Chapter 21 Ruth
twenty-one
Ruth
We dance until the music stops, and I reluctantly allow Bill to escort me all the way back to the hotel and down our hallway.
It’s hours past my usual bedtime. Except for the soft tap of our shoes on the carpet, everything is silent and no one is around.
When we reach my door, he slides his hand on my back, as he’s clearly gotten so used to doing tonight, and he leans down, staring deeply into my eyes like I’m the only thing that matters.
My breath catches in the back of my throat as I lean against the door.
Without hesitation, I wrap my hands around his neck, inviting him to kiss me.
My knees are jelly as his lips connect with mine in a tender kiss that’s only sweet, and he pulls away, leaving a whisper between us, “Goodnight, Ruth.”
Unable to speak, I allow him to take the cardkey from my hand.
He swipes it for me, opens my door, and stands back while I go in.
He pulls the door shut behind me, and I pause with my eyes closed.
My heart slams against my rib cage, as the last few hours replay in my mind like a movie.
I’ve never experienced anything like it.
Then the spiral starts. It’s too soon to be feeling these strong feelings. We hardly know each other. I need to slow down and stop letting myself be so careless. One weekend of letting my hair down is not going to be worth the heartache…
Without turning on a light, I step forward, and my foot catches on the open bathroom door. I both stub my toe and stumble forward, accidentally hollering, “Ouch!”
A second later, my phone vibrates in my coat pocket, and I slide it out.
I sigh as I reply: I stubbed my toe on the door, but I’m fine. Thank you for checking.
His reply comes back right away:
Bill: Good, I was about to call the cops to report a very ungraceful thud.
I smile wide and reply:
Me: Ungraceful? I’ll have you know I managed to stay on my feet, and I was rather light-footed.
Bill: Wish I could have seen it.
I grin even wider, my cheeks starting to fatigue from the amount of smiling tonight.
Me: Maybe I need to keep some things secret. You know, keep you interested.
There’s a long pause before he replies: See you in the morning.
I press the phone to my chest, my heart racing long after the light dims.
The rich aroma of dark coffee drifts through the downstairs restaurant as I slide into the booth across from him.
Feeling extra feminine when I wake up, I slip on my other dress.
It’s linen, but I’m smart and slip on thick tights underneath.
Then I take a few extra minutes to curl and pin my hair up, leaving a few loose tendrils to frame my face.
When I see myself in the mirror, I hardly recognize the face staring back, but I don’t have time to ponder as Bill texted me he had a table for us.
“Good morning.” His voice carries a bit of a sleepy rasp. “How’d you rest?”
“Well,” I say, recalling not waking even once until my room was filled with sunlight.
His eyes twinkle as he motions to the cup in front of me. “I already ordered coffee with extra sugar. They had a breakfast sampler with all sorts of things that looked nothing like a proper meal, so I ordered that too.”
Shaking my head, I can’t help laughing. “Am I that predictable?”
He raises an eyebrow. “No, I just pay attention.”
I tuck my hands around my cup, feeling the warmth seep in. I watch him watch me. Somewhere along the way, we’ve developed this hidden language that has no words, but we understand each other with just a look.
The waiter comes and places a huge platter between us.
If France could sit on the table, this is exactly what it would look like.
There’s a small mountain of buttery croissants in the center.
A perfect spread of apple slices curves along one edge, winding their way down until they brush against a scatter of plump berries.
My stomach releases a very unladylike groan when I spot the fat wedges of Brie daring me to tear off a piece of bread and try it. Beside the Brie, there are more chunks of cheese and a pile of round crackers so high, I could eat on that for a week.
The selection goes on for days, as squares of dark chocolate spill over onto a row of roasted red pepper strips glistening with olive oil.
The sweet-salty aroma wafts in my direction, and I slide to the edge of my seat, as my taste buds beg for flavor.
“Wow, it does feel like you understand the way to my heart. This looks amazing.”
“I wanted something for us to enjoy our morning. You know, nothing to rush over.”
My eyebrows tug upward as I struggle to not gush. This is a lot to take in first thing in the morning. I’ve never been spoiled like this ever. “This is perfect”
He laughs playfully as he reaches for a croissant.
“I agree. Waking up to have breakfast with you is everything.” He bites off the edge of his croissant and smiles through his chewing.
My heart flutters hard against my chest as I feel a layer of my shield chipped away.
I don’t have much guard left around him.
It’s hard not to want to share myself openly with him when he’s so open and generous with me.
“Is something wrong?” He quirks an eyebrow and stops mid-chew. “I’ve never seen you hesitate around food this long before.”
“No.” I shake my head and reach for the serving spoon to scoop berries. “Nothing is wrong at all.”