All the Way (Romancing Manhattan #1)(61)

“Is this because the house is furnished? Would you rather decorate it yourself?”

“I don’t give two fucks about whether the house is furnished or not,” she counters, and pushes her hands through her hair with frustration.

“I really don’t see what the big deal is.”

“Exactly. You don’t see. You’ve made all of these plans, made some pretty huge decisions, without even consulting with me to find out if that’s what I want.”

“If you don’t want to move in with me—”

“For fucksake, Finn, that’s not what I said.”

I’m so damn lost here.

“Look, if you want to buy property in California, buy it all. I don’t care. We aren’t married, and it’s not my money. Buy Disneyland while you’re at it.”

We aren’t married yet.

Not that right now is the time to propose. She might throw something at me.

“But I don’t know that I’m ready to sell my condo.”

“Okay, so don’t sell it. It’s not like one is dependent on the other.”

She stops to just stare at me.

“You just don’t get it.”

“No,” I immediately admit. “I don’t get it. I thought I was doing a good thing, and now you’re pissed, and I don’t know what I did wrong.”

She sighs and then shrugs. “We should get ready to go.”

“No, you need to explain to me what’s going on in your head because I’m not leaving this house with you angry like this.”

“You make decisions for me,” she says. “I don’t need you to do that. If I wanted a house in L.A., I’d buy one.”

“So I’m a bad guy for wanting to buy you a house?” I stare at her, stunned. “Sweetheart, I don’t know any woman who would have been upset at the idea of me buying them a multimillion-dollar house.”

“I’m not any woman,” she reminds me. “We’ve been through this before. More than once. And if that’s what you want, if that’s the kind of woman that turns you on, we should end this right here and now. Because that’s not me, Finn. I have a voice, and I’ll be goddamned if you’re not going to listen to it.”

“I’m listening to it right now, but it’s not making any sense.”

“This is impossible.”

“No, it’s not.” I catch her arm when she tries to stomp away.

“You’re not listening. You’re so damn stubborn that you’re not listening to me.” She pulls her arm away. “And if we’re going to get to this party on time, we need to get ready.”

“Fuck the party.”

“No.” She scowls at me. “We won’t blow it off. We’re going. You think you can take charge? Well, so can I, and I say we go, make nice all evening, and we will get back to this later. Your mom and brother are good people who love you, and we won’t hurt them by not showing up.”

“So now you’re saying that I’m not a good person.”

“I want to stab my own eyes out,” she mutters, and presses the heels of her hands against them, rubbing hard. “Just stab them. Maybe I’ll stab you first.”

“You’re not the only stabby one in the room.”

“What do you want from me?” London asks.

“I want you to be happy,” I reply honestly. “I want you to be as stress-free and happy as possible. I thought I did that for you.”

“Most of the time you do. But we are clearly still having a communication breakdown here, Finn. Because you want me to just smile and nod and give you what you want without asking questions, and I can’t.”

“Well, should I apologize for wanting to make your life easier, London?”

“No.” She blinks rapidly and turns away, walking into the bedroom, and I follow her. “I don’t want you to apologize for that. There is a long list of other things to apologize for.”

“Well, why don’t you make me a list, and I’ll get to work on that.”

She laughs now. Fucking laughs, and I’m so damn frustrated I want to punch a hole in the wall.

There are moments I just can’t figure her out. Or women as a species.

They completely baffle me.

“Is this funny?”

“It’s laugh or cry right now, Finn, and crying will fuck my face up, so I’m laughing. Because I’m going to wear my sexy dress and look pretty for tonight. I’ve been looking forward to it. I want to make your tongue hang out and your dick hard.”

“You do that without the dress.”

“Well, then, just wait until you see me. But if you think you’re getting your hands on me before we resolve this, you’re very mistaken.”

“Now you’re withholding sex?”

“I’m going to punch you,” she mutters, and slams the closet door.





Chapter Seventeen

~London~


I look fantastic. I bought this red dress a week ago, specifically for this occasion. It’s cut low in the front and the back, and shows off my legs nicely.

It’s essentially a napkin.

Add the fuck-me shoes and my hair piled high on my head, and I’m red-carpet worthy, if I do say so myself.