Page 63 of Saved By Love at Christmas
“They were so happy. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.”
“That’s great. I love those ladies. I’ll have to pop in and see them.”
I groaned. “You know you’ll be cross-examined, don’t you?”
A wicked expression crossed her eyes. “Oh, I’m sure I can answer their questions. Well, most of them…” She left the sentence hanging.
“We’re in the living room, Ben. There’s a cup of tea with your name on it,” Tom called.
“Okay, are you ready to give him the good news?” I raised a brow.
She captured my hand in hers and led me into the living room.
* * *
RUBY
I felt nervous as we walked into the living room. Silly, really, because I knew he’d be happy for us. Marie was all smiles when we sat down. Holding hands was a usual thing for Ben and me, so Grandad didn’t think anything of it. My tummy was rolling with nerves and my heart beat a little faster. I knew Grandad would be happy for us, but it was going to be a very emotional announcement. There would be tears, I was certain of it.
“Grandad, we have something to tell you.” I swallowed loudly.
He looked up from stroking Fred. “Good news, I hope.”
“Ben and I are…” My throat almost closed up, mouth dry.
“What she’s trying to say is we’re in a relationship now. I love your granddaughter so much, Tom, that I couldn’t deny my feelings for her anymore.”
“It’s true, Grandad. We’ve been in love for years but only just admitted how we felt.”
Grandad knelt in front of us, holding our hands in his. His eyes were shimmering with tears, which brought on my own.
“Ruby, Ben, you don’t know how happy this news makes me. I always knew you were meant for each other.”
“I love happy endings.” Marie clapped her hands together.
Grandad sat back in his seat, all smiles. And now I had to take those smiles away with our next news.
“That’s not all, Grandad. We have an update… about Jamie.”
His smile slid from his face.
“What now?”
“He… he’s attacked another woman in Spain, and he’s now over here. He tried to run Ben and me off the road.” My throat closed over with panic. I made myself breathe against the stress.
Grandad took a long sip of his tea, his eyes thoughtful. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. The longer he remained silent, the more concerned I became.
“Well,” he said finally. “I think we should all watch our backs until this menace is caught. Ruby and Marie, you ladies need to be extra careful.”
“I couldn’t agree more, Tom.” Ben squeezed my hand.
Shortly after our revelations, we headed for the kitchen. Marie and I had made chicken risotto and homemade focaccia. No one spoke while we tucked in.
“Ruby gave us our invite for Christmas, and we’d both love to accept.” Ben smiled.
“That’s great news, son. We’ll have the best celebration ever.” Grandad beamed.
Marie had to leave shortly after dinner, and I followed her to the door.
