Chapter 25 Ruby
Let it be known that I usually wasn’t a nervous wreck when we were hosting an event. By now, we had quite a few under our belt, and they’d all gone off without a hitch. But this was my best friend’s engagement party, and I wanted everything to be perfect.
This was also the first time we’d had security, and that added a bit to my uneasiness.
I tried telling myself that the bodyguards, the cameras, and the fence were just part of the décor.
We’d put in a lot of effort to make sure they would blend in, but I could still see them.
I laughed silently to myself that Grant had won me over on this security stuff.
Then again, he'd won me over on a lot. He’d even won Mateo over.
My brother ambushed me at home once, right after I told him Grant was with me.
He dropped by with my favorite ice cream and started to grill Grant good.
But my man took it in stride, and the two of them bonded over soccer.
Mateo later confided in me that Grant was the only guy he liked out of everyone I’d ever dated.
Once the servers brought out the main course, I relaxed just a smidge. I was behind the bar, glancing at the cocktail menu while checking our ingredients. Twice before, we ran out of favorites midway through a party. But so far, so good.
“Babe, come sit down at the table.”
I startled. I hadn’t realized Grant had come over to the bar. He was right next to me—close enough that no one could mistake this for a guest-host interaction.
“Grant, I can’t,” I murmured.
“What? I’ve watched you run around for hours.”
“I’m working. I can’t sit down.”
“Daphne and I agree that you should enjoy the party.”
I looked over at my friend. And what do you know? She had her eyes on us. She smiled, winking at me.
“You and Daphne have been plotting together?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“When did she go from warning me against you to making plans with you?”
“Ask her.”
“I have, but see, she’s not telling me anything,” I said.
Oh goodness. He was so close and kept looking at my lips.
I knew it. If we were this close, there was no chance of us not kissing.
“Sit here next to me—just for the main course.” Grant gave me those sexy bedroom eyes of his, and I almost swooned.
I love this man!
“I can see right through you. You’ll lure me to the table and never let me leave. I can’t,” I said without a whole lot of conviction.
He grinned, putting a hand on the small of my back. “Caught me there. Everything’s running smoothly. You can relax a bit. Let me take care of you.”
I’d chosen extra-high stilettos today so I’d have a nice outfit, but my feet were killing me. So if I was honest, sitting down sounded amazing.
“Okay, fine. You win.” I looked at Tommy, my bartender, and said, “You good on your own here? ”
“Yes, boss. It’s my job, after all.”
Why did everyone keep reminding me that? I knew what their job was, but the restaurant was my baby. Of course I wanted to be involved in everything.
I sighed when Grant took my hand. A current of awareness ran through me as we walked out from behind the bar. The hand-holding was obvious to everyone. His brothers both turned to look at us. Evie was grinning.
“Hey, can we switch places so I sit next to Evie?” I asked as we approached the table. Currently, Grant was sitting between her and Cameron.
He looked at me with surprise in his eyes. “Sure.”
“Thanks.”
“Hey, Ruby. You look beautiful,” Evie said as I sat down.
“Thank you. And so do you. That dress is stunning.”
It was pink with a lot of glitter, but she looked like a young lady, not a kid. It was something I’d actually wear as well. Maybe with less glitter, though.
“Your hair looks beautiful too. The conditioner is really working,” I told her.
“I love it! But my dad helped me with the pigtails, though Uncle Grant does them better.”
I turned to look at Grant, mouth open as he winked at me. “I’ve got skills, you know.”
“Clearly,” I agreed.
I was stunned. The affection I felt for this man was truly surreal.
As we sat at the table, I realized I’d never felt for anyone the way I did about him.
I caught Daphne’s eye again and looked at her for a few seconds.
We always said we were soul mates because we could always tell what the other was thinking.
And sitting right here next to this gorgeous man, I knew it wasn’t true.
Daphne was my best friend, and we shared a lot in likes and dislikes—but Grant truly was my soul mate.
We were in sync from the beginning... and it felt a little bit scary.
He put a hand on my thigh and brought his mouth to my ear. “You had a revelation.”
I gasped. “How did you know?”
“Because of your huge smile. Want to tell me what it is?”
I looked him in the eye, and without any fear, I spoke into his ear. “I just realized you’re my soul mate.”
Yeah, that’s right. I’d said it, and it felt amazing. I was trembling slightly because I was scared, but it was true, and I wanted him to know it.
Hopefully, he felt the same.
“Fuck, woman,” he replied. His tone was a bit gruff. “You make me want to take you away into a room and tell you exactly how I feel about you.”
“Can’t you just say it now?” I whispered. “Is it so dirty that it requires a separate room?”
“If I tell you how I feel about you, yes, it requires a separate building and us not coming back, babe.”
He put a palm on the small of my back, then moved it slowly to the side of my waist, digging in his fingers slowly.
Just then, Roger stood to his feet and said, “Now that you have the main course, I’d like to say a few words.”
I sighed. I’d always loved speeches, and I couldn’t wait to hear what he had to say about my best friend.
* * *
Grant
I wanted to take Ruby away from here right now, but clearly this wasn’t the best moment. I couldn’t leave while my best friend was making his speech, but I wanted to be alone with this woman for the rest of the evening.
The rest of my life.
“As many of you know, I met my gorgeous fiancée fresh out of college. She was waiting in line to get into a nightclub, and I remember walking up to her and thinking, ‘If she gives me the time of day, I’m doing something right, because she’s way out of my league.’”
Daphne smiled at him.
“And what do you know? She did give me the time of day. I vividly remember that night because we only danced a few times. We spent the rest of it on one of those couches in the club, talking. I was fascinated with her. And all these years later, I still am. Daphne, you’re everything to me.”
I swear, the whole room reacted to that.
“You make me a better man in every sense of the word. Building a life with you is a privilege.”
I usually found speeches to be forced and cheesy, but not this one. In fact, I understood what Roger meant and where he was coming from. I just couldn’t put it into words as eloquently as him. He’d always been good with speeches.
I pulled Ruby closer to me and then leaned into her, whispering, “And that’s exactly how I feel about you.”
She turned to look at me sideways. Her eyes were wide. I’d never seen her so happy. “Oh yeah?”
“Fuck yes,” I said, and the look on her face was one I’d remember forever.
We both turned back to Roger, as he was still talking.
I wasn’t really listening, though. I was still trying to comprehend how my life had changed in such a short time span. I didn’t even recognize myself most days. But that was a good thing. Ruby had come into my life and turned it upside down completely. And I needed that.
Sybil was right. I was working nonstop just to fill the time of day.
I wasn’t even whoring around, as Cameron would say, that much.
I’d just never wanted anything else—anything that would make me feel any emotion.
Until I met Ruby. Now I wanted it all with her.
After my parents passed away, I’d guarded myself and my brothers, protected myself from this world.
But with Ruby, I wanted to let my guard down.
I wanted her in my home, with a dog, kids, and all the things I’d never searched for before.
Once Roger finished his speech, everyone clapped and started to chat again. The servers came to take away the empty plates.
Ruby straightened in her seat and said, “All right. I need to go check on the kitchen.”
“Ruby,” I growled.
“I did take a break.”
She was looking around at the plates as if checking that they were indeed empty.
“But not long enough. You’ve been on your feet since this morning.”
“True. But I want to make sure the kitchen has everything under control.”
“And then you’ll come sit with me again.” It wasn’t a question.
She tilted her head, clearly not missing the tone of my voice. Her lips were gorgeous, maybe my favorite part about her, just slightly tipped up at the corners. “Are you telling me what to do?”
“Yes, babe. I’m telling you that I want to look after you. And you love it.”
“Well, I do, but I assumed you were going to do that after the party.”
“I so fucking am, I promise you.”
I kept my voice as low as possible, but Evie was looking at us intently. I wondered if she could hear us. Knowing I’d better be careful, I didn’t say anything else.
“Fine, babe. But if you don’t come back, I will burst into that kitchen. ”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” She winked, and I wanted to take her to the break room and have my way with her.
But instead, I said, “You do that,” then watched as she rose from the chair and walked quickly through the restaurant.
She was wearing a black dress—longer than her usual attire. I fucking loved that she always showed off her curves. They were perfect. A slim waist and a full ass—and she was all fucking mine.
Predictably, Ruby didn’t come back, but I wasn’t going to go after her. This was her business, and I respected that she wanted to be involved. I was just going to take extra care of her tonight and tomorrow.
After the servers brought out a small bite to hold everyone over until dessert, a large group of people started to dance between the tables.
There was no designated dance floor, but that didn’t seem to bother anyone, including my family.
Evie was dancing with Cameron, both of them grinning from ear to ear.
Tonight was going well as far as I was concerned.
We didn’t have any sort of incident. My guys were posted at all the entrances, and everyone was relaxed.
It helped that Roger hadn’t invited any of the players.
They were far more popular and widely known than him, and it would’ve attracted a lot of attention.
But he and Daphne had only wanted their closest friends and families to attend, which amounted to about sixty people.
I started to relax halfway through the party. I didn’t have anything to worry about.
Turned out, I was wrong.