Page 98 of Revenge Honeymoon

“Then he told me he wasn’t really sure if he wanted to be married in the first place and proposed so I’d get off his back about it.”

Emily rapidly blinked. “Didn’t he think at some point there’d be a wedding? Were you supposed to be engaged forever?”

“I know, right?” Ruby let out a snort. “I guess when I set a date, it really freaked him out.”

“He should’ve told you right then he wasn’t serious.”

“That’s when he did his little puppy dog face—the face that could get me to agree to almost anything.”

Emily nodded. She knew that face.

“You know what, Em? It didn’t work anymore. It was as if I’d been freed from a magic spell.” She snapped her fingers. “Like that, it was over. Feelings gone. That’s when I unloaded on him and laughed in his face about getting back together.”

A sense of peace came over Emily. Her guilt about hauling her devastated friend on a honeymoon cruise dissipated. “What did he say?”

“That’s when he turned nasty,” Ruby said. “Can you believe he had the gall to tell me he never could’ve married someone ‘as old’ as me? Old! He called me old!”

Emily took in her friend’s beautiful, wrinkle-free face, her perfect pouty lips, her wide eyes and thick luxurious auburn hair. Like a fairytale princess. A million different guys would fall all over themselves to call Ruby their wife.

“What a dog.”

Ruby nodded vigorously. “Then the handbag lady smacked him with one of her bags—the big one for the beach—and said something in Spanish that made the trumpet player blush.”

“Bravo, Rubes! Bravo, handbag lady!” Emily clapped. “I hope Tyler had to pay through the nose for his plane ticket and that ridiculous message. Did he really think it would be that easy to make it up to you?”

A familiar duo approached their table—Diana and Donna, the Weird Twins. For once they were dressed in different outfits. One wore a freshly pressed linen pantsuit in bright white, the other had donned a slinky gold lamé evening dress.

“Could we speak with you, Max?” one of the twins asked. “We’ve heard some disturbing news about Sylvia.”

Ruby picked up her drink and scooted closer to Emily on the padded bench seat that circled the corner table. “Why don’t you join us?”

Emily’s body tensed. Didn’t Ruby think the Weird Twins were awful and intrusive? Maybe the adrenaline was still flowing after her encounter with Tyler. It was the only plausible explanation.

“Why thank you so much.” Gold Twin slid in. White Twin joined her without a word. “She’s that model!”

“Yes, that’s right.” Ruby smiled and then held up a hand. “Before you chat about Sylvia, though, I wanted to let both of you know I decided to sign the model release form.”

Both twins’ mouths gaped open.

In Emily’s mind a nuclear bomb went off burning away any thoughts she had in one mega blast. Was her best friend crazy? There weren’t any photos. There was nothing to sign a release for. Maybe the Tyler confrontation had made her blow a fuse.

She poked at the ex-bride’s leg with one finger and whispered, “Ix-nay on the otos-phay.”

Ruby shoved her hand away. “What?” she hissed.

Max leaned in, “It’s pig Latin.”

Ruby made a face and then turned to the two older women with a smile plastered on. “Excuse my friend. She’s had a little too much sun today.”

“We were actually going to let Max know we’d changed our minds.” The Gold Twin smiled at Max across the table. “Sylvia—well, we heard she lost it on some customers during the embarkation process. Very unprofessional behavior. We aren’t interested in any deals that woman wanted to make. A real liability for our firm. She’s been referred to HR for some counseling. Not MacPherson Cruise material.”

The White Twin’s eyebrows gathered in. “But the deal wasn’t with that Sylvia woman, it was with Max and this lovely lady here.” She reached out a hand for Ruby. “You’re just what our cruise line needs, dear. Fresh, young, vibrant.”

“Beautiful,” Emily said.

Max rested his elbows on the table, and his hands formed into a steeple. “I didn’t want to say anything until I had a chance to talk to Ruby about it.” He’d drained his daiquiri, so maybe he was feeling more confident than usual.

“Max?” Emily gazed up at him. What had he been planning? When had he been planning it? Since he deleted the photos? A twinge of guilt burned inside her at what she’d made him do.

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