Page 23 of Ruthless Desires: Vol. One

“Only sometimes?” I shake my head. “There’s not a time when I’mnotwishing that.”

She snorts. “Fair point.”

We finish up our mid-afternoon tasks. Things have slowed down, partially because there’s always a lull in the mid-afternoon and also because it’s snowing pretty hard outside. It gives us enough time to take a breather and restock and clean before the closers come in.

As I’m wiping down the counter, my gaze snags on the tip jar. Usually by this point in the day, there’s a decent amount of change in it, but the thing isstuffed.

“Ava.”

At the shock in my voice, she turns quickly. “What’s wrong?”

I reach for the tip jar carefully, as if the money will disappear if I move too fast. “Look at this.”

She makes a strangled noise when she sees the wad of bills stuck inside. There are still one or two customers in here, so she hisses, “That’s alotof money.”

Palms sweaty and mouth dry, I pull it all out, letting the loose change and ones fall to the counter. Then, with shaky hands, I count the rest.

Ten.

Ten one hundred dollar bills.

“Ava,” I breathe.

“Oh my god,” she whispers.

I recount them again just to make sure, and then I let it all drop to the counter. “Is this a dream? There’s—there’s no way this is happening.”

“Do you think it was them?” Ava asks.

“Who?”

She elbows me. “Your regulars.”

Rolling my eyes, I turn from the counter. “They’re notmyanything. And… I don’t know. We’ve had so many people in here over the day. It could’ve been anyone.”

“I bet it was them. They can never stop looking at you.”

“Does it matter?” I divide the bills. “This is five hundred each, Ava. It’s… oh my god, it’s so much money.”

“Enough to go to the masquerade ball?” She raises a brow.

A delighted giggle bursts out of me. “Definitely enough.”

Chapter eleven

Wren

January

“Ugh, I’msojealous,” Rachel says before taking a sip of her root beer. “I’d give anything to go to a ball like that. Get all dressed up, pretend to be a princess for a week…” She sighs wistfully. “It’d be so fun.”

“It sounds pretty romantic,” Chloe chimes in, but there isn’t any meaning in her voice. If anything, she sounds a little… guilty.

I force a smile. “I’m pretty excited.”

Normally, I can have a good time when we all get together. A Thursday night at the arcade eating cheap pizza is pretty normal for us and the guys, but over the past couple months, things have felt off between me, Chloe, and Rachel.

For whatever reason, Rachel gets super excited whenever she sees me. It’d be sweet except we never talk unless we’re hanging out together with everyone else. It feels… weirdly artificial. Chloe, on the other hand, has gotten quieter. More distant.