“I’ll be in touch with Miss Langley. Thank you for bringing her work to my attention.”
He walked away, and Celeste stood there feeling like she'd just run a marathon. Her heart was still racing.
She'd actually done it.
Ruby was going to kill her.
“Hey, sorry that took forever—whoa, you okay?” Ruby was back, arms full of water bottles and bags of chips. “You look like you've seen a ghost.”
“I'm fine, just hot.”
“It’s a good thing I got so much water we could probably survive in the desert for a week.” Ruby handed her a bottle, concerned. “Seriously, are you sure you're okay?”
“I'm great.” Celeste took a long drink, using it as an excuse not to talk. “Actually, I'm kind of tired. Want to head back to the hotel?”
“Already? It's only two.”
“I’m just really tired.”
“Then in that case, let’s go.“
They returned to the hotel and as soon as they got in, Ruby suggested the hot tub. They climbed in, the water almost too hot but perfect after the afternoon heat.
“This is nice,” Ruby murmured, settling against Celeste's side. “Just us. No crowds or festival.“
“Just us,” Celeste agreed, wrapping an arm around her.
They sat in comfortable silence for a while, the jets massaging tired muscles. Celeste let herself relax into it, pushing away the guilt still gnawing at her.
She'd tell Ruby about Jonas Ford eventually. But not right now.
“Oh, I'm so in love with you,” Ruby sighed, the words coming out dreamy and unguarded.
She felt Ruby stiffen the moment she realized what she'd said. The air between them went taut, charged with sudden tension.”
“I didn't mean—that just slipped out. I wasn't—” she pulled back, her face flushed. “Forget I said that.”
“Ruby, you can't say that.” Celeste drew a shaky breath.
“I know. I'm sorry. It was an accident.”
“You accidentally told me you loved me.”
She repeated, midway between shock and disbelief. She stood up, water sluicing off her body and wrapped a towel around herself.
“I wasn't trying to—”
“We agreed this was temporary.”
“I know what we agreed!” Ruby stood too, facing her across the tub. “But I can't help how I feel. I'm sorry if that's inconvenient for you.”
Celeste felt the first flickers of temper rise within her. “You think this is about convenience?”
“I think this is about you being too scared to want more,” Ruby shot back. “I think you're so terrified of your family'sreaction that you'd rather hide forever than take a chance on something real.”
“That’s not entirely accurate.“
“It isn’t? You've spent your entire adult life in a fake marriage, pretending to be someone you're not. And now you've got an actual chance at something real and you're running from it.”
