Page 125 of Our Chaotic Love Affair

“You’re an idiot. Don’t embarrass her. Cleo, come on.”

“Obviously.” Finn clapped me on the shoulder. “Proud of you, brother. Very naughty. Very unlike you. I approve.”

Cleo appeared behind me, somehow looking put together despite the chaos. “Hi. This is exactly what it looks like and I’m not even a little bit sorry.”

Finn laughed. “Good for you. Both of you.” He grabbed my arm. “Now get your ass downstairs. We have a wedding to prep for and you look like you got hit by a truck.”

“Shut up, Finn.”

Cleo slipped past us. She paused and looked back. “See you at the ceremony, Lurch.”

I watched Cleo disappear down the hallway, my eyes lingering on her retreating form until she turned the corner. When I finally looked back at Finn, he was grinning at me like he’d just caught me with my hand in the cookie jar.

“So,” he said, drawing the word out. “Did you tell her?”

“Tell her what?” I tried to sound casual as I walked back into my room to find a clean shirt.

“Don’t play dumb.” He followed me in, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. “Did you tell her you’re in love with her?”

“Would you be quiet?” I hissed, glancing toward the hallway. “And no, I didn’t.”

Finn threw his hands up. “Seriously? You had all night! What were you two doing all that time?”

“I’m not answering that.”

“You had the perfect opportunity and you blew it. Again.” He shook his head. “What are you waiting for? A written invitation? A sign from God?”

I yanked a fresh shirt from my suitcase. “It wasn’t the right time.”

“It’s never going to be the ‘right time’ in that overthinking brain of yours.” He tapped his temple. “You’re going to keep finding reasons to put it off until she’s gone.”

I ignored him, focusing on buttoning my shirt. He was right, but I wasn’t about to admit it.

“After the wedding, she goes back to her life, you go back to yours, and you’re right back where you started. Miserable and alone.”

“Are you done?” I asked, grabbing my watch from the nightstand.

“For now.” He grinned. “But I’m just getting started for the day.”

I pushed past him into the hallway. “Let’s go. We’re late.”

We headed downstairs where Austin was pacing in the foyer, checking his watch every five seconds. When he saw us, his face morphed from anxiety to irritation.

“Where the hell have you been?” He smacked me on the back of the head like we were teenagers again. “We were supposed to leave fifteen minutes ago.”

“Sorry,” I muttered, rubbing the spot he’d hit. “Overslept.”

Austin narrowed his eyes, looking between Finn’s smirk and my disheveled appearance. Understanding dawned on his face.

“Oh.” A slow smile spread across his face. “Well, well, well.”

“Don’t start,” I warned.

“I’m not starting anything.” He shoved a to-go cup of coffee into my hand. “But someone clearly finished something last night.”

Finn burst out laughing.

I took a long drink of coffee, ignoring them both. “Are we going or what?”