‘Can I have your croissant?’ Micah said.
My phone buzzed and I dropped it like it was hot. Tara swooped and picked it up.
‘He’s coming,’ she said in triumph.
‘Here? Now?’
‘Here and now.’
She showed me Finn’s reply, which was a GIF of a little boy dancing. Underneath he’d written: “On my way.”
‘I look awful,’ I wailed. ‘I don’t want to see him.’
‘Pull yourself together.’ Tara looked stern. ‘You look fine. It’s fine. Everything’s fine.’ She narrowed her eyes at me. ‘But maybe drag a brush through your hair.’
‘Tara!’
‘I’ve got some bits in the office. Go and check your makeup, do your hair, and I’ll sort the pastries.’
‘All right,’ I said. ‘Thank you.’
Feeling jittery, I headed to the office where Tara had a mirror on the wall. My reflection wasn’t as disastrous as I feared. The eyeliner I’d put on before I left home was still in place. I brushed my hair and then tied it back when it went frizzy because I’d brushed it too much, then took it out again because it was too severe and my ears stuck out.
By the time I’d found a stretchy leopard-print headband in one of Tara’s desk drawers and put that on, I could hear laughter coming from the bar, and smell pastries. Finn must have arrived.
I took a deep breath. This was ridiculous. I had a silly crush on him – that was all. He’d come to hear about the mural, not to see me, and I had to get a hold of myself.
But when I walked into the bar and saw him sitting there, my stomach flipped over in a most alarming way and I felt my cheeks redden.
‘Hi,’ he said, looking at me with what seemed to me to be approval. ‘I like your hair.’
‘Oh, thank you,’ I said, flustered. ‘It’s Tara’s.’
‘Your hair?’ Finn frowned and I rubbed my nose, feeling silly.
‘No, the headband.’
Finn laughed and I felt better.
‘I was telling Finn that you’re having a meeting next week about the mural,’ Tara said as I sat down in the only empty seat, which happened to be next to Finn even though it was where Micah had been sitting before I’d gone into the office.
‘I am,’ I said, grateful of the distraction from the knowledge that his long legs were only inches from mine. ‘With the council people.’ I told him all about the meeting and my plans, and Micah chimed in with some surprisingly useful suggestions. Finn listened intently, nodding along and asking some thoughtful questions, until I ran out of steam.
‘That’s it, really,’ I said eventually.
‘It’s amazing,’ he said. ‘Honestly.’
I fiddled with Tara’s headband. ‘Do you think so?’ I said. ‘I’m worried I’ve bitten off more than I can chew.’
‘Absolutely not.’ Finn looked straight at me and I felt my face flush again. ‘You’ve got this.’
Flustered, I bit into a croissant, dropping flaky pastry down my top.
‘I actually brought something that might help,’ Finn said, as I brushed the crumbs away. He reached down under the table and brought out a box, like the type companies store old files in.
‘Moving in?’ Tara joked.
Finn chuckled. He took the top off the box and gestured for me to look inside. ‘It’s the book,’ he said triumphantly.
