Page 76 of Keeping Knight

Nodding solemnly, I say, “Sorry. You were. But don’t worry, it wasn’t too loud. You only woke me up a few times.”

Pink rushes to her cheeks. “Oh, my gosh. Why didn’t you wake me up? That’s so embarrassing. Should I get those nose strips? Or…” Her forehead creases. “Grace uses a mouth guard to keep from snoring. She says it works. Although that’s not very sexy… Crap. I’ll have to sleep in the other bedroom. I can’t be waking you up all night.”

Lifting Ruby onto my lap, I kiss her forehead. “I’m just teasing, Rue. You don’t snore. Other than making this cute little snuffling noise once in a while.”

Ruby narrows her eyes at me. “So I wasn’t snoring?”

“Nope.”

She gives my shoulder a little shove. “Micah. Why would you tell me that?”

“Just messing with you a little.” I look at her seriously. “I won’t if it bothers you.”

Her lips twitch. “No, it’s fine.” Leaning back against my chest, she adds, “My mom and dad liked to tease each other. It was never malicious. They were just having fun with each other.”

“Same with my parents,” I reply. “My dad loves to tease my mom about how she always forgets where things are. And she does. She’s an artist, and when she’s in the middle of creating a piece, she gets really distracted. She’ll leave her keys in the fridge, or she’ll make a sandwich and misplace it for days.”

“Your mom’s an artist?” Ruby asks. Interest brightens her gaze. “What kind of art?”

“Paintings, mainly. Oil and acrylic. She has her work displayed in some Manhattan galleries. And in DC, she has her own gallery.”

“That’s really cool, Micah. Has she always been an artist?”

I nod. “Pretty much. She got her degree in art at Boston College, and got involved with the art scene out there. Then she met my dad, and he was working on getting his business up and running, so she helped him with that for a while. Once he was more established, she started painting full time.”

“So they met in Boston?”

“Yeah. My dad went to MIT, so he was in Cambridge the same time she was in Boston. They met through a friend of a friend, and they clicked right away. After my mom graduated, they got engaged. A year later, they were married. And they’ve been together ever since.”

Ruby regards me quietly for a few seconds. “That’s really nice, Micah. That they’ve been together so long.” A wistful expression moves across her face. “I think my parents would have still been together if my mom hadn’t died. They were really in love. Even as a kid, I could tell.”

Snuggling Ruby close in my arms, I kiss her gently. “I bet you’re right. Everything you’ve told me about your parents… they sound like they were really happy. And in love.”

She nods. “They were. I wish you could have met them.”

My heart tugs. “Me too.” After a brief pause, I add, “I’d love for you to meet my parents sometime. They come to the city a few times a year. Or we could make a trip to Potomac to visit them. I know they’d love to meet you.”

A smile brightens Ruby’s solemn expression. “You want me to meet your parents?”

“Of course. Unless you’d rather not.”

“Oh, no. I would love that. Your parents sound great. I mean, they must be to have raised a man like you.”

“They are,” I agree. “Although I didn’t always act that great. I told you about how I was when I was in high school. I didn’t really grow out of it until my early twenties. But that wasn’t their fault. They had money, obviously, but they weren’t like a lot of people in their social circle. They didn’t act like they were superior because of it.”

“You were a kid,” Ruby says. “Kids rebel against their parents. They want the opposite thing, sometimes just on principle.”

“True.” I look out the window, watching the sun as it reflects off the gleaming skyscrapers. “It was partly that, I’m sure. Just natural rebellion. But it was the way people treated me, too.”

I take a moment to collect my thoughts. “It wasn’t just the kids at school who treated me differently,” I say. “It’s been my whole life. And I don’t want to make it out like, oh, poor Micah, it must be so hard to grow up rich. I’m not saying that at all.”

“I know.” She takes my hand, lacing her fingers between mine. “But when it’s all people see about you, that must be hard.”

“My friends don’t. Rogue and Jester and those guys. They never cared about my money. Neither do the people at F&F. But dating…”

I’m not eager to bring up the topic of dating with Ruby. Especially not on the heels of such an amazing night. But I want her to know how special she is to me. How serious my feelings are for her. And to do that, I need to tell her everything.

“What about dating?” Ruby flashes me a quick smile. “I know you’ve dated, Micah. It’s okay.”