Hypocrite, she muttered inside her head. Would she even care what Fin was doing if Asher hadn’t left her?
Yes.
Fin paraded Adelaide across the floor, laughing and kissing and seemingly unaffected by any lover’s quandary, and certainly not one that scattered his thoughts and squeezed his heart.
He was kissing her again...with his tongue? Oh, no! No, he definitely wasnotmired in uncertainty. It seemed he was making Hailey’s decision for her.
And if so, there was nothing left to do but say goodbye. She had to. And not just because she was angry…and hurt…and not good enough for him…
It would protect him from Asher’s jealousy. She was doing this for the right reason.
All those things he’d said…’I’m going to marry you’—my ass… Hailey sighed and pushed her bitter thoughts aside. As soon as he was alone, she’d just amicably tell him goodnight and goodbye.
There.
Simple.
It shouldn’t feel like a confrontation. It wasn’t like he was herboyfriendor anything, so she wasn’t breaking up with him. The thought made her sad. She wanted him to be her boyfriend.
His kisses, his promises... His lies.If she kept this train of thought, she might be angry enough to do this without crying. Or too angry to do it without crying.Crap.
There it was. Adelaide excused herself to the no-antlers room, and Hailey bolted upright and strode in his direction. She had her courage and her anger balled up in her stomach, spurring her on. But angry-marching in high heels wasa bad idea, and right about the time Fin noticed her approach, right about two paces away from him, her right foot slipped out from under her, and down she went.
Giselle rushed to help her up. Fin just stood there, glaring down at her and looking like he’d just stepped in something squishy.
“Maybe you should stick to flats, little girl,” he said in a voice so disparaging, it cut straight to her heart.
Hailey rubbed her elbow, which bore the brunt of her fall.
“Why are you being so mean?” she squeaked. That was not what she wanted to say.
“Well, you keep following me around for starters, and you just won’t take a hint.” His voice was harsh. His eyes were harsh. And she was not following him around.A hint? What the—?She’d better just get this over with.
She mustered her friendly voice. “Look, Fin, I—”
“—and my name is Pádraig,” he said scornfully.
She waited to see him crack his sarcastic, playful smile.
But he didn’t.
“What’s the matter with you?” she asked in a voice barely above a whisper.
He cocked his head to the side and stuck his jaw out. “I can’t do this anymore, Hailey.” His voice was low and honest.
“Can’t do what?”
“This big-brother-looking-after-you thing. It’s just not me. It was fun almost getting into your pants, but frankly…” He ran his hand through his hair. “I’m bored with you…with this whole situation. And it’s irritating when you follow me around.”
Hailey stood dumbfounded. Bored…?Oh, no!Was that what he was trying to tell her on the dance floor? And she blew it off. And now she was following him around? Her heart raced in her chest as fast as the self-deprecating thoughts ran through her head.
He was scowling down at her. And he’d just made this a lot easier.
“Well that’s fine, because I was just coming to tell you—”
“Stop following me around, Hailey,” he spat in a loud voice. Several heads turned in their direction. “Stop showing up at my door…throwing yourself at me. It’s annoying.”
Total shock stole her voice, and she could feel her face flush.
