Page 10 of A Life Betrayed

“You’re not going to tell her we’re here?”

“Mom? Are you home?” Mariah calls again, the voice closer now.

Ruby calls back, “She’s not home yet. I’m in here!” Softer, she says to Henry, “I’m going to tell her, but I need to prepare her.”

“For?

“Notfalling in love with you again,” Ruby says with a frown, shoving him toward the pantry door.

“Ruby—” Henry starts.

She shoves him again. “And she’s going to be shocked to see Cian. I don’t know what to tell her aboutthat.”

“Just tell her—” Henry starts.

But Ruby plants her hands on her hips. “Get. In. The. Pantry. Henry.”

He sighs but opens the narrow door next to the fridge and steps inside. I follow him with a grin.

Seriously,everyonefalls for Henry’s charm and confident I-know-best-don’t-worry-about-it-just-let-me-take-care-of-everything attitude.

Except Iris, his boss, Scarlett apparently, and now Ruby.

Looks like he has his hands full.

Just what he needs.

“I like her,” I whisper.

“Shut up.”

“Sucks to not always get your way, huh?”

“How the hell wouldyouknow?”

I just chuckle.

We both zip it when we hear Ruby say, “I thought you were studying at Greta’s.”

A younger female voice that I assume belongs to Mariah says, “We were. But Mom is going to be getting an email from my principal. I thought I should come home and tell her about it before she reads it.”

“Oh no,” Ruby says with a little groan. “What happened?”

“It was completely Leah’s fault,” a new young woman’s voice says.

I look at Henry. He mouthsGreta.

“Mariah didn’t do anything wrong. Leah needs to mind her own business,” Greta says.

We hear scraping noises that sound like the wooden legs of the stools that sit at the breakfast bar sliding over the kitchen floor.

Ruby laughs softly. “Well, you’re not exactly an unbiased witness.”

“No,” Greta agrees. “But seriously, we were just talking in study hall between the two of us.”

“What were you talking about?”

“The podcast and how Henry and Cian are missing.”