Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Ruby
After I hear the front door click shut, I flop face-first onto my bed, groaning into my pillow. I allow myself three minutes to wallow and then pop up and grab my purse.
Now, I’m pacing Desiree’s living room, a pizza box on the coffee table beside the sofa. Unlike the one I offered Griffin, this one is from a real pizzeria.
“Thirty days! How will I stand the guy that long?”
Sir Lancelot, Desiree’s rotund cat, has been assessing me since I walked inside. He senses there’s something different about me. I’ve been Griffin-ized.
Desiree downs the dregs of her pinot. Pizza and pinot noir are a better combo than it sounds, though I’m not sure my gastroenterologist would agree.
“He didn’t seem that bad,” she says.
I pause my pacing in front of her, gesticulating. “He’s going to be at the flower shop every day, supervising, and crunching numbers. And he doesn’t even believe we’ll succeed. And he doesn’t believe in lasting love!”
I know I sound like a rapid-fire lunatic but I can’t help it. I’m worked up. Big time.
“If you don’t stop your crazy arms, you’re going to go airborne.”
I drop my arms and take a breather, suddenly depleted.
Desiree’s face is filled with concern. “I’ve never seen you like this. This dude’s gotten under your skin.”
I nod, regrouping, searching desperately for my happy place. “Maybe it won’t be so bad. He is here to fulfill his aunt’s wishes.” I sit. “Do you think there’s more to him than meets the eye?”
Desiree shrugs. “That’s often the case with people. But even if he’s horrible, just be your usual self and you’ll charm the pants off him.”
“What if he’s immune?”
“Don’t be so modest. No one is immune to your charms, Ruby.”
As much as I love Desiree, I’m familiar with Griffin’s type. Bottom line above all else. I’m known as the ultimate optimist but I’ve lived enough life to have learned that reality is hard to ignore. “I’m going to drown him in sunshine,” I declare.
Desiree lifts her glass. “That’s my girl!”
I grab a slice of pizza, fully aware that if I don’t give it my all and play nice with the city guy, I’ll be out of a job just in time for Valentine’s Day.