Page 13 of Saved By Love at Christmas
CHAPTER5
RUBY
I was having such a lovely time with Ben. The idea of volunteering at an animal sanctuary appealed to me. When I heard my name spoken out loud by a lady who’d just entered the café, all my calmness went out the window. My palms were sweating, and my head pounded. For one terrible moment, I was afraid I’d black out. I attempted to plaster a smile on my lips, but I was trembling so much I just couldn’t. I wrung my hands in my lap.
The woman walked up to our table. I recognised her as one of Nan’s old friends from the WI. She grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously, almost hard enough to rattle my teeth.
“I didn’t know you were back. How’s that gorgeous beau of yours? Is he here? You look dreadful, darling. How are you?”
I mumbled an incoherent reply, but she appeared not to notice and kept on and on about what I was doing now. Had I left my career behind? Where was Jamie? Why was I back? God, if only the woman knew why I’d returned or what he’d done to me, then maybe she’d have left me alone. But I was too shellshocked to say anything.
Another flashback to Jamie’s expression hit me full-on. My vision started to waver, and my anxiety returned. I wanted to get up and run. I became aware of Ben paying the bill, I hadn’t even noticed that he’d gone up to the counter. He hurried back to my side.
“Would you excuse us? We have somewhere we need to be. Come on, Ruby. We don’t want to be late,” I heard him say as he moved the woman away from me, helping me on with my coat.
We hadn’t even eaten much of our lunch, but Ben recognised I was about to have a full-blown panic attack. I was so grateful for his support that I allowed him to take over. His presence comforted me; he’d always been my rock. Before I knew it, he was steering me towards the door. The woman was still bleating on in my ear. She hadn’t even realised what a state I was in.
“You must come and give the ladies at the WI a talk. We’d love to hear about how your interior design projects are coming along. You must have so much to tell us,” Was the last thing I heard her say.
Ben had taken my free hand. His big hand made my small one feel warm and safe as it closed around mine.
“I’ve got you, Rubes. We’ll go to where I’ve parked, and I’ll take you home.”
I couldn’t even respond. My body was going into shock. I heard a beep as he opened the door to his Range Rover. How had we got from the café to his car? And just as he helped me into the passenger seat, I blacked out.
* * *
BEN
I managed to catch Ruby just before she hit the deck. How much would this set back her recovery? After putting her in the passenger seat, I fired off a quick text to Tom to let him know what had happened. After that, I contacted my practice manager and informed them I’d be a bit late back for work.
“My head hurts.”
Ruby was coming round; I brushed the hair away from her face and massaged her temples. Her eyes flew open, and a whimper of distress came from her.
“Breathe, Rubes. Slowly in and out.”
I did the same actions with her until she relaxed a little. Then I saw big, fat tears tumble from her eyes. My protective instincts kicked in, and I pulled her to me whilst she sobbed. Gut-wrenching cries that almost tore my heart out.
“S… sorry you had to witness that, Ben. I knew it was going to happen eventually, but not so soon. I… I just wasn’t prepared for it.”
“She was probably excited to see you back. You know how enthusiastic they can be. Your nan was the same. And there’s no need to apologise. I’m only glad that I was there for you.”
She untangled herself from me and twiddled with her fingers as they trembled in her lap.
“I know it wasn’t her fault, Ben. She was only trying to make conversation. I didn’t realise how mentally fragile I am until I saw her. She’ll probably tell all her WI friends that I’ve gone crazy.”
I took her chin between my fingers. “Look at me, Ruby.”
She shook her head and continued to sniffle.
“Please?” I begged.
She looked up, her sadness beating at me.
“It doesn’t matter what they think or say. You, your grandad, Marie, and I know the truth. Hold your head up high.”
“Easy for you to say.”
