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Nodding, I switch.
“How are you?” she asks.
“Oh, same old,” I reply breezily and cringe. I’m not good at acting cool. “How’re you?”
“Me? I’m great.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
Ruby pauses, hesitating. “Look, I was hoping we could meet up tomorrow. Just the two of us?”
My first instinct is to agree immediately. But Thal is shaking his head wildly.
“I’d love that, Ruby,” I answer carefully. “But I should check with Ciarán and Cathal first. Make sure it’s safe, you know?”
“Of course. I’ll text you a number, text me, and we’ll make an arrangement.”
“Okay.”
She hangs up and I blink.
Ciarán joins us and he and Thal exchange one of those silent, loaded looks that communicate a full conversation in seconds.
Cathal turns to me first, blue eyes gentle but vaguely troubled. “If it’s something you really want to do, we won’t stop you. But perhaps it would be best if Ciarán and I remained nearby, just in case.”
Ciarán frowns, clearly less enthusiastic about the idea, but nods. “We’ll be outside watching.”
“What do you think she wants?” Thal asks.
Shrugging, I reply, “You were here. She didn’t say.”
The phone buzzes, making me jump. It’s the text from Ruby.
“Well?”
Reading it out loud, I smile. “If you can make it for some girl talk, meet me at Greta’s coffeehouse at one.” Looking up, I add, “Sounds innocent enough.”
Another exchanged stare, they don’t seem too perturbed. “Okay,” Thal says. “But be careful.”
I breathe out a sigh of relief. “Of course, I’ll be extremely careful. Thank you for understanding—both of you.” Impulsively, I leap out of bed and hug them each in turn, overcome with gratitude for their support, even as nerves flutter in my stomach. I thought that would be a lot more difficult than it was.
Turning to my closet, I open the doors, suddenly excited. Choosing my outfit carefully as the guys disappear back to the living room, I invest myself in this activity, in the rituals from a different life, a different me.
Once I’ve settled on my outfit, I crawl back into bed, feeling lighter than I did earlier. Maybe it’s the anticipation of seeing Ruby, or maybe it’s the excitement of wearing something other than sweatpants for once and having a conversation that doesn’t revolve around who is trying to kill us now. Either way, I can feel my heart racing with anxiety and eagerness for tomorrow. Closing my eyes, I drift off to sleep with a smile on my face, the promise of some normalcy in the chaos of our lives providing a small glimmer of hope.
* * *
The next morning, I wake up early, unable to contain my excitement. I spend extra time getting ready, taking special care with my hair and makeup. The guys are brooding and moody as usual, but it doesn’t affect me today. I have the weight of the world on my shoulders, but for a couple of hours, I plan to just be me, and not the mafia girlfriend, or whatever the hell it is I am.
Staring at myself in the mirror, I see Thal come up behind me. He wraps his arms around me and kisses the nape of my neck, which he has easy access to with my hair in a deliberately messy bun.
“Time for a quickie?”
“Should’ve asked before I got dressed.” I turn in his arms and smile up at him. “I love this side of you.”
He frowns. “What side?”
“The side that can’t get enough of me.”
