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Besides, I prefer brunettes.
"Your car broke down?" I nodded toward it. I considered getting one once, but the idea of parting with that much money made my eyes water.
"It's working fine." She slid off the hood. "I wanted to talk to you."
"Lucky you weren't waiting all night." I gave her a cocky smile.
"I knew you wouldn't be," she said, all confident in that fact.
"Ouch." I pretended the comment stung. It had me thinking. How much had Grace told her about me? Enough, apparently.
She didn't even look slightly sorry. "She likes you. More than she should if you ask me."
I hadn't asked her, but she seemed like she was going to give her opinion anyway.
She crossed her arms over her chest—were those real—and looked up at me.
"I like Grace," she went on. "She's genuine. You don't find too many people like that these days."
"Hey, I'm genuine," I argued.
Rubie snorted.
"Aren't you too young to be that cynical?" I asked.
"I'm not cynical, I'm a realist," she said firmly.
"What's the difference?" I pulled my keys out of my pocket and toyed with them.
"Sometimes I see good in the world."
"Like me." I grinned.
She gave me a flat stare. If she was trying to tackle my ego to the turf, it was working. Not too much, but some.
"Like you could be if you don't screw people around," she said finally. "This plan of yours, I'm in, but if it goes off the rails, I'll pretend I never heard of it."
"It won't go off the rails," I said with every ounce of confidence I had. "Not with Grace helping."
"Make sure it doesn't," Rubie said. "Because if it goes down the toilet, she'll be the one going with it. People will look for someone to blame, and since you got her fired, she'll be the easy target."
"No pressure," I muttered. Honestly I hadn't thought about it that way, but she was right. Chantel and I got into trouble at that bar, but Grace was the one who paid for that, and pretty much everything I did since.
"It's a Christmas in July party for sick kids, what could go wrong? They'll all have fun and we'll raise a shit ton of money. Grace will be a superstar. She can have all the credit. I'll stand back and watch."
Rubie barked a laugh. "As if you'll do that. Your ego won't let you."
I wanted to argue, but she was right. My healthy ego sometimes didn't fit comfortably through doorways.
"Fine, but it'll all work out." I gave her a sly look from under my heavy brows. "You said you're helping, right? You can make sure the ball stays in our possession the whole time, if you're so worried. Between you two ladies, it'll be a guaranteed touchdown."
She looked thoughtful. "I might just get more hands on. I'd make a cute elf."
She'd make a hot elf, but I didn't say so. Personally, I thought Grace would be an even hotter elf. I'd wear antlers if I could get her to wear a tiny little dress. One tight in the bust and?—
I cleared my throat. "Yeah. Or you could be Santa."
She laughed at that and visibly relaxed. "You get my point though. If you, or this plan of yours, hurt Grace, I'll personally make your life hell."
