Page 35 of Give Me a Reason

“What about you? Are your parents happy with your choices?” I asked Ireland after we’d placed our order with the waitress, and she’d taken our menus.

“Well, women have fewer expectations. They want me to marry well, be involved in charity work, and take up space. So, being a wedding planner is a nice way to bide my time until Mr. Right comes along. As long as Mr. Right has a bigger trust fund and works at his daddy’s firm.”

“What do you want to do?” I asked, wondering if her job wasn’t what she wanted.

“I’m happy working with Gia. It’s fun.”

Ireland worked this job for fun, but I needed it. That was an interesting dichotomy. I hoped I didn’t grow to resent her or Finn. If Gia decided she didn’t need so many wedding planners, Ireland would be fine looking for a different job, but I wouldn’t be.

As much as I loved working in the schools as an assistant, it didn’t pay nearly enough for me to stay in an apartment like Ireland’s. And I had no resources to go to school to become a teacher. It would take too long to get a degree. I needed to earn money now.

Finn and Ireland talked about what it was like growing up, shuttling back and forth between houses, thinking you had a stepdad only to come home and find that he’d moved out. Just listening to them made me feel dizzy. I couldn’t even imagine living in so much upheaval. But it made me understand Finn a little better.

He didn’t want anything to do with his parents’ lifestyle, and he didn’t have enough respect for himself to think he could have something different. He didn’t think he was capable of love and commitment. He probably thought whatever made his parents divorce so often was in his blood. But I saw no indication of that with either of them.

Ireland checked her phone. “Mom wants me to come to family dinner. She has someone she’d like me to meet.”

“Another high-society matchup?” Finn asked with an arch of his brow.

She smiled without any humor. “Something like that.”

“Are you going to attend?” I asked.

“That’s what’s expected,” Ireland said as she sipped her water.

“Why do you have to do what’s expected?” I asked her, genuinely curious.

“My parents still control the trust until we’re thirty. We can use the money for school and living expenses, but my parents can shut it off at any time.”

“That sucks.” The concept seemed so foreign to me. I’d been upset with the way I struggled, but at least I was independent. Or at least I was…before my apartment was broken into.

Ireland shrugged. “I’ll meet this guy. Make her happy.”

“Maybe he’ll be the one,” Finn joked as he tipped back his glass.

Ireland snorted. “The trust fund types never are. They haven’t had to work for anything. It was all given to them, the education, the job, the company.”

“You know, sis, you just described yourself.”

“I hope I have more depth than that.”

“You do. I was just teasing,” Finn said, and I felt like I was interrupting a private moment between them. They had a strong bond forged through shared experiences when they were kids.

I felt for both of them, what they lived through. Some might have thought they were just spoiled, but I saw that they were hurt by their parents’ actions and inattentiveness. They wanted different things but weren’t sure how to go about getting it.

It was a good thing I was rooming with Ireland. This tension between me and Finn should dissipate. We’d become friends because there was no other option for us.

CHAPTER TEN

Finn

I still couldn’t believe that Aria was living with Ireland now. It was safer, and I felt better knowing she was in a good situation. But at the same time, I couldn’t help feeling a sense of loss. Which was crazy because Aria and I weren’t anything.

Even if I thought we’d made a connection after that one wedding, it was just a moment in time. It didn’t mean anything.

Last week, I’d given Ireland and Aria space to figure out their friendship and living situation.

I had a wedding today, and then I was looking forward to picking up Paisley on Sunday morning and having her all week. My good mood had nothing to do with Aria babysitting this week. I only saw her for a few moments, so it wasn’t like we spent much time together.

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