Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 122216 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122216 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Lorraine grumbles in the background, but I can’t get enough of Ruby. I never will.
“Fine.” She sighs against my mouth and wriggles so I’ll let her go.
I don’t like it, but Lorraine does rule the roost around here. “I guess I should get to the shop.”
“It’s always work, work, work around here. I come back from the busy city to visit, and all I get is a pile of work to do.” She smiles.
I smile back and drop another kiss on her before I grab her shoulders and turn her around, then give her a pop on the ass before she disappears into the kitchen. She and Lorraine start play-bickering over icing colors as I stand at the counter. Ruby’s words bounce around in my mind—she said she’s here “to visit.” I thought I’d changed her mind about that by now. That she was ready to stay.
But that’s not what she said. I guess we haven’t really sat down to discuss it. I just assumed she’d want to be here with me. Hell, I already have a friend in the city designing her engagement ring. The center is a giant ruby, obviously.
But what if she wants to go back there? To that asshole boss and that shitty job and that jerk of a roommate? What if I’m not enough to keep her here?
Shit. I run a hand through my hair. My phone buzzes again.
I reach for it and check. It’s my father. I’m not in the mood for his brand of crazy, but maybe a distraction right now would be a good thing.
“Yeah?” I answer.
“That’s how you pick up the phone? ‘Yeah’? Did I raise a hooligan? Mr. Finley, I do believe I raised a hooligan!”
“Yes, sir,” Mr. Finley agrees with his usual tone of tired and bored.
“Come to the house, Knox. I need to speak with you.”
“That’s what phones are for, Dad. We can speak right now. Actually, we are speaking. See how that works?”
“A hooligan and a smartass. That’s what I have. Not a son. Right, Mr. Finley?”
“Of course, sir.”
“Dad, just tell me what you need.” I head out of the bakery and pull my coat tight against the snow. My shop is only a few blocks away, but damn the wind is killer out here. Christmas is only a few days away, and it’s going to be a cold and snowy one. Greasy trots up from a side alley, and I scoop him up with my free arm and tuck him close to me.
“Look here, son. Well, I called you because …. Because … Wait, Mr. Finley, why did I—”
“The woman, sir.”
“The woman!” my father bellows. “Yes. I have a question. What I need is the truth from you. I’ve heard talk. Apparently, the little town down there is buzzing about you and Lorraine’s granddaughter.”
I wait for a question. And wait. And then when I suspect my father’s fallen asleep, I clear my throat.
“Are you seeing Lorraine’s granddaughter?”
“Seeing? I guess you could say that.”
Greasy headbutts me on the chin. I kiss him on the top of the head, then drop him onto the hood of the TransAm as I walk into the shop.
“So it’s just a dalliance?” He sounds relieved.
“No. I’ve already asked Justin to make her engagement ring. If she’ll have me, Ruby will be my wife.” And if she won’t have me, I’ll hold her down and give her orgasms until she agrees—but my father doesn’t need to know that.
“Wife? Mr. Finley, I think I’m hallucinating.”
“Congratulations, young Mr. Lovejoy,” Mr. Finley calls.
I smile and grab a socket wrench. “Thanks, Mr. Finley.”
My father stutters, gasps, and then starts a yelling tirade that I think the entire town might hear. He’s on a roll, cussing, speaking French for some reason—all of it.
When he finally stops to take a breath, I say, “Dad, I don’t need your blessing. She’s the one. But I think once you meet her, you’ll see why.”
He starts again, bluster and foolishness raining from his lips. I end the call and shake my head. I love the old man, but he can be so damn difficult sometimes. Stubborn.
Then again, I’ve been pining over the same woman for years, so maybe it runs in the family. Now that I have her, I hope she knows that what we have is real. I’ll prove it to her day by day until she’s ready to come back home to Reindeer Valley and to me.
Ruby belongs here. I just have to make sure she realizes we aren’t some short-term affair while she’s in town. That’s not what this is. This is love. The real thing.
Ruby and I aren’t just a holiday fling.
We’re forever.
18
RUBY
“I think it’s time for you to head home,” I hear Grams say from behind me. I doodle a Christmas tree onto the gift card of one of the orders about to go out. “Ruby, did you hear me?”