Page 84 of Just Like in the Movies

He placed the keys on the bar between them and climbed on to the stool Jacie had vacated. ‘How did the meeting go, with The Rialto?’ he said.

‘How did you know about that?’ she asked, a guilty flush hitting her cheeks.

The yearning she had been burying for days threatened to spill out of her mouth. She would have loved to ask Luke’s advice, to get his take, to lean on him and hope he could find a solution. But she couldn’t do that. She had no claim on him, they’d established that without a doubt over the last three weeks. Her ribs began to ache as she had to force the breaths in and out of her lungs.

‘Are you kidding me?’ he said, a wry smile twisting his lips

She dragged her gaze from his mouth, to find him watching her.

‘Gerry and Tozer aren’t the most discreet guys on the planet,’ he added.

‘Hey, Luke, you want a drink?’ Brynn asked, having returned from the storeroom. The bar was almost empty at five in the afternoon, which was why Ruby and Jacie had escaped here to debrief after their meeting.

‘Sure, I’ll take a Sam Adams.’ He glanced at Ruby’s empty glass. ‘You want another?’

She didn’t, really. Drinking in the afternoon was not a good idea, especially when you had a ton of heartache to process, and your breathing was already severely compromised. The one thing she could not do was let on to Luke how much she was going to miss him. Because then he would feel beholden, and that was the one thing she didn’t want. They’d both gone into this with their eyes wide open. If she went to pieces now in front of him, all that would have been a lie.

But the thought that this was almost certainly going to be her last drink with Luke had the reply popping out of her mouth. ‘Yes, thank you.’

Maybe she was pathetic for wanting to prolong the agony, but so be it. And a drink might help her to get through this with her dignity intact.

‘You didn’t answer my question,’ he said. ‘How did the meeting go?’

‘Good,’ she lied smoothly, avoiding eye contact. ‘I think we’ve found an investor. And a solution which will work for everyone. I’m …’ She paused, drawing on all the acting talent she had ever possessed to put the right amount of enthusiasm into her voice. ‘I’m excited. This is going to be a new chapter for The Royale, and hopefully a lucrative one. We should even be able to give you something for your share.’

He frowned, his searching gaze only making the blush on her cheeks hit critical mass. And the pain in her lungs more pronounced.

Thank goodness for the dark lighting.

‘I told you, I don’t want a cent,’ he said. ‘You can invest my share back into the business if there’s any left after the debts are paid.’

‘You don’t have to do that,’ she said. Although she knew on one level he did, and it only made her sadder.

Taking nothing from the sale would sever any ties he had to the theatre, to Matty, and perhaps most importantly, to her. And while she knew that’s the way it had to be, for both of them, it didn’t make the stabbing pain every time she drew a breath any less vicious. ‘Matty wanted you to have half,’ she added.

‘He didn’t know me, Ruby’ he said gently. ‘We both know that bequest had everything to do with Matty’s love for my father and you, and nothing to do with me. From what I know about my uncle now, he was big on romantic gestures. But he also loved you like a daughter,’ he said with an authority that made her throat burn as well as her lungs. While Luke had spent his days doing up The Royale, he’d come to know what a special person Matty was, and that made her so happy. Or it would once she got over the pain of losing him, too.

‘He wanted me to have a stake in The Royale for the sake of that lost love affair and because he wanted me to help you out,’ Luke continued. ‘I get that. And that’s why there’s no way I’m taking anything out of the theatre now, when you guys need it. Okay?’

She smiled and swallowed down the tears threatening to spill over her lids. ‘You’re much more emotionally intelligent than you look,’ she said, stupidly moved by his declaration.

‘I had a good teacher,’ he murmured.

She nodded, knowing she couldn’t speak, or all of her best efforts to remain dignified and not desperate would be for nothing.

Don’t you dare cry. Don’t you dare make a scene. Not now, when you’re so close to finishing The Ruby Movie the way it has to be finished.

‘Here you go, guys,’ Brynn arrived with the fresh drinks. Ruby took a gulp of hers and swallowed. The sweet citrus tang somehow allowed her to ignore the pain in her chest.

Saved by a lemon-tini.

‘What are you two going as for Babs and Bob night?’ Brynn asked.

Ruby pressed a shaky finger to her nose. ‘That’s for me to know and you to find out,’ she said, hoping no one could hear the tremble in her voice. ‘What are you going as Brynn?’

‘Dolly Levi, of course,’ he said, with a flourish. ‘I have a gold glitter ball gown which is absolutely perfect, all I need to do is source some feathers for the headpiece.’

‘Wonderful,’ Ruby said. ‘Are you still okay to sing the theme song before the screening?’

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