An hour and what felt like thousands of photos later, Yvonne headed to the reception with the rest of the bridal party. After dealing with some minor issues, she got stuck in conversation with various acquaintances before finally making an excuse to slip away. Then she began searching the ballroom for Ruby.
There.
Standing by the bar was a woman even more stunning than the one Yvonne had met at the bar in Vegas. Her long blonde hair flowed over her bare shoulders and her neck was adorned in a diamond and ruby necklace. She was dressed in a floor-length gown in a deep, rich crimson with a low-cut back. It was the perfect balance of elegant and sexy.
Yvonne had chosen the dress, but she hadn’t dreamed Ruby would look so incredible in it.
Ruby spotted Yvonne and headed over to her.
“Ruby.” Yvonne looked her up and down once more. “You look wonderful.”
“What can I say? You have great taste.” Ruby gave her a coy smile. “You know, I was wearing a red dress the night we met.”
“How could I forget? You looked so tantalizing that night.” Yvonne didn’t miss the flush that crossed Ruby’s cheeks at her words. “Let’s go mingle. We need to keep up appearances.”
“Come on, Yvonne.” Ruby stepped in close and gave Yvonne a sultry look, speaking under her breath. “We both know this isn’t about appearances.”
Yvonne frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I think you were lying when you said you don’t care about showing me off,” Ruby teased. “I think you like walking around with a pretty woman on your arm.”
Yvonne let out a small chuckle. “You’re right. There’s certainly something satisfying about being here with the prettiest woman in the room.” She held her arm out to Ruby. “Come on. Let’s go show you off.”
Ruby took Yvonne’s arm. They grabbed some champagne and made their way through the hall. By now, the party was in full swing, the packed ballroom bustling with activity. Yvonne introduced Ruby to various friends and acquaintances. Most of them couldn’t hide their surprise at Yvonne’s newlywed status and began probing them both for details.
Yvonne shouldn’t have worried that the wedding would be too much for Ruby. Ruby handled it all with poise. She was utterly convincing as Yvonne’s wife.
After a conversation with a particularly nosy college friend of Yvonne’s, she and Ruby wandered off to find Madison. It had been some time since Yvonne had checked in with her, and as maid of honor, she felt obliged to keep an eye on everything.
They found Madison nearby, talking with Lydia, the only one of Yvonne’s friends who hadn’t met Ruby yet. Although Yvonne and Lydia weren’t close, Yvonne had a certain respect for the woman. They were similar in a lot of ways.
“Lydia, this is my wife, Ruby,” Yvonne said. “Ruby, Lydia. Lydia joined Mistress recently as our CFO. And you’ve already met Madison.”
Ruby greeted them both.
“Nice to meet you,” Lydia said. “I was just telling Madison how lovely the ceremony was.”
“It was, wasn’t it?” Ruby let out a wistful sigh. “This is all so romantic. It makes me wish Yvonne and I had had a real ceremony.”
Yvonne gave her a sharp glance. What was Ruby doing? Perhaps she’d had a few too many glasses of champagne.
“That’s right,” Lydia said. “Your wedding was a spontaneous affair, wasn’t it?”
“That’s one way of putting it,” Ruby replied. “There were no bridesmaids, no reception, just a priest dressed as Elvis and two cheap gold-plated wedding bands.” She slipped her hand into Yvonne’s. “But it was romantic in its own way, don’t you think so, honey?”
Honey? It was clear that Ruby was enjoying playing wife far too much. But two could play at that game.
Yvonne gave Ruby her best longing gaze. “It was. But perhaps one day we can have a do-over. A real wedding.”
Ruby beamed. “Really?”
“Why not? Whatever you want, it’s yours. How about on our anniversary? A year, or two, from now, perhaps?”
Ruby leaned over and planted a kiss on Yvonne’s cheek. “I’d love that.”
As the conversation moved on, Yvonne noticed Madison staring at them both, a slight frown on her face. Yvonne had thought Madison had gotten over her disapproval of Yvonne and Ruby’s arrangement. She let go of Ruby’s hand. Perhaps it was a sign they were laying it on too thick.
But Ruby didn’t notice. She was happily recounting the story of how they’d ‘met’ to Lydia. Somehow, it had gotten even longer and more elaborate than before.
When the conversation finally lulled, Madison glanced toward the other side of the room, then grimaced. “Christ, my uncle is showing Blair photos on his phone again. I need to go rescue her.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Yvonne said.
“Yvonne, you’ve been putting out fires all evening. I can handle this. Just relax and enjoy the party.” Before Yvonne could protest, Madison turned to Ruby. “Thank you for coming, Ruby. Enjoy the rest of the night. And make sure your wife here has some fun, will you?”
Ruby grinned. “I’ll try my best.”
Madison shot Yvonne a knowing look before walking away.
Lydia took the cue to head to the bar, leaving Yvonne and Ruby alone. Yvonne turned to her ‘wife.’
“So,” she said. “You wish we had a real wedding, do you?”
Ruby gave an innocent shrug. “If I’m going to get married, I want to do it properly. What happened in Vegas wasn’t exactly my idea of a dream wedding.”
Yvonne raised an eyebrow. “So you were one of those girls with the scrapbook full of cutouts from wedding magazines?”
“Not really. I was never much of a romantic, and when I went into my line of work, I threw the idea of getting married any time soon out the window. But I don’t plan to be an escort forever. And I hope that one day I’ll find that special someone, and we’ll get to share a special day.”
“Tell me. What would that special day look like?”
Ruby thought for a moment. “It would be
