Page 48 of Saved By Love at Christmas
She moved to a sitting position, taking me with her. This pleased Fred because he got on the sofa too. Ruby laughed and made a fuss of him.
“I really need to take him out. It’s almost dark now. You stay here…”
She shushed me, putting a finger to my lips. Boy, I was tempted to take it into my mouth and suck on it. But that was a little too intimate for the moment. Baby steps were required here.
“I want to come too. A walk will help me build up my appetite for that fab chilli of yours. If you leave me alone, I’ll be tempted to eat it while you’re out,” she teased, giving me a slow wink.
I held my hands up and laughed. “Okay, you win. Fred, are you ready for walkies?”
He howled and ran into the kitchen, through to the utility room where his lead was kept. His tail banged on the hardwood floor while he gazed up at his lead hanging from a hook and whined.
“Guess that’s our cue to go, huh?”
I grinned. “I guess so, otherwise his whines will get louder until he’s howling like a wolf.”
Once we put our coats and gloves on, I attached Fred’s lead to his collar and we headed outdoors. I decided not to take the route where Jamie had possibly been. Instead, I headed to where there were a few more houses, just in case. My heart warmed further when Ruby took my arm and held me close to her.I could get used to this.
Fred was busily snuffling in some bushes while we watched him.
“So, are we going to talk about us?”
Ruby’s eyes were wide and brimming with emotions. I stroked her cheek.
“Are you sure you want to?”
She pursed her lips. “I think now is the perfect time, Ben, I don’t want to waste any more time. I know some people will see it as a rebound, but I’ve had these feelings for you for years if I’m honest.”
Her admission made me happy, also sad that we’d missed out on so many years when we could’ve been together. Images ran through my mind of all the things we could’ve done together. Maybe we’d have been married by now; who knew? But we had time to make memories, and I didn’t want to waste another day.
I chuckled at something Marie had said not long ago.
“Why are you laughing?”
I chuckled again as we continued our walk. “My dear sister said she could see how we felt about each other a very long time ago.”
“I wish she’d said something.” A long, slow sigh slipped from her.
“Would we have listened, though?”
She shrugged. “I guess not. You know when you dated Helen before you went to uni?”
“Yes. She loved me, but I didn’t feel the same.”
“I have an admission. I cried for weeks. Helen seemed to be the one you were going to settle with. Marie kept asking me what was wrong, but I said it was just exam nerves.”
My eyes widened at this revelation. “I’d never have known. I thought you were happy for us. Now I have something to admit.”
She giggled. “At this rate, we could write a book about our experiences.”
“Hmm, I guess we could.” I turned thoughtful as I watched Fred scratch at the grass.
“Hey.” Ruby squeezed my arm. “What were you going to say?”
“I felt exactly the same way when you dated John. You know, the guy you met at uni.”
“Oh, God. I forgot about him. The IT guy who thought more about his programming than he did me.” She put her head in her hands.
“I was so jealous. I couldn’t bear it when he touched you. In fact, I hated every guy you dated. Each one hurt more than the one before.”
