“My team is already assembling the pieces. They’ll start arriving within the hour.”

The man’s voice on the other end of the line is booming, jovial. “I’ll be damned, Levi. You’re more efficient than your father.”

“Different industries,” I joke, and he laughs like it’s the funniest thing he’s ever heard. “You call me if you need anything else.”

“You call me.” He laughs again, ending the call with a click while he’s still going.

I lean back in my chair, stretching my hands above my head.

The Ashworth estate has been handled. For more than a fair price. Ruby’s going to be thrilled. Well—she might be a little sad to see some of the things go, but her parents are going to be just fine. I don’t know how much money they need, not exactly—Ruby would never have revealed that, in case I saw it as asking for a loan—but if push comes to shove, I’m willing to make up the difference. If there is a difference.

Tonight, instead of letting her work late on manuscripts—three nights this week she’s had to stay late at the office—I’m taking her out.

And then I’m taking her home.

For once, the weight of all this won’t be on our shoulders. For once, there won’t be a pile of antiques between us, like an ancient elephant in the room. 

I can’t wait.

“Clarissa?” I call her name on the off-chance that she’s in one of the other offices and not in the warehouse or any of the showrooms. I’m about to place the call myself when she appears at the doorway of my office.

“You shouted?” She has a quizzical expression on her face.

“I did. I got lucky.”

“You really did. I was at the other end of the hall. What’s going on?”

“I want you to get in contact with the Ashworths. I just moved their entire estate.”

“Moved it?”

“Moved, as in sold. Entire, as in everything.”

Her eyes go wide. “That’s a change of plans.”

“I know. Just let him know. He’ll be happy to hear from someone familiar.”

Clarissa nods. “Sweet guy. It’s too bad what happened to his son.” She turns to go, then turns back. “Never buy a motorcycle.”

I own six motorcycles—they’re at one of my properties, though which one escapes me. “I won’t.” It’s true—I don’t foresee buying another one any time soon. Or ever.

There are only a few things to wrap up—I want to send John, the man on the phone, a quick email with an idea that just occurred to me—and I swivel back to my computer screen. I’ve just started typing when there’s a knock at the door.

“Clarissa, if you want to teach me a lesson about shouting—”

“It’s not Clarissa.”

It’s Ruby, and her timing couldn’t be better.

I leap up from my seat and stride across the office. As soon as I can reach her, I pull her into my arms, hugging her close to me. She tilts her face up for a kiss, and in less than three seconds we’ve gone from joyful greeting to hard, hot passion. I back her up against the wall next to the doorframe. Ruby throws her arms around my neck, and if it weren’t for the fact that she’s wearing high heels and a skirt, I think she might jump up and wrap her legs around my waist.

She pulls back, laughing. “Wait—wait.”

“Wait for what? Let’s get the hell out of here. I have news to tell you. We should celebrate.”

She shakes her head a little, another crystal laugh escaping her. “No, I have something to tell you. I came here because I think it’ll be easiest to just manage it right from—” Ruby breaks off. “What did you say?”

“We should celebrate.” I take her hand in mine and raise her knuckles to my lips, kissing them gently. “I can tell you here, but I’d rather tell you somewhere worthier of excellent, excellent news.” One step back, and I have the room to playfully assess her outfit. “We can stop on the way to go shopping. Anywhere you want.”

“I think maybe—” Her smile is starting to seem a little strained. Her cheeks were pink when she first came to the door. She looked determined. Now she’s somehow holding herself apart from me, even while her grip tightens on my hands. “I think you should tell me the news now.” I don’t believe her when she laughs. “I’m not going to be able to concentrate on shopping if I know there’s news.”

I lean down and kiss her again. An occasion like this—the beginning of everything, truly the beginning—calls for more than one kiss. “Okay. I’ll tell you.” I take a breath. “It’s over.” Then it’s my turn to burst out laughing. “That sounds terrible. Forget all about that, okay?”

She’s not smiling anymore. She just nods.

“Your parents’ estate? It’s been taken care of.”

The smile flickers back, then disappears. Ruby narrows her eyes. “What does that mean?”

“There’s not going to be an auction.”

All the blood drains from her face. “Why wouldn’t there be an auction?”

A cold dread settles in the pit of my stomach. I wasn’t expecting her to be over the moon—not at first—but the way her face has gone ashen tells me this is a much bigger deal than I’d anticipated. I give her a big grin, trying to drum up any enthusiasm at all. “I arranged things with a single buyer. He’s going to pay auction prices.” It doesn’t matter so much that I did make a very generous donation to the cause to make that happen. Ruby never needs to know about that. 

“It’s all sold? All of it?”

“Yes.” I press my lips together. “It’s already being transferred, and Clarissa is letting your parents know that they can expect their payment as soon as the money arrives in my accounts. They’re going to be okay, Ruby. This is a great thing.”

“I don’t—” She stares at me like she’s seeing me for the first time. And this time, there’s not any intrigue in her eyes. There’s no vulnerability. There’s disbelief. There’s betrayal. And a flash of hate. “I don’t know that it’s a great thing.” An edge creeps into her tone.

“It really is. I know it might not feel like it—”

“Know?” She laughs, and it’s cold and cutting and sounds nothing like her. “What do you know about having everything ripped out from under you?”

“That’s really not—”

“No, Levi. No. Don’t tell me how wonderful this is.” Ruby covers her mouth with one hand. “I came here to—to deal with you. There were pieces that I wanted to buy for myself, above board, so that my parents would still get what they deserve from the sale. There were things I was going to keep, and now—” Her mouth twists. “You might not want to keep anything in your penthouse, but that’s not how everyone feels. Not everyone is like you.”

Oh, shit. “Ruby, I’m sorry. But I think if you just let me—”

“That’s the thing.” She cuts me off, tears welling in her eyes. “That’s the thing. I don’t want to let you do anything more. You’ve done enough. I’ve accepted enough help with this situation, and now it’s over. It’s finally over.” Her voice has gone soft, but something has shifted in her eyes. Ruby straightens her back. “It’s over.” She repeats it one more time, and then she turns to go. She casts one last look at me over her shoulder. “Don’t call me. Please.”

After that, she’s gone. There’s only silence left.