Her throat constricted. She sank back into the chair by the fire, pressing her palms against her eyes. What a mess.
A soft knock sounded at the door. Ruby dropped her hands just as Charlie stepped inside, closing the door gently behind her. Her expression was carefully neutral.
“I take it that didn’t go entirely smoothly.”
Ruby let out a brittle laugh. “How much did you hear?”
Charlie winced. “Enough.”
Ruby groaned and slumped further into the chair. “Wonderful.”
Charlie crossed the room and perched on the arm of Ruby’s chair. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Ruby stared into the fire. The flames blurred as her eyes stung. “Not really.” But a second later, she turned to her cousin and threw up her hands. “He said I lied to him.Melie tohim! That’s rich! I don’t think he told me a single truth the whole way here!”
“And did you?” Charlie asked softly. “Lie to him?”
Ruby hesitated. “No. I kept things from him but that’s not lying. That’s just being careful.”
Charlie waited, saying nothing, letting Ruby work out her words in her own time.
Ruby dragged a hand through her hair. “He knew who Niall was all along. He knew this was his family’s estate. He knew he was bringing me to his own brother’s house and never told me.”
Charlie shook her head. “Yeah, that isnoton.”
“And okay, I didn’t tell him I’m from the future,” Ruby went on, all the words pouring out of her now in a torrent she couldn’tstop. “But how could I? It’s not exactly the thing you can drop into a conversation is it? So I told him just now. Told him everything.”
Charlie’s eyebrows lifted. “And?”
“He believed me.” Ruby swallowed. “Or at least... he didn’t laugh.”
Silence settled between them. Charlie studied her before asking quietly, “How do you feel about him?”
Ruby’s head snapped up. “That’s hardly the point.”
“It rather is,” Charlie replied. “You wouldn’t be getting this worked up over someone you didn’t care about.”
Ruby stood and began pacing, unable to sit still under Charlie’s penetrating gaze. “That’s the problem. I shouldn’t feelanything—apart from downright annoyance. I only broke things off with Daniel recently. I was meant to be gettingmarriedfor pity’s sake! It’s too soon. It’s reckless and ridiculous and completely irresponsible. I came here because my life imploded, not to... not to fall for somebody else.”
Charlie cocked her head. “So youarefalling for him then?”
“No! Yes! I don’t know!” Ruby slumped into the chair and buried her head in her hands. “Oh god. What am I going to do? This wasn’t supposed to happen!”
Charlie rubbed her back. “In my experience, you don’t get to choose who you fall for. And I should know.”
Ruby looked at her through a gap in her fingers. “You mean Niall?”
Charlie huffed a laugh. “Yes, I mean Niall. I didn’t plan on falling for him at all. He was infuriating. Arrogant. Impossible.” Her smile turned soft. “And I fell in love with him anyway. I thought I knew what my life was going to be. And then it changed. Completely. Not because I planned it. But because my heart did.”
Ruby swallowed hard. “What if I’m just clinging to Evan because everything else fell apart?” she whispered. “What if he’s just... a...rebound?”
“Do you believe that?”
Ruby closed her eyes. Daniel and Evan were as different as two men could be. Daniel had been the safe choice, the one that on paper seemed perfect for her. He had a good job. He wanted the same things as her: house and mortgage, decent car, 2.4 children. Oh yes, he’d been perfect. On paper. But the reality had been quite different. If she was honest with herself, she had been more in love with the idea that Daniel represented than the man himself.
But Evan? Evan was a different beast entirely. Evan was everything sheshouldn’twant. Risk. Unpredictability. Danger. And yet he sparked feelings in her she’d never felt before. He made her feel...whole. Alive.
She shook her head. “No. I don’t believe that.”
