Page 122 of Heart & Hope

“It was a—” I look to Reed. I can’t lie. Not anymore. “You know what? Yeah, that was me. Skye and her friend were harassing Reed. It was... unwholesome, to say the least.”

I know exactly how much weight ‘unwholesome’ carries for Mary-Sue. And I weaponised it. Heat flushes my body.

“He was good for it, until you came along,” Skye says, screwing up her face.

Mary-Sue glances between us, horror and confusion tangling across her face. “But why would your husband be at the Great Falls bar looking for—” She shakes her head. “Never mind, gossip is nobody’s friend, and definitely has no place in this room tonight. Why don’t you tell me how you two met? How long have you been married, Ruby?”

Thankful for the redirect, I focus on Mary-Sue, not Skye, who right now is burning a hole through my head with her glare. “We met in the city, one of those fundraiser events, you know.”

“I was working a development job on the east side, got a last-minute invite, you know how it is. And Ruby was there,” Reed adds.

I stare at him, but he simply smiles and squeezes my hand. The air leaves my lungs, and I swear my heart swells.

Morley chokes on his beer, and only then does he shift his gaze to the rings on our hands. He huffs an incredulous laugh. “Oh, for fuck’s sake! Aunt Mary, they’re not married. That’s Reed Rawlins. Harry’s son. She’s from New York.” His focus swings back to me. “Are you two even together?”

And there it is.

I freeze as fear snakes up my spine.

Desperation twisting my face, I glance at Reed.

His face is stone, eyes homed in on Morley. His hands curl to fists. And when he closes his eyes and shakes his head real slow, I know it’s time to go. I stand and excuse myself, grabbing up my purse. I pull Reed from his chair. He stands beside me, close, and wraps an arm around my waist.

“Ruby? I don’t understand?” Mary-Sue’s face is devastated.

“I’m sorry, Mary-Sue.” I suck in a breath and swallow past the stone lodged in my throat. “I hope you enjoy your event.Youdeserve it.” I glimpse at Bill as I turn and head for the double doors, Reed beside me.

“Well, that was unexpected, baby.”

“It’s fine. It’s—it will be okay.” I fight the sob crawling up my airway as we pass through the doors, and they thud closed behind us.

Reed turns me to face him and takes my face with both hands. “Hey, you did so good. Mary-Sue got the event shewanted. Her inn is going to be a huge success, and you were part of that.”

I wrap my fingers around his wrists, wrangling air into my lungs. I’ve never felt like more of a failure. Not even with my overachieving family. I really wanted this to work out. I thought I could do this.

“Let’s go home,” I whisper. Everything deflates in this moment. My hopes, the tunnel vision that I have held for my career for so long. Tears swell, lining my eyes.

“Ruby?” Mary-Sue says from by the door.

We both turn toward her. Reed drops his hands from my face and pulls me into his side, as if that can protect me from her wrath.

And I meet the older woman’s gaze, running my bottom lip through my teeth.

“So let me get this straight.” She steps closer. “You are a Rawlins”—she waves at Reed, then turns back to me—“and you are Ruby Robbins?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Reed nods.

“Why did you lie to me, Ruby?”

“You wanted a married woman working on your event. And I?—”

“You’re not.” She shakes her head.

“No. I’m sorry I lied, Mary-Sue. But I saw how much you wanted this to work out. And, it sounds pretentious, but I knew I could make your events so much more than any other planner you’d find out here. It’s literally my life’s work. And?—”

The older woman holds a hand up. “I’m not happy you lied and even less happy you and Skye had an... incident. But what hurts me most is that you thought it was okay to rope this young man into your schemes.”

Suddenly, the air in the inn’s enormous foyer evaporates. I force air through my nose and into my lungs, each too short and burning, pressing the back of my hand to my mouth.

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