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Another couple came up nearby to have their photo taken in the center of the avenue, so Finn and Maisie shuffled to the side.

“So many good ones,” she said, swiping through the photos.

Finn leaned closer to her, looking down at the images himself until he caught a whiff of something sweet drifting toward him. It didn’t take him long to realize it was coming from Maisie. Was it her shampoo? Lotion?

His eyes traveled down the gentle slope of her neck and admired her dainty ears, accentuated with delicate silver hoops. Everything about her was so feminine. So gentle and lovely that it made his own masculinity flair up in a strange desire to protect her and make her happy.

“All right, let me send these to you,” Maisie said, jogging him from his thoughts.

He blinked mutely, taking a step away from her, though that gentle scent still lingered beneath his nose.

“Your mom is gonna love these,” she said, still looking down at her screen.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and in his distracted state, he half-thought Maisie had sent him the photos already. One quick look down, however, revealed a message from his da instead.

Da

Job at William’s Banking Group fell through. I guess there was someone better qualified. Still hoping to hear back about the operations analyst at EJS. We’ll need to chat soon.

Finn stared at the words, his shoulders sinking as the weight of the world fell back onto him. They’d had such high hopes for that management position. EJS couldn’t be relied on at this point either.

Which meant, Finn was the only one they could rely on.

He rubbed his hand down the side of his cheek, his whiskers scratching against his palm, though he hardly noticed. Da needed to chat soon. That meant he needed another month’s rent.

Finn had already been planning on it, but the thought tightened around his chest, making it difficult to breathe.

“Finn?”

Maisie’s soft voice slipped through the cracks in his mind.

“Pardon?” he said. Had she said something?

“Do you have WhatsApp?” she asked, apparently repeating her words. “So I can get these photos sent to you.”

Finn stared hard. Exchanging personal numbers with passengers was definitely not allowed, and dating was strictly forbidden. She was just trying to get him photos for his ma, though. That hardly warranted concern, right?

And yet, as he numbly repeated the numbers to Maisie, the realization of his circumstances settled around him more heavily. What if someone saw them, reported Finn to Nirbt, prevented him from getting that bonus, or worse—got him fired? If he lost his source of income, his family would lose everything because of him.

He took a quick glance around, but fortunately, everyone seemed focused on the hedges instead of them.

Still, he needed to be more careful. He needed to be more aware. He’d allowed himself to slip, to waver in his focus. If things got worse, he could very well risk the security of his family and their home—not to mention his own flat.

“There you go,” Maisie said as his phone pinged, alerting him of her messages. “Now don’t forget to actually get them to your mom, okay? I worked hard for that.”

She clicked off her phone with a smile, apparently unaware of the crisis taking place in his mind.

He nodded, staring at the images though not really seeing them. She hadn’t sent anything other than the photos. That wasn’t breaking any rules, right?

“You okay?”

Finn looked up, a moment passing before he registered Maisie’s concerned look. “Aye,” he breathed. “I’ll be sure me ma gets them. Cheers.”

She nodded, though her eyes still watched him curiously.

He cleared his throat and tucked his phone in his pocket, backing away before she could talk to him further. “You’ll have to excuse me now. I’ve got to see to the others on the tour.”

“Of course,” she said, her smile not as bright as before.