Page 91 of Can't Win 'Em All
“We’re still figuring things out.” I wouldn’t allow them to push me too far before I was ready. “If Rex has the room close to mine, we only have to do one nursery. If I need a nap when he’s watching the baby, I can sleep in his suite. It’s really the best of both worlds.”
“If that’s what you want, I don’t have a problem with it,” Mom said. “I agree with the others that it doesn’t make a lot of sense for you guys not to move in with each other and get it over with, but if this is the step you’re comfortable with, I’m fine with it.”
I blinked, then cocked my head. “Just like that? You’re not going to try to manipulate me into inviting him to move in?”
Mom snorted. “You’re the only child I have who can’t be manipulated.”
“Hey!” Pearl and Opal said again.
“Oh, shush.” Mom shook her head. “I want you to do what you’re comfortable with. I happen to believe you and Rex will be living with one another sooner rather than later, but if you want to pretend a little bit longer because it makes you comfortable, I’m not going to argue with you.”
I didn’t like that everybody seemed to think happily ever after with Rex was a done deal, but it was also comforting in a weird way. “Thank you. Rex will be happy.”
“Oh, Rex has his eye on the prize,” Zach said. “He knows exactly what he’s doing.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Just that he knows exactly how to deal with you.” Zach shrugged. “He’s figured you out and his goals are clearly outlined. He’s going to play it your way to make sure he gets it, though.”
I couldn’t tell if that was a good or bad thing. “So, we’re fine if he moves this week?”
“He has to move in the next two days,” Mom countered. “Kathy moves in Monday. We have to get Rex’s room cleaned before that can happen, and it won’t just be a normal clean.”
“We’ll get him moved,” Zach promised. “I can help. It won’t take more than a day.”
“Good.” Mom smiled. “I’m glad things are going so well for the two of you. I still have hope for a wedding before the baby.”
I didn’t want to be the naysayer, but I needed to nip that hope in the bud. “There’s no way we’ll be married before the baby. I need to make sure that we’re compatible before that’s even a consideration.”
Mom snorted. “Okay. Whatever you want.” Her eyes moved to Dad. “Are you going to sit there and sulk?”
“I have a presentation,” Dad complained. “I was supposed to go first.”
“Well, believe it or not, Ryder, you’re not the center of our world. You can wait your turn.”
“And when will that be?”
“Eventually.” She smirked at me. “If that’s all from you, Ruby, we’ll move on.”
I hadn’t expected it to be this easy. They were all going out of their way to appease me. It made me wonder about my expectations. Maybe I was the one overthinking everything and life didn’t have to be as difficult as I imagined.
How humbling was that?
24
TWENTY-FOUR
“What do you think?” I stood back from where I’d just hung my new piece of art in my new suite and gave Ruby a knowing look.
She was on the couch, Stone Group financial documents spread around her, and she barely looked up. When she did, she almost jolted out of her skin. “What the hell?”
“Olivia took it the night of the engagement party,” I replied, smiling at the portrait. It was us dancing when we hadn’t realized we were being watched. We only had eyes for each other in the black-and-white photo.
“That is so freaking weird.”
I frowned. “I think it’s cool. It was the start of us. Like … the exact moment. How many couples can say they have photos of that?”
“I’m looking at you as if you’re the last porterhouse in the world.”
