“‘Sad’ is the only way I can think of to describe it. They’ve always been wildly competitive, but something changed about three months ago. Before that, they were always playing in rec sports leagues or hanging out at breweries together—inseparable in every sense of the word. Then Caleb moved in, and it all stopped. Everything. They don’t go anywhere together, and their little competitions aren’t fun anymore. Every time I try to ask one of them about it, they just zip right up.” She made the motion of a zipper cutting through the air. “I tried to convince Maury to see what he can find out, but he refuses to get involved. He says they’ll work it out, but I don’t know. I’ve been friends with Spencer a long time. Something’s not right.”

Ruby had a hard time imagining a Spencer and Caleb who drank casual microbrews together, but she didn’t doubt that Eva knew what she was talking about. After all, she’d seen the evidence with her own two eyes. That whole conversation about dry cleaning had been about something deeper than dirty laundry.

“Well, the good news is, if anyone can shake some sense into those two men, it’s you,” Eva said brightly. “I have every hope that you’ll have things sorted out in no time.”

“Me?” Ruby echoed. “I barely know them. What can I do?”

Eva’s laughter filled the kitchen. “Are you kidding me? With that face and those legs and the way they both look at you?”

Ruby could only shake her head. If there was one thing she’d learned in this life, it was the adages were true. Beauty is only skin deep. It’s what’s on the inside that matters. Pretty is as pretty does. A face and a pair of legs like hers might get her through a lot of doors, but those doors rarely stayed open for long. One look at her mother’s life—and her own—made that abundantly clear. As much as they had to offer on the outside, their insides weren’t anything worth writing home about.

“You have no idea what effect you have when you walk into a room, do you?” Eva asked as though reading her mind. She clucked her tongue. “And I’m not just talking about how beautiful you are, so don’t poker up at me. There’s something about you… I don’t know how to explain it, but you make everyone want to sit up a little straighter.”

Ruby had long ago learned to control her blushing—reddened skin never photographed well under the lights of a stage—but she could feel herself warming all over. “You’re just saying that because I promised to take your kids for a weekend.”