Page 127 of My Fake Dating with the Grumpiest Highlander
“You shouldn’t have had to justify yourself. It was unfair.”
“They were just trying to include me.”
“By forcing you to do something you don’t want to do? That’s not inclusion, Finn. That’s pressure.”
I blink.
“You’re angry.”
“Yes, I’m angry. They don’t get to treat you like that. You’re a doctor. You belong here. You don’t have to prove anything.”
“You told them I was here because I wanted to be.”
“That’s true, isn’t it?”
I really look at her then.
At her slightly windblown auburn curls.
At those green eyes blazing with fierce intensity.
At her clenched jaw.
And suddenly something hits me like a punch straight to the chest.
She truly believes it.
She believes I’m here because Iwantto be here.
Not because I’m running from something.
Not because I had nowhere else to go.
But because I chose this place.
“Mary…”
“What?”
I search for words.
I can’t find them.
“Nothing. Thank you.”
She studies me for another moment before nodding.
“You’re welcome.”
She opens the door, and without thinking, I follow her outside.
“And you?” I ask. “Are you participating in the tug-of-war?”
She laughs softly.
“Are you kidding? My cousins signed me up automatically. I’m probably going to be sore for a week.”
“You could refuse.”
