fine. I’m more excited to meet your girlfriend anyway.”

I chuckle as Oakley prances past me, accidentally-on-purpose dropping her towel with a giggle.

“Did you hear me?” Levi asks when I sound distracted.

“Uh, yeah.”

He clears his throat. “Okay, well, I’ll see you there.”

“Great.” I pour two cups of coffee to go and move farther into the living room so I can watch her get dressed.

“You’re a mind reader,” she says, looking at the one I made for her.

“Or you’re predictable,” I tease.

After she slips on her boots, we carefully load the canvas, easel, and cloth cover into the back of the truck. I can see hermind racing as we drive toward the inn. She quietly sips her coffee.

“You okay?” I ask, and she unbuckles and scoots closer to me, sitting in the middle. She’s holding the small painting of the inn. I lift my arm and hold her as we continue down the gravel road.

“Nervous,” she admits. “I don’t know why. Sometimes self-doubt creeps in.”

“Oakley Benson, you’re the most confident person I know. You’re the real deal, and don’t you dare think otherwise.”

This makes her smile wide, and I grab her hand, interlocking my fingers with hers.

We pass the neon orange signs we placed, and every few miles, an employee waves people forward. The traffic is outrageous, and I’m almost concerned there won’t be anywhere to park.

When we get closer to the inn, the field is already full of vehicles.

Oakley looks over at me with wide eyes. “You weren’t joking about all of Maplewood Falls being here.”

While I expected this, I’m somewhat shocked too.

“We might need to park out here. We can carry the painting and stuff up with us. Later, we’ll grab the small one.”

She glances down at it. “That’s probably a good idea.”

We park on the opposite side of the bakery, and before we get out, I turn to Oakley. “Ready?”

“Yep, let’s go have some fun, fake boyfriend,” she says with a big smile.

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