But halfway through dinner, Lilah leaned in, her voice low.“Are you alright?”
“Yeah.”I squeezed her hand.“Why?”
“You’re tense.”
I wasn’t sure how to explain the marker, the ledger, the way Ruby’s comment had cracked open something I’d been trying to keep contained.So I didn’t.
“It’s just been a long day,” I said.
She searched my face, and I could see her deciding whether to press.In the end, she nodded and went back to her meal.
But her hand felt a little lighter in mine, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d missed something important.
The band started up after dessert, a couple of local guys playing something upbeat and fast that filled the room with an energy I wasn’t in the mood for.I kept my attention on my plate, on the little bit of some overcooked piece of chicken I wasn’t eating, trying to ignore the way people were already drifting toward the makeshift dance floor.
Ruby appeared at my shoulder like she’d been waiting for the right moment to strike.
“No one’s dancing,” she said, her tone bright and cheerful in a way that set off every warning bell in my head.
I didn’t look up.“Give it time.”
“Time’s not the problem.”She leaned in, lowering her voice.“The problem is that people are waiting for someone else to go first.And you, Dawson Griffith, are exactly the someone they’re waiting for.”
“Ruby—”
“You brought a date,” she continued, relentless.“A beautiful one.Who looks absolutely lovely tonight and has been stuck at this table with you brooding for the past hour.”
Lilah’s lips twitched, fighting a smile.
“Go dance with the girl,” Ruby said, her tone shifting from suggestion to directive.“Set the example.Be a gentleman.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but Ruby was already walking away, her attention probably narrowing in on her next victim as she disappeared into the crowd.
Lilah turned to me, her eyes dancing with barely contained amusement.“I think you just got marching orders.”
“Ruby doesn’t give orders.She manipulates.”
“Is it working?”
I looked at her—at the curve of her mouth, the way her hair fell over one shoulder, the quiet challenge in her expression—and knew I’d already lost.
“Yeah,” I said.“It’s working.”
I pushed back from the table and stood, offering her my hand.She took it, her fingers warm in mine, and I led her toward the dance floor just as the fast song ended.
The opening notes of something slow drifted through the speakers.
Of course.
Ruby stood near the edge of the riser, her smile so innocent it was damning.
Lilah looked up at me, her expression shifting into something softer.“She planned this.”
“Every second of it.”
“Smart woman.”
I pulled her close, one hand settling at the small of her back, the other cradling hers against my chest.She fit perfectly, her body warm and solid against mine, and for a second I forgot about the room, the eyes I could feel tracking us, the weight of Harrison’s comment still sitting heavy in my gut.
