“Isn’t this normal for you?” Yvonne asked. “You said yourself that your clients love to take you out and show you off.”
“That’s true. But this is different. It feels different, with you.” Ruby glanced down at her feet. “What I mean is, this doesn’t feel like work. I’m genuinely enjoying it. Being here, with you. Being your wife.”
Yvonne felt warmth rising within her. “And I’m enjoying having you as my wife.” She held out her arm to Ruby. “Let’s get back to playing happy couple.”
Ruby peered up at her. “Does playing happy couple involve dancing?”
Yvonne gave Ruby a stern look. “Under no circumstances.”
As Ruby took her arm again, Yvonne recalled Ruby’s earlier slip of the tongue. Surely it hadn’t meant anything. Ruby didn’t think about Yvonne that way.
Did she?
Chapter 18
Ruby lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. She was glad to be home. She and Yvonne had remained at Madison and Blair’s reception until the last of the guests had left. In the end, Ruby had taken to the dance floor while Yvonne had watched from the sidelines.
The entire time, Yvonne hadn’t been able to take her eyes off Ruby.
But as soon as they’d returned home, they’d gone straight to their bedrooms, exhausted. And now that Ruby was in bed, she was wide awake. She still had Yvonne on her mind, along with that stupid slip-up she’d made.
Ruby sighed and got out of bed, giving up on sleep entirely. She left her bedroom, intending to head to the kitchen to grab something to drink. Instead, her feet carried her in the other direction, further down the hall and to Yvonne’s bedroom door.
She paused in front of it, then knocked.
“Come in,” Yvonne called from inside.
Ruby opened the door and stepped into the room. It was lit only by the lamp on the nightstand. Yvonne stood in front of her dresser, brushing her long, dark hair out.
She glanced at Ruby. “Is there something you want?”
Ruby wasn’t even sure why she’d come here. “I couldn’t sleep, that’s all. Thought I’d come see if you were still awake.”
“I was about to get into bed.” Yvonne put the hairbrush down and turned to Ruby. “Why don’t you join me?”
Ruby smiled. “Sure.”
Yvonne gave her a firm look. “To sleep only. I’m much too tired for anything else.” She waved toward the bed. “Make yourself comfortable. I’ll join you in a moment.” She disappeared into her bathroom.
Ruby pulled back the covers on Yvonne’s pristine bed and slid between the soft sheets. Somehow, it seemed cozier than her own bed. Ruby had never slept in it before. She hadn’t even been inside this room since that day she went snooping.
After a few minutes, Yvonne returned, turning off the light and slipping into the bed next to Ruby, her eyes falling closed as soon as her head hit the pillow. The room was still half lit by the moonlight streaming around the blinds. It gave Yvonne’s skin a pale glow.
“Yvonne?” Ruby whispered.
Yvonne stirred slightly. “Mm?”
Ruby hesitated. What did she want to say to Yvonne? What did Ruby want from her in the first place? Every time she thought she’d come close to figuring it out, she’d catch herself wanting something more from Yvonne, something inexplicable and intangible.
Yvonne rolled onto her side, propping herself up on one elbow. “What is it?”
Ruby said the first thing that came to her mind. “Why do you want your inheritance so badly? What I mean is, it doesn’t seem like you need the money.”
“You’re right,” Yvonne said. “I don’t need it, but it’s a lot of money. I’d be crazy to let it go.”
Ruby turned to face her. “But marrying someone you don’t even know for it? That’s extreme. What do you plan to do with the money?”
“To start with, five million of it is going to you. As for the rest? A few million is going toward helping someone I care about. A friend of mine. She was my nanny growing up.”
“You’re doing this for your former nanny?”
“Nita wasn’t just my nanny. She was far more, and she still is. She’s family.”
“So that’s who Nita is.”
Yvonne frowned at Ruby. “Have I mentioned her name before?”
“Just in passing,” Ruby said quickly. She wasn’t going to admit she’d snooped in Yvonne’s study and had found the check made out to Nita in the very week she’d moved in.
“Well, she’s in some financial trouble,” Yvonne continued. “I want to solve her money problems once and for all. Pay off her family’s debts, her house, send her kids to college. Make sure she’s set for life.”
“That’s so generous of you.” Ruby couldn’t deny her surprise.
“Don’t get the wrong idea, I’m not doing this just for her. I’m keeping most of my inheritance for myself. I lost some money in investments recently, so I need to rebuild my portfolio.”
“Well, it’s sweet of you to want to help Nita. She must be really special to you.”
“She is.” A small smile crossed Yvonne’s lips. “Perhaps I should introduce the two of you. I think you’d like her.”
“I’d love that. I am already meeting the rest of your family, after all.”
Yvonne’s smile faded. “About that. I’m going to think of some way to get you out of it.”
“Why don’t you want me to go?”
“You don’t understand my family. They’re toxic. And did I mention my inheritance goes to my brother if I don’t claim it?”
Ruby nodded.
“I have no doubt that Nicholas and my stepmother are going to feel threatened and resentful now that I’m stealing the money out from under them. At best, they’ll simply spend the whole night interrogating you, trying to expose you as a ‘gold digger.’ At worst, my brother will use the opportunity to try to prevent us from getting the inheritance, and he’s not afraid to play dirty. If he finds a hole in our story, he’ll take advantage of it.”
Ruby touched Yvonne’s arm
