Page 19 of The Nicest Thing
I grinned as he called out something to the players, pulling out my camera quickly to capture the moment.I kept filming as he stretched then ran a hand over his neck, and Finn caught sight of me a second later.His slow smile was warm and devastating.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey," I replied, set the phone down, closed the distance between us and gestured to his face."You really shouldn't look at me like that."
"Why not?" Finn asked.
"It's too much.No one will believe you're that happy to see me."
"But I am."He shrugged."I'm happy whenever I see you, Rose."
"Can I please use that in one of my books?" I said.
"Sure."
"And the 'I want to be used' line?I meant to ask about that."
Finn laughed softly."Rose, you officially have permission to use anything I say in your books."
"Thank you."I did a little victory dance then got serious again."Also, careful, that's a lot of power you just gave me."
He shrugged like it was nothing."Why were you filming me?"
"Thought it would make a good reel."
"But I wasn't doing anything."
"You were being you," I said.
"Yeah, taking stats.Your next book must be about an accountant type."Finn laughed."Hot."
I elbowed him."Nerd hot is a whole thing.You should know this as my best friend."
"Well, if it helps you write, I'm glad I could be of service.Even in a small way."
I laughed, but it came out slightly forced.Finn never seemed to notice, but pieces of him were in all my books.Some of my heroes' best lines were things Finn had said to me.Not in a romantic context, of course.But he was so effortlessly sexy.Finn read my books; I knew he did, but part of me was glad he'd never put two and two together.If he knew, I'd have to look for a new muse, and to be honest, after Finn?I didn't think anyone could measure up.
"Hey," he said, drawing my attention once more, "what do you have there?"
Following his gaze, I remembered the documents I held and the reason I was here.
"I'm glad you asked," I said."These are the terms and conditions of our arrangement."
Finn's brow furrowed."Oh yeah?"
"Hmmm."I pushed the papers into his hands and watched as he flipped through them, trying to control my nervous energy."I came up with three versions of the contract."
"Wow," he said.
"I know," I said and rolled my eyes at myself, "short, medium, and long.I wasn't sure which you'd want to go with."
Finn's gaze narrowed as he read.
"There's also a schedule of dates and times we could film and a list of ideas for posts.I tried to keep both our schedules in mind."
No response.
"We'll go with the one you like best," I said quickly."And of course, you can make edits if you want."
