“I appreciate you taking on this project for me,” Aidan said as he backed the car out of the wooded lot toward the road. “I know you’re busy right now.”
“My pleasure. This is a nice change of pace for me.”
They chatted as they drove into town and parked in the little public lot behind the main street. As they waited for the hostess to seat them, Flynn checked #RubyGoesRogue and saw a new photo, a selfie she’d taken outside Buckingham Palace, grinning widely, still wearing the multi-colored top she’d had on when he kissed her goodbye that morning. Heat spread through his gut, coiling into an uncomfortable mixture of longing and regret.
“Is that her?” Aidan asked.
“Yeah.”
“She’s still in London, then?”
Flynn nodded. “For one more day, I think.”
“And why aren’t you there with her?”
“Because I’m here with you,” Flynn told him pointedly. He’d lost focus and gotten sloppy on the job enough times, but he’d never shirked work for a woman. “And also because she already had a trip planned before she met me.”
“That’s a shame.”
Flynn looked again at the photo of Ruby. She was beaming, smiling so widely her eyes scrunched into slits, the way he’d seen her do yesterday as they explored the city together. She was having fun, embracing her solo adventure the way she’d intended. So, he swallowed over the pang in his chest and put the phone away. “It’s for the best, really.”
Ruby wrappedup in the hotel’s fluffy white robe and told herself she wasn’t hiding. It was perfectly acceptable to order room service for dinner and watch cheesy movies in bed on her second night in London. So what if last night this time, she’d been sitting with Flynn at the theater, watching her first West End play?
It felt like hiding, though. She sighed as she took another bite out of her burger and flipped through channels on the TV. She encountered BBC after BBC after BBC, but none of the shows she scrolled past appealed to her.
Today wasn’t a failure. If she repeated it in her head enough times, maybe she’d start to believe it. She’d had breakfast with friends, spent the morning at the park (sleeping, but still…), had a lovely lunch on her own, and visited Buckingham Palace. Since she hadn’t planned ahead, she’d missed the changing of the guard, and the public tours had been sold out for the day. But she’d still gotten to see the palace from the outside.
She’d had fun. She really had. But the whole day, in the back of her mind, she’d had this lingering sense of panic, feeling out of control, lost. Maybe it had been a mistake to try to take an unplanned trip. Why hadn’t she just created a detailed itinerary before she left Virginia? That way she could truly enjoy herself.
It wasn’t that she minded being alone. Sometimes, she preferred being on her own. But right now, she missed her laptop so much she could cry. Some people needed lists and order to function, and she was one of them. Why had she thought it was so important to push herself out of her comfort zone?
With another sigh, she carried her now-empty room service tray out to the hall and shut and bolted the door with the Do Not Disturb sign out. While Ruby had been hiding behind her laptop, Elle and Megan had both followed their passions, started new businesses, and fallen in love. Not that this trip was part of any plan to fall in love, because if meeting Flynn had taught her anything, it was that meeting the right person at the wrong time might be worse than not meeting them at all.
But—and she would never admit this to anyone, not even her closest friends—there was a tiny, needy part of Ruby’s heart that craved the kind of fairytale romance Elle and Megan had found. She wanted to be swept off her feet by a Prince—or Princess—Charming and live happily ever after. Hopefully, this trip was either the first step in breaking herself out of her shell or a last solo jaunt before she fell in love. Or maybe both.
Speaking of Elle, a text message from her popped up on Ruby’s phone. She clicked on it, bringing up a smiling selfie of Elle and Theo against a backdrop of turquoise water.
Loving Tahiti. May never come home. jk. Miss you guys already!
Megan had already replied with a string of emojis, and Ruby was hit with a wave of homesickness so strong it physically hurt. She missed her friends so much…
Have a fruity drink for me!she typed and pressed SEND.
Then, she curled up in bed with her e-reader. A few hours later, because she was still tired after last night, she decided to turn in early. Tomorrow was a new day, and it would be a better one.
That mantra was still fresh in her mind as she got up and got ready the next morning. She again packed her satchel with water, snacks, and her e-reader…just in case. Then, she headed out in search of breakfast. Lured by the scent of coffee and scones, she ended up eating at the restaurant in her hotel.
“…the Elgin Marbles,” a woman at the table behind her said. “I’ve heard they’re simply stunning in person.”
Ruby’s interest peaked. She’d heard of the Elgin Marbles, a collection of classic Greek sculptures, and maybe she’d had a vague idea that they were at a museum here in London. A quick Google search led her to The British Museum, which sounded fascinating. The freaking Rosetta Stone was there! She’d always been taken with museums, but truly spectacular history and art weren’t easy to come by in Orlando, Florida, where she’d grown up. Here in London, though…
Decision made, she finished her breakfast and left the hotel. Today, she was confident as she swiped her Oyster card and rode the subway across town.
Seven hours later, she was exhausted but exhilarated as she left The National Gallery, having museum-hopped all day long. She sank onto a bench in Trafalgar Square, watching as children ran in shrieking circles around the statue-filled fountain at its center. She released a happy sigh, her brain stuffed comfortably full of all the amazing things she’d seen today. She’d posted an obscene number of photos to her hashtag, wanting to document it all. And now, she swiveled in her seat and took a selfie with the fountain behind her.
Today, her smile wasn’t fake. This time, she was smiling from the inside out. She was having a great time and had embraced the freedom to move from one museum to the next whenever it pleased her, no schedule to break.
How to finish off her last day in London? She closed her eyes and let her mind wander. What did she want to do tonight? A fancy dinner on her own? Maybe dancing in a posh club? No, that wasn’t really her style, and the last thing she wanted tonight was to be hit on by random guys in a bar.
