Page 80 of Rags to Royals

We laugh, we talk, Greta and Mariah fill Cian in on all of the kids in class, both in their grade and in the grades just above and below.

It’s lively enough that we barely notice that Ruby and Henry are ignoring one another.

In fact, that isn’t blatantly obvious until Henry excuses himself after dinner and heads back to the bed and breakfast, leaving the car for Cian because he ‘needs some fucking fresh air and a walk’ to which Ruby just rolls her eyes and goes upstairs to get ready for work.

Now Mariah and Greta are up in Mariah’s room. They say they’re prepping for a quiz tomorrow in English, but I’mguessing there’s going to be more gossiping and studying their social media pages than their textbook and notes. Still, both girls are great students with mostly As, so I don’t worry.

And if I’m honest, and at risk of losing my Good Mom card, I’m happy everyone cleared out. Even if Ruby’s a little pissed at Henry. Even if Henry’s walking around in the dark. It’s Emerald for fuck’s sake. And he’s a bodyguard. And even if Mariah and Greta miss a couple of questions on their quiz. Because Cian and I are now alone in the kitchen.

He’s putting the last of the dinner dishes in the dishwasher while I store the leftovers in the fridge and it’s so normal and he looks so comfortable rinsing dishes that I almost laugh. He’s actual royalty, but he’s standing in his socks at my kitchen sink with his sleeves pushed up to the elbows, glasses on, scrubbing a plate free of cheese, rice, and veggies from a casserole he made.

This is bonkers.

And I love it.

And it’s the first time we’ve done this clean-up routine together and I already know I’m going to miss it when he’s gone.

“Do you actually wear glasses some of the time?” I ask.

He puts the last plate into the dishwasher and closes the door. “No. These aren’t even readers. Just glass lenses with no correction at all.”

He’s been wearing them all night and I really like the look.

Then again, I’m comfortable admitting the fact that I like every look Cian O’Grady has.

“Why do you still have them on?”

“Just getting used to them. Figure I’ll keep them on at school.” He dries his hand on a dish towel, then hangs it over the front of the oven. He pushes the glasses up his nose before bracing his hands on the counter behind him.

“It’s funny that the Kent thing works,” I say.

“The Clark Kent thing?”

“That you can just put a pair of glasses on and no one recognizes you.”

He chuckles. “It’s a little more than that.” He rubs his hand over his clean-shaven jaw. “But people here have only seen me in photos. And some of those online are old. The most recent ones are from my brother’s wedding and I am definitely in the background.”

I agree that I would be surprised if anyone here actually recognizes him. But I think it’s more because it would be out of context. It’s amazing how hard it can be to put a name and face together when you see someone in an unexpected place.

“You feel ready for class on Monday?” I ask.

He shrugs. “I will be. Ready enough anyway.”

“Ready enough?” I grin. “You know with teenagers, the main thing is to not show any weakness.”

He matches my grin. “For sure. I’ve just learned that over-preparing for new adventures can be a waste of time. You have to go into new things with at least a little acceptance of the fact that you don’t know exactly what’s going to happen and you can handle it.”

I think back to the times Ruby and I decided to move to a new city, find new jobs, find new places to live. It was terrifying every time and the only thing that made it better was preparing for every contingency.

“Maybe skydiving is different from moving your kid to a new city and finding a new apartment and job,” I say. “But I’ve always found preparation to be very important.”

He doesn’t respond for a long moment. He just stands studying me. Finally he says, “Having a child, someone who depends on you, probably makes a difference.”

“And not having a bodyguard to make things safe and clean up problems.”

“Right.”

I can’t read his expression. For just a second, I worry that I’ve hurt his feelings. But I replay my words, and I don’t find anything untrue or especially snarky about them. They’re all true.

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