Ruby
“I already know I want you to sign on to make me stuff permanently as soon as possible,” Lia said as she stood behind the empty glass case at Indulgent that had been full of pastries earlier that morning.
“I second that wholeheartedly,” Zeke said from a table where he was finishing off the selection of sweets she’d saved for him when I’d laid them out earlier.
With Jett seated across from Zeke, helping him devour everything, I knew it wouldn’t be long before all the pastries were gone.
The two men had never met before today, but I was pretty sure they were male bonding over brownies.
“My offices come first,” Jett insisted. “My employees would revolt if Ruby doesn’t bake for us anymore.”
I smiled because I knew what he said was probably true. I’d had the chance to chat with some of the people who worked for him, and heard the horror stories about what the bakery had been bringing their way. To me, it seemed almost ridiculous to lose the business of one of the biggest corporations in the world, but the bakery itself was growing, so they’d lost their personal touch. Their profit had obviously become more important than customer satisfaction, which I knew could eventually be their downfall.
“Once Stuart and I are married, I’m expanding and opening another store,” Lia explained. “I want to start off with your products at the other store from the day we open.”
“If I take on Jett’s whole company, I’m going to need to get a kitchen and some employees. I’m going to have to have more ovens and space,” I told her.
“Just don’t open a store,” Lia said. “Well, unless you want to open a bakery. That was kind of selfish because I’d love to have customers wanting your pastries so they come to my shop. I kind of like you exclusive.”
I smiled at her. “I’m not looking in that direction right now. And please don’t tell me that you won’t have people pouring through the door for your coffee regardless of whether or not you carry my stuff.”
It was late and the shop was closed, but it had been a madhouse just an hour earlier when it was open.
“When are you opening your other store?” I asked.
“As soon as I get my grandmother’s inheritance,” she explained. “She put in a weird requirement that I have to be married by the age of twenty-eight before I could inherit. I think she was worried about me becoming an old maid because there weren’t any prospects in sight when she passed away.”
“They can actually do that?” I said, astonished that somebody could dictate Lia’s life for money.
She sighed. “Apparently, yes, she could. My attorney says I could contest it, but chances are I could lose since my grandma specified alternate places to put the money should I not meet her terms. But it’s simple, right? I just make sure to get the deed done before my birthday.”
“When is your birthday?”
“Next month,” she answered. “A few days after I get married.”
“Aren’t you cutting it pretty close?”
Lia shrugged. “It doesn’t matter since the wedding is already planned.” She stooped down as she said, “Which reminds me that I have an invite for you and your hot guy over there.”
I took the invitation from her hand. It seemed I was going to have more than one wedding to attend in the near future. “I’d love to come,” I replied.
“Honestly, if I’d known about you sooner, I would have asked you to do the cake, but Stuart is anal. Everything was worked out months ago.”
“That’s okay,” I said hurriedly. “I don’t have a ton of experience doing huge cakes alone.”
Lia nodded. “Honestly, sometimes I just want the wedding to be over. It’s consumed so much of my time, and I’ve been wanting to jump on Indulgent’s popularity by getting another store for a while now. Zeke deserves to get paid back for the enormous risk he took in being my partner, too.”
“He’s not going to be your partner anymore?”
She shook her head, and her eyes grew sad. “We were never meant to be permanent partners. It was a loan for him. Zeke and I have known each other since we were teenagers. He did it just because we’re friends. And he’s pulled his weight, even though he didn’t have to. He helped every step of the way.”
“Does he really need the money back?”
Lia pulled a face. “Oh, God, no. He isn’t as wealthy as Jett by any means, but he’s still filthy rich. But I want to pay him back. We aren’t related or involved in any way, and he stuck his neck out for me. But I guess anybody who is ambitious needs a hand when the money isn’t there.”
I thought about her comment for a moment. “I know what you mean,” I told her a few minutes later. “It was hard for me to take loans and gifts from Jett, especially when I knew I couldn’t pay him back anytime soon.”
“Your honey has more money than God,” Lia replied. “And he’s your guy. Why would you worry about that?”
“The same reason you worry about paying Zeke back.”
“But Zeke and I aren’t involved. And if he really wanted to give me a BMW and I knew he’d never miss the money, I’d probably take it because we’re friends.”
“I barely knew Jett,” I confessed. “I was homeless and the victim of human trafficking. Jett saved my life.”
Lia looked stunned as she answered, “Oh, honey. I’m so sorry. Were you hurt?”
“Long story. I’m okay, but do you have any idea what it’s like to suddenly step into a fairy tale when you’ve lived most of your life as a prisoner of your circumstances?”
“Like Cinderella,” Lia said in an awed tone.
I nodded. “Pretty much. Jett is almost too good to be true. Sometimes I’m afraid that I’ll wake up and discover all of this is a dream.”
“I get that,” Lia said. “But Jett adores you. It’s pretty obvious. And I doubt there’s anyone in the world who deserves a happy ending as much as you do. Take what he’s offering you if you want it, Ruby. I’ve learned not to question some things in life. Good and bad things happen. It’s how we handle those good and bad times that matter.”
“But he buys me extravagant stuff.”
“It’s only a luxury in your world. Think about it, Ruby. Jett has never known a day when he wasn’t incredibly wealthy. It was a way of life for him even before Lawson really became a tech giant. If you think about it, Jett giving you a car is like you giving me a new pair of shoes or something. Those things are inconsequential to him, but it’s a very big deal to you. So you can just give him a kiss, thank him, and move on after he gives you another car or a new mansion.” She hesitated before she added, “Shit, I can’t believe I just said that.”
I laughed because the look on her face was priceless.
“No, you’re right,” I admitted. “His net worth is so enormous that it really is nothing for him. I guess that’s just so hard for me to accept.”
“If you’re going to be with one of the richest men in world, you really will have to accept that a huge gift to you is a little thing for him. He doesn’t know anything else. But I could live with making that kind of adjustment. Stuart is a millionaire, and even that feels uncomfortable sometimes. I didn’t grow up in that world, either.”
“Did he give you a new car?” I questioned curiously.
She rolled her eyes. “I wish.”
Honestly, I was starting to think that Stuart wasn’t the guy for Lia. After watching the way Zeke’s eyes seemed to follow her around a room, I had to wonder if my new friend was marrying the wrong guy.
But no, it had to be my overactive imagination. Lia didn’t seem like the type of woman to choose the wrong man.
“I’ll try to get used to it,” I said unhappily.
Lia shot me a mischievous smile. “There’s a lot worse things you could have to adjust to than enormous wealth.”
“I’m in counseling,” I shared. “But I guess I’m still trying to accept that I’m worthy of a man like Jett.”
“Hey, stop that!” Lia exclaimed. “Don’t base who you are on money. It’s all irrelevant when you’re talking about a relationship. Nobody is worthy of having a fortune. It just happens. What makes Jett a good man is that he cares what’s going on with people who are less fortunate than he is. Has he ever treated you like you’re beneath him because of your circumstances?”
“Never,” I said emphatically.
“And I already know Lawson is incredibly philanthropic when it comes to local and world issues.”
“Jett does things that never make the news, too. He doesn’t give to get attention. He does it because he…cares.”
Lia crossed her arms. “I swear, if you don’t snap that man up and just enjoy your life, I’m going to break up with Stuart and marry Jett myself.”
I giggled because her statement was so over-the-top. “I am enjoying him. A lot, actually.”
Jett and I had pretty much had sex on every surface in his condo, and it seemed like every experience was better than the one before.
“I won’t touch that comment,” Lia said with a laugh. “It could go one of several ways if I do, and they’re all a little scary. But don’t let money get in the way of your happiness, Ruby. It’s just something that buys things. And none of those things can truly make you happy.”
“I know. Maybe I’m just nervous because we’re getting ready to take off for Colorado to attend Jett’s sister’s wedding. That’s a whole lot of billionaires to handle at one time,” I told her in a joking tone.
“None of them are any different than you,” Lia assured me.
“Jett’s sister is wonderful,” I said. “I’ve met her. She’s the one who sent Jett to get me out of a bad situation in Miami. She’s one of the reasons I’m not homeless anymore.”
“Don’t be nervous, Ruby,” Lia said sincerely. “You’re a wonderful, intelligent, and strong woman who has some incredible talents. Don’t ever let anybody intimidate you into thinking that you’re anything else.”
A lump formed in my throat. I knew that I needed to internalize my self-worth, and I was working on it. But it helped to start making friends like Lia. “Thank you.”
I saw the guys get up from their table across the room.
“I think everything has been consumed,” Lia said with humor in her voice.
“Knowing Jett, it was gone a long time ago and they’ve just been trading stories.”
“How do two guys look that gorgeous when both of them can easily consume a ton of high-calorie stuff? Don’t get me wrong, I love to eat, but it shows on my hips or my butt almost immediately,” Lia bemoaned.
“Jett works out every day,” I shared.
“Zeke loves sports, and he’s really active, but still, it’s just not right.”
I laughed. Personally, I’d never had a problem with my weight, and when I was homeless, I’d gotten too thin from lack of available food. But sooner or later, I was going to have to watch what I ate or I’d be piling on pounds with all the baking I was going to be doing. Right now, I felt like I was making up for lost time, but my body was filling out pretty quickly.
Lia and I started talking business, and worked out the details of a daily menu with some things left open so I could create whatever seemed appropriate for her store that day and keep new and different things coming in all the time.
“I can have my legal department do the contract so you don’t have to pay to get it done,” Jett offered.
“Thanks,” Lia answered. “I’d appreciate that.”
“Have fun at the wedding,” Lia said to me as Jett and I got ready to leave.
I nodded. “I’m looking forward to your wedding, too.”
Jett looked at Lia, and then at Zeke. “Is that happening soon?” he asked.
“Next month,” I informed him. “We just got an invitation today.”
Because I knew Jett, I could see that he was troubled, but he said, “We’ll definitely be there.”
We had left the building and were waiting to cross the street before he commented. “I think she’s marrying the wrong guy,” he said gruffly. “Zeke is crazy about her.”
“Did he tell you that?” I asked with surprise.
“Hell, no. He didn’t tell me. But it’s pretty damn obvious to me. He looks at Lia like I look at you.”
My heart skipped a beat. Jett just came out and said things sometimes that touched me pretty profoundly.
It was one of so many reasons why I loved him so damn much.