Page 70 of RAKEish

Rose leaned forward and patted him on the knee. “Not every woman is brave enough to love the wrong man.”

“What are you saying? Do you see Mark as the wrong man for you? I thought you loved him.”

Rose nodded. “He’s wrong in the sense he’s not you, and my destiny has always been to marry you. I knew the moment I felt an inkling of love for Mark, I should bolt. That loving him would break my heart.”

“But you didn’t. You weren’t a coward. Neither of you were. You both chose to follow the path of potential heartbreak, anyway. Just like Father and Mum.”

“We did.”

“Why?” If he understood, perhaps he could convince Doc to do the same. Then again, why would he ever beg a woman to see him as good enough? What sort of foundation was that with which to start a marriage?

“Because I’m a romantic,” Rose said, giving him a soft smile. “I truly believed love would conquer all, and Mark and I would have our happy ending.”

He scoffed. “And therein lies the problem. Doc is a pragmatist. Every decision she makes is based on facts and probabilities.”

Rose picked up the jewelry box he had handed her the moment they’d met at the airport and turned it over in her hands. “I wonder if a descendent of the wicked witch has been moving this and its contents from one location to another all these years.”

“Probably,” he muttered, still thinking of Doc.

Rose chuckled. “Wouldn’t it be wild if you know the current witch in charge of the box and just don’t know it?”

“I’m sure that would be a possibility if the container had actually held the antidote. But it didn’t.” Scott understood why Doc had believed she’d found the antidote. A recipe for love knots found on the back of a piece of paper that originated in Shiretopia had been a perfect red herring.

“I think Lux giving you the antidote was actually an act of love wrapped in words that made her able to do it,” Rose said.

“What?”

“It took an act of courage on her part to give you the antidote knowing you wouldn’t love her back. She told herself the lie to make it easier to do the selfless deed.”

“I appreciate your trying to spin it into something romantic, but we both know that would never actually happen. A person who loved me would have been happy with part of me versus none of me.”

“Not true. A smidge of me has always loved you, and I would happily give up any chance of your ever loving me back—even knowing we’re probably going to end up married—if it meant your being out from under this damn curse.”

“You love me?”

“Don’t get your ego too inflated. It never grew into anything more than puppy love. But sure. Of course, I love you. You’re quite lovable.”

He huffed out a sigh. Why had he never picked up on that? “I’m certain if I were capable, I’d have the same kind of love for you. As it is, I think of you as a kid sister. AKA, a pain in the ass,” he teased.

She wound the knob and opened the musical box. A beautiful song spilled into the cabin. One they both recognized. The Shiretopian Wedding Anthem.

Scott scowled. Of course, that’s what it would play.

Rose smiled softly and sang the lyrics. Her voice so beautiful he would have sworn an angel lived inside of her. Peace fell over Scott even as the plane hit turbulence. He laid his head back, closed his eyes, and soaked up the moment.

When the singing faded away so did the rocking of the plane. Scott opened his eyes and glanced at Rose and felt…a weird emptiness.

This is how eating the cookie should have made him feel toward Doc. Not one of his best friends. What in the hell was going on? Was this depression settling in? Doc had done a show once on how those going through depression often struggled to feel the happy emotions. And how the negative emotions were amplified.

“Are you okay?” Rose asked. “You’re so pale.”

About to respond, a new emotion engulfed him. One he’d never experienced. One that conjured stars and images of Doc’s face tilted up in laughter. He closed his eyes to rid himself of the picture. Told himself to forget the woman who didn’t want him.

Something painful shot through him.

He snapped opened his eyes and glanced around the cabin. “I’m not okay,” he answered. “I think I’m having a mental breakdown.”

“Are you thinking about Lux?” Rose asked.

---