Read Love and Rumors: A Summer Sisters Beach Reads Contemporary Romance (The Summer Sisters Book 1) for Free Online Page B

have an opening?”
    “Yes.”
    “I’ll mock up an invite and poster to hang around town and send it over. In the meantime, firm up the date. We don’t have a lot of time to save our childhood playground, my friend.”
    Hailey sighed into her earpiece. “I know.” She sped past a grove of trembling aspen, scaring a white-tailed deer back into the brush as she did so. “Hey, if you happened to learn the whereabouts of Finian Alexander, send me a text, would you? And mislead Austin Smith, too, if you can.”
    Simone whistled under her breath. “This is way worse than you’re letting on, isn’t it?”
    “Can you spread the word? This guy’s mine.”
    “Hails…”
    “I know. But it’s money, and it’s still photography.”
    It was almost not selling one’s soul. Almost.

    * * *

    Finn was starting to feel the rye and Cokes. All five of them. He was feeling them along with the pull to do something reckless.
    The bartender passed him another drink and Finn thought about the woman who’d slapped him. Man, he’d had that one coming. How had he fallen out of touch with the real world and women so quickly? Or was it just a Canada thing that had made her reach out and whack him?
    No, he was pretty sure it was him being a jerk. He’d promised himself he’d never let fame go to his head. Looked as if he’d let himself down on that one, too.
    He downed half the drink.
    He was flunking out left, right, and center.
    “From the guy on the end,” the bartender said, and Finn’s shoulders slumped. A small part of him had hoped it was his nature nut coming by to apologize. Canadians did that a lot. Every time he’d bumped into someone this week, or even came close to bumping into someone, he’d been met with apologies. It had become a game, seeing how many apologies he could collect while wandering down the street. His record was thirteen in one block. One lady had apologized four times for one incident, and he wasn’t sure if he could count that as four, but he did. Besides, he was a jerk and it was his game, so his rules.
    Finn gave a quick toast to the man who’d sent the drink, hoping he wouldn’t come over and start hitting on him with hockey talk. Who the hell followed hockey?
    He froze as recognition set in. Son of a…
    Austin Smith.
    Interpreting Finn’s locked gaze as an invite, Austin slid over with his own drink.
    “Hiya, Finian. Austin Smith.” He offered his hand for a shake and Finn ignored it.
    Austin remained beside him, unfazed.
    “I know who you are,” Finn muttered, keeping his attention on the local concert posters pinned to the walls.
    “Anything you need from the paparazzi while you’re here in Canada, you let me know. I cover everything in these parts.”
    “I’m taking a flight out tomorrow.”
    “That’s not what the airlines say.”
    “Private jet.”
    Austin laughed and Finn’s temperature rose along with his temper. He hated it when the paparazzi knew more about his comings and goings than he did—and it happened. And if anyone would have the 411 on what he was up to it would be this ass-wipe.
    “I get people in the tabloids faster than a Kardashian gets knocked up, Finian. And you know it.”
    Finn glowered at him. “You give paparazzi a bad name.”
    “Thank you.”
    Finn shook his head and downed his drink. Austin was the kind of man who crossed lines, grabbed celebrities, riled them up with angry words—anything in order to get a better photo. Finn still wanted to punch him for the way he’d violated his ex-girlfriend’s privacy by flying over her backyard in a helicopter to get pictures of Jessica and her friends nude sunbathing. Finn had never been possessive or overprotective of his ex, but that had driven him wild.
    “You know,” he said conversationally, “I think there should still be a restraining order in effect.”
    “That’s only for your ex-girlfriend.”
    Finn inhaled. Nope, he was pretty damn sure he’d sprung for the couple’s package on that