Page 35 of Rules in Love
“Oh, I love a good period piece. Which one?”
“Mansfield Park.”
We were in the hallway, just by the front door. Halfway through my response, her knees buckled, and she grabbed onto the wall for support. Gasping for air and grasping her chest, she looked at me in a daze. “With Francis O’Connor and Johnny Lee Miller?”
“Yep, that’s the one. You know it?”
“Know it! I adore it and could almost speak it word for word.” She swooned. Literally swooned. “Fanny Price is another of my idols. Jane Austen is my god. And you like it. You genuinely, honest to goodness like it?”
“Yeah, I do. I didn’t think much of it at the start, and I nearly cried when Fanny was dumped at the front door at five am in the cold with no one to greet her. But I have just gotten to the part where the Crawfords have shown up, and I think the shit will hit the fan. Does it hit the fan?”
“My lips are sealed. You will have to wait and see.” With the light and magic of an ethereal fairy in her eyes, she touched my chest, gave me a wink, and slipped out the door.
With Evie and Iris snuggling in bed beside me, I finishedMansfield Park, then immediately watchedPride and Prejudice. Being so heavily influenced by strong women my whole life, I could see why Scarlett admired Jane and her heroines. They were forward-thinking, ahead of their time, intelligent, and funny in a sexy, sharp, I-could-take-you-apart-with-one-word sort of way, just like Scarlett.
I unashamedly loved both and unexpectedly related to the characters, especially one in particular. Guilt ate away at my soul as Darcy denied and struggled to reconcile his feelings. Hopefully, my reasons for doing something similar would be considered less pretentious and pompous than his, but watching sad Lizzy spinning round and round on her swing in the rain was a complete gut punch. I’d been such a jerk to Scarlett that day in the conference room. She was trying to get to know me, asking me about food, music, my family, and Australia. And what did I do in return? I replied with little more than snark and asked nothing of any consequence about herself. Even with my abhorrent behavior, she still forgave me and brought me soup and cookies. Apart from what I’d observed at work, these Jane Austen/Wonder Woman revelations were the first real things I knew were special to her.
Perhaps it’s for the best. I should leave it that way. I need to stay focused on work and my promise to Shelby.
Once the girls had settled in their own beds, I returned to my own, turned off my lamp and stared at the ceiling. One of my mum’s sayings randomly popped into my head. “You know you’re full of shite when you don’t believe the crap coming out of your own mouth.”
Scarlett
“Hello, Miss Grant.”
A spot-free, most definitely alive Finn was waiting in the conference room when I arrived on Monday. As part of his recovery, he must have taken an extra pill of gorgeous as his hair was extra curly and floppy and scandalously hung in his extra-blue eyes. The sight of him caused me to pause at the door to take him in.Click. Mentally saving this image.
“Why, hello, Mr. Austen.” My stomach swooped just saying his name. “You’re here early. I usually beat you in.”
“I know, but I was so excited to get back to work I couldn’t sleep. Which is fine for now, but you’ll likely need to prop me up with a stick by two.”
“Thanks for the warning.” Hoping my thumping heart was only audible to me, I smiled like I was auditioning for a tooth-whitening commercial, placed my bag on the table, and began dumping its contents. My senses were always heightened around Finn, but my body ignited as he sidled up close and set a vat of caffeine before me. “Oh, I forgot, I got you a coffee.”
It was huge, and I consumed it immediately.A coffee that size probably cost twenty dollars in this neighborhood. Add that to the morning tea bill from last week, and Finn had been singlehandedly keeping local small businesses afloat.
“Haven’t you spent enough money on coffee for me?” I sighed, taking another sip.
“Is it good?”
“It’s great.”
“Well, it’s worth it, then. Isn’t it?”
The morning started with us sitting on opposite sides of the table, but the longer we stayed in the room, the closer we got. At ten, we were side by side but still professionally spaced. By eleven, Finn had scooted closer. Very close. Thighs-touching close. Eleven-fifteen saw all pretence of propriety abandoned. I was practically in his lap and keeping up our two-week tradition of doing nothing remotely related to what we were paid for.
After a thrilling debate over what is the correct position for the toilet paper roll to face, things shifted dramatically. “So, Miss Grant,” Finn said, his eyebrows dancing with mischief, “I have to ask. Is there someone special in your life? Is there anyone you’re romantically interested in?”
This question warranted a thoughtful response, so I replied immediately with none whatsoever. “Maybe. Yes. But doing anything about it is a terrible idea, no matter how much I want him. It would go against many promises I’ve made to myself.”
“What kind of promises?”
“Nope, not going there. It’s stupid.”
Finn’s ridiculously blue eyes bore into the side of my head. “Nothing you do is stupid. Come on, you can’t say that and then stop. Spit it out.”
I was about to refuse when he began to twirl a curl that laid at my temple. His finger brushed my ear and cheek, and my body instinctively leaned into him. I’m quite sure I looked like a cat rubbing against its owner’s legs. “You can trust me, you know, Scarlett.”
“Promise?” I purred.
