Hunting the Fairy Tale

Chapter 71 - Spasms

Becca

I nearly fall off my seat. That was a bit straight and sudden. Now I'm gasping and spluttering as if I'm drowning in guilt.

"Nothing!" I'm finally able to choke out.

"Right, and that nothing is making you blush like a girl caught drooling about her math teacher."

"That is... very specific..." Well, I do still remember our high school math teacher, Mr Lawry. Unfortunately, now that I'm finally old enough for him, he is no longer in Briar Cove.

"Yeah," Beth shrugs, "you know me, I like details and specifics... so go ahead, give them to me."

I bite my lip, tug at my hair and shift on my seat as if it's covered in ants.

"I really don't know," I finally admit. "Something is seriously wrong with me, Bee. I don't even like the man, but I cannot keep my hands off him!"

Embarrassed by my admission, I hide my face in my hands again.

"Wait, what?!" Beth exclaims. "You took the afternoon off so you could violate your boss's best friend?!"

I lift my face from my hands to frown at her.

"You little minx!"

"Shut up!"

"No, I should call Ryan in here right away! He needs to know about this shocking behaviour."

I drop my hands, still forming a hollow, ready to receive my face again, and glare at Beth.

"Well, I can imagine not being able to keep one's hands off Dev. The guy just oozes sex appeal, but this is you, so... you've probably fallen in love with him. What's the problem? That is awesome!"

"Love?" I snort and hiss and gasp. I'm seriously going to end up swallowing something weird at this rate. "We keep on arguing! I barely know the man. We just met!"

"Oh, Becks, Sweety! You met him at my wedding, and when Frankie was born, you were just not awake and alive enough to notice him back then. Sure, loving someone with all your heart might take a little more time, but falling in love can happen instantly. I fell in love with Ryan the moment I saw him.

"He thought I was a sleazy, undercover reporter trying to get a story out of his broken son, so it took a little time to win him over... about four years... Mind you, when I saw him for the first time, I didn't know he was connected to Hunter, and he didn't see me. I was new to the building and the area. I just thought he was a seriously hot professor, having a hard time stopping a broken tap from showering him, and he snared my heart right then and there, and I've never looked back."

She laughs at the memory. I love this story!

Beth was a rookie real estate agent when she moved into the same apartment building Ryan had fled to with Hunter and Devan when life in Royalburgh became unbearable. She was sitting at her desk staring out the window like a forlorn maiden waiting for a dream when a tall, good-looking man stepped into view and attempted to wash his hands at the tap conveniently placed in full glorious view for her to be entertained by the scene to follow.

Those were her words; she was actually just bored, waiting for someone to respond to her advertisement of the few listings she was able to score when she noticed a stranger outside at the tap. Her apartment was on the ground floor and that window had a good view of the inner courtyard with the gardens and... the tap.

According to Ryan, he'd cleared one of Hunter's spills from their new car and got some of it on his fingers. He really just needed to wash his hands; he had no idea that he was about to entertain a forlorn maiden.