Page 32 of Spark

My heart is crashing against my sternum now. “Did Ruby say something to make you think that way?”

Laila shakes her head. “No, it just seems to me, from being around you two, that you have insane chemistry together. A million times more so than she’s got with Kai. Or anyone else, for that matter.”

My spirit sinks. “Yeah, that’s because Ruby thinks of me as her best friend.”

“You don’t think of Ruby the same way?”

My cheeks feel hot. “No, I do. She’s one of my best friends. Savage and Kai, too.”

Laila looks skeptical. So does Savage. Which is weird, because I’ve never once told him about my feelings for Ruby.

“Have you ever felt anything but friendship for her?” Laila asks.

Panicking, I turn and look around, making sure nobody can overhear this conversation. When the coast is clear, I return to Laila and whisper, “I mean, I might have had a small crush on her when I first met her. But those feelings are long gone now that we’ve been such close friends for so many years.”

Savage and Laila exchange another look. One that makes Laila return to me with a wicked smile.

“I just had a brilliant idea,” she says. “Right before we boarded, I got an email from Nadine, requesting my top three choices for guest mentors this season.” She’s talking about Nadine Collins, the executive producer of the reality TV singing juggernaut that pays Laila and Savage a king’s ransom to appear as judges. “What if I put Ruby as my number-one request?”

“Holy shit, Laila. That’d be a dream come true for her. Please, yes. She deserves so much more credit and recognition than she gets in the industry.” The very thought of Ruby getting an opportunity like this makes me feel like my heart is beating out of my chest.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Laila says. “Which is why I thought of it.” She smiles mischievously. “Not to mention, it’d give you and Ruby more time to hang out together after we get back.” She’s referring to the fact that I’m already booked to appear as Savage’s guest mentor this season.

“Thank you, Laila. Ruby’s gonna lose her shit when she finds out about this.”

“Don’t tell her yet. It’s not a sure thing I can make it happen, since she’s not a big name yet. But I promise to do my best to convince Nadine to give her a shot.”

I’m not a big name, either. I’m just a drummer in a band. Not even a vocalist. But during Savage’s first season on the show, he demanded me as his guest mentor as one of his dealbreakers. And since the ratings that season broke records, no thanks to me, Savage didn’t have any trouble getting the green light for my return.

“Well, thanks for even thinking of her,” I say. “Fingers crossed.”

The pilot’s voice blares, announcing we’ve started ourdescent into Vancouver, so I say my goodbyes and ask them to keep me posted.

“Will do,” Laila says. “And keepusposted if you happen to think of any other reason you want Ruby staying at your place, besides her convenience and wanting to hang out with your BFF for a week.”

When Savage snickers, I flash both of them a look that says, “Mind your business,” before heading down the aisle to return to my seat. When I get there, I discover Ruby’s awake, though groggy and rubbing her eyes.

“Hey, cutie,” I whisper as I slide past her into my chair.

“Hey, hot stuff. Are we landing?”

“Almost. Sorry if I woke you. I had to use the bathroom.”

“The pilot woke me up.” She yawns so big, I can see her tonsils. “Did you sleep?”

“No. But you know I never sleep on planes.”

“Damn. You’re so sleep-deprived lately, I thought there was a chance.”

“I thought so, too. But no such luck.”

I’m not normally a liar. In fact, I pride myself on my integrity. But sometimes, little white lies are justifiable, when they do no harm and serve a greater purpose. In this case, the greater purpose being the fact that Ruby mentioned she’d take a nap with me at our hotel if I didn’t happen to catch any ZZ’s during our flight.

To be honest, I don’t fully understand the weird cocktail of emotions that erupted inside me when I found out Kai and Ruby were never a thing, right after finding out Ruby had finally kicked Cooper to the curb. All I know is I’m feeling a near-maniacal need to spend as much quality time with her, one-on-one, as possible. Even better if I get to do that while lying in a bed with her, even if it’s only for Ruby to test her silly theory.

8

RUBY

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