Page 13 of Together at Ruby's

“I’m not sure,” Liza said, filled with emotion. Tears burned her eyes. “Things are crazy here.”

“Like crazy fighting?”

Liza thought about what Nikki asked.Are we really even fighting?she wondered.Or am I just mad and upset.“I’m not really sure, which is almost more frightening,” Liza answered. “Tate’s in the shower. She didn’t want to talk anymore after I asked her about her new coworker.”

“Ah, the mysterious Aurora Price,” Nikki said.

Sitting up straighter on the couch, Liza didn’t like the way Nikki said the woman’s name. “Yes, I think that’s her,” Liza asked. “Is there something I should know?”

Nikki paused for a beat. “I don’t think so,” Nikki said. “But things do seem weird about her arrival in Portland and taking over the promotion Tate was expecting.”

“She’s not from Portland?”

“No, Google said she was from Chicago. A pretty big name, so it doesn’t make sense she would make a sudden change,” Nikki replied. “I think I’ll dig a little deeper.”

Feeling relieved to hear Nikki would look into things, she was about to thank her when Tate’s phone started ringing in her bag on the couch. Liza wanted very much to see who was calling. “I need to go,” Liza said. “I’ll reach out to you later.”

“Okay,” Nikki said a moment before the call disconnected. Liza scrambled to the other couch and fished Tate’s phone from the zipper compartment on the side. The screen displayed a phone number she didn’t recognize. It was clearly not a Portland number.

Although she wouldn’t normally, her instincts told her to answer the call. “Hello,” she said, and there was a long pause. So much so Liza pulled the phone from her ear for a second to check and see if the caller had hung up. “Hello,” a sexy voice finally said. “Is Tate available?”

“No, she is not,” Liza all but growled. The last thing she expected was to hear a sensual woman’s voice coming through Tate’s phone and asking for her. “Who is this?”

Liza would swear she could hear the woman smiling, and not in a nice way. “I am Tate’s new coworker,” she said. “I have a few more questions about some of her top clients.”

“I’m sure this can wait until tomorrow,” Liza snapped. “Like I said, she’s not available.”

That time, the caller really did chuckle. “What a shame,” she said. “I’ll just have to catch her at work in the morning.” Before Liza could come back with a reply the line went dead.

Comingout of the bathroom wrapped in her robe with her hair still wet, Tate froze when she saw Liza pulling things haphazardly out of her dresser drawers. “What are you doing?” she asked but already knew the answer. It was the last thing she wanted to have happen.

Hearing her question, the woman whirled around, and Tate saw she had been crying. “I’m going to a hotel,” Liza said. “I don’t want to be here anymore.”

Tate shook her head. “I don’t understand. What happened?”

“I’m sorry, but I answered your phone.”

At Liza’s words, Tate felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. “Why?”

Tilting her head, Liza regarded Tate with a look she couldn’t quite read. “Interesting response,” Liza said, narrowing her eyes. “And you didn’t ask who it was.” Sucking in a breath Tate realized her mistake but her instinct had told her only one person would be calling late tonight. The woman who seemed intent on making her life hell for some reason.

Plus, Tate calculated only one person would make Liza so upset. “You’re right,” Tate replied. “I made an assumption based on how you’re acting. Was it Aurora Price?”

“She didn’t give her name, but she did say she was a new coworker,” Liza said turning back to the dresser and pulling out more clothing. “Someone who sounded sexy and said she was looking forward to ‘catching you in the morning’. As you’d expect, I didn’t appreciate that little comment.” Swallowing hard, Tate took a step forward and reached for Liza’s elbow. Liza jerked away. “Don’t touch me. Just let me do this.”

“No,” Tate said. “If anyone is leaving it will be me.”

Liza stopped. “And where exactly would you go? Back to work?”

“Stop thinking that way,” Tate said firmly. “I would go to Nikki’s and sleep on her couch. You know that.”

Slowly Liza turned to face Tate, her eyes glimmering with tears. “I don’t know anything at this point,” she said. “I feel like my world has been turned upside down.”

Moving in closer, Tate risked putting her hand gently on Liza’s arm. “You know I love you,” she said. “I have loved you since the minute I saw you, and nothing is going to stop that.”

“But, Tate,” Liza said, but didn’t pull away. Tate moved closer until she could put her arms around the woman’s waist. “What is happening?”

“Nothing we can’t work our way through,” Tate said. “I promise. Come to bed and let me show you how much I love you.”

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