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“I’ll bet Joey wishes he had cool uncles like you. Sometimes people say things to make you feel bad because they feel sad about something, too.”
“You think Joey feels sad that his dad doesn’t pick him up?”
God, I love this fucking kid.
“I don’t really know because I don’t know Joey. But I know that if someone is pointing out something that you don’t have, it’s usually because they aren’t happy on the inside.”
“Are you happy on the inside, Ruby?” Cutler asked, and I chuckled because, damn, the kid didn’t hold back.
Ruby surprised me when she wiped her hands on her napkin and smiled at him. “Most of the time I am. Sometimes I’m sad inside, too, though.”
“Why?”
She thought about it. “Well, sometimes I get sad when my brothers do things that aren’t good for them, and I don’t know how to help them. How about you? Are you happy on the inside, Beefcake?”
“I’m happy on the inside.” He looked up and then reached for her hand, and she startled a bit. Cutler wouldn’t notice, but I did. “I’m sorry your brothers make you sad sometimes.”
A wide smile spread across her pretty face. I’d never seen her smile like that before. “You know what?”
“What?” he asked, as he dipped another french fry into his ketchup.
“Talking to you makes me happy on the inside, Beefcake.”
These two.
Who’d have guessed it?
The woman despised almost everyone, but Cutler fucking Heart was a closer. He’d won her over without even trying.
“Talking to you makes me happy on the inside, too.” He looked over at me. “Are you happy on the inside, Uncle River?”
I rolled my eyes, acting annoyed, even though I wasn’t annoyed at all. “Right now, I am.”
The little dude barely missed a beat. “Hey, Ruby. Do you know Demi?”
“I do know Demi. I used to work at her family’s ranch when I was a teenager, and she and I would ride together when I finished my shift.”
“Oh, man, really? Demi’s my girl, but you can be my other girl. We ride horses on Saturdays together. You want to come ride with us?”
“I haven’t been on a horse in a few years, so I’m probably a little rusty.”
“You going to say no and break Beefcake’s heart?” I said, my voice all tease.
She raised a brow before narrowing her gaze at me. “I promised to stop by Demi’s coffee shop tomorrow and I’ll mention it to her.”
“I know Demi will want you to come with us.”
“He’s a persuasive kid, huh?” I said, as I rumpled the top of his head.
“He sure is.” She smirked and reached for the other half of her sandwich, and we spent the next half hour listening to Cutler tell us all about his plans for the summer.
I insisted that her meal be added to my bill. Even though she put up a huge fight, she finally conceded, and we made our way to the door. She shot Midge a final glare, which made me laugh.
“All right, well, thank you for letting me crash your dinner,” she said, bending down to get eye level with Cutler. “I’m glad we got to chat.”
“I’m glad we got to chat, too.” He kissed her cheek, the little Casanova, and damn if a little part of me wasn’t fucking jealous.
She pushed back to stand.
