Page 70 of Lodged

I can never say no to her, but I know I can’t lie. I just hope she isn’t about to ask something about the past. I take a deep breath and take a sip of water to steady my nerves.

“Yeah, sure,” I say, trying to sound nonchalant. She exhales again, a nervous chuckle escaping her pretty lips.

“Okay, here goes nothing.” She squares her shoulders, and I offer her a reassuring smile.

“Is there any chance we’ve met before?” My heart skips a beat at her question, but I try to mask it quickly with a cough.

“I’m sure if we had met, I’d remember you,” I say, watching her shoulders sag. I just hope if she ever gets her memories back, she’ll forgive me. She needs to know this has been as hard for me as it’s been for her. Life without her isn’t living.

“Thank you for going along with my question. I just felt I had to ask.” She shakes her head, as if clearing her thoughts, and when her gaze meets mine again, I smile at her—careful not to say anything that might force me to lie or evade the truth.

I take a forkful of eggs and biscuits covered in gravy. Goodness, this is delicious. I close my eyes and lift my head, savoring my food.

“That good, huh?” Ruin asks, and I nod.

“So good. You weren’t lying,” I tell her as I grab more food.

“Yeah, Rain is an excellent cook,” she tells me with a smile.

“Is she your sister?” I ask, showing my interest in getting to know her.

“Yeah, she’s actually my twin.”

“How was growing up with a twin?”

“She’s my best friend. You know, I love all my siblings, but my relationship with Rain is special.” I nod at her while I keep eating. This is so damn good, I can’t stop. No wonder why every time Ruin cooked for us, it was so good. They both must have a gift.

“Yeah, I can see that. I’m actually the oldest of three, and even though I love them, I feel responsible for them more often than not,” I say, and she gives me a knowing smile.

“Oh, I can totally see that. That would be my brother, River—always taking care of others. You have that same aura about you,” she says, looking at me intently. A second later, her eyes widen. “Oh no, that came out the wrong way! I mean, I don’t think about my brother inthatway.” She quickly covers her face with her hands, and I chuckle.

“Hey, you didn’t say anything wrong,” I tell her as I sip my water.

“But now you know I think you’re cute. Ugh.” I laugh, and she groans.

“I think you’re cute too, Ruin. We’re even.” I reach across the table and trace my fingers over her forearm. Goose bumps rise on her skin, and she removes her hands from her face.

“Thank you for not letting me drown.” She smiles at me as she gets up and checks on her customers. I promised I wouldn’t overwhelm her, so after paying the check, I give her a wave and return to the hotel.

Today went great—it felt like how things were in the beginning. I’ll definitely be back tomorrow for more, and for as long as it takes.

I heard back from the community college, and they’re interested in meeting me to see what I have to say. I might not be a wizard with numbers like Penny, but I know I have enough to offer them, and not just financially.

“Dr. Bianchi, what a pleasure. Thank you for reaching out.” The community college president greets me in his office.

“Mr. Bates, thank you for making time in your schedule to see me.”

“What can I do for you? I’ll be honest, I’m curious why someone with your credentials is interested in working at a small community college like ours.”

“This is where my life is now, and I would like to help the community in any way I can. I plan on developing a curriculum for an environmental program and fund it. I believe it’s of utter importance to have such a program in the area, to help the mountains and their people to make the best use of the resources around us.”

Mr. Bates raises his eyebrows. “That’s very altruistic, Dr. Bianchi. I cannot begin to express my gratitude. If you have a written proposal, I’d like to share it with the board of trustees, and we could go from there.”

I smile big. I feel like I’ve finally found my calling.

“Absolutely. I’ll have my team send you all the necessary documents.”

“This is amazing. Thank you so much, Dr. Bianchi, for thinking about our school. This is going to change so many lives for the better.” Mr. Bates gets a little teary-eyed, and I can’t help it—I feel his emotion washing over me, too.

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