Page 39 of Don't Bet On It
I didn’t respond to that. “Things seemed tense for a few days after they found out.”
“And now?” Olivia prodded.
“Now, they seem fine.” In fact, they seemed better than fine. I’d seen Ronan having a drink at the sports bar with Zach and Rex more than once over the past two weeks. “Actually, they seem to be friends now.”
“Oh, yeah?” Ruby leaned back in her seat, considering. “I can see that. Ronan seems pretty low-key. Well, other than that incident with the bridal party.” She turned to me, her eyes sparkling. “What the hell was that?”
I struggled to find a correct answer. “They were out of control,” I said finally. “They weren’t listening. They were demanding Ronan give them specific cards. There were slaps flying around.”
“I heard about the slaps.” Ruby looked tickled. “I think the slap gets a bad rap. Sometimes, they’re just funny.”
“Yes, I totally agree,” Olivia drawled. “I’m thinking of slapping somebody right now.” She gave Ruby a pointed look then focused on me. “What about Kyla? Are things better with her after I made her toss out all the things in your file?”
I knew better than to tell the truth. “They’re fine,” I lied. “She only swings through the lounge once an hour.”
“If she’s difficult, let me know,” Olivia insisted. “I’ll have a talk with her.”
How could I explain that tattling was not going to make things better with Kyla, despite Olivia’s best efforts? “Things are great.”
“Other than Ronan,” Ruby said.
I shrugged. “Our relationship is pretty much nonexistent. We talk about things that are important for work but otherwise ignore one another.”
“And you’re okay with that?” Olivia pressed.
I gave her a look of surprise. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know.” Her shoulders hopped, and she suddenly looked innocent. “I just thought that maybe you still had a crush on him or something.”
I was scandalized … and offended. Yeah, I was offended to thenth degree. “I did not have a crush on him.”
Olivia made a protesting sound. “How can you say that with a straight face?”
“Because it’s the truth.”
“Okay.” Olivia let loose a little snort laugh.
“Is that not the truth?” Ruby asked. She looked legitimately curious.
“When we were in high school, Tallulah had the worst crush on him,” Olivia replied in a conspiratorial whisper, as if I couldn’t hear her.
“That’s a lie,” I countered. “I didn’t have a crush on him.”
“She would follow him around and loiter in the gym after basketball practice,” Olivia said. “She would make cow eyes at him.”
“Did he return the feelings?” Ruby asked.
“No.” Olivia’s lips curved down. “Unfortunately not.”
“I did not have a crush on him,” I growled out. I hated where this conversation was going.
“It’s not a big deal,” Olivia said. “I had a huge crush on someone when I was that age too. It didn’t go well for me either.”
Now, it was my turn to be incredulous. “Are you going to sit there and pretend you’re not currently married to your crush?” I demanded.
“Oh, right.” Olivia deflated a bit. “Maybe that’s not a good comparison.”
Ruby laughed as if her sister-in-law had said the funniest thing in the world. Then she focused on me. “Ronan is good-looking. If you like him, it’s not a big deal.”
