Page 67 of 10 Rings I Hate About You
I’d spent two decades building a very specific case against Marc Kingsley. Finding out we were alike in various ways was not the evidence I’d asked for.
I tapped my fingers on the table. “So now that Glamma has moved up our timeline, we need to figure out what to do next.”
He pulled out his phone. “I’m going to message Theo. We didn’t make a lot of progress finalizing the animals, but I can let him know which ones we discussed and ask who he’d recommend.”
“I’d love to rotate the animals if we can,” I said, “so that more of them get face time with the people coming to class. The whole point is to increase awareness of the shelter and to improve the adoption rate.”
“Agreed. I was thinking we should keep the classes small. Maybe five or six people. We can control the environment better that way.”
A frisson of irritation ran through me.
There it was.
“Marc.” I kept my voice even. Mostly. “We need more people to make this work. Cheryl can help manage participants, and with the additional support, we can easily accommodate twelve to fifteen people per class. Once the animals are more comfortable, we could do a few sessions outside, weather permitting. We’d have to see. But we have to think bigger than five people.”
“We also need to make sure the animals aren’t overwhelmed.”
“I know that,” I snapped out sharper than I’d intended, the words cutting through the careful civility we’d been building. I breathed out. “Marc. Animal welfare is absolutely my priority. You don’t get to be the only responsible person in the room. At some point, you have to actually start trusting that I know what I’m doing.”
He didn’t argue.
Marc Kingsley—king of polite rebuttals, emperor of having a counterpoint—paused and appeared to be considering what I said instead of preparing to dismantle it.
That was new.
And also unsettling.
“I have a hard time letting go of control,” he admitted, quietly enough that it felt more like a confession than an explanation. “Idon’t like the thought of people or animals getting hurt. If I can prevent it, I will.”
That wasn’t control.
It was care wearing armor.
And I genuinely didn’t know what to do with this version of him, so I focused on the problem in front of us.
“I’ll talk to Theo about having additional volunteers in the space during the session,” I offered. “People who can monitor the animals who seem to be struggling with the interaction.”
He was quiet for exactly the amount of time it took to run the numbers. Then, “Okay.”
It was the start to a compromise, which meant we were the kind of people who could compromise with each other now.
Twenty years, and it took a yoga class and an animal shelter grant to get us here.
Glamma materialized in the doorway with the supernatural timing I was beginning to suspect she had deliberately cultivated over the years. “Fair warning,” she announced. “I’ve already set each class to ten, with a waiting list.”
Marc’s jaw clenched tight enough to do damage to his molars.
I pressed my lips together to contain the smile threatening to escape.
“So we can tell Theo we’ll move forward with twelve people to start,” I interjected.
“Perfect! I’ll pull people off the waitlist.” Glamma clasped her hands together like we’d just announced we were getting married.
Oh God. Why was that the thought I’d had? Bad brain! I didnotneed to picture Marc and me getting married.
I bet he looked hot in a tux, though.
Stahp it!
