Page 33 of Rags to Royals

“Amber cuts my hair for free. If a lot of these kinds of things pop up, she’ll throw in extra services. It all works out.”

I nod. This is exactly the kind of thing I would have expected. I’ll bet she has a similar arrangement with other women in town too.

I’m impressed and gratified to know I’m right about her, even as annoyance pricks at me. She is going to keep insisting I don’t know her. And she’s wrong.

“So what was New Orleans?” I ask, jumping right in. “Besides you stealing my heart and keeping it for nineteen months?”

She freezes for a second, but then she shakes her head. “God. Dramatic much?”

I shrug. “Yeah. Often.”

She laughs as if my answer takes her by surprise. “Do you also fall in love quickly and often?”

That one’s easy. “No.”

She looks at me.

I take in every detail of her face. She’s so fucking beautiful. How can this not be the woman I spent that weekend with?

I decide to be honest. “Okay, I become smitten kind of easily. I’ve been infatuated a few times. And I was enamored once.”

A flash of something crosses her face. Jealousy? That’s just wishful thinking on my part, I’m sure.

She focuses on her stirring again. “I see. Well, New Orleans was fun. A fling. A crazy weekend.”

“I’ve had a lot of fun. Flings. Crazy weekends,” I say. “But I’ve never felt like this, Scarlett.” I keep my tone even, but I make sure she can hear the sincerity. “I’ve never not been able to get over someone. I’ve never been smitten or enamored or whatever for almosttwo years.”

She swallows hard.

Finally, after several long seconds, she says, “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean for that to happen. I had no idea it would. You were… my last hurrah before moving back here where I kneweverything would have to be…more…tame. Buttoned up. Strait-laced.”

What the hell? “So you decided to live in your sister’s shoes for a couple of days?”

She meets my gaze again. She nods. “Something like that. I’ve always been hyper-aware of my actions, my words, what people think of me. Ruby tells me I need to let go of other people’s expectations and be less concerned with rules. When I met you, at first I told myself no way. You were absolutely not someone I would typically even talk to.”

I frown. “Why not?”

“You were so…hot.” She sighs. She keeps stirring. “You were clearly younger than me. Clearly comfortable being in a strip club. Once we talked, you were so confident and charming. I knew you had women throwing themselves at you all the time. And then you bought the rest of my private dances for the night, and I realized you had money and you were used to throwing it around.” She shakes her head. “I never spend time with young, hot, rich, charming guys.” She sighs again. “Then you just wanted to take me out. You bought me a burger.” She laughs. “I was worried about embarrassing myself by coming too fast when we got to your hotel, and you just wanted to buy me a burger and talk.”

Her mention of coming too fast sends lust coursing through my veins. “I did notjustwant to buy you a burger,” I growl.

She had come fast. Nottoofast, but very fast that first time. I’d loved every damned thing about that.

She doesn’t comment on that. She keeps going though. “But then I remembered that we were leaving the next day. Not just leaving town but leaving the whole state. We were leaving our lives behind to come here. To start over in our hometown, where everyone knows us, where we have history. I knew if I was ever going to do something wild and crazy, that night was my lastchance.” She pauses for a breath. “So I said to hell with it, and seduced you.”

My brows slam together. “Youseducedme?”

She nods. “Yes. I thought you were interested in a one-night stand. That you were experienced with those. I had no idea you’d fall in love with me. If I had, I wouldn’t have… done that.”

“Seduced me.”

“Yes.”

Jesus. She thinks she had to talk me into that weekend? And that I fall in love so easily that she somehow messed up?

I shove a hand through my hair. I want to denyallof the conclusions she drew about me, but…I can’t. I don’t frequent strip clubs—didn’t even then—but I’d been to a few before, and the nightlife and clubs were nothing new. The rest of what she said—the money, the women, the confidence—well, that was all spot on.

“You did not seduce me. I was a very willing participant and knew exactly where I wanted to end up from the first moment I saw you, Scarlett.”

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