Chapter 8
A month later, my guesthouse finally opened smoothly.
That evening, I played host and invited friends and childhood pals from the old city out to dinner.
I asked Serena to help me find a house manager who could look after the guesthouse day-to-day.
She was tipsy but nodded without hesitation.
I thought she might forget about it once she sobered up, but to my surprise, the next day she showed up with a college student.
“Finn’s on summer break and doing some work-study. You can start with him,” Serena said.
Finn… the more I looked at him, the more familiar he seemed.
After staring for a while, it finally clicked.
Finn Chase was Serena’s little brother!
The last time I saw him, he was just a kid-a scrawny little thing who hadn’t even grown much.
Now, he was already six feet tall. When he spoke to me, I had to look up at him.
He’d bulked up a lot, no trace of the little kid I remembered.
“Big sister,” he smiled warmly. “I look forward to working with you.”
I was hesitant at first-he was young and inexperienced, so I didn’t expect much.
But once he started working, Finn surprised me.
He ran the guesthouse’s social media accounts, took photos, edited videos, and handled guest check-ins-all the little things, and he kept everything organized.
Having such a capable employee made me a much more relaxed boss.
“Finn, you’re doing great. How about I give you a raise?” I joked while chatting with him as he edited a video.
Without looking up, he said, “I don’t want a raise.”
“So what do you want?”
“Give me a chance,” he said with a smile.
My heart skipped a beat.
“What kind of chance?”
Finn looked me straight in the eye, still smiling.
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“A chance to chase you.”
My stomach dropped, and I turned on my heel and ran off.
“Oh? The kid already said that to you?”
I told Serena about it, expecting her to be surprised-but she was totally unfazed.
“Finn’s had a crush on you for years. When he heard you were back in town, he nearly jumped for joy.”
“Finn usually won’t spend a dime on me, but he’s already burned through half a year’s allowance just trying to
get me to set you two up.”
“So you two planned this behind my back?”
Serena shook her head.
“Not exactly. I was just helping out. You needed help at the guesthouse, and he wanted a chance with you-it just worked out.”
“Now he gets to see you every day, and you get a reliable worker. Win-win.”
I felt overwhelmed.
“How old is your brother again?”
“Twenty.”
“And me?”
“Twenty-eight.”
“Don’t you think that’s too big a gap?”
Serena, being my closest friend, immediately crossed her arms and shook her head fiercely.
“I think you two are perfect.”
“My brother might be younger, but he knows how to treat someone right. He’s sincere and pure-no tricks or
games. He’s a thousand times better than that Peter Williams!”
Mentioning Peter only made my head hurt more.
Just last night, I’d gotten a text from him-from an unknown number.
He said he’d sorted things out at school and booked a flight. He’d be arriving in the old city tomorrow night.
I thought he’d show up again like a ghost, silently trailing behind me.
But this time, it seemed he was going all out trying to win me back.
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