Page 4 of A Hard Fit

Finn nodded, not sure which answer he had been wanting to hear. “Have you ever been in love?” Luka had had a few boyfriends along the way, but none stuck, and there hadn’t been anyone lately.

Luka sighed. “I wanted to be, for a bit… Have you?”

Finn shook his head so hard his hair bounced. “Nah, man. Not yet.”

“Hey, guys.” Tawney’s tight brown curls and bright smile popped into Luka’s office as she rapped on the doorframe. “Did you see the email? Ilona wants us in the conference room in twenty. The new head of Analytics is here.”

“Already?” Luka asked. “Didn’t they just fill that spot like yesterday?”

Tawney shrugged. “Guess they were eager to start. See you there!”

Luka clicked over to his email and began reading. “‘We are thrilled to welcome Rory Barrett (they/them) to Breakpoint Advertising. Rory joins us as head of analytics with a wealth of experience—’”

Finn’s heart stopped. “Rory?”

“That’s right… Why?”

Finn’s heart slammed back into action, hammering his ribcage.There’s no way…That would be impossible. “Rory? You’re sure?”

“Yes, Rory! What’s up?”

Finn shook his head. “Nothing, it’s just… I met someone named Rory last night before my date arrived and…”

“And what?”

“Nothing. It’s probably not them.”

Luka eyed him. “Are we hoping it’s them?”

Finn shrugged dismissively. “Whatever.”

“Hmm.” Luka cocked an eyebrow, way too smug. “Sure.”

Finn’s heart only beat harder as the appointed time approached, and he crept into the conference room behind Luka, terrified and hopeful at the same time. He examined the room, then his stomach crashed into his shoes.

ItwasRory.ThatRory. Beautiful, calm, impossibly deep eyes Rory.

The black T-shirt had been replaced with a short-sleeved button-down, black with a subtle gray pattern, but otherwise they looked pretty much the same.

Rory’s eyes lit up with recognition when they saw Finn. Finn was smiling before he could play it cool, but Rory smiled back.

Don’t stare,Finn told himself, looking down to avoid tripping over his chair.Jesus, man. Get it together.

He might have stared a little, though, leg jittering under the table, as the introductions began.

Ilona went around the table until she got to Luka, who was sitting on Finn’s left. “This is Luka Moreno, one of our project managers…”

Luka flashed Rory his patented killer smile as they nodded and murmured greetings.

“And,” Ilona continued, “this is Finn Owens, lead designer.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Finn,” Rory said warmly, eyes bright.

Finn’s brain spun madly, discarding the stupid joke he would normally have made about IT nerds, then the dumb comment on Rory’s tattoos, searching for something witty…charming…welcoming to say instead. “Hello, Rory,” was what he came up with.

He could feel Luka looking at him sideways. Finn ignored him, dizzy, as the introductions continued around the table.

And this time, he hadn’t even had any wine.

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