Page 163 of Show Me

“Yeah.” I watch for her reaction. “He told me to bring you.”

The smile fades a little. Not gone. Just… uncertain. Like she’s not sure what to do with that, and neither am I. Because this, whatever this is, doesn’t belong in a room full of people asking questions. Especially when everyone’s already trying to insert themselves into it.

I glance back toward the door. Empty now. But it doesn’t feel that way. “Lock the front.”

Ruby doesn’t argue. She nods and moves to do it. And I stay where I am, watching the glass a second longer than I should, like if I look away, something will get past me.

Chapter Eighty-Seven

Ruby

Thanksgiving Day

Nothing happens for a week and a half. No notes. No strange packages. No cameras catching movement in the yard. Just quiet. The kind that should feel reassuring. Instead, it leaves me on edge.

I check the doors before bed. Glance at the windows without thinking. Catch myself listening when the house settles at night. So does Xavier. He doesn’t say it. But I see it. In the way he lingers a second longer at the locks. In the way his eyes track movement before anyone else notices. In the way he never quite relaxes.

But life keeps moving forward, and suddenly, we’re at his house for Thanksgiving dinner. The smell hits the second the door opens. Turkey. Butter. Rolls. Apples. Pecans. Pumpkin. Warm. Comforting. Decadent.

“Jesus,” Bella says behind me. “Ben’s showing off.”

“Always.” Dominic tosses his jacket on the couch.

Voices carry through the house, Jake already at the fridge, Sam hovering near the stove like he’s about to get yelled at, music low in the background.

I step inside, taking it in. The layout. The exits. The people. Everyone’s already here. My shoulders loosen a fraction, and that pisses me off. How did I get to the point that I’m scanning my surroundings everywhere I go?

Xavier pauses behind me close enough that I’m aware of him without looking. “You good?” His voice is barely above a whisper, meant only for me.

“Yeah.” I glance around again. “I’m good.”

He nods once. His hand brushes the small of my back as we move further in, quick, subtle, gone before anyone can notice it. A lump forms in my throat, but I tamp it down before anyone can notice that either.

Ben stands at the stove as he owns it, which, technically, he does. A towel slung over his shoulder as he stirs something in a cast iron pan. “Don’t touch anything.” His warning is aimed at Sam as he reaches for a piece of a roll.

Sam glares at his brother. “It’s my house.”

“It’s my kitchen today.”

Jake laughs from the fridge with baby Grace snuggled in his arms. “I’m here for the free food.” He winks. “And the free entertainment.”

Ben points toward the table. “Sit down. All of you.”

Bella leans over the stove. “What’re you making?”

“Roasted turkey, garlic mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and bread.”

“Marry me,” she says.

Dominic pulls back a chair and drops into it. “You’re already taken.”

Laughter fills the room. Easy. Familiar. I let myself sink into it. Ignoring that my life has been turned upside down by some random person who can’t figure out I’m taken, except I’m not. Whatever this is between Xavier and me, he won’t label it, and I’m not sure how long that’s going to be enough.

Emily hooks her arm through mine and pulls me toward the couch. “So,” she says. “Vet tech school.”

Bella drops down beside us. “Yes. We need details.”

I smile, settling in between my two best friends. Despite everything going on, I love these two and couldn’t imagine life without them. “There aren’t many yet.”