Ruby’s hand trembles in mine as we head toward the second doorway, but she doesn’t let her nervousness show in her face. She keeps her back straight, her chin raised, and she doesn’t shrink back. The only tell is in her eyes—her big, blue eyes. She can’t hide anything from me in those eyes.

It reminds me of the way she stood in the foyer at her parents’ house, ready to face what must have felt like one of the worst days of her life. The consequences of everything that had happened were barreling toward her, and I was the first one.

And Ruby—the memory makes my heart ache and leap at the same time—Ruby turned me down flat. It doesn’t matter that she changed her mind, in the end. I’ve seen people with far tougher reputations crumble in the face of far less pressure. It doesn’t make me very proud to admit that I’ve exploited more than one of them for the money.

No matter what happens now, I’ve made up my mind—I’m not going to do that going forward. I can still profit handsomely on the finds that I make without going into every sale with the kind of arrogance that made Ruby hate me. 

The second doorway opens onto a hallway twice as wide as the door, also lined with rooms, the polished wood from the lobby following along.

“Wait—” Ruby says, but she doesn’t stop moving forward, just slows her pace. “This is a museum.”

“You guessed it. It’s almost ready for public viewing, but not quite.”

She laughs, her voice softened by the paneling in the hall. “Why did you bring me to a museum?”

“It’s here.”

“What’s here?”

“What I want to show you.”

She shakes her head a little, like she doesn’t quite understand, but she doesn’t say anything. I can practically see the thoughts flickering through her mind. She must have a thousand guesses.

It’s not a long hallway, thankfully, and so she doesn’t have to wait long to see. 

This hall, with its three doors on either side, leads into a larger space, lit with recessed lights that cast a warm glow over everything inside.

We step over the threshold, and Ruby stops.

Her forehead wrinkles, and her blue eyes travel slowly over everything, taking in the size of the room—huge—and the collection inside—also sizable. She presses her lips together, looking, looking—

And then she recognizes it.

Her gasp is enough to summon paramedics from the neighboring boroughs. “Levi!”

“Yes?”

Her hands fly to her mouth, and she turns her gaze on me, then looks back into the space. “What did you do?”

“I told you—I found a single buyer.”

She moves into the room and runs her hand along one of the sets of velvet ropes blocking off the first display. It’s a complete Victorian living room, made entirely from pieces from her family’s estate. There are small white plaques with facts about each chair, each desk, each one of the touches added in later by the museum staff.

The newly hired museum staff.

“How did you—” Her voice is soft and disbelieving, but she moves to the next display, and the next, moving slowly, standing carefully outside the barriers. “How did you convince a museum to buy all of this?”

“It took a little persuasion.”

“But don’t they have—” Ruby blinks once, then twice. “They must not have the room for this. Where are all the other exhibits?”

“This is the first one.”

Her mouth drops open. “Levi...” 

“Ruby...”

“Did you buy an entire museum just to house my family’s collection?”

“No.”

“Thank God, because I don’t know how I would ever—”

“I just funded a new branch of an existing museum in the borough. They’re thrilled to be moving some of their exhibits to this new space, with the Ashworth Exhibit being the cornerstone.” I laugh, thinking of all the emails I got from Carl as the collection was being delivered. “They were beside themselves when they realized how many displays and exhibits they could create just from your parents’ estate alone.”

Ruby turns back to the nearest display, but she’s looking back at me in another heartbeat, her eyes damp with tears. “This is what you wanted to show me?”

“This is part of it.”

She takes in a deep, shuddering breath. “I’m going to need a week to recover from this.”

“Alright.”

Another disbelieving smile blooms on her face. “I can’t wait a week.”

“I thought that’s what you’d say.”

Back in the car, Ruby dabs at her eyes with tissues. “When does it open to the public?”

“Three weeks. That’s when they’ll have the other exhibits set up, plus some smaller displays from the Ashworth Collection.”

She gives me a funny grin. “Is that what they’re calling it now?”

“Yes. At my insistence.”

She bites her lip, shaking her head. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Do what?”

“Don’t be coy with me, Levi. You had to have paid a fortune to make all this happen.”

“It’s for a good cause.”

“I didn’t ask for a museum.”

“No, but I gave it to you.” I reach across, taking her hand in mine, and kiss her knuckles. “Now you can visit your family’s pieces whenever you’d like.”

“When the museum is open, you mean.”

“As their biggest-ever benefactor, I have twenty-four hour privileges.”

Ruby’s eyes glow with happiness. “So all I have to do is stay with you?”

“I know. It’s not ideal.”

“It’s perfect.”

There’s one more thing I have to show her, and when I park in the private garage underneath the Blake Building, Ruby steels herself.

“What are you nervous about? Didn’t that last bit impress you?”

She grins. “I might be too impressed if you keep this up. I’d have to be self-conscious in front of you forever.”

“Impossible.”

“You’re right. Show me.”

I offer her my arm and she tucks her hand into the crook of my elbow, as naturally as if we’d never had that ridiculous argument, like we never spent days aching to talk to each other and avoiding it anyway. 

Her eyes get wider in the elevator. We go past the floors for the auction house and offices, straight to the penthouse. This isn’t what she’s expecting.

The doors slide open, and Ruby braces herself.