Page 71 of Rags to Royals

“Can I ask you something?” Ruby asks.

“Of course.”

“Why does he think he’s in love with you? I mean, I get that the sex was incredible. AndIthinkyouare incredible. But supposedly you didn’t let him really get to know you. Still, youstayed with him for the entire weekend. And he’s believed he’s been in love for almost two years. And you haven’t forgotten him either. So, what happened? There has to be something.”

I roll to my back again and take a breath. “Okay, yeah there was more. We talked. A lot. I told him all about you and Mariah. He thought Mariah was yours and that I was the cool, fun aunt that helped raise her.” I look over at her with a smile. “We bonded over having a single mom in the family and raising a little girl.” I focus on the dark shape of my ceiling fan overhead again. “I told him about loving elephants because they form such loyal family units. We talked a lot about family, actually. It’s really important to him too. He told me about how his siblings are all doing these amazing things and how he’s always felt like he was just following along, because he never had better ideas than theirs. He was just so amazed by them.” I frown remembering that.

He’d seemed truly in awe of his brothers and sister, but also a little frustrated. But the frustration had seemed self-directed.

“Then he asked me what I’d do if I had a million dollars. I think he was expecting me to say a trip to somewhere amazing or buying a house or something but… I told him the truth.”

Ruby snuggles closer. “Ooh, what’s the truth?”

“A home for single moms.”

Ruby’s quiet, so I go on.

“I want to buy a big house and make it a place that single moms can live together, with their kids, without rent. The only stipulation is that they help each other, like a family. They pool their resources to take care of the whole group. They cook together, for each other, for the group. They run errands and shop for and with each other. They all take care of the house. They schedule work shifts so that someone is home with the kids all the time, but they take turns. They take turns with school drop off. They can even work their schedules so someone canbe at school programs or on field trips if they can’t. And, just living together like that, as partners, they can also be there to support one another through things that no one else can really understand.”

I’m quiet, letting that all sink in. Finally, I look over at Ruby. “I always had you. Cian’s sister always had him and Henry, and Torin and Jonah, Torin’s bodyguard. And her own bodyguard. The bodyguards became part of the family. So, Fiona had a ton of help. We were comparing notes about how much easier it is when you’ve got people, family, like that. But not everyone has that. It’ssohard being a single mom and working or going to school. And really, sometimes, all they need is someone to lean on, someone who gets it. The best person would be someone who’s in the same boat.”

Ruby reaches out and takes my hand. She links our fingers. “That’s amazing, Scarlett. That’s a wonderful idea. I love it.”

I smile. “Thanks. If I had a million dollars, I’d buy a bunch of houses. In lots of places.”

“I love that,” Ruby says. “Seriously. That’s very cool.” She pauses. “And Cian loved it?”

I nod. “Lovedit. He said the houses should all have security and maintenance, maybe counseling if the women wanted it. He even said they could hire cooks, but I told him that shopping for groceries and making dinner could be a really nice bonding thing and that some people liked to do it. It’s often just a burden if you don’t have time. And if someone doesn’t like to cook, then amongst the members of the community they figure out another way to pull their weight. Maybe they do all the dishes, or they do the laundry.” I’m smiling as I remember our brainstorming. “We talked about it a lot. He really got into it.”

“And that’s part of why he fell in love with you,” Ruby says.

I sigh. “I guess.”

“It makes sense. It’s something you have in common. It shows what a loving, creative, generous person you are.”

“Thanks. But he doesn’t reallyknowme.”

“But he was getting to know you. And he really liked what he did know.”

“But I was pretending to be you.”

Ruby laughs and squeezes my hand. “Bullshit.”

“I was!”

“Besides my name… which you quickly told him was a stage name…and my burger order, what did you tell him that was me and not you?”

“That I was Mariah’s aunt.”

“That’s nothing. Everything you told him about Mariah was true and your love for that girl is so obvious there’s no way you could fake it if you tried.” She squeezes me again. “Why did you give him your real name?”

I feel my cheeks get a little hot. “Because I didn’t want him calling me Ruby during sex.”

“Ah,” she says with a grin.

“That doesn’t mean anything!” I protest.

“It does too,” she says. “It means when you were the most intimate you could be with him, you didn’t want anything between you. And that—” she says, bopping me on the nose with her finger. “—tells me something even more important than ifhe’sin love withyou.”

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