It’s easy when the pros include magical puppies, living with the man of my dreams, and owning a sword.
After Austin and Aurelia left, Samson and I met eyes, then we exploded into a puddle of laughter. The exchange went something like:
Oh my granite, did you see his face? What possessed you, Shoulders?
I thought you’d approve.
I do. I really do.
I’m glad. I’m gonna check on the water troughs; they dry up fast in Summers.
I thought that was that. Great prank. No big deal. Back to the day’s work.
Just two buddies having a grand time together, with no consequences to speak of.
Samson blows out a breath as he passes me a bowl he’s just washed. “I didn’t think that part through.” His eyes lock with mine. “I am so sorry. I’ll head to Austin’s tonight and assess the damage Aurelia’s probably caused, then I’ll do whatever I can to fix it.”
Damage?
Something about that word hurts more than I think it should.
So I force a smile and push my glasses up before I take my time wiping the bowl. “It’s fine. It doesn’t bother me. Unless it bothers you. In which case, I can go take care of it.”
Samson fixes me with a stern expression. “Highly discouraged.”
My mouth drops open. “I wouldn’tkillanyone. Killing the only person I’d want to run through with my sparkly sword wouldn’t even do anything! We both knowAustin’snot the one telling people that we’re married, and I’d sooner stab myself than hurt Aurelia. She’s innocent. Like a flower.” A happy little flower full of hope and dreams and love.
I wish I could be half so genuine.
If I were like her, I’d have confessed to Samson ages ago, unafraid that things would go poorly.
I’ve come all the way to another world just to stay the exact same coward I’ve always been, hiding behind something—anything—I can in order to avoid getting hurt.
People…scare me.
They always have.
And while the familiarity I have with the people in Gem Ridge helps, it doesn’t change who I am or how afraid I am of messing everything up. It’s just a matter of time before I run out of script and have to start living in a world with quests I haven’t practiced.
“You shouldn’t have to clean this up.” Samson’s head shakes. “It’s my fault. I started it.”
“Right,” I say. “But I didn’t stop it. And you gave me every opening to stop it. But I rambled an epic about our fictitious love story instead.”
He murmurs, “I very much appreciated how you kept punching Bruce in the story.”
I sniffle. “Thanks. I appreciated that as well.”
Wincing, Samson dries his hands on his shirt and cups my chin. “Please don’t cry, Lemonade.”
“B-but I’ve caused a problem for you.”
He shrugs his big beautiful shoulders. “Not really? I’m sure anyone Aurelia could have told this afternoon would be on board to mess with Austin, too. His face turns the same color as his hair. People love that about him.” Samson’s calloused thumb traces my jaw. “Actually…this is a great opportunity to get the entire town in on the joke.”
Thejoke.
Marrying me is a joke.
Against my will, I start crying harder.
