Page 55 of Royal Hottie
I press my lips together for a moment, touched by her faith in me, however misplaced, and then I tell her everything, all the glorious highs and the really terrible low of our trip together.
“Damn, Phillip, were youtryingto push her away?”
“No!”Was I?Did I sabotage it on purpose, still afraid of a real commitment because of Lana’s betrayal? I’d hate to think that was the case. That can’t be. I truly do love Ruby. Why didn’t I tell her that? I’m such an idiot. I assumed way too much—that she knew I loved her, that she’d agree that my work was the best way for us to have a life together. I didn’t even consider any other option.
“I didn’t mean to push her away,” I say miserably. “I was trying to pull her with me in a misguided stupid way.”
“Really stupid. Do you think I would’ve stayed with Gabriel if he told me my job as a hairdresser was meaningless and insignificant? Or if he looked down on the fact that I was the handywoman for my apartment building?”
I open my mouth to argue that it’s different because Anna’s work is now relevant to the kingdom, but she barrels on before I can get a word out.
“Hell no! I would’ve sent him packing if he acted that way, but he didn’t. He applauded what I had achieved because he loved and respected me. If you actually love and respect Ruby, you’ve got a long way to go to prove it. I’m sure you made her feel like used gum on the bottom of your shoe. Less than.”
Bile rises in my throat as Ruby’s words come back to me.You’re not better than me just because you do charitable work. Every contribution can be meaningful if it comes from the heart.Her work means a lot to her, which is all that matters. I ranked her worth below mine when it’s not. She’s everything to me, above me in the ways that count—open, warm, and loving. And I was wretched to her.
Anna pats my arm. “I can see you’re getting it now. Make sure you really grovel.” She returns to her seat.
By the time the hired limo pulls up to Ruby’s parents’ modest one-story peach stucco home in a suburban development, I’m so nervous I can barely think straight. I can’t screw this up.
Anna hollers at me on my way out of the car, “Grovel like you mean it!”
I lift a hand in acknowledgment and walk up the front sidewalk. Princes don’t grovel. It’s not in my DNA. But I will right the wrong, correct course, and say what I should’ve said the first time around. I love her and that is what will make everything work out. It has to. Of course, it’s not at all a sure thing. I didn’t call ahead for fear she wouldn’t see me.
I’m dressed casually in an aquamarine button-down shirt that matches my eyes (Ruby often complimented my eye color, marveling at it), black trousers, and black leather shoes. I’m carrying a bouquet of roses, which Anna said is a necessary item for the classic grovel. It’s my only concession to groveling.
Rafe and Henry stand behind me on the concrete porch, waiting for me to get up the nerve to ring the bell. There’s a screen door and a white front door. I debate knocking on one or the other instead of ringing the bell. Damn nerves. I press the bell.
The door opens a few moments later to a petite woman with a short cap of dirty blond hair. This must be Ruby’s mother. She leaves the screen door shut and peers through it at me. “Yes?”
I force a smile. “Hello, I’m Phillip Rourke. These are my guards. I’m here to see Ruby.”
Her eyes widen. “You’re the royal hottie!” She yanks open the screen door, her pregnant stomach large and round under a yellow T-shirt. “Come in before the neighbors get wind of you! Edward, the prince is here! Ruby!”
“Thank you, ma’am.” I step into a living room tastefully decorated with a white sofa and matching armchairs, a honey-colored wood coffee table and end tables. I suspect Ruby had something to do with the way the room was pulled together. It looks like something out of a magazine. Elegant in its simplicity.
“Please have a seat,” she says, gesturing for us to take the sofa. “I’m Eileen. Eeep! This is so exciting! Your Highness, the royal hottie, right here in my living room!”
I take a seat. “Just Phillip will suffice.”
She looks at the guards still standing by the front door and turns back to me. “Can I get you anything?”
“Just Ruby, please.”
“I’ll be right back!”
The house isn’t soundproof in the least, and I can clearly hear her as she rushes down the hallway and hollers, “Edward, hurry up in the bathroom! There’s a prince in the living room. Yes! The one Ruby’s been bitching about!”
I shift in my seat. Her mother has been very cordial considering her daughter’s been bitching about me. I catch Rafe’s eye. He and Henry look amused. Nothing like witnesses to your grovel.
A moment later, we hear someone pounding on a door and rattling the knob. Then Eileen hollers, “Unlock the door this minute! Phillip is here to see you!”
I can’t hear Ruby’s response muffled by the door.
“Ruby Evans, I will unscrew these hinges and pull you out by the hair if you don’t get your butt out here!”
Her father chimes in. “That will take too long. I’ll go to the window and pull her out that way.”
Perhaps her parents are eager to get rid of her. Ruby did say they needed her room for the baby. That will only help my cause.
