Page 19 of Caden

13

RUBY

“It’s looking better already,don’t you think?” Grandma Judy asks, hands on her hips, admiring the work we’ve done over the past couple of days. Mostly, it’s just clearing out all the dead and charred plants and earth. But it does look a whole lot less like a post-apocalyptic zone.

“I still feel terrible.”

“Why sweetie?”

“Some of those plants were decades old. Your garden will never be the same.”

She pats me on the shoulder. “No, it won’t. Butyourgarden will be whatever you imagine it to be.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s true.”

“I’ve got to run for a lunch date. Will you be okay without me for a few hours?”

“I will.”

“Ruby?”

“Yeah?”

She nods at the garden. “It’s a blank slate. Go wild.”

I survey the garden space, visualizing how I’d remake it without worrying about what anyone else thinks. It could be a little chaotic, like my office. “Like my life,” I mumble, chuckling. Sprinkles of colors that look unplanned. A mulch path that has no symmetry, just whimsy. Garden gnomes in random places. Every variety of flower, planted to look like bouquets. There really is no limit to what I could do.

I’m so lost in my daydream that I have no warning.

One moment I’m basking in the warmth of the sunlight imagining the most epic garden ever. The next, I’m completely soaked from head to toe. “What the?—”

“Told you I always get even,” a familiar voice calls across the yard.

I turn, stunned to find Caden not only holding the garden hose, but smiling. I have to be hallucinating. The Ice King has been keen on avoiding me since the moment I stupidly sent him away over a week ago. Except the chilly water dripping from my entire body is all the reality check I need. He’s here. Now. In the flesh.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, unable to fight the smile that slowly forms. Because if he’s here, it must mean something. Maybe he’s missed me too. “Besides getting even?”

Caden crosses the yard, stopping only when he’s close enough to reach for my hands. The touch feels like a lifeline. It feels like home. “I’m done pretending that one night was ever going to be enough, Ruby. I’m in love with you.”

“You are?” The question escapes as a mere whisper.

“How could I not be? You are everything and more, Ruby McCray. You’re kind, you’re funny, you’re a pain in my ass, you’re sexy.” He combs a hand over my wet face, brushing away water droplets from my temple. “And most importantly, you’remine.”

“What about Marshall?”

“Turns out, he’s smarter than both of us.”

“He approves?”

“I think he was ready to kick my ass if I didn’t get my head on straight.”

“You sure about this?” I ask him. “You forgot to mention that I’m a hot mess in that long list you had.”

“I never said I was looking for perfect, Ruby. Just perfect for me. And you are exactly that.”

Heart. Melted. “I love you, Caden.”

He draws my lips to his, and I sink into his kiss. A kiss I’ve been craving since the moment I stupidly sent him away. My nipples pebble, partially from the cold water, partially from being instantly turned on by this man I’m so crazy in love with.

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