Page 18 of Where Happiness Begins

So I do. Well, the story I crafted, at least.

“We’ve been seeing each other for a couple of weeks on the down-low, and the other night he proposed on a whim and I said yes.”

Finn stares at me for so long that for a moment, I think he’s malfunctioning. “You want me to believe that?”

“Why not?”

“You, the person who never drinks and whose only brash decision in life has been to book a last-minute bus ride to Utah to join me on a ski trip, decided to get married to a stranger after dating in secret for no good reason?”

I don’t trust my voice, so I simply say, “Mm-hmm.”

“Is this some kind of ploy to get back at your dumbass of an ex?”

“Jesus, no!” I should probably have used the lifeline he just threw me, but I couldn’t pretend for even a second that I did what I did for freakingGreg.

“Then what? You needed company? You were alone?”

“No. I told you why.”

His eyes narrow. “You know what I think, Lil?” He takes a step my way, then another. “I think you’re the worst liar I’ve ever seen. Always have been, always will be.”

As he says it, I feel a blush cover my cheeks, a telltale sign that he’s right. Still, I hold my ground. “I knew you wouldn’t support it, so I kept it hush.” Not a lie, per se. I did know he wouldn’t approve of the wedding, even if it was for different reasons.

His jaw ticks. “Lilianne DiLorenzo, either you tell me the truth right this second or I walk in there and go clear up matters with whoever’s in your basement.”

Oh God. That’s probably the worst thing he could do right now, and knowing Finn, I have no doubt he’d go through with his promise. Mix his brazen attitude with Carter’s roughness, and we’re in for a real treat.

The words stay in my throat as I watch him, pleading with him to let it go, but when he shrugs and takes a step toward the house, I blurt out, “Fine. I needed the insurance.”

“What?”

“I don’t have any money anymore, Finn. All the life insurance I got from my dad? It’s gone.” My voice is not as steady at the end of the sentence, and I force myself to breathe in before continuing. “Itried to work things out, but in the end, this solution was the only possible one.”

His shoulders fall. “Fuck, Lil. Why didn’t you tell me? We could’ve—”

“Helped? Yes, Finn, that’s exactly why I didn’t tell you. You and Lex have enough worries of your own. You don’t need mine.” I add a smile, hoping he’ll take my bait. “Plus, you have a wedding to plan.”

That doesn’t distract him. “You should’ve told us.”

“Well, now I have. I’ll call Lex later.”

He rubs a hand over his scalp. “I still don’t understand what this has to do with that stranger, though.”

“He agreed to marry me so I could go on his health insurance policy.”

I don’t need to tell Finn to keep this a secret. He’s smart enough to know that and also to understand why I didn’t want to tell him at first.

“Fuck,” he repeats, and while he might not be happy about this, his tone tells me he understands why I did it, and that means everything to me. He won’t try to baby me. He knows if I did what I did, it’s because I thought things through.

“It’s okay. It won’t be forever. Just until I find a job with insurance.”

He studies me for a moment, then his brows furrow. “So what? Is he like, using you in exchange? For sex?” The face of my kind, usually easygoing friend changes to something glacial. “I’m going to kill him.”

“Wait!” I shout, holding his arm as he goes barreling up the driveway toward the house. “Calm down, you crazy slug!”

That gets him to listen. “Crazy slug?”

“He’s not using me for sex.” In fact, that idea never even crossed my mind, which probably makes me a little naïve, but too late to realize this now. “I’m doing promo for his band.” Easier to explain it like that.

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