The Fine Print: Chapter 22

My sister is up to something. That’s the only reason behind her impromptu buddy mentorship event for all four of us. Rowan might be busy but I’m pretty sure my sister has him wrapped around her finger. Ani thinks she’s clever but I’m on to her.

But how could I tell her no? The whole point of this project is to help the buddies become more independent, so I would be the biggest hypocrite if I told my sister I don’t need her help.

It seemed like a safe bet, but I’m regretting it big time today. Ever since she walked into my apartment with only two pumpkins and a devious smile

“It’s no big deal. People forget things all the time.” She smiles, revealing the tiniest glint in her eyes that has me tilting my head. I’ve only seen that look on my sister twice and it usually led to us being grounded.

“How did you forget two of the four pumpkins?” I wave my hands over the massive pumpkins that make my kitchen look even smaller than it is.

She shrugs. “The pumpkin patch ran out.”

“This lie is rapidly devolving.” I put my hands on my hips like my mother.

“I’m not lying.” Her eyes dart around the entire kitchen to avoid looking into my eyes.

“They ran out of pumpkins at the beginning of October?” I ask in the driest voice.

“How weird! Must be a shortage.”

That little liar. I never thought I’d see the day where my sister attempts to play my matchmaker.

I look over at Rowan, wondering what he thinks. He doesn’t bother looking at us because he’s too immersed in his phone.

Great. What a help he is.

Ani grabs one of the pumpkins off the counter. “JP and I want to do one together.”

“You don’t say?” I reply dryly. My sister in love is usually adorable and endearing. But right now? It’s oddly inconvenient for me.

JP chooses that exact moment to wrap an arm around my sister and give her a kiss on her forehead.

Ugh. Who am I kidding? They’re still cute.

“Let’s do this!” JP grabs their pumpkin from Ani’s arms and takes it to the dining room where I was supposed to work with him.

I sigh and turn around.

I readjust all the supplies in a row. “You don’t have to do this if you have something better to do.”

He looks up from his phone with knitted brows. “I wouldn’t have shown up if I didn’t want to do this.”

“Why are you here?” I stare at him.

His face remains blank. “Because your sister asked me to be.”

My stomach takes a dive, along with my mood. Stupid girl, thinking he came to spend time with you. Of course he’s here for Ani. He’s her mentor.

“Shouldn’t you still be working?” I probe. Maybe if I remind him of all his responsibilities, he will run out the door after remembering some kind of email he forgot to send.

“It’s a Saturday.”

All I can do is stare at him. “I thought you worked every day.”

“I do.”

“We really need to talk about your work-life balance.”

“It’s easy when my life is my job. No need for a scale.”

I clutch onto the counter while I laugh. “That’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard you say.”

He looks at me with drawn brows. “Why?”

“Because what’s the point of having so much money when you’ll never have the chance to enjoy it.”

He blinks at me. Has he never considered that before? He might be a sharp guy, but he could use some kind of intervention about his addiction to working.

He shakes his head as if he needed to erase whatever he was thinking from his mind. “If money was no object, what would you do?”

I grin. “The options are endless.”

He raises a brow. “That’s a terrifying sentiment coming from you.”

“Well, for starters, I’d give back to charity.”

He frowns. “We support charities.”

“Only because it’s considered a tax write-off. Have you ever attended a charity event that didn’t include champagne and caviar?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Caviar is disgusting.” His nose twitches and I find it adorable.

Adorable? I internally groan.

“Well, maybe you should spend a day working at a homeless shelter. Maybe you’d think twice about walking around in shoes worth more than someone’s rent.”

“I didn’t think my question would turn into an inquisition.”

I shrug. “You asked. I answered.”

“That’s all you would do with your endless amount of funds? Donate it?”

I laugh to myself. “Not all of it. I’d save some for myself and buy first edition copies of all my favorite books.”

“Books.” He looks up at the ceiling like God might intervene. “What about your pins? Wouldn’t you want to buy more of those?”

I freeze. “What do you mean?”

His brows pull together. “You wouldn’t buy more pins?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because that’s not how it works.”

“Then how does it work?”

I sigh. “It’s a long story.”

He looks around the empty kitchen. “And? All we have is time.”

My muscles tighten. “And that’s not something I want to share with you,” I snap.

Shit. My eyes widen and my mouth pops open, but I stop myself from apologizing.

His entire forehead scrunches. “I didn’t know it was a sensitive subject.”

I’m not sure if it’s me or my imagination, but the air between us grows heavy until I look away first. “It’s…just not something I talk about with many people.” Or anyone besides my family and Claire.

“Got it.”

No. He really doesn’t but I’m not going to unleash that story. There’s no way someone like him would understand someone like me. He’s put together, and I’m—was…broken.

But not anymore. You’re better now. Stronger.

I uncap a permanent marker and move toward the stem of the pumpkin.

“Put the weapon down.” Rowan’s hand reaches out and halts my movement, sending a wave of electricity up my arm.

His joke breaks the tension between us.

“Out of everything on the counter, this is a weapon?” I point at the knife only a few inches away from him.

“It is when you don’t know what you’re doing.”

“Excuse me? I won our apartment pumpkin-carving contest last year.”

He raises a brow.

“Okay, well that’s a stretch, but I did receive an honorable mention. They gave me a ribbon and everything.”

He throws his head back and laughs. It’s the best kind of laugh—rough with a hint of a wheeze. As if he can’t take in enough oxygen to support such a rare event. I let the sound wash over me, and all I can think about is how I can get him to do that again.

His eyes open and he startles. “What?”

“Who are you, and what did you do with the real Rowan?”

His brows pull together. “What are you talking about?”

I fumble for my phone. “Could you do that thing again?”

“Laugh?”

“Yes. I need to catch it on camera this time.”

He loses the battle with hiding his smile. “What for?”

“Because this is history in the making.”

“You’re ridiculous.” He flips the pumpkin upside down.

“Ridiculously amazing,” I finish for him.

His smile evaporates like it never existed.

Was it something I said?

Maybe he’s sensitive about people complimenting themselves.

I peer over at his completely symmetrical circle. “What are you doing?”

He grabs the knife and hacks away at the bottom of the pumpkin. “Don’t ask stupid questions.”

“Hey! What happened to ‘There’s no such thing as stupid questions’?”

“Want to guess who came up with that phrase?” he replies dryly.

I flip him off behind my back.

His smile reappears and I count it as a small victory.

“I’ll rephrase my question. Why are you choosing to carve the lid from the bottom?”

He slices away at the last bit of pumpkin before putting the knife down. “Because the experts say so.”

“Experts?”

“Yes. The articles I reviewed all stated that cutting a hole at the bottom prevents the pumpkin from caving in on itself.”

“Well, wow. I didn’t know that.” What kind of person researches how to carve pumpkins?

Rowan Don’t-Know-What-the-G-Stands-For-Yet Kane, that’s who. The man is quite thorough in everything he does.

“Your sister sent me a picture of you with your honorable mention-worthy pumpkin. I thought I was doing a disservice to everyone if I didn’t come prepared.”

“How did you know we would be partnered up together?”

His brows pull together. “She told me before.”

“And you decided to come anyway?” I hold on to the counter to keep me steady.

He shrugs. How can he play it so cool at a time like this?

“Why did you come?”

“Because I felt like it.”

I tilt my head at him. I’m not sure what to make of this kind of revelation. For some weird reason, Rowan wants to hang around me. He is even willing to take time off.

But why? What changed? While we might have this strange chemical reaction to one another, not much has been different between us besides dinner at the warehouse.

Yet he came here to spend time with you.

“Your turn.” He shoves the stuffed pumpkin at me.

“Gross. Ani does that part.” I wrinkle my nose at the pumpkin brains.

He sighs and takes the pumpkin back.

“You’re the best!” I grin as I pass him a garbage bag.

He tries to hide his smile by looking down, but I catch it anyway. Another wave of warmth rolls through me.

Together, Rowan and I work on the pumpkin. By the time we are done, I conclude that I genuinely enjoy his company.