something from them.”
I ignore him and ask, “What’s Syd Byerly doing here?”
Romaine’s brow furrows in confusion. “I didn’t know Syd was here. We don’t talk all that often lately. I didn’t even invite him to the wedding.”
“He’s been here for almost a week trying to see me,” I tell him.
“Then why don’t you meet with him and ask him why?” Romaine sounds angry. “Look, Tara, if you’re done with me like you say you are, then I don’t think there’s anything else for us to say to each other.”
This isn’t exactly how I saw things going with Romaine. I really didn’t want us to part on bad terms again. I pick up my phone to call James to come get me. There’s a knock on the door within seconds.
“I stayed out in the hall,” James says.
I look at my ex one last time before crawling back under the room service cart. I don’t feel romantic love for him anymore, but I can’t help still feeling something. We were together for a long time. We thought we’d be together for the rest of our lives. “Have a great life,” I tell him.
“You too,” he replies with a voice full of pain and resignation.
As soon as James pushes me back out into the hallway, I nearly break down and cry. I need to release all the built-up emotion with a great, big, fat, sob fest, but I can’t. James and I have to go to his farm and meet with Rachel.
This day is lasting forever.
Chapter Forty-Six
Ruby
“I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop,” Ruby says.
“I’m afraid that shoe is going to be more like the Jolly Green Giant’s boot,” Chris answers while looking over her friend’s shoulder.
Ruby turns around to see Cash Cartwright glide through the front door like the high-fashion model she is. She struts like she’s on a Parisian runway during fashion week, not like she’s checking into a remote lodge in Oregon.
Several people follow her in. Two are carrying her luggage, one more is scurrying after her as she walks right past reception, and another stops at the front desk to say, “I’m Miss Cartwright’s assistant, Elisha. Could you please have a bottle of champagne sent up to Mr. Choate’s room for her?”
Ruby is on the verge of telling the young woman to call room service herself, when Chris cuts her off. “Of course, we will. Would you like us to send up an assortment of appetizers, as well?”
“Please,” Elisha responds with a curt nod of her head.
As she walks away, Ruby demands, “Why are you being so nice?”
“I’m thinking about the publicity, my friend. That, and I’m going to send her the most expensive stuff on our menu, and I’m going to add in a twenty percent gratuity for the staff. As long as we have to put up with them, we should milk it for all we can.”
“I’d rather just throw them out on the street,” Ruby grumbles.
“Which is why you need to back away and let me take care of everything.” A look at her friend has her adding, “I mean it, Rubes, maybe you should hide out for a couple of days until this all blows over.”
“Like hell. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I’m going to be down here making sure everything goes according to plan.”
“What plan?”
“I’ll let you know once I have one.” Ruby picks up the puppy sitting at her feet and says, “Tell James I have Penny up in the family quarters. I’ll keep her overnight.” Then she walks away with purpose in her stride.
James
“What did he say?” I ask Tara as soon as we’re on the elevator.
“He’s under the impression that his getting married here is a big coincidence.”
“If he thinks that he’s obviously not the sharpest knife in the drawer,” I mutter. I spent the whole time I was out in the hallway consumed by jealousy that Tara was once with that guy. I wanted to walk back into his suite and drag her out of there like some kind of caveman.
“He’s going to ask Cash about it when she gets here.” Tara sounds like she doesn’t think he’s too sharp either, but her voice is still tinged with sadness, which is breaking my heart.
The doors to the elevator open onto the ground floor and before I can push the cart off, five people cram in, blocking my exit. Holy crap, I think one of them is Cash. I recognize her from the article that Cheryl showed me at the