CHAPTER 22
Scott gathered his thoughts as he poured the wine, while Doc sat across the table, studying him like he was a bug pinned to a board as part of a science project. “I take it you’ve been watching the news today,” he said, handing her a glass. “And you’re aware of the latest rumors that I am party to an arranged-marriage contract back in Shiretopia.”
“Are arranged marriages really a thing?” she asked stiffly.
“They are in Shiretopia.” He could only imagine how little she thought of him at this point. He’d done exactly what she was afraid all men eventually do…leave a woman for another. She must view him as a complete shit, believing he’d slept with her last night while willingly betrothed to a woman back home whom he’d planned on meeting at the airport this morning. “I owe you an apology for not telling you about her.”
She snorted. “You owe me nothing. We’re not an item. We had a one-night stand. Nothing more. If you owe anyone an apology, it is your bride-to-be.”
“You’re wrong. We have an understanding.”
Doc narrowed her eyes. “An open relationship?”
He swallowed. “Doc, return to Shiretopia with me, and I’ll explain everything.” The request was unplanned and selfish. Yet, he allowed it to hang between them.
Doc’s laugh, when it came, was short and harsh. “Why would I do that?”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
“Not in the fucking least.”
He opened his mouth to explain, but no words spilled out. Hell, he wasn’t sure what the answer was.
“Forget it,” Doc said. “Your why doesn’t matter, because I have no desire to attend your nuptials to an open marriage.” She did air quotes around the last two words. “And then allow you to set me up as your tart on the side.”
The pain in her voice gutted him, and he reached out, hovering his hands over hers, waiting for a sign it was okay to touch her. “I want you to return to Shiretopia with me because last night wasn’t just a moment—it was meaningful.”
She pulled her hands back and picked up her glass. “How can that possibly be when your heart doesn’t work?”
“Because long story short, last night, you cracked something inside of me.”
She gave him a what-the-fuck look. “I’m going to need the long story,” she snapped. “The short version makes zero sense. Unless you’re telling me I cracked your penis and it has fallen off. That would make total sense and let me just be the first to say…I told you so.”
He groaned. “Damn it, Doc. My cock is fine. What I’m trying to say—and failing at miserably—is that even though I’m not capable of love, if I could, you’re the person I’d want to give my heart to.”
“That’s pretty and all, and just might make some women swoon at your feet, but your heart doesn’t work, so your words mean jack.”
“Not jack. Last night, being with you caused a crack in my heart which allowed my soul to slip out.”
“I’m to believe rakes have souls?”
“Of course we have souls. And you have a soul. And I believe our souls have mated, and that’s why I feel what I’m feeling toward you. Just like what happened when Father courted Mum.”
She glanced down at her wine. “And how many times have your ancestors used that particular line on women over the years?” While her words were blasé, the thickness of her voice told him she wasn’t as unmoved by his words as she’d like for him to believe.
“I deserve your skepticism, but it’s true. It’s like every minute I’ve spent with you has chipped away at the curse holding my heart hostage and last night, you cracked it.” He reached out, placed his hand under her chin and raised it so he could see into her eyes. They were stormy with emotions as she stared mutely at him. When a tear fell down her cheek, he wiped it away. “You’ve disrupted my status quo, and I’m not mad about that.”
She sniffed. “Let’s say I believe you, which I don’t, but if I did, you still haven’t said why you want me to return to Shiretopia with you.”
“My hope is if I bring you home and tell Father you’re my I’ll-give-up-everything-for-her person, he’ll not force me to go through with the arranged marriage.”
She sniffed again. “But if the king says no, you won’t actually give up everything for me. Correct?”
He reluctantly shook his head thinking of his friend sitting in prison. An explanation sat on the tip of his tongue, but Rose’s plea for him to keep her and Mark’s love a secret, prevented him from giving one. Mildred never made a threat she wasn’t willing to keep.
“That’s what I thought.” Lux jerked away from his touch.
“Not because I don’t want to,” he added quickly. “But because there are other factors I must take into consideration. Why don’t we take a walk, and I can try to explain better.”
She shook her head forcibly. “Not necessary. You see, I get it,” she said. “I really do. You know why I do? Because there are things I also must take into consideration as well. Which is why I asked to meet with you tonight.” She opened her purse and pulled out a wrapped pastry and pushed it toward him.
“What is this?”
“It’s the antidote to your curse. Eat it, and your heart will be freed from its bondage.”
Her words caused his head to spin. “I don’t understand.”
“Ms. Birdie told me about your curse and recruited my help to break it.”
“Why would she involve you when she damn well knows…”
“Knows that the woman who brings the antidote must be in love with you,” Doc said when he sputtered to a stop. “And the woman must give you the antidote while knowing that by giving it, she will never receive your love in return.”
“Then you do love me?” Joy swept through him. He wasn’t the only one feeling the strong connection between them. “You’re crazy if you think I’m going to consume the antidote knowing you love me. Mother and Father were happy even without the antidote—we can be as well.”
“Scott, while I admit you own a small section of my heart, let me be clear as to why I’m choosing to give you the antidote,” she said in her Dr. Stone voice. One all business. “You see, by doing so, I know it guarantees you won’t love me back. And that’s what I desire.”
“You want me rendered forever incapable of loving you?” He was so confused.
“Yes. That way, I won’t have to worry about doing something stupid—like lowering my standards when it comes to the type of man I want to spend the rest of my life with.”
Pain ripped through him like a white-hot poker to the heart. “That makes no fucking sense. You love me, but you don’t want me? Is it because of Rose? Because I’ve told you—”
“It’s because you’re not the right man for me,” Doc said coldly.
Trying to find the calm he needed, he exhaled hard, but didn’t succeed. Too many emotions were detonating inside of him. Anger, fear, hurt, more fear. “You seriously don’t want my heart, because I don’t meet your preconceived notions of the perfect man? Bloody hell, if it means that much to you, I’ll start wearing corduroy jackets and attending lectures on college campuses.”
“It’s more than that.” Her lips trembled, and she bit down on them.
He reached for her hands again. “Doc, please—”
She yanked her hands away. “You’re not the type of man who will ever be happy with just one woman. It’s not in your DNA. I know that. You know that.”
“I know nothing of the sort, and you know nothing about me as a boyfriend. All you know about me is what Naked Runway has allowed you to know.”
She scowled. “What does that mean?”
“It means I’m under a nondisclosure clause with them. I’ve not been allowed to mention my bride in waiting—”
“That’s a very convenient NDA.”
“And my contract with Naked Runway requires me to date a different woman every week.”
“In other words, between your NDA and your contract, you were given a license to be a serial dater. Always the flirt, never the deep stuff. Eat the damn cookie, already.”
He thrust the love knot back at her. “I don’t want this. I want to love you even if you don’t want to love me back.”
She shook her head. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. When I leave here tonight, I’m walking away from you forever. I’ll go on remaining rake-dates per our agreement with Frankie, and then I’ll never look back at this episode in my life.”
Bollocks. “Who are you going on dates with? Have you already made the dates?”
“It doesn’t matter who, and yes, they’re made. I’m serious about not wanting you. Now, eat the cookie. Go back to Shiretopia, tell your father the curse is broken, and then do whatever it is you and your bride-to-be decide to do from there.”
He slammed his palm on the table, causing those around them to glance their way. He took a breath and leaned toward her. “Doc, please change your mind.”
“Scott, I don’t know what you’re feeling, but we both know it’s not love.”
“It’s not nothing,” he muttered.
“Have you even taken a good look at me tonight? This isn’t what you fell in love with. You fell for the false eyelash wearing, big hair, tight pants woman. You and I both know that’s not the real me. The real me is girl next door at best.”
“The real you is a person who doesn’t think I’m good enough for her,” he said quietly.
“Scott, I want a man who is a homebody. One who doesn’t blink when I tell him I want to learn to knit.”
Scott blinked. Wasn’t that a pastime for grandmothers?
She rolled her eyes. “And one who attends conferences on things like the Annual Meeting of the Linguistic Society.”
“Doc, if you want to learn to knit, I’m down with that. Hell, I’ll even learn. And if you want a conference goer, let’s do it. Let’s go to one together. In fact, there’s one coming up in a month in Vegas I was to attend for a column. It’s called the: Geeky Kink Event. Come with me.”
The mention of kink caused her to blush, and he pushed on, wanting to keep her off balance until he could talk some sense into her. “Do you think this professor you dream of will do half the things to your body I did last night?”
“You’re not going to change my mind,” she said. “Anyone can learn to be good at sex. I’m taking the safe path to a happy ever after. And the safe path is a man with all the markers of relationship security.”
His phone dinged, and he glanced at it. His time was up. For Mark’s sake, he had to get on the plane and return to Shiretopia. He took one last shot at knocking Lux off balance in the hopes of making her see sense. “I never saw the delightful woman who busted my balls from day one to be a coward.”
“If it makes you feel better to call me a coward, I can live with that.” She pushed the cookie toward him. “Please, eat the cookie before you leave.”
“You’re sure you won’t change your mind?” Scott asked.
“You’re not the man I want to love,” Doc said without a moment of hesitation.
Anger and hurt fired through him. “Fine.” He shoved the cookie in his mouth and stood. “I hope Corduroy makes you happy.”
Tears welled in Lux’s eyes. She fumbled with her purse and pulled out some type of box and a program and handed them to him. “Here. I found the recipe for the love knots inside this music chest. It’s written on the back of that showbill. I believe the box was made by a Shiretopian woodworker. Consider it my wedding gift to you and your betrothed.”
He took the item with one hand, wrapped his other around the back of her neck and pulled her in for a hard kiss. “Goodbye, Doc.”