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Goddamn, this is almost too much. He’s almost too much.
“Cap—”
“Please, Ruby. Just ten minutes of your time. I’m begging you.”
“Caplin Hawkins begging?” I ask skeptically, and he nods immediately.
“I’ll beg every day of my life if it means I get to see you.”
“I don’t believe you,” I say outright. “I don’t believe a thing you say, and I don’t know that I ever will.”
He nods. “I understand that. Just let me show you something, and then if you want to, you can go.”
I breathe a heavy sigh and look around the rooftop again. The exit is still blocked by whoever those women are, and Kevin and Julie now stand off to the side behind them. A group of men is behind Cap and to the left, and a huge silk sheet covers a gigantic rectangular object in front of me.
As much as I want to just get the hell out of here, I don’t think I’m going to be able to do it without show-and-tell.
I sigh and step around Cap and toward the giant, covered cube.
One of the men runs in from the side and grabs on to the cover, ready to unveil it, and Cap comes forward again to stand in front of it.
He nods to his very tall, good-looking assistant, and the sheet flies off with a flourish.
A huge, human-sized book sits in front of me, a hand-drawn illustration gracing the cover with the title “The Captain and His Ruby.”
My breath catches in my chest and balloons out until my lungs spasm.
“As I now know you figured out…I was, in fact, reading the books you were reading and using them against you in an attempt to get you into bed,” Cap begins. “I know it was a shitty use of something you love, so I apologize for that, first and foremost.”
I glare as he continues.
“The thing is, I feel like it’s a really special part of our story now, so I took the liberty of writing it. Our story, I mean. But as the guys over here can attest, I’m not exactly the most mature human alive.” I glance to the men who are nodding profusely and then back to Cap. “So, I wrote it as a children’s book.” I widen my eyes as I look more closely at the book to see a cartoon likeness of Cap dressed as a pirate, holding the precious gem form of my name. “I hope you’ll humor me for a minute while I read it.”
Entirely too curious to deny him at this point, I nod. Just once. He doesn’t hesitate to begin as one of the other guys jumps forward to pull the enormous cover open and turn the page.
As he reads, and the guys help to turn the pages and illustrations appear one by one, all I can do is listen and read along.
“Once upon a time, in a crowded, overachieving land, a pirate known as the Captain set sail on his ship of adventure. An independent fellow, the Captain often went on trips on his own, eager to find the next exciting treasure.
“He’d traveled to thousands of different lands and hunted for thousands of different gems, but he’d never found anything special enough to stop searching.
“One day, while out on one of his quests, he ran into a wise man. The wise man spoke of a new treasure, one that couldn’t be replicated or bought. He told the Captain to have patience and forethought while he was out on his adventure, for a treasure like that would only come once in a lifetime.
“The Captain, though, he was used to finding all sorts of treasure and liked the variety. The wise man’s cautions seemed shortsighted and ill-advised, so stupidly, the Captain chose not to listen.
“When he arrived at his next island and made it to the cave, he found dozens of chests of jewels.
“They all sparkled, but none really possessed a true shine. Dismayed and unsuspecting, he opened the final chest without much hope. But there, nestled in the satin, was something the likes of which he’d never seen before. A delicate, magnificent, unmatched in both color and clarity…ruby.”
A hand floats up to my mouth before I even realize it’s happening.
“Faced with this special gem, a treasure the wise man had warned him about with great wisdom, the Captain took it. Added it to his collection and kept it as his own. Unfortunately, the Captain hadn’t paid close enough attention, allowing his stubborn, outdated ideals to guide his foolish next actions.
“When presented with an offer, he sold the ruby at the market the next day, for he was certain a gem of its caliber would come once again.”
I glance from the book to Cap as his voice breaks on the last word and startles me.
A single tear mars the perfect, rugged skin of his manly cheek.
