Yvonne had chosen the dress, but she hadn’t dreamed Ruby would look so incredible in it.

Ruby spotted Yvonne and headed over to her.

“Ruby.” Yvonne looked her up and down once more. “You look wonderful.”

“What can I say? You have great taste.” Ruby gave her a coy smile. “You know, I was wearing a red dress the night we met.”

“How could I forget? You looked so tantalizing that night.” Yvonne didn’t miss the flush that crossed Ruby’s cheeks at her words. “Let’s go mingle. We need to keep up appearances.”

“Come on, Yvonne.” Ruby stepped in close and gave Yvonne a sultry look, speaking under her breath. “We both know this isn’t about appearances.”

Yvonne frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I think you were lying when you said you don’t care about showing me off,” Ruby teased. “I think you like walking around with a pretty woman on your arm.”

Yvonne let out a small chuckle. “You’re right. There’s certainly something satisfying about being here with the prettiest woman in the room.” She held her arm out to Ruby. “Come on. Let’s go show you off.”

Ruby took Yvonne’s arm. They grabbed some champagne and made their way through the hall. By now, the party was in full swing, the packed ballroom bustling with activity. Yvonne introduced Ruby to various friends and acquaintances. Most of them couldn’t hide their surprise at Yvonne’s newlywed status and began probing them both for details.

Yvonne shouldn’t have worried that the wedding would be too much for Ruby. Ruby handled it all with poise. She was utterly convincing as Yvonne’s wife.

After a conversation with a particularly nosy college friend of Yvonne’s, she and Ruby wandered off to find Madison. It had been some time since Yvonne had checked in with her, and as maid of honor, she felt obliged to keep an eye on everything.

They found Madison nearby, talking with Lydia, the only one of Yvonne’s friends who hadn’t met Ruby yet. Although Yvonne and Lydia weren’t close, Yvonne had a certain respect for the woman. They were similar in a lot of ways.

“Lydia, this is my wife, Ruby,” Yvonne said. “Ruby, Lydia. Lydia joined Mistress recently as our CFO. And you’ve already met Madison.”

Ruby greeted them both.

“Nice to meet you,” Lydia said. “I was just telling Madison how lovely the ceremony was.”

“It was, wasn’t it?” Ruby let out a wistful sigh. “This is all so romantic. It makes me wish Yvonne and I had had a real ceremony.”

Yvonne gave her a sharp glance. What was Ruby doing? Perhaps she’d had a few too many glasses of champagne.

“That’s right,” Lydia said. “Your wedding was a spontaneous affair, wasn’t it?”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Ruby replied. “There were no bridesmaids, no reception, just a priest dressed as Elvis and two cheap gold-plated wedding bands.” She slipped her hand into Yvonne’s. “But it was romantic in its own way, don’t you think so, honey?”