The cold wind outside the Everly Group headquarters cleared Amara''s head a little.


    But the image of Finnian holding Liliana returned, bringing with it a wave of sadness and a feeling of being wronged.


    She was heading to her car when she heard footsteps behind her. Someone stopped her. "I''ll take you home," Finnian said, his hand on her wrist.


    The sense of injustice she''d just suppressed came rushing back. *What is he doing? Why isn''t he inside with his fiancée? Why does he insist on taking me home?*


    "That won''t be necessary, Mr. Everly. I drove here, so I can drive myself back."


    Amara firmly took Finnian''s hand and removed it from her wrist, then nodded and turned to leave.


    Normally, Finnian wouldn''t have pushed her, but he knew she had misunderstood what happened with Liliana. His mind was in turmoil; he couldn''t just let her leave like this.


    He quickly said, "Let me take you. I''ll have Will drive your car back for you."


    Without waiting for a reply, he put an arm around her shoulders, led her to his car, opened the passenger door, and ushered her inside.


    The entire sequence was so smooth and swift that Amara was stunned. By the time she processed what was happening, Finnian was already in the driver''s seat, buckling her seatbelt.


    Finnian nced at Amara, saw the anger rising in her eyes, and quickly hit the gas. As the car pulled away, he said, "Don''t be angry. I just wanted to exin. When Liliana fell against me, I was trying to push her away, but she grabbed my shoulders, which made it look like I was holding her."


    Amara was furious. *Why is he exining this to me?*


    *He and Liliana are engaged. Any intimacy between them is perfectly eptable. What''s the point of this exnation?*


    Besides, she didn''t believe him.


    *Trying to push her away? They''re getting married. Why would he push her away? Seeing her sitting there fuming in silence, made Finian frantic.


    "You don''t believe me, do you?"


    After asking, he realized how it must sound. *Of course, she doesn''t. Technically, Liliana and I are about to be married. Nothing between us would be out of line Why would Amara believe my exnation? The realization made him feel even worse, and he didn''t know what else to say.


    They drove the rest of the way in silence. At first, Amara was still quite angry, but as the drive wore on, her anger faded into a sense of absurdity about the whole situation.


    Soon they arrived at the Everly family''s old estate. Amara got out and was surprised to see Will had already brought her car over.


    She thanked Will but said nothing to Finnian, not even sparing him a nce before turning and heading upstairs.


    Finnian grew anxious. It was one thing for her to ignore his


    exnation, but to treat him and Will


    so differently felt like a p in the face. It threw himpletely off bnce.


    He blocked her path on the stairs. "Why are you ignoring me?"


    Amara turned to face him with a coldugh. "I was going to go home on my own. You forced me into your car and restricted my freedom. Why would I want to talk to you?"


    He had forced her into the car just so he could talk to her and exin things. Of course, she''d be angry.


    Finnian felt a pang of guilt. "I''m sorry," he said softly. "Please don''t be angry."