“Stop looking at your watch,” Caroline said to her. “He’ll be here in a couple hours.”
Trinity grimaced. “Am I that obvious?”
“Yep.” She went to an urn and refilled her coffee mug. “But I’m just glad to see you happy for once.”
Trinity waited on a woman who wanted a dozen cookies. Good thing she had ordered a bunch from a local bakery they used at the cafe as well as from her mom. The woman turned out to be someone who loved coffee and before she knew it, Trinity was giving her speech on what made a good cup of coffee and pouring samples for her to taste.
“You’ve become quite a salesperson,” Brina said, after the woman left with three bags of coffee.
“I can’t help it. Coffee makes me happy. When I was in AA it was an
indulgence I could permit myself to have.”
Brina took the next customer, and Trinity sat down and took out her phone. She wondered if any of Finn’s publicity photos for Casey’s holiday program had been posted anywhere. Since he wasn’t here in person yet, she could at least get her Finn fix drooling over his online pictures. Yeah, she had it bad.
She googled his name and saw the usual photos of him on several sites, but then she noticed a new mention. She clicked the link and saw a celebrity magazine with a photo of Finn in a dramatic pose with a beautiful dancer. “Maya Kubek.”
Very sexy pose. Legs and arms entwined. Eyes gazing at each other with heat. The caption read: “This partnership has legs.”
Hmm. Trinity scrolled further and the next photo was posted on Maya’s Instagram account. Even sexier.
Including the caption: “We get it on so well.”
Another post: “My dream man.” With Ms. Kubek being lifted aloft by guess who.
Trinity’s hand went to her mouth when she saw the one that said: “I never knew it could be this good.” And it was not a dance photo at all, but the two of them in street clothes and Maya was hanging on him, her hand on Finn’s chest, one leg lifted and wrapped around him.
“What’s wrong?” Brina asked, obviously seeing her distress.
Trinity handed her the phone. “Check it out.”
“Ouch.”
Caroline came over for a look. “Don’t be so sure this means what you think.”
Trinity gaped at her. “How can it mean anything but what I think?”
“Have you looked on Finn’s Instagram account to see if he corroborates it?”
“Finn never posts photos of himself with women.”
Brina crossed her arms. “Typical. I knew that bashful thing was just an act.”
Caroline heaved a sigh. “They all mug for the camera. Ask him about it when he shows up.”
Lips tight, Trinity shook her head. “Nope. I am not going to be here when he shows up. Maybe my big modeling career went bust, but I still have my pride.”
“Great idea,” Brina said. “I’ll tell him you went home with another guy.”
Caroline tsked. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Why?” Trinity said. “He spends all day with another woman. He’s got his hands all over her, for God’s sake.”
“Because he’s dancing with her.”
“They’re not just dancing.” Trinity scrolled through her phone. “Look at this one where her leg is wrapped around him and her hand’s on his chest. Not dancing. Just fooling around together like a cute couple.”
“Slimebag,” Brina said.
Caroline took the phone and studied it. “Finn doesn’t look all that involved.”
“Why are you defending him?” Trinity screeched.
“Because I spent five years of my life with a slimebag. I know slimebags through and through and Finn ain’t one.”
Trinity ran her hands through her hair, wanting to scream and…cry. “I have been taken around the bend by so many men, I am not going to let the fact that Finn and I were once childhood friends blind me to a disaster in the making. I have fought too hard and too long for my sober and drug-free state. I am not going to risk the kind of pain that will make me regress. I’m done with the Finn Brogans of this world.”
* * *
“Sorry, Finn, Trinity left,” Brina said, standing behind the Three Girls table at the Christmas bazaar.
“Oh. Is she okay?”
“Yeah,” Brina said, “but she’s been working so hard on the bazaar that she’s exhausted.”
He hid a smile, knowing that he and Trinity had missed out on some sleep over the last two nights when she stayed at his house. They simply could not keep their hands off each other and ended up making love into the wee hours.
Caroline gave him a sympathetic look and said, “Want some coffee or a Christmas cookie?”
“No, thanks. How long ago did she leave?”
“A couple hours,” Caroline said.
“Don’t go to her house. She’ll be trying to sleep,” Brina said, and Finn noticed an odd tone in her voice that had his sensors on alert.
Making him offer a hasty goodbye and head straight over to Trinity’s place.
When he got there he saw a light upstairs, so either she was awake or slept with the light on, which he knew Trinity did not like to do.
He climbed the steps of the front porch and rang the bell for the second floor. And waited. He rang it again. And waited.
Could Trinity have a boyfriend she didn’t tell him about? Someone who was with her now?
He stuffed down the feelings of disappointment and anger that wanted to rise, telling himself he needed to find out what was up before reacting to anything.
Just as he thought that, the intercom crackled and Trinity said, “Hello?”
“It’s me. Finn. They said you were under the weather and I thought I’d come see if there is anything you need.”
Silence. He waited and was about to ring the bell again, when the door opened. Trinity stood there in lounge pants and baggy tee and just stared at him. She did not invite him in.
“What’s wrong?” Finn asked. He hated when women got into these weird moods.
“Nothing.”
“Can I come in?”
“Not a good idea.” Ice cold. Why?
“Are you with someone? I mean, if you have a boyfriend and—”
“Why would you think that?”
“Because you don’t want me to come in.”
“Maybe I have other reasons,” she snapped.
He took a breath. “Well, I’d like to hear them.”
“Okay. Here’s the biggest one. Maya Kubek.”
His hackles rose, but he steadied his voice. “Has she contacted you?”
“So, there is something between you. Look, I know we never agreed to be exclusive, but I don’t like being lied to.”
“I haven’t lied to you.”
“Not in words, maybe, but your actions made me think I was the only woman in your life right now. That you were serious about us.”
“I am. Maya is just a dance partner. And not one I would have chosen.”
“Just a dance partner?” Trinity lifted her phone and it was already set on a photo that she shoved in his face.
It was a photo of Maya pawing him and mugging at the camera. Clearly not a dance shot. Great. He noticed it was Maya’s Instagram account and—oh no. Worse yet, the caption under the picture read: “I never knew it could be this good.”
Rage surged inside. “This is bullshit. It’s just Maya playing her silly games. There is nothing between us.”
Trinity gave him a blank look. “Hey, I’ve been around the block. I know what money and fame can do to a person. Hard to resist all that’s out there when you can just grab and it’s yours.”
“That is not the case here. Maya has been after me for a while. She wants in on a TV special I have lined up. There is nothing between us.”
“Then how come she calls you her dream man?”
“What?”
“Go ahead. Scroll up and see what else is there.”
Finn did and he nearly growled. “
This is made up crap.”
“Oh really? You do kind of have a rep as a ladies’ man, ya know.”
“Okay, yeah, I’ve dated a lot of women, but that has nothing to do with us.”
“There is no ‘us,’ Finn.”
“You don’t even want to hear my side?”
“More lies? Nope. You and I are done, Finn.”
It hit him like a knife plunged through his chest. But one thing he’d learned from his years as a dancer—you can collapse or you fight. You can let your fatigued body buckle or tell your muscles to go beyond their comfort zone. You can hide in the back row or take your place up front and let the world know you are there.
“Know something, Trinity? This isn’t about me. It’s about you. If these stupid Instagram posts are enough to collapse what we’ve got together, then we didn’t really have anything worth keeping. And if you can’t see that I’m telling you the truth, then I’ve been walking around all these years in love with a woman that doesn’t even exist.”
Finn turned on his heel and strode toward his car, not really caring if she heard him say, “Good-bye, Trinity.”
* * *
Finn took the morning advanced ballet class that Jenna taught today. Even though the kinds of dances he performed leaned more toward modern dance with a hefty mix of hip hop and tumbling stunts mixed in, ballet was the basis for every kind of movement system in the performing arts. It kept his turns clean and jumps high and movement precise. Casey’s stepson, Josh, stood next to him throughout class today and they even soared across the floor together in the final grand jeté variation.
By the end of class Finn was dripping with sweat, and as walked down the hall toweling off his face, he avoided the studio where his rehearsal with Maya would be held and instead headed out near Casey’s office.
Last night he was so angry he had called Laney Perez, the executive producer of Dance Time who was also now a good friend, and told her not to believe any of the “news” circulating about him and Maya.
“I was going to check in with you about that,” Laney said. “My assistant told me Maya contacted her and said you would like her included in the summer tour.”
“No way. Hire her and I’m out.”
“You’ve got a contract, love.”
“Just sayin’ the woman is toxic. And between the summer tour and the prime time special she has her sites set on me rescuing her flagging career.”
“Did you hook up with her?”
“No,” he barked. “Not that it’s any of your business.”
“Chill, dude. I’m just trying to get a clear picture of what we’re dealing with here. I don’t want any surprises mucking up my plans down the road.”
Finn heaved a sigh. “Maya was not the original dancer Casey had planned on using or that I agreed to work with. She is a last-minute replacement and is trying to make the most of it. We worked together briefly a few years ago. We both had minor roles in a Glee knockoff that never got past the pilot. And no, I did not hook up with her back then either, so if she’s telling any stories about me, they are pure bullcrap.”
“Oh, the trials of being a sexy hunk.” Laney went into that husky-voiced laughter of hers that he liked so much. He thanked his lucky stars that this lady had come into his life. He could not ask for a better boss.
When he counted up his blessings—Casey and her academy, Wayne and the hit Broadway show, Laney and the hit TV show—he wondered if maybe the universe decided he had already gotten enough reward by making a great living doing what he loved. Maybe also getting the woman he loved was too much to ask.
Did he love Trinity? In high school she had turned into a person he didn’t even like. But that hadn’t been enough to kill the seed of love he’d already developed for her. And last night—well, he hoped that was because she was hurt. And that she was hurt because she loved him. But if she did, wouldn’t she be able to see that he was not the kind of person she accused him of being?
Josh saw Finn standing by the closed office door and strolled up to him. “You waiting for Casey?”
Finn nodded. “Yeah, I’ve got to talk to her about something.”
“Me too. Looks like I can’t be in the performance.”
“What happened? You okay?”
“Yeah, it’s just that I’m supposed to spend this Christmas with my birth mother and her family over in Germany and the flight she got me is a couple days earlier than I planned and she’s giving me a hard time about changing it.” He shrugged. “I don’t really dance anymore so I wasn’t doing much this in year’s show anyway.”
“How is your first year of college going?”
“Good. Although it’s kind of weird to be around normal people all the time instead of dancers.”
Finn laughed. “I hear you’re an engineering major. Not surprised, considering those architectural drawings you used to like making all the time.”
“Yeah. And I like math. So, it works for me.”
“Bet your grandfather is elated. He was terrified you were going to choose a career in dance.”
Josh nodded. “He’s definitely happy about it. Speaking of which—have you been in touch with any of your friends in Manhattan? There’s this thing that happened.”
“No, I’ve been soaking up the NoFo countryside. What’s going on?”
“Well, a host on that Hello All talk show made some derogatory remarks about boys who take dance classes. And all hell broke loose from the dance world.”
His eyebrows shot up. “I am really out of it. I missed all this.”
“Not yet, you haven’t. This week they’re holding a mob flash dance in protest in Times Square. That friend of yours, the Black dancer who did the supporting role in Rain Date, is one of the organizers.”
“Nolan? I’ll give him a call and get the deets.”
As he pulled out his phone, Casey walked up to them. “Are you two waiting for me?”
“You go first, Josh,” Finn said.
“Okay, thanks,” Josh said, and he followed Casey into her office.
Finn texted Nolan asking what was up, and within a couple minutes his phone went off.
“I was going to contact you,” Nolan said. “You gotta do this with me.”
“I’m in. Just say when.” Finn stepped into the empty studio across the hall as his friend explained what was planned.
Then he and Nolan caught up on their lives. The two of them had played best friends in Rain Date, the show that had landed Finn a Tony as best actor in a musical. Dancing and singing and acting together night after night, week after week, month after month, weathering all kinds of calamities that happened backstage while the audience was unaware, as well as sharing the sheer joy of a successful run, well, they had become family to each other.
When he walked back into the hall, Casey was standing outside her office with her arms crossed. “I haven’t got all day, Mr. Brogan.”
“Well, I had to make a phone call, Ms. Byrne.”
He sat on a lush white leather couch and Casey took the chair across from him, a coffee table filled with dance magazine and catalogues between them.
“Out with it, Finn. I know you’re not the type to demand attention unless it’s necessary.”
“I’m having a problem with Maya.”
Her voice pitched two decibels higher. “You want a new partner? We can’t possibly—”
“No, I can dance with her for the holiday show, but I need you to have a talk with her. I know you think it’s cute and funny when she mauls me, but I don’t. Still, if that were the only problem, I would just put up with it—as I have been doing—until the show is over and I am rid of her. But I’ve discovered she has been posting photos of the two of us on Instagram. With suggestive captions that imply we’re an item.”
“I’d like to see them.”
Finn opened the bookmarked pages and handed his phone to Casey.
“Have you two gone out or done anything that would lead her to—”
“No.
I have never seen her outside of rehearsals.”
“I didn’t think so, but as the director here I had to ask.”
“I have never returned her so-called affection. I’ve been careful to act neutral when she grabs at me, not wanting to either encourage her or to insult her and get her ego riled up. Of course, your duet is sensuous, so I act the part. But believe me, it is an act.”
Casey handed him back his phone. “I am really sorry. Guess I made a bad choice. Have you spoken to Maya about these posts?”
He shook his head. “I just discovered them last night. And there is more. Maya has been hinting to me that she wants to be on that prime time special I’ll be doing. And she kept asking me questions about the Dance Time summer tour. I called Laney and found out Maya tried to contact her and told her assistant I want her on the tour.”
“Was there something you said that could have been misconstrued?”
“No. Why are you making it sound like it’s my fault? Because I’m a guy?”
“In no way do I think it is your fault, Finn. I’m just doing my due diligence as director. But to be honest, I did not like the way she kept throwing herself at you. Yes, I noticed your discomfort. And I apologize for failing you by not intervening.”
“I made the wrong call too. I’ve thought of talking to you several times about this but decided to just tolerate her for the few weeks I’m in the North Fork.”
Casey stood. “Wait here. I think Maya’s warming up in Studio two.”
When they returned, it was clear by Maya’s confused expression that Casey had not yet told her the reason for this meeting. Thankfully, Casey recounted what he’d told her so Finn did not have to. He might have lost it and started cursing out this annoying female if he’d had to do the talking.
Maya burst into tears. Just great. Now he was the villain. Of course tenderhearted Casey put her arms around Maya and comforted her, telling her what a fine dancer she was and that there would be other opportunities for her.
Maya looked up at him, her eyes wet with tears, her face distraught. “Why won’t you help me?” she shouted at him. “Is it really so much to ask? To get a chance to be one of your measly background dancers? Friends in the dance and theater world are supposed to help each other.”
Finn's Christmas Dilemma (Holiday Hunks Book 3) Page 7