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“Baseball players?” Ruby grinned at the windshield. “Sounds promising.”
“I want to be you when I grow up.”
She glanced over at me and patted my hand.
“Try to have fun, okay? I know it’s hard, but you’ll get to FaceTime or whatever Army-technological-super-classified-top-secret method of communication they have over there.”
“I know. It’s just hard.”
“You look fantastic. If that counts for anything.”
I wore a purple dress that buttoned down the front and flared at the waist. My hair was tied up in a loose bun and I curled the tendrils that fell down around my face.
I forced a smile.
Ruby pulled up to the curb and looked through her window at the Drake house. “What a cozy little family cottage. Brief me, Goose. I didn’t talk with the Drakes much at Boot Camp graduation. Anything I should be prepared for?”
“Mr. Drake changes conversation subjects at the drop of a hat. Just go with it. And Mrs. Drake will ask you to call her Victoria and you won’t want to.”
“Got it. Let’s do this.”
A housekeeper answered the door and led us through the house to the backyard. Ruby barely looked at the interior décor. She came from money so she wasn’t impressed easily. For all her bawdy irreverence, her manners were impeccable. That and her confidence won over Mr. and Mrs. Drake immediately as we chatted for a few minutes in the kitchen.
“Forgive me, I must mingle,” Mrs. Drake said. “Such a pleasure seeing you again, Ruby.”
“You too, Victoria.”
Ruby shot me a smirk and I rolled my eyes.
A hired barbecue chef manned three grills, each the size of a small car. Two were crammed with hot dogs, hamburgers, steaks and chicken. The third was all vegetarian fare. Soft drinks and water were laid out on one table, practically untouched, as most of the guests congregated near the open bar.
Weston was nowhere to be seen, but I saw his mother and sisters gabbling together and arguing at one of the six umbrella-covered tables. Connor stood with some baseball buddies, a drink in his hand, talking and laughing. He did a double-take when he saw me, and a strange, nervous smile floated over his lips.
“Hey, baby,” he said, coming over. He smelled of gin as he bent to kiss my cheek. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Looks like a nice party,” I said.
“Excuse me,” Ruby said, slipping away, leaving Connor and me to stand in silence like ex-spouses barely on speaking terms.
“Autumn?”
I glanced up sharply. “Yes?”
Talk to me. Please. Tell me something.
“Look, I… I have something for you. Come on.”
He took my hand and guided me back into the house. I followed him down hallways and around corners to an office space. Beautiful, floor-to-ceiling shelves in shiny mahogany lined the walls, every one of them packed tight with books.
“Wait, don’t tell me,” I said. “You’re giving me this library? Just like in Beauty and the Beast? I accept.”
He laughed as he went to the immense desk in the center of the room. “Not quite. Something better, I hope.”
He pulled out an envelope from a drawer, then brought it to me and pressed it into my hand.
“What is this?”
“Open it.”
