Page 18 of Rules in Love
Teddy: You said Mrs. Horowitz was nice.
Scarlett: She is. Her cats may not be.
My attention returned to Finn, who had attracted a blonde waitress to his side by simply existing. Batting her eyelashes and licking her lips, she walked Finn through each variety of wine available in what seemed like the greater Manhattan area while eyeing him like a prized steak. I was highly offended. How did she know I wasn’t his girlfriend or wife? What, was I not worthy? Well, I may not have been, but she didn’t know that! She didn’t know me. She couldn’t judge me. It was extremely vexing.
And also, when did this place offer a new service—feeling the bulging biceps of handsome customers as they ordered? Which was precisely what she was doing as my phone beeped again.
Teddy: Just be yourself. This can’t go on. It’s painful. As I’m sure Finn’s hard-on for you is. Also, don’t eat cheese. It reacts badly with your breath.
“Scarlett, would you like another drink?” Finn asked, drawing my eyes from the phone and halting my attempts to smell my breath in my hand.
“No, I’m fine. Thank you.”
Blondie McWaitress left, but not before one final brush of Finn’s arm while giving me the foulest look I’d ever received. With her gone, it was just the two of us, the prized steak, and the budget rump.
Scarlett
M.I.X. was pumping.
Clinking glasses and drunken laughter surrounded us. But Finn and I sat in a cringe-worthy silence that was broken only by slurping on straws and throat clearing. Oh, and the rattling thump, thump, thump of my leg restlessly bouncing beneath the table. I desperately wanted to say something clever and witty but could think of nothing but funny cat videos Teddy sent me on TikTok. It was ridiculous. I was a highly educated woman working my way up the ladder in a male-dominated industry. Becoming a senior designer in record time was my destiny. But in the presence of this man, I was like a giggling, hormonal, seventeen-year-old girl.
When he scratched nervously at his curls, I sighed out loud. On receiving a compliment on my dress, I broke out in a head-to-toe blush. And when he rolled his sleeves, my mouth fell open like a sideshow clown. I was lucky no one wandered by and shoved a ball down my throat. NONE of it was discreet. NONE within my control.
My body was the victim of a chemical reaction. It was science. Biology. My brain was intoxicated by the sight of him. Pheromones forced my eyes to focus on his hands, to obsess over how his fingers wrapped around the cold, frosted glass. How he stroked, and tapped, and clenched it tightly. It was the sexiest thing I’d seen in months, and my mind wandered to dangerous places—my waist in his grip, his thumb stroking the silk of my dress, slowly gathering it between his fingers…
“Scarlett, should we get some food?” Hearing something other than, ‘How was your day? Good, thanks. Yours? Yeah, good, thanks… So, you had a good day?’ almost made me jump. “Apparently, they do great tapas here, and I thought we could eat and talk over some ideas.”
I wanted to reply. I really did. But the only thought in my head was how he said ‘tapas’ and how I could get him to say it again. Tapas, tapas, tap ass, tap my ass… Oh my god, I’ve lost it. Eventually, I choked out, “Tapas. Good,” and nodded.Well done, Grant. You sound like Borat.
Finn clicked his fingers to get the waitress’s attention, which was a joke as she was standing two feet away, ogling him. “Hi, could you tell me what’s good to start with?” he asked, rubbing his fingers back and forth through the scruff of his chin. Blondie and I followed each scratch, but she had much better moves than I did.
She giggled, tossed her hair over her shoulder, and coyly replied, “Apart from me?”Yep. I’m going to take out the waitress.“I always recommend first-timers try the Angus Eye Fillet, the chorizo on the grill, and then some Mediterranean salad, mixed green vegetables, and Patatas Bravas. It gives you a little bit of everything.”
“Awesome.” Finn nodded. “Let’s do that, then. And what about wine? What do you think, Scarlett? Red or white?”
“Red,” I said, finally finding my voice and narrowing my eyes at the competition—I mean, waitress. “You should always go for red.”Oh, that was a good one. Take that, Blondie.
Cocking his brow, Finn looked up from the menu. “Red it is.” Without taking his eyes off me, he handed it back to the waitress, thanked her, and shifted forward in his seat. “So, Scarlett. That mate of yours, Teddy, is quite something. Did he tell you we went to the pub for a beer or twenty.”
“He most certainly did. I heard it was quite the evening. He’s the master of hangover recovery, but even he was a little seedy the next morning. He’s quite the storyteller, my Teddy.”
“Hmm, I agree. Did he tell you any stories about me?” He wriggled in his seat again, and the vein that ran down his temple bulged. I’d only seen that happen on two occasions. Once when his football team lost the Sydney Derby—whatever that meant—and the other when he witnessed Herman have a discussion with my boobs instead of my face. The poor thing was sweating over what Teddy shared. I decided not to mess with him…much.
“No, not really. All I heard was his beer and whiskey stats. Oh, and that you were a cool guy who became even more Aussie with a few drinks under your belt.” Relief spread over Finn’s face, he huffed out a sigh, and the vein subsided. “Oh, and that you thought he and I were fucking.”
The vein was back. Big time. That thing looked like it was a millimeter away from erupting, and Finn’s whole face was as red as the Bloody Mary being consumed at the table behind him. “What! The bastard said he wouldn’t say anything. Shit, that’s…so embarrassing. God, you must think I’m such a dick.”
“It’s okay, Finn. I get it. We are weirdly close. He kisses me on the lips each morning before heading to his desk. He’s a cute gay—I mean, guy.”
An adorable chuckle rumbled from my companion’s belly. “I’m never going to live this down, am I?”
“Of course you will…once I’ve had my fun.”
“And exactly how long will that last?”
“Indeterminable.” I sucked my lips between my teeth, releasing them with a loud pop. “I’m pretty sure I overheard you two waxing lyrical about Kylie Minogue one day. His squealing admiration of the superest of gay icons didn’t give you any hints?”
“Jeez, I just thought it was because she’s an Aussie and hot, and I’m Aussie. She’s not that well-known over here. I thought he was trying to bond.”
