Chapter 4
Ruby
She was halfway to the hotel when her phone rang. Seeing Frankie’s number on the tablet-like screen of the brand-new car Beckett had insisted on buying for her when her old one had finally given up the ghost, she hit the button to answer the call.
“I’m on my way! I’ll be there in like twenty minutes!”
“What the hell is going on, Ruby? Are you okay?”
“Yes. Maybe.” For what felt like the millionth time that morning, tears welled in her eyes, clogging her throat. “I’ll explain when I get there.”
“Okay, well, take a few deep breaths. Lottie will be pissed if you die on the way to her wedding.”
The joke surprised a watery laugh out of her. “If I die, it will be because Beckett killed me. I’m in so much trouble, Frankie.”
“I’m sure it’s not that bad. Whatever it is, he’ll get over it.”
“Yeah. Yeah, maybe. Um, I’m gonna go so I don’t get distracted and do something stupid like get another speeding ticket.
I really will be dead if that happens.” The one time she’d gotten a ticket, right after Beckett had bought her the car, not only had he spanked her, he’d made her sit on her sore, bruised ass to research a whole freaking essay on the importance of vehicle safety.
She could only imagine what would happen if she got another ticket just a few months after that punishment.
“For real,” Frankie agreed with a laugh. “Drive safe, babe. See you in a bit.”
The call ended, and Ruby double-checked her speed, setting the cruise control so she wouldn’t be able to go over without actually meaning to. Between that and her own anxiety over having to face Lottie, the drive to the hotel seemed to drag on forever.
And that anxiety only grew worse as she handed her keys over to the valet with a strained smile. As she made her way through the ridiculously opulent lobby to the bank of gilded elevators waiting to whisk her up to her doom.
Okay, maybe she was being a little dramatic. But still.
Heart pounding, she stared at the buttons in front of her. Stop being a baby. Just push the damn button and go up there.
Dragging in a deep breath, she reached out and pressed the button that would take her up to the bridal suite. But when she got to the room where Lottie had texted them all to meet, she froze again, staring at the door in front of her.
According to Ivy, Ruby had the world’s worst poker face.
Whether it was actually playing poker, or trying to hide something from Beckett, she never succeeded at keeping her feelings a secret.
So the odds were high that if she walked in that room with her emotions running rampant the way they were at that moment, Lottie would know something was wrong right away.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” she muttered, pacing the hallway in front of the suite.
What the hell was she supposed to do?
“Ruby? What’s wrong?”
Pausing her frantic pacing, Ruby jerked her head up, tears once more stinging her eyes as Frankie pulled the door to the room across the hall shut behind her, worry shining in her dark gaze. “I screwed up, Frankie. I screwed up so fucking bad and everyone is going to hate me.”
“Oh, honey.” Reaching out, Frankie took Ruby’s hands in hers and squeezed. “I’m sure it’s not as bad as you’re making it out to be in your head. Take a deep breath and then tell me what’s going on.”
Ruby did as she was told, dragging in a stuttering breath. She could tell Frankie. She had to tell Frankie. As matron of honor, any kind of wedding emergency fell under her purview.
Right?
Right.
Holding tight to that thought, Ruby swallowed hard and forced the words she’d been dreading past the tightness in her throat. “I… I lost the rings.”
Frankie blinked. Then frowned. “What rings?”
Jesus, this was going to be harder than she’d anticipated. “Lottie and Braden’s wedding rings.”
It was Frankie’s turn to pace, dropping Ruby’s hands as though they were the metaphorical hot potato. “I don’t understand. Why did you even have the rings?”
“I didn’t. Beckett did. I guess Braden asked him to pick them up and he had them stored in his nightstand.”
“Okay, well, where the fuck are they now?”
If I knew that, they wouldn’t be lost. Biting back the sarcastic retort, Ruby shook her head. “I don’t know. Um, I was pretty drunk when I got home last night and I… You know how sometimes I like to fuck with Beckett by moving his stuff around?”
Stopping in the middle of the hallway, Frankie groaned. “Tell me you didn’t.”
“I didn’t know, Frankie, I swear to god.
I don’t even remember moving them. Like, I remember moving some stuff in the bathroom and I vaguely remember going in his nightstand, but I don’t actually remember moving the boxes anywhere.
This morning, Beckett went to go get them and they’re just gone.
That’s why I’m so late getting here, we tore our bedroom apart looking for them. ”
“Is it possible Beckett didn’t put them there?” At Ruby’s withering look, Frankie rolled her eyes. “Right. Beckett never loses anything, the freak. If he says he put them in the nightstand, then they were in the nightstand.”
“Exactly. What am I gonna do, Frankie?”
“I’ll tell you what you’re going to do.” Gripping Ruby’s shoulders, Frankie gave her a hard stare worthy of any Domme. “You are going to plaster a bright, happy smile on your face, march yourself in that room, and not tell a goddamn soul what’s going on.”
“You know I have the world’s worst poker face, Frankie.”
“Yeah, but I also know you love Lottie almost as much as I do and you would never do anything to ruin her big day. So you’re going to go in there, drink yourself a mimosa or three, and pretend like you’re having the time of your life.”
“Okay.” Closing her eyes, Ruby dragged in a deep breath. “You’re right. I can do this.”
“Damn straight you can. You’re the badass bartender who nailed down Beckett Fucking Stone. You can do anything.”
She opened her eyes with a grin. “You make a damn good point.”
“Of course I do. Now, you go on in there, I’m going to tell Holden what we’re dealing with so he can keep tabs on Beckett.
I’ll be right behind you. Oh, and if anyone asks if you’ve been crying, you lie right to their faces and tell them Beckett spanked your ass for being a brat. Nobody will question it.”
“Right.” Turning back toward the door to the suite, Ruby took another deep breath and willed her heart to stop racing. “I can do this. I can do this.”
With what she hoped passed for a believable smile, she pushed open the door—and entered chaos.
Even though this was her first time being in a wedding party, something told her that all the experience in the world couldn’t have prepared her for being part of Charlotte Duvall’s wedding.
On one side of the room, two women she vaguely recognized were getting their makeup done.
On the other, Cordelia and Ivy were both getting their hair done, Ivy with hers down in the loose curls Lottie had requested for her bridesmaids while Cordelia’s was pulled up in a sleek, sophisticated looking ponytail.
Cordelia had been switched to Braden’s side of the aisle when Lottie had realized, in a moment of pre-wedding devastation, she had one more bridesmaid than Braden had groomsmen.
“Ruby!” The cry rang out all around the room when her friends spotted her.
“Oh my god, I was worried you weren’t coming!” Racing up to her, wrapped only in a white silk robe that barely covered the lingerie she was wearing beneath it, Lottie threw her arms around Ruby’s neck. “Are you okay? What happened? Frankie said you got in trouble.”
“Yeah.” It wasn’t really a lie, and yet it stuck in her throat anyway. “You know how Beckett gets.”
“Ugh, tell me about it.” Pulling away, Lottie rolled her eyes. “You’d think with it being a special occasion, he’d take the stick out of his ass.”
Guilt slammed into Ruby’s stomach. “It wasn’t his fault. I was pushing his buttons and I knew it.” Still not entirely a lie.
“Aw.” Lottie’s expression turned sympathetic. “Sometimes you need the stress relief. Ask me how I know,” she added with a grimace.
“Anyway,” Lottie continued before Ruby could respond, grabbing Ruby’s hand and dragging her toward the middle of the room.
“Come meet everyone! The leggy brunette there is Braden’s daughter, Aria.
” Said leggy brunette waved from where she’d curled up in one of the armchairs with a plate of food and a mimosa.
“Blonde with the big blue eyes is Portia, and beside her is Eva, two of mine and Frankie’s best friends since we were kids.
This is Ruby, she works at the club with me and she’s amazing. ”
More guilt, twisting and turning Ruby’s stomach. “I’m not really anything special.”
“Oh, hush. You helped me out after that New Year’s Eve prank and you’re a kickass bartender and you bagged the club’s biggest playboy. That place wouldn’t be the same without you.”
Ruby blinked. “I didn’t realize you felt that strongly about me.”
“Um, would I have you in my freaking wedding party if I didn't love you? Don’t be ridiculous. Did you see Emily and Titania are here?”
Another round of greetings later, she was feeling more than a little overwhelmed. Luckily, Silver took pity on her, pushing a mimosa into her hand and dragging her over to a couch somewhat out of the way of the chaos.
“Drink. You look like you could use it.” Lips twitching, Silver took a sip of the water she held in her hand.
“Thanks. And yeah, I could. It’s been a long-ass morning.”
“Wanna talk about it?”
Emotion welled in Ruby’s chest, and she found herself blinking back fresh tears. “Not really. But I could use a hug.”
“Of course, honey. Come here.”
Even though she didn’t deserve the comfort, she let Silver pull her in for a tight hug, let the familiar feel and scent of her friend unravel some of the knots in her stomach.
“You know, it’s still kind of bizarre to me that I can get a hug from Amanda Sterling whenever I want it.”
Beneath Ruby’s cheek, Silver’s chest vibrated with laughter. “Life is funny that way sometimes.”
“Yeah.”
Slender fingers ran through Ruby’s hair. “You sure you’re okay, honey? You don’t seem like yourself.”
“Honestly? No. I fucked up really, really bad and Beckett’s pissed.”
“Still? Even after he punished you?”
Danger lurked beneath Silver’s words, and Ruby silently swore at herself for not choosing her words more carefully. “He didn’t really punish me yet.”
“But I thought that was why you were running late.”
Before she could come up with some explanation that made even a modicum of sense, Lottie called their names. “Ruby! Silver! You’re up!”