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Michael made a disgusted sound. “Don’t give in. He’s the only one who found a date, and we hate him.”

I rolled my eyes. “By accident.”

“It certainly wasn’t with my help,” Ruth murmured with a reluctant smile.

Annie squinted, turning her heavily lined eyes into black slits. “I knew he blackmailed you.”

Laura shushed us as the presenter came to the podium at the center of the stage. The room had been simply decorated withbanners sporting the area’s business coalition logo, and hues of blue and silver adorned each table. There had to be at least three hundred people in the room, and they all found their seats as the lights dimmed and a spotlight shone on the presenter. He seemed to be talking with someone off to the side about a technical issue.

I leaned over to Ruth and whispered, “I RSVPed for your dinner by myself since I wasn’t sure if you were still coming. You know, after ‘kissgate’ and all.”

Ruth flashed a rare, full smile. “Kissgate?”

“It was an epic fumble on my part. It needed a name.”

She shook her head, still smiling. “Whatever you ordered is fine. I’m not picky.” That fit with my growing understanding of her character. Ruth, who took things in stride, who adapted to challenges with intelligent resourcefulness and flexibility, would be the one to assure me she didn’t mind.

I’d gotten both meals—one for me and the other for her—so she could pick which one she liked. I was doubly glad I had because I was beginning to see that Ruth was the type of person who would forgo her own comfort in favor of another’s. She’d silently endure without saying a word. I both admired her strength and worried for her in tandem.

The presenter turned to face the crowd again, and his mouth hovered just above the mic. He cleared his throat. “Good evening, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us here for the 2024 Portland Greater Area Business Bureau Accolades. Or, as we like to call it,P’gabba.”

The crowd laughed collectively.

“Before we get started, we have a bit of an unusual circumstance. It’s certainly a first for us. A call was put in through the center directly trying to reach a wife whose phone must be on silent. Will Mrs. Ruth Coldwell take a look at her missed calls? Your husband would appreciate it.”

Chapter twenty-two

Ruth

Ruth

My name over the mic resounded in my ears in an amplified echo. I felt, rather than saw, Cal rotate a look down to me, and I gripped my simple black clutch with numb fingers. The presenter peered at a notecard he had in his hand, pulling up a pair of reading glasses from a chain around his neck. “At least I think that was the name. My eyes aren’t what they used to be.”

The crowd murmured a laugh, but I barely registered the words. My mind was taking what he’d said and fitting it into a nasty puzzle box that had demons waiting to jump out from the lid.Your husband would appreciate it.

“Yes, Ruth Coldwell. Best of luck, Ruth! Now, that taken care of, once again, welcome!”

The crowd clapped, and it filled my ears with a jarringcacophony of tinny buzzing. I fumbled with my purse, pinching open the clasp and pulling out my phone. Cal bent his head, angling to face me better. “Who’slooking for you?”

My phone screen lit up, and the partial messages from the unknown sender cluttered my home feed. I stood on shaky legs. Lying to Cal was impossible. I didn’t want him to worry, but I didn’t want to betray his trust, either. “I’ll go find out.”

As he stood, I put a hand on his shoulder and did my best to smile through my fear. “No, stay. It could be Gemma messing with me. I don’t want you to miss Laura’s award over that.”Not a lie, but not entirely the truth. God, he couldn’t really have done that… could he?

Cal’s eyes traveled over my features, and I knew in that microsecond that he saw through me. He wasn’t going to let me handle whatever this was on my own. Because he was Cal. He was protective and caring and all the things I’d longed for but didn’t deserve.

“I’ll go with you. Just in case.”

“No, really,” I sighed. “Give me… ten minutes. I’ll go see if it’s Gemma, and if I’m not back, then you can come check. Okay? I’ll be in the lobby just out there.”

“Are you sure?” Cal asked with wary concern.

“For our first award…” The presenter began the ceremony, and my heart beat uncomfortably loud in my ears.

“I really wouldn’t forgive myself if you missed this,” I hissed. “Please?”

Cal looked like he would rather insert a breadstick into hisnasal cavity than let me go alone, but he relented with a reluctant head nod. “Ten minutes.”

“I’ll be right back,” I promised in a rushed whisper. I made my way across the enormous room, and blue LED lights striped over my dress as I crossed in front of a projector light. I wove through tables, and as I did, I pulled up the messages.