“Shut the door behind you when you go, please,” she called as a parting shot. “Wheezy needs to rest, and it’s best if he has some peace and quiet while he does it.”

The bathroom door slammed shut. The vibrations shook the room, but the dog slumbering in the bathtub didn’t even blink. Poor Wheezy was done in. Ruby was tempted to climb in and join him for a weary and well-earned nap, but Spencer cleared his throat before she could give in to the impulse.

She braced herself for what came next.

“I don’t think I like that man very much,” he said.

Ruby was startled into a shaky laugh. That wasn’t how she’d expected Spencer to start the conversation, but it was just like him to cut straight to the heart of the matter.

“I know I don’t like that man very much,” she countered. “I never have.”

“Does he really steal drugs?”

She nodded. “I’ve never caught him at it, but yes. It’s not that uncommon, unfortunately. A lot of people work in places like this so they can take advantage of the residents.”

“You don’t.” He didn’t phrase it as a question.

“My mother has high hopes that I’ll rope some sweet old man with an amazing life insurance policy into marriage, but no, I don’t.” Unlike Harry, Ruby didn’t waver under the power of Spencer’s stare. It was his intense stare, the one that fired her blood in every possible way. “I’m also not a doctor, in case that wasn’t obvious. I’m a nursing assistant—or, rather, I was until about five minutes ago.”

“A nursing assistant,” he echoed.

“Who makes fourteen dollars an hour and barely qualified for her CNA exam and has been passed over for every single promotion she’s applied for.” She paused, allowing him a moment to react, but he didn’t move—not even to blink. The moment of truth had come at last. “This is where I should also admit that my bank account has exactly forty-three dollars in it. I also graduated from high school by the skin of my teeth and have no real skills except the ability to walk elegantly across a stage. When it comes to my life, it’s a case of what you see is what you get. Literally. A pretty package, and that’s about it.”

She waited again, her breath caught in her lungs. She didn’t want to exhale for fear that it would disturb the balance of the room. Its quiet expectancy carried a feeling that she stood on a precipice. The slightest brush, the softest whisper, and she’d be pushed over the edge.