Ruby’s eyes widened at the sight of the framed blueprint, scaled down to a picture size, and for a second, I swore shecouldn’t find words. Her hands trembled just slightly when she took it.
“It’s ...” she shook her head, a smile breaking through. “God, Sebastian. It’s perfect.” She traced her finger over the glass, following the lines of the inn.
The other gift stayed in my bag. Maybe later. Maybe when the moment wasn’t already this close to undoing me.
“The blueprint of ... everything.” Ruby’s voice was warm, a little choked. She looked back at me, and the next sentence came out as a whisper. “Thank you.”
A voice called her name from behind, startling us and breaking the moment.
She turned and gave the smallest shake of her head, like she was trying to pull herself out of the private world between us. A group was approaching us.
“Rio, you know Sebastian. Sebastian, this is Owen,” Ruby said, her hand brushing my arm lightly.
Rio hugged me like we’d known each other forever. Which we kind of did. Owen shook my hand, measuring me the way men do.
“Thought you looked familiar,” he said. I wondered if he was being nice, because I didn’t think he’d remember or recognize me, being two years above us at school, and given I’d changed a lot since then.
“I sure remember you,” I said.
We exchanged niceties until the two other women, who’d stalled a few yards away, came up—faces I recognized from Ruby’s pictures. Evangeline and Daphne. Ruby introduced us, and I could see the curiosity etched all over their faces.
Oddly, it felt like meeting the family. I already knew her mom, brother, and even Alan, but this—this was what mattered. Her friends were the ones who knew her heart. And the way Ruby looked between me and them, almost holding her breath, told me the stakes were high.
“We’re so happy to finally meet you,” Evangeline said, her brown eyes as bright as her smile. “We’ve heard so much about you it feels like we’ve already met.”
“Same,” I said, smiling back.
“So, you’re the man Ruby chose to—”
“Daphne!” Ruby cut in, chuckling.
“I was just remarking,” Daphne said, dry as dust. Even if I didn’t know she was a cop, I would have guessed.
I huffed a chuckle. “I believe so, yes,” I said. Though Ruby and I hadn’t talked about it yet, the way she looked at me, and the way her friends reacted, made it feel as definite as anything I’d ever known.
A moment later, I found myself face-to-face with her actual family. Alan’s handshake was surprisingly firm; her aunt’s, somehow, even firmer. “We’re so surprised and glad you’re here,” Ruby’s mom said. “Ruby’s done incredible with this place. And you’ve clearly been a great help.”
Ruby seemed startled by the compliment, her eyes flicking to her mom under furrowed brows.
I only nodded and set my hand at the small of Ruby’s back. “She did the saving. I just did the math.”
When the group funneled up the stairs and into the renovated rooms, we followed but hung back. The noise and chatter swelled ahead, leaving the two of us in relative quiet. Ruby still carried the blueprint, clutched close to her chest.
“You’re incredible, you know that?” I said softly.
Her eyes lifted to mine, brightness and ache colliding. She shifted closer, closing the gap between us. That was all the invitation I needed. Her back met the wall where the hall turned, out of sight. I braced one hand on the wall beside her head, the other brushing a loose curl from her cheek. I then bent and claimed her mouth with mine. Urgent, hungry, alive with everything that had waited too long.
The framed blueprint pressed between us like a barrier. A reminder of other obstructions—people, clothes, words we hadn’t said. I wanted it all stripped away.
We couldn’t yet, not here, not now, though Ruby let out a low moan against my mouth.
The voices somewhere along the hall drew closer. Reluctantly, we broke the kiss.
Ruby’s fist still clutched the lapel of my suit, her eyes burning into mine. “I meant what I wrote you,” she whispered.
I pulled back just enough to search her face, the blueprint still trapped between us. “The problem you reported to Houston?” I said in a low voice, my forearm still braced beside her head.
“Yes,” she managed to whisper before we had to step back from each other, masks sliding back into place, as if nothing had happened.
