Page 30 of Love’s a Script (Hearts Collide #1)

Chapter Thirty

Mary showed up at her father’s home on a Saturday afternoon, and when he opened the door to let her in, he asked, “Was I expecting you?”

“No, I just thought I’d swing by.”

“That’s nice,” he said as they walked to the kitchen area where several piles of students’ assignments were stacked on the table. The home was too big for one man, but he seemed not to mind the gnawing space and the dust accumulating in spaces less frequented.

“I have some carrot cake from the grocery store,” he said. “If you want some.”

“Sure.” She watched him retrieve the cake from the refrigerator and cut thick slices.

“How’s work?” he asked while he put on the kettle.

“Good.”

“And how about that role you were set to get?”

She waved her hand dismissively. “I didn’t get it.”

“I’m sorry,” her dad said, pausing to look at her sincerely. “Next time.”

She smiled at her dad’s long-used motivation that might’ve sounded shallow coming from someone else, but as a mathematician, Conrad Neilson really did see failure as an opportunity to try again.

And with a week separating Mary and the cruise lead announcement, the only residual disappointment she harbored was the one associated with Eden.

She’d been prepared to act as though all was well between them, but within a day or two, they’d stopped taking their lunch breaks together.

They also no longer escaped to the other’s office between client meetings.

It was unclear who’d initiated the shift, and she’d not gotten used to it yet, but she supposed it felt better than pretending all workday.

Mary and her father took their seats at the cluttered breakfast nook with their cake and tea, and after a few bites, she said, “Dad, I need to tell you something.”

“Okay,” he replied, putting his cup down.

“Hattie and I hired a private investigator to look into Aurora.”

“Oh” is all he said.

“The PI didn’t find anything concerning,” she added. “Aurora is who you said she was.”

“Why are you telling me this?” he asked.

“Because I’m sorry that we felt the need to do it.”

She’d also wanted to confess because, with the week she’d had, she hoped it would relieve some of her emotional fatigue.

“It felt like the smart thing,” Mary said. “You’ve always been careful, and suddenly you weren’t. It was so out of character, and honestly, it scared us.”

Her father laughed, his round belly shaking with the effort.

“You know, I had my forty-fifth high school reunion last year, and it was the first time in decades that I revisited my grade twelve yearbook quote. ‘Screw your courage to the sticking place.’” His eyes drifted to stare into the middle distance for a moment.

“It’s from Macbeth , I believe. It reminded me to demand more from life and occasionally take the path with some resistance.

So, when I met Aurora on the Reddit, I decided to go for it. ”

“I’m happy you did and that you didn’t listen to us,” she told him. They returned to their plates, but the conversation bounced around in Mary’s head. Even after she’d left her dad’s place, his words lingered. They slowly took hold, germinating a realization.

* * *

“When’s the food getting here?” Ruben’s cousin asked from her place lounging on his sofa.

“Check. My phone’s on the coffee table,” he replied, distracted. He sat at the kitchen counter, trying to complete some time-sensitive work on his laptop before they left for trivia night.

“Eight minutes!” Junie said. “And you also have a notification to confirm a date with Larissa P.”

“Ah, shit.” Ruben got up from the stool for his phone. He’d been forgetting to do that all week, preoccupied with work and Mary. Five days had passed since Ruben had seen or spoken to her, but it had given him space to think, to reassess, to reason.

Being around Mary, being with Mary, quietened his otherwise racing mind.

Consequently, he’d lost sight of the big picture, but his talk with the biologist had fixed that.

Human romantic connection was unpredictable, and Ruben was risking a lot for vague affection and hot chemistry that would prove fleeting.

“I’m excited to learn if you’ve fallen in love or not with everyone else during your feature,” Junie said as Ruben pocketed his phone after confirming his date.

He had been light on the matchmaking details recently, but it was hard to give updates where there were none. “I’ll give you an exclusive spoiler,” he said. “I have not.”

The buzzer to the apartment went off. “That must be the food,” he said. “Can you answer it as I go change?”

He headed to his bedroom and swapped his hoodie and sweats for jeans and a long-sleeve, pub-trivia-themed shirt.

He emerged from his room as Junie was speaking to the delivery person at the front door.

But his cousin said, “Yeah, he’s right here,” and moved from the doorway to reveal Mary on the other side.

The impact of her presence halted Ruben. She looked so beautiful, like a snow angel, in her long white coat. The flickering lights from the hallway cast a halo all over her.

“Is it a bad time?” Mary asked. “I can come back.”

“No, no,” he said, quickly moving toward her. “It’s a perfect time. Come in.”

Mary’s eyes flitted to Junie, who was watching the interaction intently. “Could we…” Mary gestured to the corridor outside his apartment.

He nodded, following her out and closing his front door behind him.

“How’ve you been?” he asked, suddenly feeling like trash for not sending even a cursory text after she’d spent the night. “I should’ve called or?—”

“No, please. It’s okay. I didn’t expect that,” she said, not quite meeting his eye.

“Everything between us from the start has been a little tricky, and…” She took deep breath and gave her head a tiny shake.

It was a fortifying gesture, Ruben realized, and he knew then what she was trying to do.

She’d come to the same conclusion he had.

“Mary, you don’t have to be so diplomatic,” he told her, wanting to spare her the discomfort of placating him. “I know what you’re going to say, and I’m right there with you.”

Her face softened. “You are?”

“Yeah. You’re as devoted to your job as I am to fulfilling my commitment to the matchmaking process. Our night together was amazing, but there’s no need to complicate things.”

There was dead air as Mary blinked, and just as Ruben began to fear he’d misread the situation, she smiled. “Yes, I-I’m glad you understand,” she said.

“Of course! I was?—”

“Order for Ruben Byers?” said the delivery person who’d suddenly appeared.

“Yeah, right here.” Ruben reached for a cash tip in his pocket only to realize he’d forgotten his wallet inside the apartment.

“Give me a second,” he told the delivery person and Mary.

As he entered his home, his cousin barely scrambled out of the door’s path, making it obvious she’d been eavesdropping.

He ignored her and retrieved his wallet from the bedroom nightstand, quickly returning to the corridor where only the delivery man remained.

“She said she had to go,” the man said as they made their exchange. Ruben thanked him and peered down the carpeted hallway for sign of Mary before stepping back into his apartment with an odd feeling.

Junie was waiting for him in the kitchen, and as he put the takeout bags down, she asked, “Why did you not tell me?”

“Tell you what?” He feigned obliviousness in sheer hope that she was referencing something else.

“About you and your matchmaker.”

“Never came up,” he said, lining the deli containers along the counter.

Junie huffed, exasperated. “I should’ve known when you told me you guys shared a hotel room for days during the blizzard, then stopped working together.”

He didn’t comment as he pulled plates from the cabinets and utensils from a drawer.

“So, what now?” Junie asked.

“I have a date next week with Larissa P., and?—”

“You mean you and Mary aren’t…”

Ruben forced himself to laugh passed the dryness in his throat. “No.”

His cousin looked confused.

“We have professional obligations,” he said.

“But you like her, no?”

“Sure, but I’m not risking the radio feature for something that in all likelihood would fizzle out in four months.”

“You don’t know that for sure.”

He shrugged. “You’re right. But what I do know is that the feature is important to me and that love is a wily fucker.”

Junie frowned. “A what?”

“A wily fucker.”

His cousin studied him, and Ruben looked back defiantly. He was prepared for her to press the matter, tell him to be brave or bet on love or something equally patronizing, but Junie’s expression relaxed, and she gently said, “All right, pass the guacamole.”

* * *

Stepping out of Ruben’s apartment building, Mary found that it was now snowing. Nothing major, just flurries. But she stopped in the small parking area to tilt her head upward, letting the soft flakes disappear on her hot skin.

She’d drawn from feeble wares of courage to come there that evening to tell Ruben she was falling for him. It was an epiphany that followed her visit with her father. Her dad had scribed his own destiny, unconcerned with others’ opinions.

That was admirable to Mary because she often felt like she contorted herself to please people in hopes they’d like her, love her, praise her. It usually resulted in an insecurity that left her needing more confirmation, more affirmation that the false image she’d presented was landing correctly.

But it wasn’t like that with Ruben. He had seen her from the very beginning. He didn’t need her nice and saccharine. She felt bold in his presence, secure that he’d not recoil from her true visage. He was the type of person she wanted to love and be loved by.

She laughed then, the sound hitting her ears harshly. Her current state was unfortunate, but it could’ve been worse. She could’ve told Ruben her feelings and subjected herself to an excruciating rejection. This private humiliation was preferable.

Mary didn’t remember her drive home, consumed with planning the meal she would construct from pantry snacks and the action movie that would help her temporarily escape from reality.

She’d just entered her apartment and was shedding her outerwear when a knock on her door sounded.

Willa was on the other side with her laundry hamper in her hands.

“Great, you’re home,” Willa said. “I wanted to do a load.”

A reflexive smile appeared on Mary’s face.

“Yeah, sure. Come in.” But as her neighbor crossed the threshold into her home, something within Mary sharply protested.

“Actually, Willa, wait. I don’t think I can let you do your laundry here anymore.

You use way too much detergent, you always forget to remove your lint from the dryer, and you’ve also never returned the handheld steamer I lent you. I’d like it back…please.”

Mary didn’t move a muscle as she prepared for a big reaction, but all Willa did was flatly reply “Okay,” and retrace her steps out of the apartment.

“Thank you for understanding!” Mary said, to which Willa mumbled something that Mary didn’t catch, but she quickly shut her door before she could reverse her decision or apologize.

She pressed her back against the hard surface, and as her nerves began to settle and what she’d done came into focus, a smile sprouted.