Page 36 of Rags to Royals

She swallows hard. Then again.

She starts to nod…

But then she stops and my heart squeezes.

She shakes her head. “No. Dammit, Cian.”

“Nowhat?” I press. She has to say it.

“That wasn’t Ruby. I should let you think so, but…” She trails off.

“Which part wasn’t Ruby?” I demand.

She tips her head back and closes her eyes. “All of it. The program for moms was my idea. I thought of it a couple of years ago when we lived in New Orleans and a couple of moms and I were exchanging favors. Like making bars and cutting hair, but on an even bigger scale. We always said that living together would make it all easier.” She opens her eyes and our gazes lock. “When you and I brainstormed, that was me. AndI’mthe onewho loves elephants.” She takes a deep breath. “And I’m selfish enough to want you to like all of that aboutme, not Ruby.”

Fucking finally. That’s what I needed to hear.

“I do.” I slide my hand into my front pocket, then take her hand and put the bracelet I’ve been carrying around for nineteen months in her palm.“I knew it was you. All along, Glinda. Every second.”

She stares down at the silver bracelet with the elephant charm. Then her gaze flies back to mine. “You’vehad this? All this time? I thought I lost it.”

“I would have happily returned it. If I could have found you,” I say dryly. The elephant is holding a gem in its trunk. “Mariah’s birthstone, right?”

She nods.

I’d remembered the date from her tattoo, and I’d looked up the stone. It’s a garnet. The deep red could also be described as scarlet.

I drag my finger over the tattoo on her inner wrist. “I loved the idea you were an aunt. That we’d both helped raise our nieces,” I tell her. “But you being a mom is fucking amazing, Scarlett.”

She takes a shaky breath. “Rubyisan amazing aunt. You two really are a lot alike.”

I sigh. She’s so fucking stubborn.

She takes a deep breath. Blows it out. “Okay,” she finally says. “I’m…really sorry about…everything.”

I frown.

I don’t frown a lot either. All of this being annoyed is really starting to annoy me.

“Donotbe sorry about anything we did or talked about that weekend.”

She shakes her head. “No. Not that. I guess… the time since then. I’m sorry you…” But then she shakes her head again. “No.You know what? I’mgladall of that mattered to you. I’m glad you felt excited about something and that you felt important.” She leans in. “You’re a fuckingprince, Cian. You’ve been hiding out for over adecade. What are you doing? You should feel important. Youareimportant. You should bedoingthings. Making a difference. And I’m glad you felt a spark for that.”

She’s right. I should be making a damned difference. And I intend to do exactly that.

I reach up and cup the back of her neck, keeping her face close. I study her eyes. “I felt a lot more than a spark, Scarlett.”

I mean that in every way. For the project and passions we talked about, and for her.

She swallows hard. “I did too.”

“Dammit, Glinda,” I mutter. Then I kiss her.

I couldn’t have kept my mouth off of hers for all the riches in the world.

There is nothing soft or tentative about the kiss. I immediately open my lips and stroke my tongue over her lips, demanding entrance.

She moans and submits.

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