“Why do menalwaysget possessive and caveman-y?” Marley said, shaking her head. She kissed her boyfriend Nik on the cheek. “Except you, of course.”
“Nah, I agree,” Nik said, nodding. “We’re really the worst.” He grabbed Marley comically by the arm and said, “Woman mine!”
“I’m with Nik,” Shayne said. “Men are the worst. But I don’t get why he decided to stay here if he knew you were leaving?”
“He’s not staying for me,” Ruby said. “He’s staying for his sister Jasmine. Her soon-to-be ex-husband won’t let her take the kids out of the country—”
“Now that’s a possessive asshole,” Nadim said.
Ruby nodded. “Yeah, totally. So both Rashid and Ayesha are moving to Toronto to help her out with the twins. Rashid is buying into Jasmine’s dermatology practice, and Ayesha is opening a boutique hotel. The Raj Toronto.”
“Ooooh,” Shayne squealed. “This is not public knowledge yet, right? How cool. I’ve seen pictures of the Raj London… Will she need an exclusive photographer? Also, I know a ton of designers who would love to do a fashion shoot there if it will look anything like the Raj properties in the UK.”
Ruby chuckled. Ayesha had said that she wanted access to Ruby’s circle of friends, and apparently her circle of friends wanted access to Ayesha. But Nadim could introduce them; they didn’t need Ruby.
And actually, since Nadim and Ayesha were old friends, they’d probably rekindle their friendship and hang out regularly after she moved here. And Rashid seemed to get along great with all these guys, so he might get absorbed into Ruby’s friend group, too. Everyone she cared about could be meeting in this very house regularly for drinks, or movie nights, or whatever. Everyone but Ruby.
But leaving was what she wanted. She could meet new friends in London. And despite everything, she still held out hope that Ayesha would come through with a position for her in one of the Hakim hotels in the UK.
“I don’t know,” Anderson said. “I think Rashid’s heart was in the right place. He wanted to help you.”
“Maybe,” Ruby said. “But he didn’t even tell me he was staying. He thought that when he presented it all to me, the perfect job and the fact that he would be here, I would throwaway my dreams and stay with him. It felt like he didn’t understand me.”
Everyone was silent for a while. Ruby felt another tear escape. She wiped it quickly, hoping her friends didn’t see.
Anderson nodded. “Okay, but did he ask you to… I don’t know. Commit to him? Like move in with him, or anything like that?”
She shook her head. “No. That would be ridiculous. We’ve only known each other for six weeks.”
That made Reena snort. She and Nadim had eloped after dating only four weeks. “It’s not the same as you and Nadim, Reena,” Ruby said quickly.
“No, of course not,” Reena said. “I would never advise anyone to commit after such a short time. It’s incredibly stupid.”
Nadim frowned. “Hey!”
Reena patted him on the leg. “Best stupid mistake I ever made. I get not wanting to take a risk like that, but feelingscanget that big after a short time. So, I kind of get why he wanted to give you a way to stay with him. He’s clearly smitten.”
“But we should have had a conversation about it before he told his sister to offer me a job.”
Marley nodded. “You’re right. He should have talked to you. And when you said no, he should have accepted your decision.”
Ruby squeezed her lips together. “Actually, hedidaccept my decision. He said it was my choice what I wanted to do, and he’d understand if I still needed to go. He said my staying was just another option.”
“If he accepted your choice, then why aren’t you two gettingbusy all night on your last night together?” Shayne asked.
Ruby shook her head. “Because asking his sister to hire me in Toronto without asking me first means he doesn’t understand how important this move is for me! He shouldn’t have put me in a position where I’d have to refuse a job from a company that I really want to work for. And I don’t appreciate him making things harder for me right now…” Her voice cracked. “I’ve been working so long on this dream. I even had to see my father once a month to get the visa. Not to mention the money I’ve saved, jobs I’ve applied for, the research I’ve done… This has been something my mom and I have wanted to doforever. And Rashid giving me this other option at literally the last possible moment complicates everything. He’s not making it easier for me to achieve my dreams. He’s making it harder. Because he made me…” Her voice cracked again. She was going to ugly cry, and then she’d have puffy skin on her first day in London. Damn that Rashid Hakim.
“He made it so you’re tempted to stay,” Reena said gently.
Ruby nodded, then snorted inelegantly.
“And that’s the clincher, isn’t it?” Anderson said. “If this had stayed casual for him, he wouldn’t have asked his sister to consider you for a job here. And if it had stayed casual for you, the fact that he gave you this option of staying wouldn’t complicate anything because you wouldn’t have been tempted to stay.”
Ruby exhaled. As much as she pretended, it had never been casual with Rashid. Hell, she’d been in deep even before they made it official the night they went to the ballet.
“Ruby, one question,” Marley said after everyone was quietawhile. “And before I ask, remember how much I loved your mother. She may as well have been my mother, too, and I’m still not over her dying on us.” Marley’s voice broke, and she paused a moment. “Is this dream of moving to the UK, of buying a property in the countryside… is this actuallyyourdream, or are you trying to fulfillherdream? Because you and I know that she would have wanted you to follow your own path, not hers.”
Well, there it was. Ruby had asked herself this question before. Because what Marley said was true—the last thing Mom would ever have wanted for Ruby or Marley was to put their own lives on hold for someone else’s dreams.
