Page 80 of Seas the Dating Coach

Finn glances over my shoulder before fixing me with a pleading stare. “I wanted you to know now. Assuming I get this promotion at the end of summer, everything will stay as it is. But if I don’t, I’ll only have a year with you before I have to leave to work for him.”

“But you’re a librarian, not a billionaire.” These are the only words my frazzled brain can put together.

A sad smile graces his lips. “Yes. This career and this life is what I traded my billions for, and there’s not a day I regret it, but I need you to understand that as much as I love you, I promised to ensure Cordelia’s future first.”

My chest tightens. “You love me?”

“More than I ever thought possible.”

The honesty in Finn’s amber eyes is unmistakable. For all the times I’ve encouraged him to tell me the truth, he’s offering this freely. It’s a breathtaking thing, seeing this man open his tender heart up to me. I blink, stunned to the marrow but just as determined to prove to Finn that I feel the same. My fingers curl around his wrist, breaking the dance and dragging him into the stacks.

“Then I’ll go with you.”

“I don’t understand.” His large body blocks everyone from view, the bafflement between his brows achingly sweet.

How could he not understand that I’d follow him anywhere?

“When— If you have to work for your father, I’ll go with you. I’ll move wherever you need to be.”

“Vivian.” My name sounds like a prayer and the first breath of air in an infant’s lungs and the sound of rain saturating an arid desert all at the same time.

“I can’t ask you to do that. You’d be leaving your town, your sister, your business.” Though his words hold undeniable truths, his fingers curl around my waist, almost like he can’t let go.

I brush a lock of his hair aside before setting my palm against his cheek. “I’m choosing you, Finn, because I love you too. I love you for exactly who you are in here.” My hand moves to rest over his heart. Even through all the layers of fabric, I can feel its solid beat. “Nothing else.”

Finn’s fingertips tremble as they rise to frame my face. “I never thought this would be possible for me.”

Tears spring to my eyes. “I know. But if you’ll let me, I’ll spend the rest of my life showing you how much you deserve it.”

When Finn’s lips crash over mine, the overhead lights flicker and burn out. Only the overlay of white twinkle lights—interlaced with silk flowers—remains over the dance floor. The approving murmur of the crowd fades to silence when Finn deepens the kiss. I am two seconds from pushing us farther into the recesses of the library for some real privacy when a throat clears behind Finn.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I need to speak to you.” A bespeckled woman with what looks like a dead badger around her shoulders focuses on Finn. “It’s urgent.”

“Lynnette.” Finn straightens his cuffs, sliding into his magnetic persona. “Good to see you. Let me introduce you to my—”

“Girlfriend,” I supply, offering my hand to the older woman. “I’m Vivian. Nice to meet you.”

After receiving a limp handshake, I glance back at Finn. The heat in his gaze could melt the polar ice caps in two seconds flat. An unsteady breath slips into my lungs as my neck flushes.I’m still not used to the immensity of Finn’s intense focus. It’s intoxicating and disorienting at the same time. Finn’s gaze slips down the column of my throat, the corner of his lip tucking between his teeth.

“I have information.” She leans toward Finn, snagging his attention before bouncing her eyes pointedly at me. “About Ralph.”

It’s subtle, but I notice the way Finn’s shoulders raise a fraction of an inch, how his spine firms. Whatever news Lynnette has about this Ralph person, it’s obviously very important.

I move to excuse myself. “I should—”

Finn’s palm against my waist stops me. “Stay,” he whispers over my ear. “Please.”

His second word is almost tortured, making my fingers twitchy. I want to run them over his temples and through his hair until his lashes flutter closed, relaxed. Only when I give a small nod does Finn return his attention to Lynnette.

“You can tell us both.”

She shoots me a dubious look before speaking. “You were going to find out on Monday, but I figured since you’ve been striving toward this goal for so long, you’d like to know now. That and I’m a fan of Regency romance, so I already had tickets to this event.” Lynnette straightens the collar to her dowager dress. “Ralph, it seems, has changed his mind about retirement. I overheard a call with the mayor that he’s decided to stay on for another two years. I still think you’d make a great replacement, but it seems you’ll have to wait a bit longer.”

Finn’s hand tenses over the small of my back, and I lean into him to quietly offer support. With what he’s just told me, this news decimates the plans he’s been working toward for years.

His lips tip into that practiced smile. “I appreciate your vote of confidence. And for letting me know. It—” The exhaustedexhale leaving his mouth makes my forearms tense. “It certainly changes things.”

Lynnette offers a tight nod before stepping away.

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