Page 28 of Strictly Friends
‘Why don’t you take a seat in the living room while I check on dinner,’ Kenny suggested. ‘I’ll show you around the house in a moment.’
Ruby nodded without comment, trying not to let him see just how thrown off balance she was feeling.
Whistling cheerfully, Kenny strode through the dining room towards a door leading into what Ruby presumed was the kitchen. She turned and followed Jake into the living area and perched gingerly on the edge of a stylish corner sofa while her son roamed around the room inspecting the large television screen with satellite box and a very expensive-looking music system. Kenny clearly didn’t do fluffy throw pillows or fussy ornaments, Ruby noted. The minimalist design was functional and uncluttered, with no sign of softer feminine touches. All in all, a veritable man cave, she concluded, recalling his earlier assertion that there was no woman in his life.
When Kenny returned a few minutes later, Jake accepted the invitation to tour the house with alacrity and, too curious to refuse, Ruby followed them up the wide flight of stairs. Upstairs, the bedrooms were spacious and airy, with large windows contributing to a loft-like feel.
As Jake wandered around one of the rooms, exploring the deep wardrobes and adjoining bathroom, Kenny announced with a grin, ‘Son, this room is yours now and it’s here for you whenever you come to visit.’
Jake’s eyes widened with delight. ‘Cool!Look, Mum, the bed is massive!’
Ruby smiled at his enthusiasm, although she couldn’t help feeling things were progressing at breakneck speed. They hadn’t even discussed how Kenny would feature in his son’s life going forward, and she silently prayed the man would keep his word and not break their son’s heart again.
Kenny walked further along the corridor and opened a door that Ruby instinctively knew led to his bedroom. With Jake pulling her along, she hovered in the doorway while the boy went in. Obviously the master bedroom, the room was huge, with an en-suite bathroom. There were a couple of paintings on the walls, a full bookcase and a smoke-grey sofa with a matching footstool. Ruby’s gaze landed on the king-sized bed dominating the room and her mind flashed back to the bed she and Kenny had once shared. She felt a deep flush rising into her cheeks and looked up to find him eyeing her with a quizzical expression, almost as if he could read her thoughts.
‘I’ll go and set the table. The food should be ready but take your time exploring and come down when you’re done.’ Although Kenny directed his remark to Jake, his eyes remained on Ruby and, disconcerted, she turned away.
By the time Ruby finally dragged Jake out of his newly acquired room and followed him downstairs and into the dining room, plates, cutlery, and glasses had been laid out on the table. Kenny walked out of the kitchen holding a jug of water and set it down.
‘It’s nice to have company,’ he said with a smile. ‘It can get pretty lonely sometimes.’
Am I supposed to feel sorry for him?Ruby thought sourly. Then, remembering she was here for Jake, she fixed a smile on her face. ‘It’s very kind of you to have us over. I hope you didn’t go to too much trouble.’
‘I’m just happy for the chance to have you both here. Take a seat and I’ll bring the food through.’
Moments later, he returned carrying two large serving bowls, which he set down on the table. ‘I’ll fetch the salad and then we can tuck in.’
Ruby eyed the large bowls filled with mouth-watering steaming white rice and what looked like a stew with fish and seafood and sniffed appreciatively. She might be pissed off with Kenny, but he had always been a fantastic cook and she had no doubt the food would be good.
Taking the seat they had left for him at the top of the table, Kenny passed around the dishes and they all filled their plates. Jake brushed aside his mother’s attempt to help him and spooned rice on to his plate before ladling a generous portion of stew alongside it.
‘I think I managed to take out all the fish bones, but just be careful in case there are still a few small ones,’ Kenny cautioned as he filled their glasses with water.
Watching Jake dive into his meal, Ruby followed his lead, and for a while the only sounds came from the chink of cutlery against plates as they concentrated on the food. After several mouthfuls of the tender, flaky fillets of fish and flavourful sauce, Ruby paused with a sigh of pleasure.
‘Do you like it?’ Kenny looked at her expectantly, and she nodded.
‘It’s delicious,’ she said sincerely. She reached for the bowl filled with salad and piled some on to her plate. The man might be a bastard, but there was no denying he could cook.
After a dessert of fruit salad in a tangy dressing accompanied by vanilla ice-cream, Kenny stacked their empty bowls and carried them to the kitchen, waving aside Ruby’s offer of help.
Ruby returned with Jake to the living room and, settling herself on to the sofa, tucked a leg under her, feeling more relaxed. Untilshe looked up to find Kenny standing close by and watching her once again, his expression inscrutable.
‘You have a lovely house,’ she remarked, trying to ignore the unexpected heat in her cheeks.
‘Thank you. Were you hoping I’d be living in a hovel?’ He grinned, moving to sit in the large armchair opposite her.
‘No,’ she lied. It would have been a whole lot easier to keep him out of Jake’s life if he had been. ‘You’re obviously doing well out here.’ She looked around the room and then back at him. ‘This place suits you. It’s very modern and has that “everything in its place” look.’
Kenny shrugged. ‘I bought it a couple of years ago from a Brazilian architect who decided to sell up and return home. I liked the fact he’d built it to be environmentally friendly and had sourced eco-friendly woods and materials for the construction. It’s a great space to come home to after a long day at the marina.’
Then he turned to Jake with a mischievous grin. ‘Hey, son, what do you say we play some records and do some dancing?’
Jake giggled, and Kenny stood up and walked over to a nut-brown wooden cabinet. He pressed one side and a concealed door swung open to reveal an extensive collection of vinyl records. Choosing one, he slipped it out of the cover and, after placing it carefully on the slim record player at the top of the music system, the room was instantly filled with the rhythmic sounds of calypso.
‘Come on, my boy, move those hips!’ Kenny’s Trinidadian lilt was even more pronounced as he sang the lyrics to the song while taking Jake by both hands and dancing around the room. Ruby giggled helplessly at the sight of her son wiggling his slight hips in time to the fast drums, bass, and horns of the steel band. Watching them, she couldn’t help remembering how often Kenny had held Jake’s hands when he was a toddler and danced with him around the living room to his favourite calypso and soca.
When the song ended, Kenny returned to the cabinet and rummaged through his collection, pulling out an album with a triumphant smile. Placing the disc inside on the record player, he said to Jake, ‘Your mum and I used to dance to this one all the time.’
