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“Damn. I’ve got to give you credit if you can make Midge Longhorn squirm.”
“I’m a woman of many talents.”
“I don’t doubt that. You might have nailed a few things about me in your assessment this morning. Not the part about being fearful, though. That’s not the reason that I don’t connect with many people.”
She looked surprised that I’d brought it up. But I didn’t mind talking about it. She’d been right about a lot of what she’d said. No doubt, I was damaged. I’d had a tough childhood—a lot of loss at a young age.
“If it’s not fear, what is it?” she asked, leaning forward like she was genuinely interested.
“It’s a choice. I don’t trust easily, and I’m okay with that. I’m not afraid of being let down by people because I don’t give them the option. I take care of myself. I take care of my grandmother. And I can trust my boys without question. It’s enough for me. I’m not longing for some fucked-up fairy tale. Not because I’m afraid of it, but because I don’t want it. I don’t need it.”
She nodded and raised a brow. “That’s very intuitive of you. Maybe you just haven’t met anyone worth taking the risk on. It seems like you’ve all grown close to Demi. She was an outsider, right?”
“Exactly my point. I was willing to let her in because she’s Romeo’s girl, and I respect that. But not everyone wants what they have.” Why was I telling her all of this? “How about you? I don’t see a ring on your finger. I don’t take you as someone who trusts easily, nor would I guess that you’re seeking the white picket fence.”
“Gee. What gave me away? My bubbly demeanor?” She oozed sarcasm.
“Something like that. Answer the question.”
“Why are you so interested in my personal life?” And this time, when the corners of her lips turned up, my fucking chestsqueezed like I was a kid watching a goddamn unrealistic, bullshit Disney movie.
I hated Disney movies.
I hated happy endings.
Give me a thriller with a few kidnappings and murders and a healthy dose of torture, and I’ll grab the popcorn.
“I am. You’re Lionel’s daughter. You just had your first breakdown in more than two decades in front of me since dear, sweet Bullet was kidnapped by Midge fucking Longhorn. So that bonds us in a dark, serial killer kind of way, right?”
She chuckled, looking away briefly before her gaze found mine again. “I was dating the professor I worked with for a few months, but I ended it shortly before I came home.”
“The professor. How very rebellious of you. Why’d you end it?”
“You know that saying that your strengths are often your weaknesses?” She broke off another piece of her muffin and popped it into her mouth, red lips taunting me as she did so.
“Yes.”
“Well, it’s similar with relationships. I pick men who I don’t have to worry will catch feelings. The professor was fifteen years older than me. A real intellect. He’d been a bachelor his whole life, so it was a safe bet that he wouldn’t want anything serious. But, just like the last guy I dated, he suddenly dropped the L-word out of nowhere. He started talking about forever. I picked him because I didn’t want forever. Yet he pulled a one-eighty on me.”
“Maybe you’re just that impossible not to fall for.”
“It’s a curse,” she said, as she popped her thumb into her mouth and sucked the blueberry muffin crumb off without any awareness of how fucking sexy the move was.
“So, what happened to the boring professor?” I said, trying to act unfazed.
“Nothing. He understands that we don’t want the same things. I was honest from the beginning. We were friends, and it wasn’t anything serious for me. I’m not some damsel in distress looking to be saved. I’ve been saving myself for as long as I can remember. And the timing helped because I left to come home shortly after our breakup. But if I take the job I’ve been offered at the university, we’d be working together.”
“Do you want to teach?”
“Not really. But I don’t know for certain what I want to do with my degree. I’d like to maybe work with kids. I’d have loved to have someone to talk to when I was young and struggling, you know?”
There was an earnestness in her voice. In her eyes.
It hit me in that moment.
Ruby Rose is not an evil queen at all.
She was guarded and cautious and fierce.
