Page 39 of A Class of Her Own

Brooks smiled and took her hand, which meant they were shaking hands in front of my chin. “So nice to see you again.”

“Isn’t this exciting? I had no idea Meredith was so invested in skunks, but I can’t wait to see what happens tonight,” Ruby said.

She then stepped around me and reached out to help Brooks out of his coat while I watched. She didn’t even try to pretend she wasn’t giving him a once over as his back was turned, and before he could see her, she looked at me and wiggled her eyebrows while making her mouth into an O shape. I had to clench my jaw to keep from rolling my eyes or sputtering out a laugh at her antics. She was going whole hog on the matchmaking tonight.

“Brooks, nice to see you again,” Aryn said as he headed that direction, leaving Ruby and I alone for a second.

I nudged Ruby with my elbow. “Knock it off. What are you trying to do?”

She nudged me back, causing me to stumble to the side. “He has a nice build, and he smells great. And that hair.” She made a humming noise. “Running your fingers through that could be the only plan you need for an entire weekend. I give him two thumbs up.”

“I have no need to run my hands through his hair,” I hissed as we neared the kitchen, where Aryn and Brooks were lightly chatting.

She sighed. “That’s a shame, because I think your entire mood would brighten after a few minutes.”

“So, skunks,” I called when we came into the open living area. “Who’s in the mood?”

Aryn, used to Ruby and understanding that she’d probably thrown me for a loop, nodded and picked right up. “Me. Totally in the mood for skunk watching.”

Brooks looked bemused. “Did he take any apples? Or are they still there?”

He and I wandered to the window, where the last bit of daylight was still shining through.

“No new tracks, and the apples are still there. Aryn brought over a motion detecting camera, and we braced it in the tree nearby. So, we should be able to watch for movement on the monitor and not have to stand with our faces pressed to the glass door all night.”

“Unless you want to stand there, close together, faces pressed to the glass,” Ruby joked, motioning to the two of us.

I smacked my lips. “Pass. Let’s go sit on the couch.”

Brooks chuckled softly as he followed, and I had the feeling Ruby had winked directly at him this time.

We all took seats, and I was grateful that Ruby hadn’t been able to maneuver Brooks onto the couch next to me. He seemed to find her amusing rather than weird, and I was grateful. With Ruby, it was always best to operate from a place of humor.

Ruby crossed her curvy legs and plated her fingers together before looking right at Brooks. “So, what do you do for a living?”

“I’m a property lawyer.”

“Convenient,” Ruby replied. “For, you know, being an HOA president.”

Brooks nodded. “Can be.”

“I’m a nurse. Convenient for untraceable poisons.” She held her face in some scary serial killer expression for three whole seconds before her eyes betrayed her and laughter followed. “I’m kidding.”

Brooks nodded. “I’m impressed, you had me convinced I needed to keep an eye on my veins.”

Ruby beamed, and I forced a laugh. “Aryn, do we have that monitor up and running?” I asked.

Aryn came out of the kitchen with a small screen, about ten inches wide, and propped it on my coffee table. “If I got all the instructions right, this should do it.” She pushed a power button and knelt down in front of it to watch. “It’s supposed to be wireless, and I already know your password.”

Ruby leaned toward Brooks and stage whispered, “Her password is sexy minx, all lower case. I reprogrammed it when she wasn’t paying attention.”

My eyes shot to Ruby’s right as a burst of laughter left Brooks’s mouth. He hurried to slam his lips closed, but his shoulders were still shaking as I shot eye darts at Ruby. She was not supposed to be playing so chummy with Brooks and poking fun at me. And Brooks was not supposed to be so charmed by her. This was getting out of control.

“Where did you get this stuff?” I asked Aryn as I forced myself to settle back into the couch and play it cool. “I didn’t know you were into home security.”

Aryn’s answer was mumbled, so I asked again. This time she looked up from her kneeling position and met each of our eyes as though daring us to say a word about it as she stated, “Wesley.”

“The computer guy at school?” Ruby asked with her trademark ‘oh, isn’t this interesting’ smirk. “That was awfully nice of him to loan out hispersonal assets.”

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