“Good. I want you to follow the bachelor’s story. With your take no shit attitude, you should have no problem keeping him on track. I want him to find a woman and make her his by the end of this. Sound good?”
Poppy snorted. “Sounds easy,” she said with a laugh.
Quinn smirked. “Good. Bring him in,” she called to someone in the back. “Everyone, meet Finley Lynch. Our bad-boy bachelor.”
My jaw fell to the floor as Finley strolled into the room in dark denim jeans and a black leather jacket. No shirt. Shoestrings loose on his boots.
Poppy pushed away from the table. Stood as shock radiated off her. “Is this a joke?”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered under my breath.
I peered over to Quinn, who looked as baffled as everyone else in the room.
I guessed she didn’t know about their history.
“What do you mean?” Quinn asked, eyebrows dipped. “I thought you said it’d be easy. You want the chance, don’t you? Or is there something I need to know?”
Poppy looked caught. Pinned even. But then, like a light had been switched on, she pivoted, flattening out her smile. “Yes.” She made her way toward Finley, who hadn’t taken his eyes off her since the moment he entered the room. “This will be a piece of cake. Right, Fin?” She nudged him with her hip before she blew out of the room.
“Finley, how about you introduce yourself to everyone? Everyone, get acquainted because you’ll be seeing a lot of him around here.”
I got up, giving a brief nod in my new roommate, Fin’s, direction. Stopping beside him, I placed a hand on his shoulder. “You could have mentioned this last night.”
“But that would have spoiled the fun.”
When I left the boardroom, Poppy was pacing when I found her. “I’m so fucked, Prim.”
“No,” I said, leaning against the wall. “It’s going to work itself out. You’ll see.”
She spun so fast, I flinched. “By watching him go on dates? What kind of mental hell am I living in? And with Quinn as the ringleader? She’s going to kill me if she finds out about us. I need this, Prim. I need a shot at making a name for myself.”
“So, take the shot. Don’t tell her. She doesn’t need to know.”
“Poppy,” Fin said as he strolled toward us. “Guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”
Her smile was strained. “You just had to, didn’t you?”
“It got your attention, didn’t it?”
Her head shook as a blast of curses shot past her lips. “If you think for one second I’m jealous, you’re wrong. In fact,” she said, stalking up to him, “by the end of this, you’ll have yourself that girl who will settle down for you. I’ll make good on it.” She paused and then her eyes turned into slits. “And you’d better not mention anything about us to anyone. Got it?”
“Got it.”
She pushed past him just as Quinn called him back to the conference room.
A second later, my phone rang. It was Grayson.
“Hey you. Ready?”
“I’ll be down in a second.”
He was waiting outside the doors with a bouquet of yellow tulips in his hands.
“What are these for?” I asked as I hugged him.
“A just because.” He took my hand in his. “When I woke this morning with you by my side, everything felt right, you know?”
I squeezed his hand. “I do.”
“I went and picked up the last of the boxes this morning. As of now, you are officially and completely moved in.” He pulled out a key ring with a key and a typewriter charm on it. “This is also for you.”
My heart felt like it was going to expand out of my chest as I took my key from him. The key to my new home. Our home.
“You sure Fin’s okay with it?” I asked, thinking about Poppy and the cluster that was about to come.
“He’s more than okay. This morning he told me he’s moving out.”
I cleared my throat.
“What?” he asked.
“He was chosen for the bachelor piece.”
Surprise pulled at his features. “Of course he was. That asshat. And he didn’t even tell me.” His hand rubbed the side of his cheek. “He’s insane for going through with this.”
“I know. And I was assigned by Quinn to follow the contestants’ story.”
“Oh, yeah?” He put his arm around my shoulders. “Then, Fin will be in good hands.”
“Actually,” I said as I slowed, “he’ll be in Poppy’s hands. Quinn assigned her to follow his take.”
His bulging eyes matched how I felt. “Does Quinn know about their history?”
I shook my head.
“Well, I guess all you can do is be there for Poppy when it all falls apart because I’m calling it now … it’ll for sure fall apart.”
My heart frowned and then squared its shoulders. “Not if I have anything to do with it.”
He smirked.
“What?”
“You. My little vigilante.”
“Hey … someone has to look out for her.”
He kissed my forehead. “And while you do that, I’ll be here, by your side, looking after you.”
I spun in his arms. Hugged his stomach while I rested my head against his chest. “My knight in shining denim.”
He chuckled at that. “So, where to?” he asked as we fell into the flow of traffic.
“Anywhere so long as it’s with you,” I said, knowing we were finally on the right path. The right course plotted out and followed through by a silly little thing called serendipity.
A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
With every new project an author takes on brings new challenges. This book has been the biggest yet most rewarding challenge of my life. Through multiple edits and covers, I've learned more in the past year about myself as a writer than I have in the entire ten plus years I've been writing professionally.
And, it's because of my severe love for these characters that I continued to push to reach this moment when I can finally sit back, take a deep breath, and smile ... because I know they're exactly as they're meant to be.
Without my husband, none of this would be possible. He is my rock, my best friend, my center. Always with a joke on hand when I need it most. Always pushing me to keep trying, to keep reaching for more. Thank you for loving me the way you do.
To my editor Jovana Shirley—wow! Your input and skill has turned this into exactly what I always imagined it would be. Thank you!
To Emily Kidman of Social Butterfly PR—thank you for putting up with me lol! You're amazing, and I feel blessed to be able to work with you.
To Murphy Rae for realizing what's been in my brain from the beginning and creating such a beautiful cover. You are a joy to work with!
To my kids, because every day they are my driving force.
And, of course, to all the amazing bloggers, bookstagrammers, and readers—I see you and I'm blown away. This community is the best community I've ever been a part of. The love and friendship that comes from a singular interest—books—is the most inspiring thing to see. Thank you for all of your support. Thank you for believing in me.
T I T L E S B Y
C A N D A C E K N O E B E L
LEARN MORE AT CANDACEKNOEBEL.COM
CONTEMPORARY STANDALONES
The Risky Hearts Duet
Ten Reasons To Stay
Five Reasons To Go
Steamy Standalones
The Taste of Her Words
The Roots of Us
A Game of Hearts Series
by Candace Knoebel & Sonya Loveday
Love Always
Runaway Heart
When Two Hearts Collide
PARANORMAL ROMANCE SERIES
The Night Watchmen Series
The Gramm Curse (Night Watchmen, #0.5)
Everlasting (Night Watchmen, #1)
Evernight (Night Watchmen, #2)
Everlost (Night Watchmen, #3)
&n
bsp; Everdeep (Night Watchmen, #4)
Evermore (Night Watchmen, #5)
A B O U T T H E A U T H O R
Candace Knoebel is a hopeless romantic with an affinity for whiskey and good music. Her love of words began when she met the boy who lived in the cupboard under the stairs, and has found an outlet in over twelve indie-published novels.
With two completed series, her work ranges from paranormal to contemporary, all centered heavily around romance.
Currently she lives in Florida with her husband and two children, and has just completed her fourteenth novel, The Roots of Us.
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Love in the Headlines: A Star-Crossed Friends-To-Lovers Romance (Love in the Headlines Series Book 1) Page 28
