“Right,” he breathed. “I’m thinking that you might owe me more than just a marriage certificate for almost getting me killed, honey,” he said. “How about you throw in a few kids, and we can call it even?” he teased. The thought of spending the rest of her life with Ant, with a few kids running around, did strange things to her heart. Ruby was always so fixated on becoming a doctor that she never let herself dream of having a husband and kids. But now, with Ant, she couldn’t think of not having them. Dreams changed, and now, he was her dream come true.
“I’d love to,” she whispered.
“I think that this is the part where I sweep you off your feet and carry you up to our room, but I’m afraid that I won’t be able to do that, honey,” he said.
“That’s okay,” she breathed, “I’ve never been the type of girl who liked to be swept off her feet. How about I help you upstairs, and then, you can fill me in on how many of those kids you want?” she asked.
“Now, that sounds like a plan, Doctor,” he said. He slid the ring onto her finger, and she couldn’t stop smiling. Maybe she never would, and that worked for her. Ruby had found her knight in shining armor, and for a woman who was capable of saving herself, she didn’t miss the irony of it all. But she planned on living out her happily ever after, even if she didn’t need to be saved, because even the tough girls needed a happy ending.
The End
What’s coming next from K.L. Ramsey? Lillith (Royal Harlots Yonkers Chapter Book 2) is coming in June 2026!
LILLITH
Lillith was an only child, or so she believed. She found out that she had a big sister that no one ever bothered to tell her about, and now, she was trying to track her down. The problem was—this mysterious big sister lived on the East coast, and getting the money together to travel from California to Yonkers, NY wasn’t an easy task.
When her mother died, Lillith felt a pronounced sadness that she was completely alone in the world. Her father passed when she was just a baby, or so she thought, but opening her mother’s “secret box” that was stashed in the top of her closet changed everything for her. Apparently, her father wasn’t dead at all, but very much alive and living in Phoenix, Arizona. The real shocker was that Lillith had a half-sister out in the world, whom she knew nothing about. She planned on changing that as soon as possible, though—just as soon as she got enough money together to buy a bus ticket to New York. That was going to be tough, unless things started to pick up at work.
Since the economy’s decline a couple of years back, Lillith wasn’t getting the same tips as she used to. Hell, anything would be better than what she was making these days, but menweren’t going out to clubs as much, and paying for a lap dance was almost unheard of. Strip clubs cost money that they didn’t really have anymore, and dancing for the same strangers who tossed her a dollar here and there wasn’t paying the bills. So, she started to waitress, not that she was any good at that either. She at least had customers, even if tips weren’t great; they were more than she made stripping.
“Hey, honey,” one of her regulars called from the corner booth that he always sat in. It was capable of seating a family of six, who would most likely tip better than Clive did, but he insisted on having the extra space to “Get comfortable,” as he liked to say. Everything about the guy grossed her out—especially how he thought that it was all right to paw at her if he left her a five-dollar tip. Lillith thought about getting her manager involved, but honestly, Clive was her only regular, and at five dollars a day, she was saving a whopping thirty-five dollars a week for her bus ticket. That was if her landlord didn’t catch up with her, and she’d be forced to pay her rent. She was about two months behind on her heap of an apartment, and walking away from that place was going to be easy. Paying her back rent wasn’t an option if she wanted to be able to get to the East Coast sooner rather than later.
“What can I do for you, Clive?” she asked.
“How about some pie?” he asked, grabbing her ass.
“Um, that’s not on the menu,” she grumbled.
“Oh, come on, honey. We have been circling each other for months now. The least you can do is admit it and let me take you back to my place after your shift. I promise you’ll have a good time.” Clive bobbed his eyebrows at her, and she felt nauseous.
“Thanks, but I already have plans after my shift,” she lied. Her only plan was to avoid her landlord, who seemed to always be hanging around her front door and trying to get a few hours' sleep before having to be back at the diner for her morning shift.
“Well now, you’re just trying to hurt my feelings,” he taunted. He made a face as though he was trying to pout, and she rolled her eyes.
“Now why would I go and hurt the feelings of my favorite regular?” she asked, lying her ass off. It was technically not a lie since he was her only regular customer at the diner.
“It’s okay,” Clive insisted, “I’ll forgive you if you say you’ll come home with me tonight.”
“The lady has already turned you down,” a gruff voice said from behind her. She turned to find a man who looked like he had been riding a bike for days and wore enough dirt from the road to prove it.
“Um, thank you, but I can handle myself,” she insisted. The stranger just flashed her a smile, and for a split second, she was sure that she had seen him somewhere before. “Do I know you?” she asked.
“Not yet, but you will,” the stranger said. She wasn’t sure if she should take it as a promise or a threat, but he wasn’t giving her much time to think about anything.
“Now, how about you pay the nice lady and be on your way. And if I ever see you grab my daughter’s ass again, I’ll break your fucking hand,” the stranger threatened. Clive was smart enough to back down, and all Lillith could do was stand behind the man and stare at him like a crazy person with her mouth gaping open.
The man waited for Clive to hand Lillith some cash, telling her to keep the change, and then he took off for the door. “So, you’re my dad then?” she asked, trying for nonchalant, but failing miserably. Her squeaky voice usually gave up the fact that she was nervous, but this man didn’t know her well enough to understand that part of her.
“I am,” he said, sitting down in the booth that Clive had just vacated. “And I’d like the chance to talk to you, Lillith.” She wanted to tell him that he had a lot of nerve showing up at herwork to ambush her, but a part of her was curious as to what her father had to say for himself—starting with where he had been all the years that she thought he was dead.
She waved over to the other waitress, Jenna, that she was taking her break, and sat down across from the man who was supposedly her father. “So, what can I do for you?” she asked. She didn’t even know his first name, but she could see that they had the same color eyes, and even some of their features were similar.
“I’m Ben,” he said, holding out his hand to her. She looked it over and finally decided to play nice—at least until he could give her some answers. “Same last name as yours,” he quickly added, “Wolfe.” Lillith knew that they had the same last name. That was how she had tracked him down. Her mother and she had different last names, but she always thought that was because her mother had remarried for a short time when Lillith was just a little girl. Her stepfather passed away when she was just six, leaving her mom and her alone. She always thought that her stepfather was secretly her real dad, but that was just wishful thinking. The man cared for her as though he were her biological father, and when he died, she thought that she might not ever get over losing him. But being alone had sadly become a part of her life since losing her mother, too.
“Why are you here, Ben Wolfe?” she asked, pulling her hand from his.
“I’m here to let you know that I got your letter,” he said. When she found out that her father was not only alive, but living in Arizona, she wrote him a letter. It wasn’t a very nice one, but she needed to get a few things straight—namely, to know if he even knew she existed. Apparently, he did now.
