Chapter 35
Ruby
“COME TO THINK OF IT, I’ve never actually stayed here overnight,” I said as Evangeline locked the door behind Rio and Daphne.
“Remember the night we all stayed at the inn?” Eve asked with a nostalgic smile.
“That was fun, wasn’t it? It happened more than once, actually. Not always with the three of you, but Rio stayed over a couple times when she was too tired to drive or when Daphne told her she’d had enough margaritas to justify a DUI.”
“We should do it again sometime.” Eve headed to the sink to rinse the wine glasses while I fluffed up the pillows on her couch.
“Deal. When this damn renovation’s finally done, you’re all coming over.”
“What about Rio’s wedding?” she asked, dropping an empty wine bottle in the recycling bin.
I stacked the empty plates. “She and Owen want to set a date soon. I told her any day in November would be perfect.”
“If they can wait that long.”
“It’s not like they’re abstaining until the wedding.”
Eve laughed. “No, but sometimes you just want to belong to each other so badly ...” She trailed off with a sigh, standing still in the middle of her kitchen.
Then she shook herself, gathering dirty napkins and empty containers.
“Maybe her wedding can double as an inauguration party for the inn. Oh! I already have a dozen ideas for the flower arrangements.” She paused again, eyes going dreamy.
“How you survived being the only girl in the electronics track while secretly obsessing with flowers, I’ll never understand.”
Eve tied up a trash bag. “I was good at math, and Rachel thought it would give me a chance at a career. She never thought I’d end up being the one running their flower shop.”
Rachel—her stepmother’s sister—had taken Eve in when she was ten.
Eve’s family story was complicated, to put it mildly.
Her mom had died when she was little, her dad had remarried, and then both he and her stepmom were killed in a car accident.
With no other family, social services placed her in Coral Bay with Rachel and Pete Holmes—her stepmom’s relatives—and she’d been here ever since.
I carried the dessert plates to the counter.
“So you’ve really never been in love?” Evangeline suddenly asked, drying her hands on a dish towel.
“Define in love. If you mean wanting to spend forever with someone, then no.”
“Not even Sebastian?” Eve glanced at me curiously.
“He’s my friend,” I hurried to say. “I trust him. I don’t have to break him in—he already knows what I like and what I don’t.” I laughed. See, Everyone? This is easier. Why muddy it with feelings? “And he knows I need my space,” I added.
“Could you see your life without him?” She leaned back against the counter.
One answer hovered right at the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed it back. It couldn’t be true. “Don’t forget that until two years ago, we only saw each other maybe three times a year,” I ended up saying.
Eve thumbed the towel, her eyes fixed on the motion of her fingers. “Two years can change things. You’ve been seeing each other much more, especially now.”
“Yeah.” I cast my eyes down, tracing the seams between the floorboards.
“We’re so different, Ruby.” She said it softly, not critically. And she knew when to leave me be. Like Sebastian.
We now looked at each other. “Yeah, Rio says the same thing.” I chuckled.
“You’re special, you know. Different from most people I’ve met.”
“So are you, Eve.”
“Come on,” she said, leading the way to her spare bedroom, where she pulled fresh sheets from the linen closet while I unfolded the blanket from the foot of the bed. Together, we tucked corners and made the guest bed warm and inviting.
“How’s the dating thing going?” I asked when we were nearly done.
Eve groaned. “I hate every dating app I’ve ever tried. Hate them with a passion. Every time I swear I’ll never go back to the train wreck dates I get, and then I do. It’s just that most of the men I know are either married, taken, or absolutely undateable.”
I couldn’t imagine what that felt like at our age—putting yourself out there over and over.
I’d quit doing that back in high school.
And then there was Sebastian. Whatever we were, it was .
.. safe. Solid. And that thought scared the hell out of me, because maybe he was already the anchor in my life I didn’t want to admit I had.
“Maybe I’ll never find the Luke Skywalker to my Leia,” Evangeline sighed dramatically, dropping to sit on the edge of the bed.
I burst out laughing. “You know they’re brother and sister, right?”
Her mouth dropped open. “Oh, God, no! I’ve never even watched Star Trek. I just wanted to sound spacey for you.” Her cheeks flushed crimson.
“That’s Star Wars, not Trek.” I laughed even harder and plopped down beside her. “Do not let Sebastian hear you say that.”
She was laughing too now, her words tumbling out between giggles. “I’ve never even met him. I’ve only seen pictures. And they’re brother and sister—” She doubled over, holding her stomach, laughing hysterically.
I shook my head, still grinning. It wasn’t that funny. Until it hit me.
Hayden Holmes.
Rachel and Pete’s son, the boy Evangeline Miller had grown up with from the time they were both ten.
I sometimes sensed that she carried quiet, complicated feelings for him, though she never said anything.
He’d been her closest friend, her study partner, her constant companion.
And yet, he was also the son of the couple who had taken her in—making him almost a stepbrother in the eyes of everyone.
When her laughter finally ebbed, I asked carefully, “What’s the latest update on Rachel and Pete? No change?”
Still flushed, she brushed her hair back, letting it fall straight and glossy around her shoulders.
On bad curls’ days, I envied her hair. “No. Rachel still lives at home, but she needs more and more help. I’m there three times a week, and we have someone coming daily, but I think she’ll need to move somewhere with more support soon.
And Pete ... I visit him at the care home.
Some days, he doesn’t remember me, and he’s always getting sick.
Every little bug seems to knock him down. ”
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “Are Hayden and his sister able to help?”
“Oh, I keep them updated, but his sister’s in Australia. And Hayden ...” She hesitated, her voice turning careful, her gaze falling to her hands. “He went through a divorce. He’s ... figuring things out.”
“Really?”
She gave me a small smile.
Could it be that she carried a hidden torch for him, and the blurred lines made it feel so wrong that her pursuit of love wasn’t only about finding someone, but also about forgetting him?
My heart ached. Eve needed someone to belong to.
She admitted it freely and worked to make it happen.
I was clinging to the idea that Sebastian was temporary, even when a deeper part of me knew he already felt permanent.
Her earlier question—could I see my life without him—echoed, and I still couldn’t bring myself to answer it.
Because the answer was crushing. And I’ve always done my best to stay the hell away from catastrophe zones.