I had finally calmed down and we were sitting on my couch talking.
"I have a proposition for you. How about you and I get out of here and take a field trip, just me and you. We'll go get you a massage, I'll take you to get your nails done, and your hair…I want to pamper you and take your mind off of all the bad, and just work on making you feel good" he said.
"Finn, that's sweet, but you really don't need to do that" I said.
"Haven't you learned yet Love? I know I don't need to do these things, but that I want to. I enjoy spoiling you" he said.
I smiled. "You do?" I asked.
"Ask me how many people I've ever done this for" he said.
"Okay, I'll bite. How many?" I asked.
"Two. My Mum and my sister. Look, I know you must think I'm frivolous with my money, and that I spend it on things that don't really matter, but the truth is, that I get a great deal of enjoyment in spoiling those that mean the most to me. I've never been one to wine and dine and spoil the meaningless girls I've tried to shag, and as we all know it was a lot – that's no secret. But never have I ever treated one to an evening half as nice as the night I took you to Bouley. It's just not even all about the money – it's time, too! In fact, my time is way more valuable than any amount of money. I have never wanted to spend time with those girls, or bring them breakfast at six am or offer to take their daughters to school and fail horribly at it. That's because they meant nothing to me. You know who matters to me? Just my mum, my sister, Emma and you" he said.
I didn't know what to say.
"So come on, let's get you dressed, and then we'll get out of here" he said.
Finn took care of everything. When it came to pampering, he sure knew what to do. He took me to a salon and spa for a manicure, pedicure, a Swedish massage and a new haircut and style. He refused to let me see the menu of services that would tell me the cost, since the purpose was for me to relax, and not stress over things that clearly weren't important to him.
"Are you excited?" he asked, taking my hand in his.
I smiled at his touch and nodded. "Actually, yeah. I haven't had many of these luxuries since Emma's been born, so it's going to be really nice. The most I do for myself anymore is the occasional manicure, just to look good for work" I said.
"Well, with me as your Sugar Daddy, you'll be spoiled like this a lot" he teased with a wink.
I laughed and shook my head. "You are not my Sugar Daddy" I said with another laugh.
"You just don't let a guy have any fun" he pouted and it was my turn to get my services.
"Aren't you going to be bored?" I asked him.
He shook his head. "Not at all. Go have a good time" he said and I was led away from him.
After what felt like eighteen hours later, I met back with Finn in the waiting room and he smiled when he saw me. "My, my Ms. Gilmore, aren't you a sight for sore eyes!" he said, his smile growing bigger and bigger.
I blushed, shyly and smiled. "Are you ready to get going?" I asked him.
"Absolutely, Love. After you" he said, guiding me with his hand on my lower back. He kept staring at me and I laughed.
"Finn, why do you keep looking at me?" I asked with a laugh.
"I'm so sorry, Love, I just simply can't keep my eyes off of you. You're just absolutely stunning, Darling" he said, smile still plastered on his face.
"So glad I needed a whole makeover to be stunning" I teased with a wink.
"Oh, shut your damn mouth. You know you're always downright gorgeous" he said with a laugh.
I laughed and dismissed his comment. "Okay, so now that I'm officially relaxed, have awesome hair and pretty nails, now what? We just go back home and I get back to wallowing?" I asked with a laugh.
"Nope, fat chance. Now we go shopping" he said.
"Shopping!? That wasn't part of the plan" I said with a laugh.
"It was always part of the plan, I just hadn't told you that part, yet" he said with a laugh.
I laughed too. "So in other words, I'm not getting out of this, am I?" I asked with a laugh.
He chuckled. "Darling, I do believe you're catching on" he said with a wink.
I laughed. "So what are we shopping for?" I asked.
"A killer outfit and heels to match" he said with a sneaky smile.
"Do I want to know how much I'm costing you?" I asked with a laugh.
"You do not" he said with a smile, and led me into Saks Fifth Avenue.
Once our shopping excursion came to an end that Finn was pleased with, we headed back towards the car hand in hand, and Finn insisted on carrying my bags.
"Thank you. I guess what they say about retail therapy is true" I said with a laugh.
"Now, are you cheered up some?" he asked.
"Yeah, for the moment" I said.
"Okay, so what if I told you, you could pay me back for today with nothing more than just simply accompanying me to dinner with my parents tonight?" he asked with hopeful eyes.
"You want me to meet your parents?" I asked in surprise.
"Well, Poppy has already mentioned you to them, and they'd like to meet you. Besides, it really may take some of the edge off of Poppy when she tells mum and dad she's got cancer…" he said.
"Finn?" I asked.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"All you had to say was you wanted me to go" I said with a smile.
He took a deep breath and nodded. "I really want you to go" he said with a laugh.
I smiled when I heard the words. "So why did Poppy tell your parents about me anyway? And why do they want to meet me?" I asked.
"Because my evil little sister told them you were my girlfriend" he said with a laugh.
"So the rumors are true. I never would've believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes…" a woman said walking up to us on the street.
"Juliana, hello, this is Rory. Rory, this is Juliana Gregor. She's the daughter of some of my parents' closest friends. What can I do for you?" he asked.
"Nice to meet you" I said meekly, talking to this gorgeous woman in front of us.
"Oh, nothing, I just wanted to stop and say hello, and that I just can't believe you're actually being seen with the same girl multiple times. That's so unlike you, Finn" she said.
"I happen to really enjoy this one's company" he said.
"So how long have you two been seeing each other?" she asked.
"Oh, we're not –" I started.
"We're not keeping track in the traditional sense . Like I said, we just enjoy each other's company. We're taking it day by day" he said.
"But you are together, right?" she asked, prying.
"I don't believe that's any of your business, dearie. It's been nice catching up, but we must be going, Love" he said, turning to me, and I nodded.
"Didn't care to tell her about what happened between us last weekend, huh? I can understand that. Might make your new girlfriend jealous, and unable to trust you. Well, see you later. Nice to meet you, Tori" she said, and walked away.
"Last weekend…?" I asked.
He laughed. "That's what she does, Love, she's poisonous. I didn't even see her last weekend, I spent most of my time with you, if you recall" he said with a wink, helping me into the car.
"So nothing happened between you two?" I asked.
"Once, a long, long time ago and I barely remember. I was young, and drunk, and would shag anything with a pulse at the time. But she got it into her crazy head that she thought we were destined for each other, or whatever. She went so far as to talk to her parents and mine about it. Her parents were ready to draw up courting paperwork, but thank goodness my parents aren't like normal society people. They refused to have any say in who or when I marry, and thank God for that, because I couldn't stand to be with that incessant twit all the time. Logan got lucky with his arrangement, but I wouldn't have gotten nearly as lucky if I were tied to her" he explained.
"So your parents are okay with you being a bachelor your entire life?" I asked with a laugh.
"I wouldn't say okay with it, per se. Accepting of it, yes, but they went into a frenzy when Poppy told them I was seeing someone" he said.
"But she told them I was your girlfriend…but we're not even dating, are we?" I asked.
"I mean, it's not like we're not dating…and in reality, you're the closest thing to a girlfriend I've ever had and they're running with it" he said with a chuckle and a wink.
