Page 42 of Saved By Love at Christmas
That sweet voice was a temptation to me. Even if it called me to my death, I’d follow it. I turned to see her cheeks were flushed, and she rubbed her hands together as if she was nervous. Not surprising really, after ouralmost kiss.
“Barking at the birds. I swear he thinks he’s a cat.”
She laughed softly and padded over to stand by me. The silence wasn’t awkward, more comforting. I put my hands in my pockets. I seemed to do this a lot around Ruby, so I wasn’t tempted to pull her to me and finish what we’d started in my bedroom.
“Fancy a cuppa?”
She turned to me and laughed. “Now you sound like Grandad.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I headed for the kitchen with Ruby close behind me. Fred opened one eye, grumbled, and then went back to sleep.
“Tea or coffee?”
“Coffee, please.”
I set about preparing the drinks, aware of her watching my every move. My body reacted and I quickly tamped down the feeling of lust gathering in my groin. We sat at the breakfast bar to have our drinks.
“Are you going to give me the grand tour now?” she asked after she’d emptied her mug and placed it on the draining board.
I stood up, watching as she grabbed a pen and notepad from her bag.
She must have seen the quizzical expression in my eyes.
“I need to start making notes for design purposes.”
There it was again, the light and passion in her eyes that happened when she spoke about interior design. What made me proud was that I’d put that smile on her face, and I intended to keep it there.
* * *
RUBY
There was absolutely no awkwardness between us after the bedroom incident, which led me to believe that maybe we could be well-suited as a couple. But where did we go from here? Did I wait for him to kiss me, or did I pluck up the courage and initiate a kiss? I shook my thoughts away while he took me through each room.
The house was amazing. Three generous double-sized bedrooms, a huge ensuite in the master bedroom which was also Ben’s room, and a family bathroom on the first floor. Downstairs was the kitchen, a utility room, a large living room with patio doors that led out to a huge garden overlooking the river, a dining room, a small study, and a cloakroom. Out front was a garden with shrubs and a double garage off to one side. There was also a generous-sized workshop not far from the chickens’ coop. The décor was dated, but the building was structurally sound. I scribbled furiously in my notepad; my ideas for each room almost sent me spinning out of control with excitement.
We hadn’t looked in the loft space, but I also wondered about a loft conversion. Dorma windows in the roof that would create a light and airy space. It had so much potential.
“You’ve been quiet for so long. Talk to me, Rubes.” Ben held his hand out to me and led me to the sofa.
“Oh, Ben. This place has so much possibility. I can’t wait to get started on it. Thank you for letting me design the interior for you. Um…” I blushed and lowered my eyes, focusing on my notepad.
“What? Tell me. I love hearing your ideas.”
“I have a few concepts for the garden too. While I was in Spain.” I cleared my throat, aware of Ben’s eyes studying me. “I did some work on a garden. The owner wanted it to be eco-friendly. Jamie wasn’t impressed, but the owner had lots of cash to spend, so he couldn’t say no.”
Ben’s eyes lit up, his excitement palpable. “I’d love that. Saving and encouraging wildlife, as you know, is high on my agenda. We could work together on it.”
My smile widened at the enthusiasm in his expression. I could almost hear the cogs whirring in his mind as his ideas blossomed too.
“Sounds like a great idea. I’d like that too. Maybe we could design a posh pad for your ladies.”
Ben laughed. “They’d love that. Do you have any ideas about the workshop?”
“Yes, actually. I was thinking of designing a perpetual Christmas grotto.”
The expression in Ben’s eyes was priceless, doubt clouding his eyes. I couldn’t help it, I had to laugh.
“Gotcha! I wish I’d caught your expression on camera. You were horrified. Joking apart, it would make a fabulous office space. It wouldn’t take too much to convert it. Unless you want a Santa’s grotto as the bottom of your garden…”
