Regina managed to brush Snow off as well as she could, given the current condition her scattered thoughts left her in. It was by no means an adequate rebuttal in her own opinion, but she was satisfied with anything that could quickly remove her from that increasingly uncomfortable situation.
As she walked down the street in a hurry to find solace in her mansion she began to contemplate what she had just learned in the diner. So the girl was talking to her mother about it. This would definitely require a different approach then. She could not have Snow White going around knowing all the ways Regina was going to try and slowly, so very slowly woo Briella.
It was a plan that she had come up with after she had gone home that night from the grocery store. Tumbler of cider in hand, she had gone over the conversation over and over again. First in shock that it had even happened, then in critique to ensure there was not more she could have said to further her cause, and finally in amusement because it was indeed a rather telling moment they shared. It was at that moment that she had decided there was more to this girl then herself imposed hermitry and luxurious hair. If those attributes alone had caught Regina's eye over the years, the idea of there being so much more excited her to no end. She knew that this was going to be a long road, that patience, something Regina normally did not have or require, was going to be unquestionably necessary.
But now that Snow was aware of what was going on, she would have to rethink how she was going to accomplish this without Snow's involvement. The last thing she wanted was Snow knowing her every move, commenting on her ever move, thinking about Snow while she was making her move.
Now all she can think about is Briella sitting at her small kitchen table, pushing around the salad she had worked so hard to make for her mother while Snow fires question after question desperately to draw out the answers she wanted from the girl. Answers that she used just moments before to try and push Regina into confessing feelings that she will vehemently deny have been residing in her heart for years now, to anyone that had the balls to ask.
Snow must have just about died from how picturesque the whole thing was - mother and daughter practically having an adolescent conversation about getting hit on the in the super market and how she should handle the information. And of course Snow would give her daughter tips on how to win true love's hand, because anyone who even smiles at you too long must be your true love in Snow's world.
And that thought had her stopping dead in her tracks and sucking in an abrupt breath in shock. Briella was talking to her mother about their conversation. If she was not receptive to Regina's advances she would have never brought it up. She would have been too embarrassed to share that information with anyone, especially her overly excitable mother. On top of that, if Briella had expressed any negative reaction to their flirting, Snow would have lead the conversation between Regina and herself earlier with much harsher words, warning her away from her sweet vulnerable daughter.
Snow instead was trying to get a read on Regina. Attempting to see if there really was the possibility that Regina was interested in her daughter. Probably in an attempt to protect Briella if there was nothing there. To spare her already emotionally raw daughter's inevitable embarrassment and hurt.
And Regina had played right into her hand. Her mind's obsession with Briella had her normally keen sense of observational skills lacking, and Regina had given Snow all the answers she wanted. Of course Regina's weak attempts to dismiss the conversation and her recent fleeing confirmed Snow's already observed speculations.
Because if Regina had truly no feelings for the girl, if she had been able to focus on what was really going on, instead of imagining what Briella's hair would feel like between her fingers before she gripped it at the root to force her head back and accept Regina's kiss, she would have seen right through Snow's strategic attack. She would have simply denied the suggestion with a small but geniune chuckle, and probably insulted the girl while she was at it, to show Snow Briella could never measure up to a suitable partner for Regina.
Regina slowly started her journey back home again, mind racing about how she had truly just tipped her hand to the last person in town she would want knowing what resided in her heart. She was now going to have to abandon all thoughts on the any plans she was about to put in place. Snow would certainly overwhelm the girl if Regina did continue to making any advances and Briella would wind up simply running in the opposite direction -which of course is not how Regina's plan was going to end up.
No, she would lie low for now. Wait for Snow to think that perhaps Regina was telling the truth after all. Then, and only then, would Regina gather her troops, so to speak, and re-organize all attempts at executing this plan to woo Briella over.
Pleased with this new plan of attack, or non attack, Regina felt more at ease than she had in days. The small ache that had started to develop in the middle of her shoulder blades began to get some relief when her muscles gave up their clenched posture. She felt her heart start to settle back into it's rightful place which was slightly lower than where it had been uncomfortably nestled for days now.
A bath sounded absolutely perfect at this moment and a small smile crept its way up her lip as she turned down her block pleased with having something to do to occupy her time once she arrived home. Because now she had a different plan - one she was far more familiar with. A plan to do nothing. She would continue on as she has been for years and wait until all of this nonsense with Snow died, because honestly, the plan she had come concocted the other night between glasses of cider had been scaring her more then she could even admit to herself until she no longer had to actually go through with it. Not for a long while anyway. And the comfort she found in this time of reprieve, she was ready to immerse herself in. Just like she was about to do with her luxuriously scented bath water.
And just as soon as she was feeling more relaxed and at ease with the direction her life was taking she was forced to stop dead in her tracks for the second time during this trek back home. Because there, sitting on the curb in front of her home was Briella.