Read Online Love and Rumors: A Summer Sisters Beach Reads Contemporary Romance (The Summer Sisters Book 1) by Jean Oram - Free Book Online

?”
    “Yes, but there is a story.” She needed more than some small show, months down the road, or a few photos for National Geographic . She glanced through the pictures she’d selected. They were all beautifully lined up. The light had held out for most of them and the one of Finian rolling up the vintage Jag’s window was only a bit grainy because of the clouds, rain, and distance. The one of him holding the door to the bar was slightly blurry because he’d slapped her butt. But the tabloids never seemed to care about quality.
    “A man rolling up a car window. Holding a door open for someone. These aren’t stories.”
    “But it’s a total contradiction,” Hailey protested. “Surely that’s exciting?”
    “Would you buy a magazine with these on the cover?”
    “No,” she said with a sigh. “But I’d be intrigued.”
    “So, be intrigued. Even celebrities who lack manners can hold a door open for someone, Hailey. You need to capture shots of him doing unbelievable things.”
    Funny, she thought she had.
    She narrowed her eyes, staring at the images of Finian. He was a mystery. One she needed to uncover and reveal to the world, one photo at a time. There was a layer he was hiding, and she’d expose it while giving him a nice big dose of reality. Oh, and making herself rich in the process.
    “I’m on it, Cedric. In fact,” she said with a chuckle, “he’s expecting me.” And how much more perfect could that be?

    * * *

    Finn sat at the small desk in his rented cottage and stared at the blank page framed in sunflowers in front of him. Sighing, he pushed away his nonexistent plan for pulling Sugar Toes into his devious scheme to get into the tabloids with a new adventure. Instead, he picked up the old guitar he’d had delivered to his room. It looked as though it belonged to one of the employees. Well-worn. Stickered. And completely out of tune. Just the way he liked it.
    He adjusted the sound to match his mood, his skills. He glanced at the card Sugar Toes had given him. Hailey Summer. Pretty name. He couldn’t believe he’d gotten in this deep without knowing it. Hailey. He liked the way her name rolled off his tongue.
    Focusing on the out-of-tune instrument, he ignored how he was slowing down the song as though smothering it. He played “Drooping Flags” by Vapid Magpie, knowing they’d sing it tonight. He played the simple riff again, and again. It was easy enough. If he stuck with the bass, he could almost make it sound untortured.
    Almost.
    Would Hailey show up tonight? Or would she chicken out? Would he be the man waiting outside the hall to see if he’d been rejected? But the bigger question was, why had he so willingly put himself in this position? People waited for him , not the other way around. She hadn’t even tried to turn the tables on him. It was as though he’d taken all his power and control, put it in a nice little shopping bag and handed it to her.
    He put the guitar away, no closer to having a plan. How could he convince someone like Hailey to use her photography skills against him?
    He walked to the window and stared out at the dark blue lake, rocky shoreline and wind-worn trees. If he’d been smart, he would have stirred her up, leaving her pissed off and longing for him. Then her anger could do the rest.
    He punched the air, then shoved his hands through his short hair. He needed her to go paparazzo on him. Asking her out had been stupid, stupid, stupid. Derek was right; Finn shouldn’t be here alone. Left to his own devices, he’d never get into the tabloids.
    Finn paced the room, head down, thinking. He was sure he’d seen a desperate need within Hailey. He’d thought it was for money, but when he’d asked if she did portraits, she’d said only when she was hard up for cash. And she hadn’t leaped at the chance to work with him. Hadn’t gone all breathy and said Yes! Instead, she’d thought he wanted nude photos. He let out a laugh.
    Talk about assuming