Page 16 of Together at Ruby's

Tate stiffened at the dig. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to accuse her of anything but complete dedication. “Fine,” she said through clenched teeth. “I’ll give you ten minutes.”

“Perfect,” Aurora said, walking down the hallway without even looking back to make sure Tate followed. As they reached her office, Aurora hesitated at the door. “You know…” She looked at Tate. “I have a better idea. Let’s discuss this over dinner.”

“I’m not sure that’s going to work for me,” Tate immediately said, and Aurora lifted her chin.

“And why is that?”

“Because I have plans for the evening,” Tate replied. “That I’m already late for.”

“Plans that are more important than this firm and your career with it?” Aurora asked, her voice filled with mock surprise. “Chad will be so disappointed.” The veiled threat filled the space between them.

Closing her eyes, Tate took a deep breath and then let it out slowly before looking at the woman again.Liza is going to kill me for being so late,she thought.But what can I do?“A quick dinner,” she said. “I have a place in mind.”

Aurora’s face lit up. “That’s fine,” she said. “I’ll follow you wherever you want to go.”

13

Walking through the door at Ruby’s, Liza hadn’t realized how much she missed the place. Not that it had been particularly long since she visited, but she had missed the warm atmosphere in the presence of her friends. Walking in the direction of their usual booth, Liza saw Allie look over before her friend gave her a big smile.

“You made it,” Allie said, standing from the booth and enveloping Liza into a big hug.

“It’s good to be here,” Liza said meaning every word, pulling back to see Vivian and Marty there as well. “Marty, I haven’t seen you in forever.”

Marty smiled a little sheepishly. “I have been working double shifts now that the head baker has decided to retire and is showing me all the ropes.”

“Plus spending extra time with Rey,” Allie added in a playful tone.

“Well that too,” Marty said as her grin widened. “We’re still trying to get to know each other on a deeper level.”

Vivian chuckled, the sound deep and warm. “Getting to know each other?” she said. “Is that what they call it now?” Marty blushed to the roots of her blonde hair and Liza laughed. It felt good. The last few days had been a torture and she needed exactly this kind of break.

Vivian slid from the booth. “What can I make you?” Vivian asked as Marty stood to let Liza slide in.

“I’ll take a margarita on the rocks.”

“Coming right up,” Vivian said. “Salt or no salt today?”

Liza tilted her head and thought about the question because she went back and forth depending on her mood and decided that today she felt salty. “Salt,” she answered. “Make it heavy. And don’t hold back on the tequila either.”

Vivian nodded. “You got it,” she said while Liza relaxed on the booth’s vinyl seat.

Reaching across the table, Allie took Liza’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she said. “How are things?” Before Liza could figure out how best to answer, the door to Ruby’s opened again and Rey, followed by Nikki, walked in. Marty got up and met Rey halfway, giving her a quick kiss. The depth of their tenderness toward each other gave Liza a little pang of jealousy. She remembered what those early days with Tate had been like, full of little kisses and heated looks. All of that seemed far away, and she could only hope they would get it back.

Slipping past them, Nikki grinned. “Okay, lovebirds,” she said as she joined Liza on the bench. “Hey. Is Tate going to be here?”

Liza nodded. “Her text said she would,” she said, with a glance at her watch. It was already almost six, and she had hoped Tate would be at Ruby’s by now. A hint of anxiety fluttered in Liza’s stomach.Or will she choose to work late again?she wondered.With that woman from the phone call?

“Well, I hope so,” Nikki said. “She skipped our workout again this morning.”

Liza raised her eyebrows. It was rare for Tate to miss a workout. She thought that was why she left so early. “I guess she had to go to the office early,” Liza explained trying to cover her initial reaction and was thankful when Rey and Marty approached the booth to join them.

“Hi,” Rey said. “Sorry I’m late. The streetcar was running behind schedule.”

“I see,” Nikki murmured, still focused on Liza while giving her a suspicious look.

“We’re just glad you made it,” Allie said before turning to the group. “So, about Pride.” Liza appreciated her friend changing the subject and gave her a small smile. “We need to figure out what’s going on with Ruby’s booth. We were able to grab a great location at the last minute because someone else cancelled, and we want to make it interesting. Really draw people to it.”

Vivian returned to the table and set down a tray of margaritas. “But with something original,” she added.

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