Page 23 of Loving Her

“Oh, I don’t know…” This was a lot. It was one thing to be fake girlfriends with Ruby’s family, but with someone who was clearly as much found family to her as anyone at the Lounge was, it felt different. Especially since Ruby talked to him about her to him, told him about Sasha’s cooking so well that he wanted to come try it. It made things feel a lot less fake somehow. She had no idea how to cope with that.

“This is my husband, Gray.” Mike was motioning to a slender blond man that walked up behind him. Gray tucked his arm through Mike’s in a gesture that was unconscious, yet so tender it made Sasha’s heart ache. There was a clear comfortable familiarity between them that she envied, but she also tried to soak it in while they talked to Ruby about Daniel’s wedding.

She wanted that, so badly it hurt. Every day she spent with Ruby in this fake relationship that was feeling more real by the minute, she had no idea how she would ever be able to walk away. She wanted the casual hand holding to be permanent, she wanted to be able to walk up to Ruby and wrap an arm around her waist and for Ruby to lean into the embrace the way Gray was leaning against Mike.

Friends, she’d said just that morning, and she’d meant it. This morning, she had been sure she could survive whatever happened this week. They’d be able to go back to life as it was before and eventually, it would hurt Sasha less.

Now, after an exquisite candlelit dinner and all of the revelations of the last few moments, revelations that Ruby remained blissfully oblivious to as she chatted with her friendand his husband… now, the dagger in Sasha’s heart, the dagger she’d basically thrust into her own chest when she agreed to this…

…Now, it began to twist.

9

“Where’s Dom?” Danny was craning his neck around to look for his older brother-slash-groomsman, making it very difficult for Ruby to successfully tie his necktie.

She whacked him upside the head. “Hold still,” she instructed over his yelp of protest. Untangling the sloppy knot in the silk, she began again. “Dom is getting the water and protein bar you asked for. I told you to eat your damn breakfast this morning.”

“I was too nervous,” Danny muttered, rubbing the back of his head. But otherwise, he stood obediently still as Ruby finally got the intricate Eldridge knot he’d insisted on tied at his throat. She’d watched countless YouTube tutorials and practiced on anyone that would stand still long enough back in LA, so she was determined that it would be absolutely perfect. With a gimlet eye, she inspected the knot.Flawless, she thought with satisfaction, and stepped back to fetch his white and scarlet rose boutonniere.

Danny looked in the mirror. “Hey, that looks great, Rubes. Thanks for learning the technique.”

“You’re welcome. It was fun, really. Hold still again.” Carefully, she held the little bunch of flowers against his lapel and began to work the long pin through the layers of fabric and flower stems. The fragrance aroma of fresh, beautiful roses and greenery filled her nose. It reminded her of the glimpse she’d caught of the sanctuary as she passed through that morning, dress bag in one hand and her hair wound so tight on sponge rollers she still had a headache three hours later. “Have you seen the sanctuary yet? It’s beautiful.”

Confusion flashed across Danny’s face. “No, isn’t that bad luck?”

“It’s bad luck to see the bride, not the place you’re getting married! Come on.” The boutonniere was securely in place, and she gave it a pat before grabbing her little brother by the wrist. “Follow me.”

With her free hand, she scooped up a handful of her maroon satin skirt and scampered out of the groom’s room at St Clare’s Catholic Church, Danny in tow. St. Clare’s was a maze, but there had not been any major renovations to the historic building since she’d last attended Mass as a teenager, so she easily led him through back hallways and staircases to the church foyer, where the ornate wooden doors to the sanctuary stood open.

It was gratifying to see Danny’s jaw drop at the sight of Angela’s rose-festooned paradise. The heady aroma of the flowers filled the air and wreathed around their heads, and Ruby could see the blissful looks on the faces of the handful of attendees who had arrived early. Stands with huge vases full of scarlet and white roses, an exquisitely crafted archway for the wedding party to pass under at the entrance, and somehow, even globes of roses studded with twinkling fairy lights were descending from the sanctuary’s pendant lamps. Ruby didn’t want to think about how Angela’s floral artist cousin had managed to safely hang those. Or how he’d gotten permission.

“All she ever said she wanted in a wedding was a room full of roses,” Danny breathed, a gentle happiness glowing in his eyes. “Look at my girl making her dreams come true.”

Seeing the pure love he had for Angela, for her dreams, it made Ruby melt. “God, I hope I have what you two have one day,” she breathed, the yearning for it making her heart clench in her chest. “The way you love her… we should all be so lucky.”

Happiness gave way to astonishment in Danny’s eyes as he turned to look at her. “But you do have it, Rubes. The way Sasha looks at you when you’re not looking… how she loves making you happy. That kiss at the party! Of course you have that.” He gazed at her searchingly. “Don’t you know you have it?”

“I…” Confusion whirled through her brain as puzzle pieces of information began to slot into place. “I guess I…”

“I guess you didn’t know! That’s crazy, you bring her out here to meet the fam and you don’t even know what you have.” Danny threw his head back and guffawed. “Don’t you write all those books about love? I’d figured you’d be thefirstperson to know when you met the love of your life.”

Love of my life! Sash?“It’s different when it’s in person,” she hedged, still trying to make sense of what he’d seen that she hadn’t put together. The things she had seen that she’d filed away or forced herself not to examine too closely.

“It must be, because otherwise I have no idea how you missed it.” He shook his head and clapped her on the shoulder. “Well, get yourself together, Rubes. Don’t take Sasha for granted. She’s a keeper, and you know Ma and Pa love her already. You can’t let that go.”

“Oh, you’re just hopped up on lovey dovey wedding vibes. What do you know?” she asked with a shaky laugh. Could she possibly have stumbled her way into what she’d been looking for her whole life?

“More than you do, apparently.” Danny rolled his eyes. “You know how happy I was when you said you and Sasha had gotten together and you were bringing her home? Like, I always thought you two should be together, I was thrilled. I’ve liked her since our first trip out to LA, I was amazed you were taking so long to pair up.”

That wasdefinitelynews to her. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I was about to if you brought anyone else.” He grinned. “Thanks for taking that off my plate. But come on, we gotta go back to the groom’s room and see if Dom found me that protein bar.”

“Yeah,” she said absently, trudging along behind him, fingers clenched so tightly around the wad of satin skirt in her hand that she knew it was going to be visibly crumpled and her mother was going to kill her when she saw it. But that was just going to have to take a back seat while Ruby grappled with the fact that Sasha might actually have feelings for her, her little brother thought they belonged together, and she… didn’t hate the idea. Not even a little bit.

“Mama Elena, can I get you something? A glass of pineapple juice, a sandwich, something?” Sasha tugged at the collar of her black button-down. She hoped she wasn’t accidentally loosening the knot of her maroon tie as she did so. She’d been unusually clumsy tying it that morning and wasn’t in the mood to fuss with it again.

Elena Fierelli was lounging on a divan in the family room of St. Clare’s, looking cool and collected. Sasha had been assigned to keep her unbothered and calm, but she was starting to feelas though she was entirely surplus to requirements. The woman was fully dressed apart from her pale pink satin pumps, which were neatly lined up next to the little lounging couch.

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