“No. That’s okay. They made up their minds the moment I was arrested. I’m pretty much dead to them.”
“I’m sorry, Ilian,” Riker said, his expression genuinely regretful. “I know it isn’t comforting to learn others have been treated the same way. I wish I could do something to help you out.”
After an awkward silence, the conversation veered to talk of Riker’s family, his new wife and the story of his brother, Draeken, who had spent a short time in a gulag as part of an undercover sting. Draeken had fallen in love and happily settled on Earth.
Max had never considered living so far from home, but the home he’d grown up in was only a memory. Earth became his new obsession. He applied for a temporary visitor’s permit; if he found full-time employment on the colony planet, he’d be allowed to stay.
A partygoer bumped into Max, bringing his attention back to the ball and rescuing him from his pitiful daydreams. Max searched the room for the girl with the beautiful dark blue eyes and sexy costume. He spotted her a short distance away near the French doors leading outside. She stepped through the door.
Maybe he also needed a breath of fresh air after so much champagne.
Maybe he should talk to the only girl he’d ever said, “I love you,” to and then asked to marry him.
Maybe at the very least he needed to find out her name.
Chapter Five
Ruby scoured the room for any male with a tattooed ring finger. Nothing. Zip. Zilch. No luck at all. The breeze from the open French doors wafted across her face, making her want to step out of the crowded ballroom if only for a few moments. She wasn’t fond of crowds.
A few steps past the threshold, someone put a hand on her shoulder and she leapt two feet in the air.
“Viktor! I swear if you do that one more time—” She turned and sputtered into silence when she saw the hunky blond who said his name was Max.
“Who’s Viktor?”
Was that jealousy in his tone? Really? To avoid another misunderstanding, Ruby said, “He’s my brother. And he’s wily.”
“Hmm. I’ve never had a brother. I didn’t know they could be wily.”
“Well, they can.”
“Could we have a chat, please? I’d like to try and explain my behavior earlier.”
She exhaled her anger and put a smile on her face. She deserved to spend a few minutes walking in the moonlight with a handsome single man, even if he was odd. “Sure.”
His warm hand settled naturally at the small of her back and he guided her to the balcony overlooking a beautiful back garden and the woods next to the property. A few other couples had the same idea, but they were at the other end of the outdoor space, leaving Ruby and the handsome blond alone.
“What is your name?”
“Ruby,” she said. “Ruby Hart.”
He nodded, staring deeply into her eyes. “And what do you do, Ruby Hart?”
“I’m a paranormal investigator.”
“That sounds very interesting.”
“It is.” She grinned as she always did when thinking about her chosen profession. She did truly love it.
“Are you working right now?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Anything I can do to help?”
“Will you be offended if I need to keep my job details private?”
