Chapter 19
19
RUBY
I ’m wiping down the same spot on the bar counter, trying to ignore Ash’s pointed looks. It’s been two days since I trained with Dominic, and I haven’t seen any of the guys since… on purpose. I’ve kept my distance, deciding I need to come clean. So, I’ve been hiding in my bar since.
“If you clean that spot any harder, you’ll find the secret passage to Narnia,” he quips, juggling three glasses on the way back to the bar.
“Shut up,” I mutter, but my lips twitch into a grin.
“Make me.” He snatches the rag from my hand. “I swear, between your brooding and your cleaning obsession, you’re one leather jacket away from being a romance novel heroine.”
“I don’t brood.”
“Oh, really?” He strikes a dramatic pose, hand to his forehead. “‘Oh, woe is me. I’m too pretty, and too many hot guys want me. Whatever shall I do?”
I throw a maraschino cherry at his head. He catches it in his mouth… because, of course, he does.
My phone buzzes, and I grab it like a lifeline, ignoring Ash’s smirk.
It’s Lily.
Guess who just dropped an entire bowl of buttercream on her favorite shoes? This girl! But on the bright side, my feet smell delicious.
Despite everything, I laugh and respond.
How do you even function?
Pure talent and questionable life choices Also, coffee. So. Much. Coffee.
Miss you. The bar feels empty without you popping in with your stories and baked goodies.
Aww, honey, you getting soft on me? Must be serious if you’re admitting feelings. You good?
I bite my lip, fingers hovering over the keyboard.
Just... boy trouble.
SPILL This about those hotties from the other day? Because if you’re not interested, I volunteer as tribute. Especially for Mountain Man. Those ARMS.
My stomach twists with guilt. If she only knew...
It’s complicated.
Isn’t it always? But OMG, speaking of complicated, you will NOT believe what happened to me the other night
Did you set another mixing bowl on fire?
That was ONE TIME. No... I may have accidentally messaged a stranger.
...accidentally, how?
Okay, so I was trying to text Hannah about this massive wedding cake, and I typed the number wrong, and my first message to this complete stranger was, “I need help hiding this body; it’s bigger than I thought, and I can’t lift it alone”
LILY NO
LILY YES I was talking about the CAKE BODY, but this poor guy thought I was a legit murderer for like 10 minutes! Then I sent a pic of me covered in fondant, looking like a flour-dusted serial killer, and somehow, we ended up talking for THREE HOURS
Only you could accidentally attract a man by pretending to be a murderer
In my defense, he said my “murder cake” text was the most interesting wrong number he’s ever gotten. Also, he’s a pastry chef, so like... fate?
Or your bizarre serial killer energy finally found its match
Hey, some girls attract guys with their looks. I attract them with accidental homicide texts. Don’t judge my methods!
Are you telling me you’re cyber-flirting with a stranger?
Says the woman currently juggling multiple admirers But also YES, and he’s so funny and smart, and we’ve been trading pictures...
My eyes go wide.
LILY. Tell me he didn’t send you a pic.
GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER I meant, like, baking pictures! He sent me his sourdough starter (her name is Bertha, and she’s beautiful). Though I wouldn’t say no to other kinds of pictures...
I can’t believe you’re thirsting after bread boy
Excuse you, his name is Jaden, and his baguettes are magnificent
I snort so hard, Ash gives me a concerned look.
Are we still talking about bread?
Yes, his baguette does look very impressive
I’m dying
No dying allowed until you tell me what’s really bothering you. And don’t say nothing because you’ve been radio silent for days, and that only happens when you’re overthinking something
I stare at the phone, chest tight.
What if... what if you really like more than one person?
Then I’d say you have excellent taste and should probably buy a lottery ticket because, clearly, luck is on your side
I’m serious
So am I. What’s the actual problem here? Are they jerks? Because I will absolutely come home early, and we can egg their houses
No! God, no, they’re... they’re amazing. That’s part of the problem.
Only you would think amazing guys being into you is a problem Look, remember that romance novel series you got me hooked on? The one with the reverse harem?
This isn’t a book
No, but maybe it could be better. Real life usually is. Just saying...
“Earth to Ruby!” Ash’s voice makes me jump. He’s dangling a towel in front of my face. “As riveting as your text conversation clearly is, we’ve got customers.”
I look up to find the after-work business crowd starting to trickle in. Great. Just what I need—an audience for my crisis.
Gotta goes, work calls
This conversation isn’t over! And Ruby? Just be honest with them. With yourself, too. Also, send pics of Mountain Man’s arms for scientific purposes
I put my phone away, trying to ignore how it feels like it’s burning a hole in my pocket. Three unread messages from three different men sit in my inbox, each one making my heart race for different reasons.
“You know,” Ash says as he passes me with a tray of glasses. “For someone who owns a bar, you’re terrible at handling shots.”
I blink at him. “What?”
“You know, taking your shot? Making your move? Going for it?” He grins. “Though I suppose you’re doing okay in that department considering how many?—”
I slap his arm with my bar towel. “Don’t you have glasses to wash?”
“Don’t you have a love life to sort out?”
I groan, dropping my head to the counter.
He pats my head. “Now come on, these hipsters aren’t going to serve themselves. Though we could probably convince them that’s the new trend—self-serve craft cocktails—it’s very underground.”
Despite everything, I laugh. Maybe Lily’s right. Maybe I need to stop overthinking and just... be honest.
But first, I have to survive this shift without combusting from anxiety.
“Ruby!” Ash calls. “Table three needs their lavender-infused, locally sourced, artisanal gin and tonics!”
I got this.
Eventually, the after-work rush slows down, leaving only a few stragglers nursing their drinks in the corners of the bar. I’m wiping glasses while Ash regales me with his latest dating disaster—something about a guy who turned out to be a professional clown. Literally.
“So, there I am,” he’s saying. “Thinking I’m about to get lucky, and he pulls out this red nose?—”
The front door chimes, and I glance over.
Knox and Garrett walk in. Together.
My heart stops beating, and I freeze.
They’re talking like old friends, and something about that makes my stomach twist. Before I can process what I’m doing, I drop behind the bar counter, barely avoiding knocking over a rack of glasses.
“What are you—” Ash starts.
“Shhh!” I hiss, pressing myself against the lower cabinets. “Oh my God, oh my God, did you not see who just walked in?”
He stares out over the bar, then crouches down next to me with an amused expression.
“Ah yes, Mr. Hunk, one and two. They’re chatting like they know each other.” He stands, then frowns and looks down at me. “Oh, Mr. Three is here, too.”
“What?” I risk a peek over the counter, and, yep, there’s Dominic, all dark intensity in his fitted black t-shirt, striding in like he owns the place. The three of them together are like a perfect storm of everything I want and everything I can’t have. “Oh, fuck, kill me now.” My hands are shaking so bad, I have to grip the edge of the cabinet to steady myself.
“I need to get out of here. I need to run...” My chest feels too tight, each breath shorter than the last. “They know, they found out I’ve been with all three, and now they’re going to tell me I’m the worst person in the world...”
Ash crouches back down next to me, his usually playful expression serious for once. “Listen, it’s going to be okay, no matter what. I promise I have your back. And if they really like you, then they’ll find a way to work this out with you.”
“And if not?” My voice cracks. I don’t know why, but the fact of losing them now feels like I’m being gutted. I wrap my arms around my middle, trying to hold myself together. Something has changed in me. I don’t feel like the girl I was before, but someone who had fallen for three men stupidly, not thinking, and now, instead of trusting my instincts and going to speak with them, they’ve made that call for me.
Ash pats my hand. “Trust me, it will be okay.”
He stands up suddenly, and my heart ricochets against my ribs.
“Boss, you may want to come up...”
“Nope, I’m staying here forever. They can’t break my heart if they can’t find me.”
“No, seriously, you need to come up now.”
There’s something in his tone that makes my stomach drop. Slowly, I rise from my hiding spot—and immediately wish I hadn’t. The guys are halfway to the bar, but their attention is focused on someone else.
Marcus.
“Oh, fuck,” I murmur. “Because I need him here during this, too.” I close my eyes briefly. “What did I do wrong to deserve this?”
When I open them again, I find myself caught in a crossfire of stares. Knox’s blue eyes are full of something that makes my chest ache—concern? Pity? Garrett’s usual playful expression is nowhere to be found, replaced by a seriousness that scares me. And Dominic... His dark gaze flicks between Marcus and me, his jaw clenched tight enough, I can see the muscle jumping.
I focus on Marcus instead. Monsters, at least, I understand. He’s striding toward the bar with that smile I hate—the one that says he knows something that’s going to hurt me. His glance between the three Alphas is calculated, smug. Of course, he recognizes Knox and Garrett since he saw them with me, but something about the way he looks at Dominic makes my skin crawl.
I need the earth to crack open and swallow me whole.
“Drinks, anyone?” Ash calls out, breaking the awful silence. God bless him.
Marcus slides onto a barstool, still wearing that demon’s smile.
“What a fortuitous gathering. I came to speak with my dear cousin, and look who else shows up.”
“What do you want?” I snarl, grateful for the anger. Anger is better than anxiety.
“Well, after your little stunt the other night, I started doing some investigation...”
I’m going to be sick. I’ve been here before. Three years ago, when I started dating a local restaurant owner, Marcus dug up every health code violation the guy had ever had. Two years before that, he’d gotten another guy fired by revealing his gambling problem to his boss. Every time I try to have something good, Marcus finds a way to poison it.
“I don’t want to hear it.” My voice shakes despite my effort to keep it steady. “I told you before, you’re not to step foot in here again.”
Marcus doesn’t move. If anything, his smile grows wider.
“It’s interesting what you discover when you pry a bit around, when you follow people.” His gaze slides to the three Alphas. “Do you really think you know who these three are?”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Knox’s voice is sharp enough to cut.
Dominic steps forward, his expression murderous. “You had us surveilled, you fucker?”
Garrett closes in, too, but his stare is on me. What is he thinking? What an awful person I am?
“Oh, wait for it.” Marcus’ laugh makes my skin crawl. “Because that’s not even the good part. It’s what Ruby doesn’t know.” He pauses for effect, clearly savoring the moment. “How these three men she randomly met? Not so random after all. They’ve been working together, planning to meet you for weeks. Setting up those perfect little meet-ups, pretending they didn’t know each other. But it’s all fake!”
The words are like a punch to my gut. “Wait, what?” My chest is so tight I can barely breathe. “What are you talking about?”
“Ruby—” Garrett starts, taking a step forward, but I hold up my hand.
“Is it true?” The words taste like ash in my mouth.
Knox runs a hand through his hair, looking pained. “It’s not what you think?—”
“Is. It. True?”
“Angel.” Dominic’s voice is softer than I’ve ever heard it. “That’s why we came here, to explain.”
But I can’t. I can’t look at any of them, can’t process the fact that every moment I thought was real was actually choreographed. The cable car ride with Knox. The dance with Garrett. The training session with Dominic. All of it planned, all of it fake? A sense of betrayal cuts through me.
“Did any of it even mean anything to you?” My voice cracks.
“Damn it, Ruby, of course, it did.” Garrett runs his hands through his hair like he always does when he’s stressed. “I haven’t been able to get you out of my thoughts. All three of us were fucking captivated by you. Every laugh, every touch... that was real.”
Dominic’s dark eyes burn into mine. “Your friends asked us to take you out on a blind date, and once we saw you, we all knew we needed to meet you for real. But fuck, Ruby... you weren’t just some random date. You broke down every wall I had, made me feel things I’ve spent years running from. Never meant to fall this hard.”
“Wait, my friends?” Lily and Hannah come to mind, about their plan to set me up with three Alphas. And they are standing before me, aren’t they?
Fuck, I’m such an idiot for not seeing this.
I blink back tears, trying to process everything. Each memory feels tainted now—those casual meet-ups, those moments I thought were spontaneous. Sure, I kept my own secret, never telling them how I felt about all three of them. We never put a label on whatever this was—just coffee dates, training sessions, late-night talks that felt like they meant something more.
But this? This feels like they tricked me.
Heat creeps up my neck as a horrible thought hits me. Did they see me as some sad little Omega who couldn’t land an Alpha on her own? My cheek burns, and I force myself to meet Knox’s gaze.
“Ruby, please. We never meant to hurt you. You are the truest thing I’ve ever felt. You mean everything to me. We should have been honest upfront.”
“Yes, you should have!” Tears burn behind my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. “God, I’m such an idiot. Here I was, feeling guilty about being with all of you, when you were all in on it together. Was it a game to see who got me first?”
“It wasn’t like that.” Garrett takes another step forward. “We just wanted?—”
“To what? To see which one of you could bed the Omega first? Was there a bet? A timeline?”
“That’s not—” Dominic starts, but Marcus cuts him off.
“Oh, this is so good.”
“Fuck you. You’ll be lucky if you walk out of here in one piece for this stunt.” Dominic growls in his direction.
The blood drains from my face, and it’s too much. My head spins, my chest hurts, and I feel bile at the back of my throat.
“Get out.” My voice doesn’t even sound like my own. “All of you, get the fuck out of my bar.”
“Ruby, please just let us explain.” Knox looks desperate now. “What started as a blind date became real. What we feel for you?—”
“I can’t cope with this.” Ice spreads through my veins, numbing everything. “You lied to me and made me think I was special to each of you, but now I feel like you were maybe exchanging stories in the background. Then what? A lucky dip to see who got to keep the sorrowful Omega?” A laugh bubbles up, harsh and bitter. “You made me think I was the bad guy, feeling guilty about leading you all on, when this whole time you were doing the same but worse.”
“Angel—” Dominic reaches for me, and something in me snaps.
“Don’t!” I pull back. “Just get out. I need to process this…”
Marcus’s laughter rings out. “Oh cousin, you really know how to pick them. Though, I have to admire their technique. Three Alphas working together to?—”
“You, too.” I turn on him, and something in my expression makes him step back. “Get the fuck out of my bar before I call the cops.”
“You can’t?—”
“Try me.” I bare my teeth in what might be a smile. “I’ve got nothing left to lose now, do I? You’re going to take it all in just over a week’s time. It’s what you wanted, and you won. Fucking happy now?” Tears sting my eyes.
For a long moment, no one moves. Then Ash clears his throat.
“You heard the lady. Out. All of you.”
Slowly, they file out. Knox looks back once, his expression devastated. Garrett opens his mouth like he wants to say something, then closes it again. Dominic’s face is a mask of sorrow—at Marcus, at himself, at me, I don’t know anymore.
The door closes behind them with a final sounding click.
“Ruby...” Ash starts.
“Don’t.” My voice cracks. “Just... don’t.”
I turn and walk into my office, closing the door behind me. Only then do I let myself slide to the floor, wrapping my arms around my knees as the tears finally come.
Outside, I can hear Ash telling the remaining customers we’re closing early. Can hear the scrape of chairs, the murmur of voices, the sound of the door opening and closing multiple times.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. Three messages, all at once.
Knox: I know you probably hate me right now, but please let me explain.
Garrett: It wasn’t supposed to be like this. What I feel for you is so real, it’s going to kill me if I lose you.
Dominic: Don’t let him win, angel. Don’t let Marcus take you from us.
I turn off my phone.
Through the door, I hear Ash’s voice.
“Ruby? Everyone’s gone. Do you want me to call Lily?”
I press my forehead to my knees and don’t answer. What would I even say? Hey, remember how you mentioned those blind dates? Turns out they were making plans behind my back on how to best take turns and lie to me. Surprise!
The worst part isn’t even the lies. It’s that even now, my heart still trips over itself, remembering Knox’s gentle hands, Garrett’s playful smile, Dominic’s intensity.
I’m such a fool.
A knock at my door makes me jump.
“Ruby?” Ash again. “I know you probably want to be alone, but... I made coffee. And I may have those chocolate chip cookies you like.”
Despite everything, a wet laugh escapes me. “You’ve been hiding cookies from me?”
“You don’t have to talk. But you don’t have to be alone, either.”
For a long moment, I don’t move. Then, slowly, I reach up and turn the handle.
In moments, Ash is sitting on the floor outside my door, a plate of burned shortbread cookies he made. He lays it beside him and two mugs of coffee that probably have way too much whiskey in them.
“You’re a disaster,” I tell him, voice rough from crying.
“Yeah, well.” He hands me a cookie. “Takes one to know one.”
I take a bite. It’s simultaneously overdone and underdone and possibly the best thing I’ve ever tasted.
“What am I going to do?”
“Right now?” He bumps his shoulder against mine. “You’re going to eat these terrible cookies and drink this terrible coffee and let yourself feel terrible. Tomorrow...” He shrugs. “Tomorrow, we’ll figure it out.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.” He hands me a coffee. “And hey, look on the bright side—at least none of them turned out to be professional clowns.”
The laugh that bursts out of me is half-sob, but it’s something.
It has to be enough for now.