Ruby #2
But Miles? Miles treats me as an equal, never as someone he can use for quick releases.
He pays attention, he listens, he asks questions.
When he looks at me, it feels like the rest of the world is stripped away.
Miles has way more opportunities than most, yet behaves like a gentleman at all times. Courteous.
And somehow, that matters more than it should.
I’m saved from answering by Agatha stepping into the center of the circle.
“Is she wearing even more velvet?” Story snorts.
“Welcome, everyone,” Agatha says dramatically. “Tonight, under the power of the full moon, we open ourselves to our deepest desires—”
I look around. Everyone else is listening with complete focus as Agatha speaks, while Story’s shoulders are quietly shaking. Even when Clementine returns, apologizing loudly for the interruption, and sits down, barely anyone notices.
Agatha walks around the circle, handing each of us a tiny vial of pink liquid labeled: Potion No. 1
“I think it’s just a cosmopolitan.” Clementine leans over to whisper, and I choke back a laugh as she pulls the cork out and downs it in one. “Yup, cosmo.”
“We must use the energy of tonight’s blessed moon to tap into our psyches and call forth what is waiting for us .
. .” She continues as she slowly steps around the circle, her hands waving through the air.
When she passes the three of us, I inhale a deep, heavy incense that sticks in the back of my throat.
“Now pick up your paper and write down everything you wish to release,” she instructs.
“And everything you wish to bring into your heart.”
I sit back, bolstering myself with a large sip of wine. This is going to take a while.
Beyond polo, there’s not really much I can think of. I have Maverick, and I’m already part of a high-goal team. Right now, I’m living the life I wanted six months ago. Looking around, everyone’s jotting away.
Eventually, because Agatha’s beady eyes keep peering over at me, I scribble, Win the England’s Cup. Then, as Agatha tells us to fold the papers and keep them close, I impulsively add one more word beneath it. Miles.
“Take them home, my darlings. Burn them under the full moon tonight. Then bury the ashes, and pour your potion over it.” Agatha’s gaze narrows in on our empty bottles. “Everything your heart desires will settle into the earth, and the magic will get to work.”
“Whoops. Guess we drank our magic.” Story grins, which makes Clementine giggle.
The room stirs, and everyone gets up off their cushions, except Clementine.
“I’m not ready to go home yet. Let’s go to the pub.”
“I have to be in school early for a staff meeting. Sorry,” replies Story, smothering a yawn, which sets me off too.
“Miles and I have to be at the stables by seven—”
“I swear, Miles has never gotten up that early in his life.” Clementine holds her hands out to be pulled up. Story and I take one each. “But it’s okay, we can all walk in the same direction, and I’ll pop in to see Eddie for last orders.”
Valentine High Street glows in the full moon, giving it an ethereal feel.
The scent of lilac drifts on the warm breeze, and it’s probably to do with the wine more than anything, but I feel happy .
. . relaxed. The stress of the past few days seems a distant memory.
Who cares if I was kissing a man who’s legally my husband?
I’m still pondering it when we reach Miles’s cottage.
I say my goodnights to the girls and walk up the path.
Before I’ve even opened the door, I know Miles will be waiting for me, and sure enough, he is, wearing those fucking pajama bottoms, a smile .
. . and nothing else. Hair, still wet from the shower, glistens in the dim hallway light, which also magnifies his abs to perfection.
Abs everywhere. Just like the other morning.
It’s definitely in the top three best welcome homes I’ve ever had.
“Have fun?”
I nod, suddenly parched. “I did, thank you for organizing it.”
“My pleasure.”
He pushes his hands deep in his pockets, and his pants drop an inch.
I have a feeling he knows exactly what he’s doing.
I keep my eyes trained on a tiny freckle above his top lip.
Except now all I can think about are his lips.
I already know how they feel, how soft they are.
But I want to feel them everywhere, and it’s not the alcohol talking.
“Where’d you go?”
“Agatha’s full moon party.”
A grin spreads across his face. “When Hendricks and I were teenagers, we used to see her dancing naked in the moonlight.”
“I mean, yeah . . .” I burst out laughing. “I can imagine that.”
He doesn’t say anything else, just stands there staring at me. The air gets heavier, stickier, and I need to get out of here before I do something I can’t take back.
I thumb behind me. “I’m pretty beat—”
“Then let’s get you to bed, Trouble.”
I don’t know why, but the way he says Trouble sets off a pulse between my legs, steady and insistent. He’s right behind me as my foot hits the first step, close enough that I feel the heat rising off his body, and the scent of the soap he uses.
And when we arrive at my room, his hand reaches around me for the doorknob, and he pushes it open. Goosebumps erupt as his abs brush my arm, and I swear if he gets closer, he’ll hear the thudding deep in my core.
I’m this close to pulling him inside with me.
“Good night, Ruby.”
I swallow, releasing my tongue from the roof of my mouth. “Good night, Miles. Thanks for waiting up.”
“My pleasure.”
He stays in place as I close the door, and when I undress, the folded parchment paper slips from my bra where I’d tucked it for safekeeping. I’m tempted to check if he’s still outside my room, but I get into bed instead.
My body takes a while to recover. The full moon beams a path to my door, taunting me, and I’m still awake when the church clock chimes twice. Two a.m.
Snatching up the parchment wishes, I decide not to take any chances. Creeping downstairs, avoiding the creakiest floorboards, I grab a box of matches from beside the fireplace and step out into the garden.
I do as Agatha instructed and light my wishes on fire. It’s watching them burn that has me coming to my senses.
“Oh my God, Ruby,” I whisper into the darkness, admonishing myself. I’ve clearly gone insane. “What are you doing?”
I traipse back inside and up the stairs.