Page 173 of Ruin Me Gently

She turned fully toward him, handson her hips, ready to seek and destroy. “I’m standing in the elevator,minding my business,on my way to see my best friend who has just gone through some serious shit, and this overgrown toddler jumps in ogling me like I’m a steak and says—” she deepened her voice into a mockery of a frat-boy drawl, crossing her arms and slouching. “‘Those jeans are doing God’s work, I think I just found my new religion in that ass.’”

I struggled—genuinely struggled—to not laugh at whatever fresh hell was unfolding in front of me.

“What the hell?” Silas barked. “That’s completely not okay!”

Finn looked genuinely confused. “I meant it in a good way!”

Silas pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling sharply in a suffering sigh that told me this was something he’d seen a hundred times before. “No. Stop talking right now. You can’t speak to women you don’t know like that.”

Finn stepped forward, brows furrowing, his tone turning defensive. “Hold on, hold on. I’ve had at least…” he held up his fingers, counting them one by one, “… twenty more girlfriends than you have. I think I know how to talk to women.”

Silas glared at him. Arms crossed. Full disapproval mode. “That’s not as impressive as you think it is, Finn.”

He then turned to face Molly. “I’m so sorry about him. He’s just… wired wrong.”

She waved him off with a flick of her hand. “Whatever. I’ve handled worse.”

Then just like that, she dismissed them entirely, turning back to me. The fire in her eyes softened instantly, shifting back to something I knew.

She grabbed one of the bags she must have dropped by the couch when she launched her attack of affection on me. “I brought everything I could fit,” she said, lifting it up. “Your comfiest stuff, obviously,” she continued, then shot me an exaggerated wink and whispered, “I snuck in some of the good underwear too.”

“Of course you did.”

“I’m just looking out for your best interests.”

I laughed, but it didn’t do much to smother the frustration under my skin. I’d been actively trying to keep my mind off that side of things, and considering he wouldn’t let me take things further than little kisses, I was seriously contemplating throwing myself out of one of the windows.

She let out a slow whistle as her gaze drifted over the penthouse. “Okay, so this is insane.”

“Define insane.”

She turned back to me, gesturing wildly at everything. “The windows. The view. The marble. The bookshelves that look like they belong in an old-money estate where a butler named Reginald serves whiskey in crystal tumblers.”

“I don’t think he has a butler.”

“No, but if you told me there was a secret underground bunker filled with high-tech surveillance and a fingerprint scanner to get in. I wouldn’t even blink.”

She turned her attention to Silas and Finn, who were now standing in the kitchen, flipping through the folder Finn had brought. Then she gasped dramatically. “Oh my God. You’re Batman.”

Finn’s head shot up. “Oh, shit, is he Batman? That would explain so much.”

“Think about it. He’s rich, broody, lives in a literal penthouse fortress, and—” she pointed at me, eyes widening, “—hestalkedyou. Bruce Wayne behaviour if I’ve ever seen it.”

Silas lifted his gaze from the folder, unimpressed. “I’m not Batman.”

She waved a hand. “That’s exactly what Batman would say.”

Finn nodded sagely. “Classic denial.”

Silas let out a huff. “Finn, we need to go over these reports,” he said flatly.

Finn shot us a final smirk before they both settled back into their conversation.

“How are you doing?” she asked.

I fiddled with the edge of the blanket draped over my legs. “I don’t really know,” I admitted.

More and more flashes had come back to me over the last few days.

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