Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 121916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
I try not to crack a smile. Goddamn Ruby. If this is the direction her grovel is going to go, I’m going to crumble like a cookie in record speed.
“Are you furious with me? Or just mad?”
“Furious is too strong a word.”
“Mad, then? That’s still a really strong emotion, if you think about.”
Fuck. She’s batting her lashes, and I can feel the corners of my mouth itching to trend upward. “I’d say I’m more annoyed than anything, at this point.”
“Progress!”
“But I’m very, very annoyed with you, Ruby. As precariously close to being mad as a person can get.”
“And rightly so. I behaved like a monster by bringing up your crush to save myself. I can’t believe I did that. What was I thinking?”
“God only knows.”
She stops what she’s doing and fixes her dark, soulful eyes on mine. “Seriously, KC. I’m deeply sorry for what I did. I’m a horrible friend. When I felt like I was drowning in stormy seas, I used my very best friend in the world as a flotation device. Because that’s me. Selfish and despicable to my core.” She shakes her head. “In my panic not to drown, I didn’t think twice to climb aboard your big, broad, strong back and—”
“Flattery will get you nowhere.”
“It’s not flattery. Your back is strong. And so I climbed it, and—” She pounds her closed fist violently into her open palm and grimaces dramatically. “Then I shoved your sweet, innocent, saintly face underwater, to save myself, causing you to go down, down, down, all the way to Davey Jones’s locker.”
I don’t want to do it, but I can’t help chuckling at her little passion play.
Ruby flashes me an adorably apologetic look. “Will you ever be able to forgive me, my darling bestie, or will my monstrous behavior shatter our friendship forever?”
“It’s been sixty minutes, Ruby. And I never get to be mad at you.”
“I thought you were only annoyed.” She pinches my forearm. “Think about it, my darling. Wouldn’t it be so much more fun if we joined forces against Kai as our common enemy? Why waste another valuable minute longer than necessary being annoyed with me, when Public Enemy Number One is sitting right up there, and we could talk shit about him the whole flight together, if only you’d forgive and forget and accept my heartfelt apology now.”
“What shit-talking would we do, even if I forgave you now? We both know you’re going to fall asleep right after they feed us.”
“No, this one time, I’d force myself to stay awake the whole flight and shit-talk Kai all the way to Vancouver, if I knew that was the price of your forgiveness.”
“My forgiveness doesn’t have a price tag. I just need some time to process. What you did was shitty, Ruby.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
She juts out her lower lip and hangs her head, and I swear, every cell in my body yearns to take her in my arms and kiss her pouty mouth.
“If I were you,” Ruby says, “I’d tell me to get the fuck out of my airspace and go sit with Titus because you can’t stand to even look at me.”
I snort. “That tactic isn’t gonna work on me, babe.”
Ruby bats her eyelashes. “What tactic?”
“Making your mea culpa so over the top, I feel compelled to reassure you that what you did wasn’t that bad.”
Ruby snickers. “You know all my best tricks.”
“And I’m ready for all of them. You can sit here next to me, if you want. In fact, that’s what I want, as part of your penance. But just so you know, I’m not going to forgive you for a while.”
Ruby’s eyes go wide. “For how long?”
“I guess you’ll have to wait and see.”
“Will you still be mad at me after we get to Vancouver?”
“Maybe.”
“Kendrick!”
“At least till we land. The rest is a wait-and-see kind of thing.”
“Kendrick Cook! Vancouver is six hours from now. I won’t survive anything beyond that.” She bats my shoulder. “You’re entitled to be annoyed with me, but don’t be cruel.”
Goddamn her. How does she do this? I’m smiling from ear to ear, against my will. “Well, maybe next time you’ll think twice before throwing me under a double-decker bus to save your own embarrassed ass.”
“I will. I promise.” She pinches my shoulder. “Will you still be my pillow for the flight, even if you’re annoyed with me?”
“Nope.”
Ruby gasps. “Cruel.”
“There have to be consequences for your bad behavior, Miss Connolly, or you’ll never correct it in the future.”
“The punishment has to fit the crime, though. Not being my pillow is the equivalent of sentencing me to death for a misdemeanor.”
“You really think what you did was a misdemeanor?”
“We were all there when you saw Laila at Reed’s party and called dibs, Kendrick. It’s not like it was some kind of state secret you were interested in her.”