Page 65 of Forbidden Dark Vows

“Yes, and you’re going to be my wife. You’re the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, and if he doesn’t like it, he can make his own mistakes.”

“I don’t want to come between you.”

“Trust me, you won’t. You do trust me, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“I’m coming to Chicago. I’ll meet you at the hospital.”

Ruby is waitingfor me outside the hospital when I arrive in a taxi directly from the airport. Before I climb out of the cab, she joins me in the back seat and kisses me on the lips, a peck, the kind of kiss friends would greet each other with.

My head is reeling from all the traveling I’ve done since Alessandro’s funeral, so I shift over without saying that I was hoping to visit her dad first. My brain is not so fuzzy that I’ve missed the intention—Ruby is keeping me away from the hospital. She’s keeping me at arm’s length, and it’s not how I envisioned this trip going.

I ask the driver to take us to the Drake Hotel and sit back, grateful for the espresso I picked up en route from the airport.

“How’s he doing?” My fingers instinctively cross the seat to entwine with hers.

Ruby pulls her hand away and rubs her face. “He’s tired. Like this stroke has sapped the lifeforce out of him.”

“He’ll need time to heal, but he’ll get there.”

“You don’t know that.” She turns her face to the window, but not before I spot the tears spilling down her face.

“Hey.” I tilt her chin back towards me and lean closer so that the driver doesn’t hear. “I’m not a doctor, but anyone can see that he lives for you, Ruby.” She closes her eyes, and I kiss her wet eyelashes. “We’re not getting married without him, I promise you.”

It’s the wrong thing to say, tiredness clouding my brain and allowing me to spew promises that are beyond my control like I’m some kind of superhero or demi-god. Way to go, Harry. But I want to protect Ruby with every fiber of my being; I want to make life perfect for her.

She attempts a smile that doesn’t fully materialize. “At this rate, he might be the only guest there.”

“You can leave my father to me. He’ll calm down and see sense in time.”

“I don’t think he will, Harry. I don’t know what happened thirteen years ago, but it feels like America’s most guarded secret. No one wants to talk about it.”

I recall the times I’ve tried talking to my dad about Melanie over the years, and the way he shut me down, made me feel guilty for mentioning it like it was my fault she disappeared. My dad has always been a closed shop, barriers in place and secured with a padlock. He isn’t going to change now, for anyone, and if this were only about me, I’d leave him to wallow in his own misery, but I know how much it means to Ruby to get his blessing for the wedding.

“I thought it would be good to organize a meal and invite my mom and your dad.” Ruby’s face glows intermittently with the streetlamps as we make our way through the city, highlighting the dark circles under her eyes. “But now…” She shakes her head.

I pull her against my chest and hug her close. “Let’s do it. If they won’t speak to us, or each other about what happened, there isn’t much we can do, but at least we’ll have tried.”

She nods against my chest. “How long are you staying?”

“A couple of days… Unless I happen to get snowed in, or the airlines stop flying between here and New York, or someone makes it worth my while to stay longer.”

“Someone?” She tilts her head backwards, her breath warming my cheek. “You mean a business associate?”

“Hmm I’m open to suggestions.”

“How open?” Her tongue finds my earlobe, and jeez, I never knew such a tiny part of the body could cause so many shivers to pulse through me.

“Wide, wide open.” I slide her hand onto my lap, and she smiles when she feels my erection.

“Challenge accepted.”

We don’t speak the rest of the journey.

I follow Ruby’s expression as we enter the hotel, through the grand entrance, up the plush carpeted staircase to the main lobby, where the chandeliers are the size of trees, and there’s a kind of library hush that accompanies the wide-eyed admiration of the guests. I check us in as Mr. and Mrs. Weiss, trying it out and liking the way it sounds, and we take the elevator up to the Executive Suite.

It’s airy and spacious, the heavy gold curtains pulled wide to reveal the view from the lounge area across the city. I’ve lived in New York all my life and hardly notice the skyline when I’m in my apartment, but now, with Ruby’s eager smile, I feel as though I’m experiencing the excitement of blinking lights and glowing towers for the first time.

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