“Why are you being stubborn about this?” he asks a bit desperately.
Instantly, I answer, “Ruby.”
The answer surprises even myself, but the longer the words settle around us like stones in a pond, the more it rings true in my soul.
My eyes shift between them. “If I file anything against Stefan, it will only make it harder to keep that door open to Ruby. I know I can’t save her or kidnap her or whatever,I get that. But I can’t turn my back on her. Not when she’s… She’s…”So much like me.
The words are stuck in my throat but Liam and Mia understand. They’ve met Ruby, and they’ve heard my stories.
“Calypso, I’m worried aboutyou.” Liam grabs my hand, intertwining our fingers together.
For the first time, I’m shy under Mia’s watchful gaze. “I know.” It comes out as a whisper.
The next words are hard for him to get out, but the sincerity is radiating off of him. “But I trust you—it’s important to me that you know that. I don’t doubt your judgments, and I’ll support whatever it is you need.”
A ball of emotions catch in my throat. “Right now, I want to be accessible to Ruby if she needs it. But that doesn’t mean we can’t reevaluate that later… together.”
He lets out a deep breath and relaxes his shoulders, accepting my olive branch. “Yeah, that’s fair.”
I’m about to lean in and place a kiss on his cheek when I catch Mia’s curious expression.
“Hmm,” she hums to herself and starts stacking papers.
I lean away from him as if she said he had cooties or something. “What?”
Mia doesn’t poke at me, which I appreciate. Instead, she leans back in her chair and sighs. “I’m glad you guys are doing this—” she waves her finger between Liam and me, “—little thing.”
“You mean, dating?” Liam asks in a low, amused tone.
Mia chuckles. “I’m actually starting to believe that.”
My mouth drops open. No one (other than my all-knowing mother) has questioned our façade, at least not to our faces. Even when Asher dared Liam to dunk me in the water, it was only an excuse to be an annoying brother.
At our surprise, she explains, “It’s literally my job to see past a couple’s lies. To read between each and every little line. So, how did this actually start?”
Liam is grinning at me and raises his eyebrows, silently asking if I want to tell her.
Rolling my head forward to look back at Mia, I say, “We met at the end of March.”
“Oh my God,” she exclaims and laughs, tipping her head back. “I wondered if you still did that, but I never expected it to lead tothis.”
“Neither did I,” I admit. “Knox and Lexi set us up on a blind date—”
“A total coincidence,” Liam adds, chuckling along with his cousin.
“It was.” I nod. “Everything else just… fell into place.”
Mia shakes her head but she finds a lot of amusement from the situation. “That isridiculous.”
“We know,” I say, finally cracking a smile.
Her eyes bounce between us. “And now? It is…?”
Neither Liam nor I answer the question. Last night, we agreed not to label it as anything more. I don’t think Mia will be able to fully read between each fine line if I tell her he’s the guy sleeping in my bed every night. Not without understanding the nuances of our relationship that I have no desire to explain to her.
“Fine, fine,” she concedes. “Your secret is safe with me. Let me contact my friend in La Jolla and see what he can find out. It may take a few weeks, but ifanythingelse happens, call me.”
We spend a few more minutes talking about our dating scheme and Stefan’s lingering presence before Mia has toget ready for another meeting. By the time I’m driving back to Brighter Daze, I’m not positive if I’m feeling better or more unsettled. I suppose both, in different ways.
