Page 20 of Shadowed Rubies
Dani was nodding. “Yes, and I’m so socially backward that we can barely string two sentences together.”
It was worse than I thought. I’d somehow managed to make this nearly-perfect woman think that she was the problem here.
“No,” I said with enough vehemence to startle her. Softening my expression, I added, “It’s not you at all.”
She interrupted my intended speech by saying, “Oh, it’s not me, it’s you, right?”
I nearly panicked when I saw her turning to retrieve her purse from the bench beside her. She dug around inside the deep leather handbag, obviously looking for some cash as she slid to the side to leave the booth.
“Wait,” I said much too loudly. Tightening my fists, but tempering my volume, I added, “Please wait.”
When I saw her hesitate, I jumped in with both feet. This was no time for pride. “I like you. I mean, Ireallylike you. I always have. That’s why I’m so nervous and stilted tonight. I’m afraid of blowing my one chance with you, but the churning negativity in my mind is making that fear turn into reality.”
I could tell that I had her interest, but her expression was filled with disbelief. Proving I was right about that, she said, “No way.”
“Yes,” I nodded vigorously to back up my word. “I’ve had a major crush on you since we were kids.”
She shook her head, obviously not fully believing me, but she set her purse back down on the bench beside her, so I took that as a positive sign. “I was a nerd in school.” Looking down and indicating her clothes with her hand, she added, “I still am.”
I shook my head right back at her. “Dani, don’t you see how magnificent you are? You’re smart, funny, kindhearted, and beautiful.”
At that last adjective, she let out an undignified snort before saying, “Hardly.”
I couldn’t quite believe it as I stared across the table at her. Her soulful eyes were filled with utter sincerity. “You really don’t have any idea, do you?”
Proving my point, she turned her head to each side before saying, “Am I being punked right now? Is this some kind of bet? There is no way that a perfect jock specimen, like you, ever had a crush on me.”
“I did, and I still do.” I kept my gaze unwavering on her, even though it was an embarrassing admission. It felt important to let this guarded woman know that I was sincere. Even if nothing else came out of this evening, I wanted her to leave here knowing that someone truly saw her for the amazing person she was.
Her eyes were still filled with disbelief as she twirled her straw with her thumb and index finger, but her expression was softening a bit as if she might be daring to begin to believe me. “I wore thick, dorky glasses in school,” she reminded me.
“That red frame was sexy as fuck.” My voice came out sounding gravelly. I could tell the curse word surprised her when her eyes darted up to mine.
Our waitress chose that intense moment to deliver our pizza. The woman said something to me in her high-pitched, flirtatious tone as she set down the pie, but I only had eyes for Dani.
I’d put myself out there and admitted my life-long secret crush. I knew it was now or never, so I decided to shift this date into an enjoyable one before I lost my chance with Dani. Scanning my brain for an interesting, acceptable discussion topic, I smiled confidently as I landed on the perfect one.
“How is Bruiser doing? He didn’t suffer any injuries in the fire, did he?”
As expected, Dani’s eyes lit up at my mention of her beloved pet. “He’s fine… thanks to you.”
I would die a happy man if I could wake up and see that shy, beautiful smile beaming at me from her side of the bed each morning.
Obviously not knowing where my thoughts had immediately gone, Dani went on. “I took him to the vet to make sure he didn’t inhale too much smoke, and he got the all-clear from his doctor.”
“I’m glad he’s okay,” I told her sincerely. I might not be a dog person, but it was obvious that she was, so I wouldn’t want anything to happen to the little rat.
Since she clearly enjoyed talking about him, I continued in that same vein. “Did you choose the name Bruiser because of the movieLegally Blonde?”
Dani selected a slice of the gooey sausage and pepperoni pizza and used her fork to sever the long string of cheese that connected it. “Why does everyone always ask me that?”
I leaned forward, not quite able to believe my ears. “You know…Legally Blondewith Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods?”
At Dani’s blank stare, I prompted her further. “She goes to Harvard to prove to her hoity-toity boyfriend that she can make it there…”
Dani had just taken a large bite of her pizza, so she merely shook her head in answer to my hints.
“You’re kidding me, right? You’ve seriously never seen that movie? It’s a classic.”
