Page 51 of Saved By Love at Christmas
“Now what?” I rolled my eyes.
“If we don’t sit down and eat this chilli, I may be tempted to carry you off somewhere and show you how much your words mean to me.”
“I might just let you.” I arched my brow.
“Will you just stop it, woman, please?” he begged.
Hmm, I liked the sound of him begging.Get a grip. There’ll be time for that later.
“Okay, I will… for now. But only because I’m starving and your chilli smells so good.”
* * *
BEN
“Oh. My. God. Ben, I’ve missed your food so much. That was to die for. Thank you.”
My chest almost burst with pride. Ruby was all smiles and satisfaction, and that was down to me. I loved how she tucked in and had seconds without even thinking about weight and calories. Definitely my kind of woman.
“It was my pleasure. I’m so pleased you enjoyed it. There’s plenty left for you to take home.” I chuckled. “Actually, when I told Tom what I was making, he asked if I could do extra.”
Ruby grinned. “That’s Grandad. Always thinking about his stomach, bless him.”
She turned thoughtful, a frown creasing her forehead.
“You okay there, beautiful?”
She shook her head. “Bad memory.”
“Tell me,” I said, as I reached over the table to take her hand. “No secrets between us. Not ever, okay?”
“Okay,” she whispered. “Jamie had a thing about my weight, which confused me because, when we first met, he loved my curves.”
I hated when men dictated how women’s figures should look. Ruby wasn’t skinny and had a stunning figure, reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe. Most men craved this look on a woman. I know I did.
“You have an amazing figure and you’ve always been body confident. Don’t you dare let him undermine how beautiful you are.” And she was. I’d seen how men looked at her with desire.
“Hmm.” She laughed with bitterness. “As soon as we got to Spain, he’d supervise what I ate. And all that beautiful Spanish food… it was torture to have almost child-sized portions.” She shook her head. “Then he’d weigh me regularly, and if I’d put an ounce on, I was only allowed a small dinner.”
The more I heard about him, the more I wanted to chase him down for knocking the confidence of this sweet woman. I know it was difficult for her to discuss what she saw as a failure, but I’d listen whenever she needed me to. It would certainly help with her mental health.
“Well, you have a perfect figure, Rubes, and you can eat what the hell you like. As long as you’re happy, then I’m happy.”
“Right back at you, Ben.”
I got up from the table. Ruby followed me and we cleared the dishes.
“Right.” I slammed the door of the dishwasher closed. “There’s only one thing left… unless you’re still counting calories.”
Her eyes lit up, smile wide. “Calories be damned!” She giggled. “I’ll chop the bananas. You get the ice cream!” she yelled.
I knew I shouldn’t, but I had something I wanted to try. “Let’s eat in the living room.”
“That’s fine by me.”
CHAPTER16
RUBY
