Page 48 of A Tempting Seduction

“Seven o'clock,” I said, checking my watch. “Which gives me about four hours to finish cooking and have a nervous breakdown.”

“No nervous breakdowns allowed,” Little Grandma said firmly. “You're going to have a wonderful evening.”

I hugged both women goodbye and promised to bring the journals by the next day. As I drove home, their words of encouragement echoed in my head, mixing with my own anxious thoughts about the evening ahead.

My duplex felt smaller than usual when I let myself in, probably because I'd been cleaning and organizing for the past two days. The tamales sat in the refrigerator, perfectly wrapped and ready to steam. I'd prepared everything I could in advance, but there was still plenty of work to do.

I changed into the new maxi dress, running my hands over the soft fabric as it settled around my hips. The navy blue brought out my eyes, and the tiny white flowers scattered across the material were delicate without being overly sweet. I'd bought it during a FaceTime shopping session with Chloe Avery, who'd convinced me to try something more feminine than my usual jeans and sweaters. I chose her to shop with, because she understood my nerves and wasn’t pushy. What’s more, it didn’t hurt her to have some people interaction. I put my apron on over it.

The dress was pretty dang good. Now I just had to hope the rest of the evening followed suit.

I started with the rice, letting it simmer while I prepared the fresh pico de gallo. The tomatoes from my garden were perfect, red and juicy and bursting with flavor. I diced them carefully, mixing them with fresh onions, jalapeños, and cilantro, then adding lime juice and a pinch of salt.

As I worked, my nervous energy needed an outlet. I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my contacts until I found Chloe's number. She'd been the perfect shopping companion, but more importantly, she understood what it felt like to be uncertain about everything.

The phone rang three times before her soft voice answered. “Ruby? Is everything okay?”

“I'm cooking for Ford tonight,” I said without preamble. “At my house. And I'm freaking out.”

“Why are you freaking out?” Chloe asked, and I could hear genuine concern in her voice. “You’ve cooked tamales for me, they were amazing.”

“Because it's Ford,” I said, fluffing the rice with more force than necessary. “Because he's wonderful and kind and patient, and what if I mess this up? What if I prove that I'm not worth all the effort he's been putting in?”

Silence stretched across the line for a moment, and I wondered if I'd said too much. Chloe was dealing with her own problems, and here I was dumping my dating anxiety on her.

“Ruby,” Chloe said finally, and her voice was stronger than I'd heard it in months. “Do you know what Seris would do in this situation?”

I blinked, surprised by the reference to her manga character. “What?”

“Seris. From Oracle's Silence. You know how she lost her voice to save the realms, but she's learning that sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is trust yourself to act despite being afraid?”

I thought about the fierce, silent heroine Chloe had created. “I'm not sure I understand.”

“Seris learned that courage isn't about having no fear,” Chloe continued, and I could hear something like wonder in her voice, as if she was discovering something important as she spoke. “It's about moving forward even when you can't see all the possible outcomes. She gave up her voice, but she gained something else—the ability to listen deeply, to trust her instincts, to know when action is needed even when words fail.”

I stopped fluffing the rice, caught by the intensity in Chloe's voice.

“Ruby, you're not messing anything up by being nervous. You're being brave enough to let someone matter to you. That's what Seris would recognize—that the fear means it's important, and the important things are worth the risk.”

“When did you get so wise?” I asked, feeling some of my anxiety transform into something warmer.

“I've been thinking about silence lately,” Chloe said quietly. “About what it means to lose your voice versus choosing when to use it. Maybe I've been confusing strength with certainty, when really strength is about moving forward even when you can't predict what comes next.”

The words hit me harder than they should have. “Chloe...”

“You're choosing to trust, Ruby. You're opening your door and your heart despite not knowing how it ends. That's the bravest thing Seris ever learned to do—to act from love instead of fear, even when the future is uncertain.”

“Why can't you take your own advice?” I asked gently. “Why can't you choose to trust, too?”

The silence that followed was longer this time, and when Chloe spoke again, her voice was barely a whisper.

“I have to go,” she said. “But Ruby? You're going to be amazing tonight. Trust yourself to know what you're worth.”

The line went dead, leaving me standing in my kitchen with tears threatening and my heart aching for my friend. But her words had lodged themselves in my chest, warm and encouraging.

Trust yourself to know what you're worth.

I could do that. I could be like Seris, moving forward despite uncertainty, acting from love instead of fear. But it wasn’t like I was in love or anything crazy like that. Been there, done that. Had the t-shirt.