Page 81 of Give Me a Reason

On the drive to Ireland’s, Finn said, “You should come to dinner.”

“I’ll let you have your family time.” Besides, I needed some space. Spending the whole day with Finn and Paisley hadn’t done anything to lessen my attraction to them. I was even more enamored with them.

I loved that Finn didn’t want his parents’ way of life, that he didn’t want to be flashy with his money, or even spend it on himself. It might not have been smart, but I liked that he was humble. At the same time, he didn’t think of me as different.

When he found a spot near our building, we all walked up together. Finn tried again to get me to join them for dinner, but I declined. It was important for them to spend time together. I was just a temporary person in their lives.

I couldn’t forget that it wasn’t permanent. Finn didn’t want a relationship. There was no way we could last. We couldn’t even be truthful with Ireland.

No matter how much I wished it could be different, this was our reality.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Finn

I was disappointed that Aria didn’t come over for dinner, but I understood her reasoning. She wanted us to have time together as a family. She felt like she was imposing. She wasn’t, but I wasn’t sure how to reassure her without tipping off Ireland.

I wasn’t ready to tell Ireland about us.

“How was the art class?” Ireland asked Paisley when we arrived at my house.

“It was fun. We’re going to do it again.”

Ireland raised a brow at me.

“Apparently, it’s a biweekly series of classes. One week is animals and another is objects, like bicycles.”

“That sounds fun. Are you going with her, or is Aria?”

“It’s on Sundays, so I thought the three of us could go. Aria really enjoyed it. I get the impression she’s never had any art classes.”

“I don’t think she grew up the way we did.”

We’d grown up with every opportunity imaginable at our fingertips. Music lessons, art, tennis, sports camps. Whatever we wanted to do, there was a class, a trainer, or a tutor for it. There was nothing we couldn’t have. We even traveled on all school breaks to Europe and the Caribbean. We’d lived an idealistic life. I just wanted something more grounded for Paisley.

I didn’t want her to feel like she had a different standard of living at my house than at Naomi’s.

“It’s good you’re including her. She needs more friends in her life. I think she keeps herself closed off. It’s hard to get information out of her. I had no idea she was into art.”

“She told Paisley about it when I was sick. She thought I was asleep.” Paisley was in the family room watching a show.

“Ah. That’s so sneaky.”

“I was interested to know more about her. As you said, she’s a tough one to get to know.”

“Why do you want to know her?”

“She’s watching Paisley.”

“Is there something else going on?”

This was my opportunity to tell her the truth, but I couldn’t, not without talking to Aria about it first. What if she reacted badly and didn’t want to room with her anymore? I didn’t think Ireland would do that, but you never knew. I couldn’t ignore Aria’s concerns. We were a team in this.

“I just wondered because you seem different with her. You never hung out with a sitter before.”

“She’s more than the babysitter. I worked with her first, and she’s your roommate. She bonded with Paisley in a way no one else has before.”

“She loves kids. I think she took care of her sister growing up.”

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