"You shouldn’t be—you never had anything to be ashamed about. And I love you, too." The words came easier than they had in months.
I WALKED BACK THROUGHthe cold morning air toward Gil's cabin, my heart pounding with every step.
Gil was at the dining table when I let myself in, coffee cup in hand, the breakfast I'd made half-eaten in front of him. He stood immediately when I entered, and something in his steel-gray eyes made my breath catch.
He'd been waiting. Patient. Giving me space to do what I needed to do.
But there was concern there too—worry, maybe even hurt that I'd left without waking him.
"Hi," I said quietly.
"Hi." He set down his cup but didn't move closer. "Thank you for breakfast. It was incredible."
"You're welcome."
Silence stretched between us. He didn't demand answers. Didn't push. Just waited.
I took a breath. Then another.
"My full name is Ruby Flynn."
Gil went absolutely still.
"Flynn," he repeated slowly. "As in Flynn's Lodge?"
I nodded, unable to speak past the lump in my throat.
His face shifted—shock, understanding, pain washing across his features in waves as pieces clicked into place.
"James and Rebecca Flynn were my parents," I continued, the words tumbling out now. "They died when I was eight. Uncle Danny raised me at the lodge. It was my childhood home. Every memory I have of my parents happened in those rooms."
I forced myself to keep going. To say it all.
"When you bought it, I lost my home, my three jobs—head pastry chef, kitchen manager, events coordinator—and my family's legacy all at once. I've been parking my food truck outside The Pinnacle seething every single day since."
Gil's jaw was tight, his knuckles white around his coffee cup.
"I spent everything I had to win you at that auction." My voice shook. "My plan was to—to seduce you, make you fall forme, find dirt on your business practices, then publicly destroy and humiliate you at today's celebration. I wanted—" My breath hitched. "I wanted revenge."
"You played me." His voice was flat. Not a question. Statement of fact.
"It started that way." Tears were streaming down my face now. "But Gil, I was wrong. About all of it. I—"
I couldn't get the words out. My throat closed up, chest heaving. I couldn't breathe.
Gil moved then, crossing to me, his hands on my shoulders. "Breathe, Ruby. Just breathe."
I gulped air, shaking under his hands.
"Yesterday I went through your office files," I managed. "Found the acquisition paperwork. You offered Uncle Danny more than the property was worth. He refused the extra money. You tried to help him."
Gil's expression was unreadable.
"And this morning—" My voice broke again. "This morning I talked to Danny. He told me the truth. The debt, the foreclosure threat, how he was drowning for twenty years trying to keep the lodge going. How you saved him. How he's happy now doing what he loves."
I met his eyes, tears blurring my vision.
"I turned you into my enemy," I whispered. "Made you a target for all my rage. Because if it wasn't your fault, then I had to face what I've really been doing—hiding. Clinging to the past because moving forward felt like losing my parents all over again."
