Page 17 of Lessons in Heartbreak

She blinked over at me. “Vacation? Here?”

I hummed. “My agent has a house just outside of town. He grounded me because I’ve been causing more trouble than he prefers.”

“And you’re bored,” she said cautiously. “How long have you been here?”

“About thirty-six hours.” Ruby blinked again. “Anyway,” I continued, “tell me all your deep, dark secrets, Ruby Tate.”

She rolled her eyes. “They’re not deep, dark secrets, it’s just ... mildly embarrassing.”

“Who better to tell than someone you haven’t seen in fifteen or so years and will be out of your life in a couple weeks?”

“Won’t you be out of my life after this conversation?”

“Nah. I’ll probably come visit you at the library, because now I know where you’ll be every day.”

She blew out a slow breath. “Great,” she muttered.

I nudged her gently with a press of my hand to her shoulder. “Come on,” I coaxed. “You know you want to unload on someone.”

“I don’t know anything of the sort.”

“Ruby,” I said. My low, pleading tone made her neck turn that same pink shade as her cheeks, and I briefly wondered how far down her chest that color went. “Please?”

“You’re relentless,” she whispered, pinching the bridge of her nose again. I wanted to assure her that it was common for me to have that effect on people. “You’d be the worst person to talk to about this.”

“I’m the perfect person.” I shifted closer on the bench. “Think about it: I don’t know anyone here, I’m so fucking bored I could scream, and this is the most entertaining thing that’s happened to me in a while.”

She cut me a scathing look. “I am not here to be your entertainment, Griffin.”

I held up my hand. “You know what I mean. I’m safe,” I said. “Harmless as a puppy.”

She snorted. “You look it. A six-five, two-hundred-and-fifty-pound puppy.”

“You can’t hold my height against me, it’s hardly fair.”

“You are exactly the kind of man who makes speaking to men impossible.”

“What’s impossible about me? I brought you baked goods. Your dog loves me,” I pointed out.

Said dog chose that moment to flop back over onto his stomach and start licking his privates. Ruby shook her head and sighed. “You don’t know what it’s like for us normal people.”

“You think athletes aren’t normal people?”

“No,” she answered dryly.

I clucked my tongue. “So judgy. Dealing with men is easy, birdy. I promise.”

“You would say that, because you probably have a dozen groupies lined up outside the locker room after a game and you just point to one and they trot right after you.”

“Ouch. I’m a little more discriminating than that.”

“Are you?”

“Yes.” I laid a hand on my chest. “I always talk to them first. Pointing comes later, once I’ve made them do a little song and dance for me.”

The horrified look on Ruby’s face had me bursting out laughing, and she smacked me in the chest. Hard. “Not funny.”

“Sort of funny,” I said, still smiling.

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