Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
Ruby brushed foundation over Lana’s face. “Where did Aurora run off to?”
“Who knows? I think there was some sort of crisis over the flower arrangements.”
“They have the wrong color roses.” A dark-haired woman had just poked her head into the room. “But don’t worry, Lana, Aurora’s on top of it.”
This was Danica Foster-Grant. Ruby had seen her on TV and in magazines. She was Noah’s girlfriend, and she was even prettier in person.
Danica was wearing a black jumpsuit and diamond teardrop earrings. She came over, holding out her hand. “You must be Ruby. I’m Dani. Your husband helped me out a few months ago. Chase? I still don’t feel like I’ve given him a proper thank you.”
“I remember hearing about that. I know Chase was happy to do it.” Ruby set down the jar of foundation so she could take Dani’s hand.
She decided not to get into her marriage issues. Ruby wasn’t sure how much Noah had reported about her situation. “It’s great to meet you. Your house is beautiful.”
“Thank you. It’s not my house though. It’s my father’s. Luckily, he owes me about three million favors, so he couldn’t refuse to host a wedding for my friends.”
“Lucky for me, you mean,” Lana said.
Dani laughed. “Exactly. There’s also been a mix-up about the fish option? They brought trout instead of sea bass. Or maybe it was sea bass instead of trout?”
Lana made a face. “I don’t care about roses or fish. As long as Max and I end up married at the end of today, I’ll eat tuna out of a can and carry my old corsage from prom night.”
Aurora swept into the room, typing frantically on her phone. “If I can’t get this sorted, L, you might get your wish.”
“Is she always this dramatic?” Dani whispered in Ruby’s ear.
“Only when it comes to the people she loves.”
Aurora stood in the middle of the room and announced, “The DJ is stuck in traffic. How can a DJ from LA not account for traffic?”
“Okay, you.” Danica took Aurora by the shoulders and made her sit on the cushioned window seat. “I’m relieving you of wedding planner duty. You are now maid of honor only.”
“But—” Aurora sputtered. “There’s only two hours until the ceremony!”
“Exactly. You should be enjoying this. Send me your list, and I will handle the caterers and florist and whatever else.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m very bossy. Just ask Noah.”
Lana clasped her hands together. “Please, Aurora. I need you here and smiling and happy. Not obsessing over DJs and white fish.”
Aurora grimaced. “All right. Fine. Danica, I’ll text you my final checklist.”
“You won’t be disappointed. I might just quit the Foster-Grant Foundation and start a wedding rescue business instead.”
Aurora pointed a finger at her. “Don’t push it.”
Danica threw a wink at Ruby. “Have fun wrangling these two.” She left the room.
Lana turned her head, studying her complexion in the three-way vanity mirror Ruby had set up. “I happen to be completely calm.”
Aurora sprawled out on the window seat. “I’m hungry. I’m going to text Devon to bring snacks.”
Ruby chuckled. “Go for it. He has time to spare. Not like the best man has to get his makeup done. I offered, but he said no.” She grabbed the shadow palette Lana had picked and started on her eyes. “Are you nervous about getting married?”
“I’ve been in love with Max since I was nineteen. And we live together. I feel ready. But I do wonder if it’ll be different.” Lana’s eyes met hers in the mirror. “What do you think? What’s it like being married?
“Don’t ask me. I barely know anything about being married. Chase only lived with me a few weeks, and now he’s moved out.”
“How do you feel about that?”
“It’s great.” Ruby’s voice had climbed an octave, and Lana must’ve heard the uncertainty there.
“You sure?”
“I mean, having my murder charge dismissed is great. Are you going to take over the case against Conrad Decker? Am I allowed to ask you about that?”
“The answer’s maybe. To both questions.” Lana laughed. “I’m going to play an active role, but between the wedding and trying to find time for a honeymoon, I’m not sure if I’ll first-chair the trial. But I’d prefer to have Jane present before we discuss the substance of the Decker case.”
Ruby nodded. She wondered what it would be like testifying at the trial for Mickey’s murder.
She couldn’t identify Decker specifically as the person who’d been standing inside Mickey’s kitchen.
His face hadn’t been visible. Thankfully, Lana and the other DAs had plenty of physical evidence, like the DNA on that towel and the murder weapon.
But tiny threads of doubt still nagged at her. West Oaks PD had messed up the case against her, hadn’t they? What if they did the same with Decker—the actual killer—and failed to get a conviction?
Lana was studying her in the mirror. “You deflected the topic of your marriage to Chase. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”
“Hey, I don’t barge into the courtroom with annoying questions when you’re trying to work.”
Ruby’s task took far longer than usual because they kept chatting and laughing, but after another hour, Aurora and Lana were sufficiently coiffed and made up. Devon had brought a tray of cheese and crackers, and Aurora had eaten three quarters of it.
“Ready to get dressed?” Ruby asked.
For the first time that day, Lana’s eyes misted over. Aurora clapped a hand over her mouth.
Ruby wagged a finger. “Hey, careful with the lipstick.”
“Sorry.” Aurora dropped the hand. “I just can’t believe this day is finally here.” She hugged Lana, careful to keep her face turned away. “You and my big brother are getting married! This is happening!”
Ruby’s eyes stung. She wondered if she’d ever get a day like this. The dress, the DJ, the fish selection…
But when she tried to picture it, all her mind would conjure up was Chase.
Aurora and Ruby both helped Lana into her gown. It was simple and elegant, a long column with beaded capped sleeves and a train. A row of fabric-covered buttons concealed the back zipper.
“Don’t cry,” Ruby whispered to Aurora.
“Trying. Failing.” She grabbed a tissue to dab her eyes.
Someone knocked on the door, and Max popped his head in. “Hey, gorgeous.” He leaned against the door frame, looking dapper in his shiny tux. Very GQ model.
“You’re not supposed to see me before the ceremony,” Lana scolded.
“Since when is anyone around here traditional?” Aurora popped another square of cheese into her mouth. She’d already changed into her maid of honor dress. It was strapless, empire-waisted, blush pink.
“Good point.” Lana crossed the room, holding up her train with one hand. “Hey, handsome.”
“Can I kiss you?” Max asked.
Ruby fixed him with a withering gaze. “Don’t even think about it.”
Max took Lana’s hand and helped her with her train. “Could I at least get a few minutes with my fiancé? Is that allowed?”
They were looking at each other like they were both made of chocolate and were about to melt. Or eat each other up. “Please, go,” Ruby said. “Make eyes at each other somewhere else.”
Max and Lana dashed off.
“But the ceremony starts in half an hour,” Aurora shouted after them. “They’re going to be late.”
“The ceremony can’t start until they get there.” Ruby wondered if Chase had arrived. Was he outside in the audience?
She flicked back the curtain on one of the windows. This sitting room was at the back of the house, and it looked out onto the patio, where the ceremony would be held.
White chairs were lined up facing the ocean view, where the sun would soon begin to set.
Ruby recognized at least a dozen people from Bennett Security.
Sylvie and her boyfriend Nic—a former crime boss who’d gone straight.
Devon’s fellow bodyguard Tanner, who sat with his girlfriend Faith.
Jane was out there too, chatting with Ruby’s mom.
But not Chase. Where was he?
“Your mind is a million miles away.”
Ruby looked over her shoulder, letting the curtain fall. Aurora was watching her from the window seat.
“You’re still here?”
“Danica took over my wedding planner list. Max and Lana are probably getting busy in a bathroom somewhere. And Devon is doing who knows what. I have a few minutes.” Aurora got up and sat in the makeup chair. “So, how are you really feeling about Chase moving out?”
Ruby worked on packing her supplies. “Like I said. It’s fine.”
“But what about…you know.” Aurora pumped her eyebrows. “You two were getting close, weren’t you? Is that still a thing?”
“Not anymore. It was just convenient. We were living together, and we weren’t getting action anywhere else. That’s all it was.”
“I don’t believe that for a second. I saw you two together. I know chemistry, and you and Chase have chemistry.”
“Okay, we do. But honestly? It’s confusing.”
“What’s confusing? You’re both single. You like each other. The sex was good, right?”
Ruby paused, a pouch of makeup brushes in hand. “The sex was incredible. Like, mind-blowing. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.”
“Details?” Aurora asked. “You can’t drop hints like that and not give details.”
Ruby couldn’t suppress her smile. “Let’s just say he gave me exactly what I needed.”
“Hopefully over and over?”
Ruby laughed, though the sound was tinged with a hint of bitterness. “Maybe. Though I could’ve used a few more rounds. He made me feel like I was back inside my body.”
Aurora looked confused.
Ruby sat against the vanity. “You’ll find out soon enough what it’s like having a child.
It’s the most wonderful, astonishing miracle in the world, and it’s also like giving your body away to someone else.
There’s the pregnancy and the birth, which changes you.
Then this little helpless person is latched to you twenty-four-seven, whether or not you’re breast feeding.
I love being a mom. But I also felt like I’d lost the other parts of my identity. Especially the parts that felt sexy.”
“And Chase gave that back to you?”
Tingles ran across Ruby’s skin as she remembered his hands on her.
His mouth. “In every way. He made me feel like a full person again. A mom, but also a woman who enjoyed sex.” And plenty of other things, too.
“But when it came time, Chase went back to being just friends so easily. Like it didn’t mean all that much.
Which is fine, because neither of us promised it would be anything more. ”
Aurora cocked her head. “But now you want it to be more?”
“Maybe?” She groaned. “Okay, yes. I do. But I’m…scared. I don’t want to get hurt.”
“Except you seem like you’re hurting right now.”
Ruby squeezed her eyes shut. “Is it that obvious?”
“Only because I know you so well. You had something with Chase. I saw how happy you were. And now, that’s gone. But you’re still wearing your wedding ring.”
“I wasn’t ready to take it off.” Ruby hugged her arms around her middle, fighting back tears.
With her mom, Ruby always felt like she had to be stoic. Strong. But Aurora was different. She was a friend, someone who was open and sincere.
And she was right.
Ruby missed her conversations with Chase. His affection. Holding him and kissing him and seeing him smile just for her.
She missed how he’d boss her around and get on her nerves. Even his snoring and how he sometimes left his sweaty clothes in his gym bag—which was eye-watering the next day. Ew.
And then, there was the sex. Such hot sex. The best sex of her life.
She wanted his dirty mouth and his passion. His strong, beautiful body and wicked tongue and that secret tattoo on his ass. The way he could be so intense and so gentle at the same time.
Chase’s friendship meant a lot, but Ruby wanted all of him. Every part.
And seeing Lana and Max together just now? The way they’d looked at one another? Seeing that connection?
It had made Ruby realize how close she’d come to having the same thing. But she’d been too scared to try.
“I am hurting. Either way, it hurts.” Which means you have to do something about it, she told herself. A tear streaked down her face as she opened her eyes.
And her gaze met her brother’s in the mirror. He was standing in the open doorway in his tux.
She spun around. “Devon?”
His expression told her he’d heard what she’d said to Aurora. But how much of it?
“Chase slept with you?”
Crap.
Devon’s hands balled into fists. “He hurt you?”
Aurora stood up. “Dev, please don’t—”
He stormed into the hall and slammed the door.
“Overreact,” Aurora finished. “Ugh. I’m having serious big brother flashbacks right now, and I’m not liking it. I need to go talk to him.”
“No, it should be me.” Ruby had to knock some sense into Devon because he was being ridiculous. In all of this, Chase was the least to blame.
“Why are brothers such buttheads?” Aurora asked.
“The age-old question.”