Page 35 of Until

“And yet you did,” I say. “You didn’t answer me before, but is that your fairy godfather?”

She stares at me blankly for a minute, then starts to nod her head.

“Rocky told me you’re a plumber. He said it’s a family thing.”

“He’s right. We started as Stirling Plumbing, and that kept evolving.”

I’m still waiting to see if she recognizes me or my name, but either she doesn’t, or she’s a really good liar.

“Do you like being a plumber?”

It’s my turn to stare blankly at her. Is she for real?

I realize this is my chance to keep the mask on for longer. It’s my chance to get to know her without having to worry about the baggage of who I am.

If she doesn’t know who I am, then I don’t need to be Ryan Stirling, billionaire bachelor. I can be Ryan Stirling, licensed plumber.

“It’s great,” I say. “But to be honest, it’s not something I ever saw for myself. My dad was adamant about my joining the family business, but before I gave in, I wanted to go to culinary school. That’s how I ended up here.”

“I worked for Rocky after school. Classes would end, and I’d come here to cook for the dinner shift. Eventually, my dad pushed for me to make a decision, and that led to my getting my plumber’s license.” It surprises me how easy it is to leave out important pieces of my story. “How about you? You’re still young, but are you doing what you always wanted to do?”

“I’m between jobs right now,” she says. “So I’m taking my time to figure out what my next steps are. But my job really isn’t that important to me.”

“Then what is?” I ask.

“My grandmother. She raised me. I never really knew my parents. Grandma and I still live together, but unfortunately, she’s been sick lately. So it’s good that I’m home right now and not at some job. There’s plenty of time for that later.”

I raise my milkshake glass and hold it towards her. She raises her glass, too, as she grins at me.

“To family,” I say before we clink our milkshake glasses together.

Time flies by, and the next thing I know, we’re in my car, heading back towards the ball.

“This was really nice,” I say. “When can I see you again? Are you busy tomorrow?”

She laughs. “You’ll get tired of me. Don’t you want any space? Maybe do the three-day no-reach-out thing that men do?”

“If that’s what you want, but that’s not what I want. I don’t think I could ever get tired of you, but we’ll need to spend more time together to find that out.”

“So you want to see how long it takes until you find me annoying?”

She grins, and I laugh.

I pull up alongside the rented limo and try to get a better look at the man driving her home. I can’t get a clear view, but he doesn’t look familiar.

As I put the car in park, I turn to her.

“Thank you,” I say.

“For what?”

“For coming back to the ball. For spending the evening with me. For being you.”

I lean in to kiss her, and she leans towards me but then turns away.

“I’m sorry,” she says before taking a big breath. “Things moved too fast last time. I don’t know what I was thinking, but that’s not me.”

“I can do that. I can slow down. I’ll leave it all up to you. I know I was aggressive last time. I couldn’t help myself.”

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