Page 32 of Saved By Love at Christmas
“That’s good for me. And Fred, of course.”
I pressed a kiss to his cheek, feeling a slight tremor run through him. Was he feeling this weird attraction too?
“Take care. And please, remember, the rest of Woodbridge and the outlying villages still need to buy things for Christmas from here as well.” He chuckled, waving as he left.
* * *
BEN
It was great bumping into Ruby and Tom at the garden centre. They hadn’t noticed me, which gave me time to watch them interact. The bond they shared was incredible, and it warmed my heart to witness my friend so content. Such a contrast to when we picked her up from the airport.
When she’d touched me, my body trembled. I think, by the expression in her eyes, that she felt something too. Part of me was afraid of being alone with her when Tom went to London. My feelings for my best friend were changing rapidly.
God, what a mess. The last thing she’d want was a guy coming onto her. I’d just have to ensure I stuck to friendship. I’d never want her to freak out about me coming on too strong.
As I passed Tom’s car, I noticed that he had some long scratches down the passenger side door. Much the same as the ones on my door. A small tingle of concern made its way up my spine. Was this a coincidence? They were too similar to be made by accident. I took pictures of both cars and noted the date and possible times the incident occurred on mine. I didn’t want to alarm Ruby. I’d wait until she had lunch with Marie and then I’d contact Tom.
Something told me Jamie was to blame for this. He’d already called her, and it concerned me that, because she’d run from him, he’d want to punish her. That’s what controlling people appeared to do when they lost power over a person. It’s what I’d read, anyway. I remember reading about a psycho like him in one of Marie’s women’s magazines. A guy couldn’t accept the fact that the partner he’d abused had left him. He’d gone after her and harassed her. Then when she got the police involved, he’d thrown acid over her. There was no way this asshole was going to hurt Ruby in any way. He’d have to get through me first.
* * *
RUBY
The morning after our binge-buying session in Notcutts, I came downstairs and admired our new decorations. They blended in well with the colour schemes I had. Greens and reds in the living room because that was where our tree was. We always had a real tree, which would go to a local lady after it was taken down. She kept goats, and they loved eating the pine needles. It was always good to recycle things.
The back room, which also doubled as the dining room when we entertained, was all silvers and golds. I smiled as I looked at the golden angel ornament I’d purchased yesterday. She glittered and sparkled as she hung in front of the window. The window faced our back garden. I couldn’t wait for Ben and Grandad to get all the lights set up out there; it’d be like a magical piece of heaven for sure.
The hall was all purples and blues, apart from the fake holly garlands we decorated the banisters with. I leaned against the wall and admired our handiwork.
“Looks great, doesn’t it?” Grandad handed me a mug of tea.
“Thanks.” I drank deeply. “And yes, it looks amazing. Like it always does. I hope Ben likes the decorations I’ve chosen for him.”
“I’m sure he will, love. Ben’s a big kid at Christmas like the rest of us.”
“I’ve been thinking about Christmas Day.” He waited for me to continue. “If Ben and Marie aren’t going to visit their parents this year,” I paused.
“You’d like them to come here?”
“I love spending time with you, but…” I was beginning to wonder if I was being selfish by asking this of my one surviving family member.
“Don’t look so sad, Ruby. I’m more than happy to have them here. They’re family as far as I’m concerned. They’ve spent Christmas with us before and we’ve always had fun.”
“Thank you. I’ll run it past Ben on Wednesday.”
“You’re seeing Marie for lunch today, aren’t you?”
“Yes. She’s picking me up and taking me out for a pub lunch. It’ll be good to spend some time with her.”
“Are you going to talk about the hotel projects?” He leaned against the kitchen door, taking a sip of his tea.
I felt excited when I thought about it. I imagined going through each room working out the colour schemes and deciding which original features to keep. “Yes. I think I really need to take this on. I can’t allow Jamie to win by knocking my skills and filling me with self-doubt. Do you know, most of the interior designs I put forward for his clients’ properties never happened?”
His eyes widened. “What?”
It pained me to admit all of this, especially as I’d been so stubborn and supposedly in love that I wouldn’t hear any of Grandad’s or my friends’ concerns.
“He said they were childlike and unprofessional. He told me what to put forward to the clients. It went against everything I stood for.” Tears of anger welled up in my eyes. He hadn’t even bothered to take the time to listen to my ideas. Concepts I’d spent hours designing.
