Page 34 of Lessons in Heartbreak

Then she paused, sucking in a sharp breath. “Except with you, much to my surprise.” Her tongue darted out to wet her lips. “I’m not attracted to you, don’t worry. It’s nothing like that.”

“Nothing?” I asked with a slight grin.

“No. You are not even remotely my type.”

“Please, don’t feel like you need to spare my ego.”

“Your ego will be just fine no matter what I ask of you,” she said confidently.

I blew out a slow breath. “And that is?”

“I’m asking you to help nerdy birdy, who only knew how to watch the boy she crushed on from up on a tree branch.”

Her eyes. Holy shit. I couldn’t look away, but the brutal vulnerability in her face made me want to shift backward or something. Hide from what I was seeing there.

“Sometimes I think I’m still stuck in that tree.”

It was that discomfort in the face of her naked emotions that pushed me to say what I said next.

“God, I wish you’d had better taste than to crush on my brother. This is really killing the vibe for me.” I motioned to my face. “I look exactly like him. Didn’t you have a little crush on me too?”

“No. You annoyed me too much.”

“Gee, thanks.”

She leaned forward again, like she couldn’t help herself. “Don’t you see? That’s what makes this perfect. You’re safe. You need something to do while you’re here, and in two weeks you’ll be gone.”

I wasn’t even sure Ruby knew what she was asking of me. It felt huge. Massive. World altering. And the weight of it felt like more than I could carry for someone like her.

Ask me to steal a football from someone to win a game? I’m your fucking man.

Take some almost-naked pictures for a magazine cover? Not a problem.

I could do a whole lot of things well, with money and pressure coming from all angles. But for some reason, this quiet, tiny woman asking me to help her was terrifying, because for the first time, she was looking up at me like I was something—someone—important.

Before saying anything, I studied her for a moment. “I’m not sure I’m the best person for this.”

“Why not? You know what men want, you know women ...,” she said. “Lots of women.”

“Not lots,” I muttered. “A healthy amount for a single, moderately attractive man—”

“Professional athlete who makes millions of dollars a year,” she supplied. “You’re confident. You wouldn’t be doing this for money, so there’s no legal gray area. And most importantly ...” She locked eyes with me in such a way that I actually felt a little breathless. “You won’t fall in love with me.”

I reared back, my head spinning. “That’s the most important thing?”

“Yes.”

“Aren’t you doing all this so you can fall in love?” I asked, almost violently curious despite my best efforts. “Isn’t that what you’d want from all this?”

Ruby shook her head. “No. I have no interest in love.”

“Really?”

The skepticism in my tone had her crossing her arms. “You don’t believe me?”

“No, I just ... I’m shocked, is all.” My gaze tracked over her face, and sure enough, she looked really fucking serious. “Most women—”

She held up her hand. “Please stop right there. Any time a man starts a sentence with ‘most women,’ he’s probably wildly off base with whatever is going to come out of his mouth.”

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