Chapter 13 Ruby
As we drove deep into the forest, the road narrowed, and I couldn’t see much in the distance because the trees were thick and tall, surrounding us like a canopy. Then I saw twinkle lights in the distance, and a cabin came into view.
I gasped. “This is beautiful!”
“Looks exactly like in the pictures, as Angela confirmed.”
“Who’s Angela?” I asked as he parked and turned off the car.
“Heath’s assistant. I asked her to drive up here and check it out.”
I turned and stared at him. “Why?”
“Pictures on booking sites can be misleading. I wanted to make sure it was up to the standard that we’re expecting.”
Oooh, he was quite thorough.
When we got out of the car, I drew in a deep breath. The air was fresh and sweet. I loved it.
I took a quick selfie with the cabin and texted it to Daphne.
Ruby: Guess what? Grant took me away for the weekend, just the two of us.
I swear, she replied the second I sent it .
Daphne: What? Holy shit. This escalated quickly. We need to catch up!!!!
Ruby: Yes, we do. I’ll text again when we get back to Portland.
Grant grabbed our bags from the trunk. He only had a small airplane carry-on, while I had a huge-ass bag. How on earth did he manage to pack enough in that small bag of his?
I was smiling from ear to ear as we walked toward the cabin. It was all wood, with a porch entrance and a second-floor balcony. It didn’t have a yard per se; rather, it opened into the forest. Twinkle lights were hanging over the front door.
As Grant entered a code into the digital lock, I closed my eyes and took in another breath. “The woods smell exactly like I remember.” I opened my eyes and noticed he was watching me closely. A gorgeous smile lit his face.
“Let’s check the inside,” he said, guiding me with a hand on the small of my back.
How crazy was it that we were here at all? I really couldn’t wrap my mind around it. On some level, it didn’t feel real. I was a bit jittery as I stepped inside, suddenly realizing I was here alone with this gorgeous man.
The cabin was more spacious than it looked from the outside. The lower level was made up of an open kitchen and sitting area. There was a huge kitchen island with two barstools, and on the opposite side was a U-shaped couch overlooking the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The spiral staircase led from the living room to the upper level, where there was a huge bedroom with an en suite bathroom.
The balcony was definitely my favorite part—it had a Jacuzzi.
The rooftop extended over the balcony, so I imagined we could enjoy the Jacuzzi even if it was raining.
Which it was, I noticed as I stepped right to the edge of the balcony.
I swear it wasn’t drizzling like this when we got out of the car. Or maybe I was too excited and didn’t notice .
“When did it start to rain?” Grant asked as he came up behind me.
“I was just thinking that. It wasn’t before, right?”
“No,” he said. He put a hand on my waist and plastered his chest to my back.
“Oh, someone’s getting cozy.”
“Hell yes.”
“You know what that means, right?” I half turned to look at him over my shoulder. “We have to stay indoors.”
My skin turned to goose bumps at the look in his eyes.
“I’ve got plenty of ideas about what we can do,” he murmured.
I turned around to fully face him. This man mystified me.
I took in his body language; it was different than it had been.
I didn’t realize it before, but he seemed like he was always on alert.
I remembered the way he acted when we walked through the park on our date, as if he was waiting for something dangerous to happen at every step.
“Don’t you have to secure the perimeter or something before we get too comfy?” I teased. “Or did Angela do that?”
He straightened up. “No, when we’re in the middle of the forest, we’re as safe as it can get. Unless you count wild animals. But this area is safe.”
My stomach rumbled. “I’m assuming there’s no takeout around here. Should we go grocery shopping?”
He took my hand and interlaced our fingers. It felt strangely intimate. “Already taken care of.”
He led me back inside. The spiral staircase was narrow, but it was wide enough for us to comfortably walk in tandem. Once back downstairs, we went straight to the kitchen, and he opened the fridge.
My eyes bulged. “How is that fully stocked?”
“The cabin owner offers a package, and I booked the option so as not to waste any time buying supplies.”
My entire body softened. I wasn’t used to anyone doing the thinking, so to speak, and organizing things. Even in my few and far between relationships, I’d been the one who planned everything to the tiniest detail. If I didn’t think of something, it simply didn’t get done.
“Let’s see what we’ve got in here. How do you feel about stir-fry? Or burgers?”
“Burgers. I’m a burger girl,” I said.
He grinned, taking stuff out. We had burger buns, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles—everything we needed for a meal.
“Perfect. These will be ready in no time,” I said.
“Yeah, they will. Mind if I fry the patties in the pan? There’s a grill outside, but this will be quicker.”
“Quick is good.”
He diced an onion while I took care of the tomatoes. From the way he moved in the kitchen, I could tell he did this often.
“You like to cook?”
“Yes, but I don’t do it as much lately. A chef comes to my house every day while I’m at the office.
” He said it very casually—as if it was normal for everyone to have a chef.
“But I do know how to cook. Sybil always said it’s a good idea for anyone to be able to feed themselves, and I agree with her.
It became painfully obvious when my brothers and I ran away from foster care that cooking is important. ”
“Why did you run away?” I asked as he put the patties in a pan.
“The group home wasn’t a welcoming place.”
His tone seemed matter-of-fact, but his body language was tense. His shoulders hunched slightly back.
“I can’t even imagine,” I whispered.
“After an incident when a supervisor was very rough with Cameron, I took matters into my own hands, and we ran away.”
I put a hand on my chest, feeling a deep ache for them as kids. How scary that must’ve been. I hated that it happened to kids in general, and was sad that Grant and his brothers had to go through it themselves .
“I didn’t think it through, obviously,” he continued.
“I imagined that anywhere would be better than in the group home. About two months later, it became obvious that I was wrong. It was safer to go back. At least at the group home, no one was robbing us in the middle of the night or holding us at knifepoint to get all our belongings. We didn’t have much anyway, but it happened twice. ”
What the hell? I couldn’t even imagine anyone attacking kids and stealing from them.
Slowly, certain things about him were starting to make sense. The way he constantly checked out the safety of a location—he was quite literally looking over his shoulder. It was an instinct for him, born out of the need to protect himself and his brothers.
“How was it when you got back to the group home?”
We started assembling the burgers as soon as I took the buns out of the oven.
“Even rougher than before. The supervisors thought we deserved severe punishment for even daring to leave.” His jaw locked. “But this was around the same time we met Sybil and Thomas, so we were only there for another year before they adopted us.”
“A year is a long time to be in a hostile environment,” I murmured.
“Yeah, it is.”
Once the burgers were ready, I used the rest of the lettuce to make a huge salad.
“This looks delicious,” I exclaimed.
We put the plates on the kitchen island and sat on the adjacent chairs.
“By the way, I forgot. We’ve got wine too.” He got up and went to the cabinets, opening them until he found the wine.
I liked watching him walk around this place. He was wearing a polo shirt, and his back muscles were super impressive even through the fabric. I’d never paid attention to back muscles before—I was more of an abs kind of girl—but Grant was a work of art on every level.
He opened a bottle of red and poured two glasses.
I waggled my brows. “So decadent, drinking wine at lunch.”
He laughed as he sat back down. As we clinked glasses, he leaned in conspiratorially and said, “Just so you know, Ruby, we’ll do things that are far more decadent than this.”
Oh! I turned beet red, I was sure of it. I felt hot in the face.
“Really? What exactly?” I asked as he pulled back.
I had no idea how I even had it in me to be flirty. I wanted to melt into a puddle and simultaneously jump into his arms.
“Well, since it’s raining, we won’t be able to hike today after all. Maybe the weather will clear, but if it doesn’t...” His gaze zeroed in on me. “I can keep us very entertained right here in this cabin.”
I moved my hips a bit on the chair for no reason at all. His words dripped with promise of sexy times. And I was looking forward to every delicious thing he had in mind.
“The burgers are good. And the wine is great. I’d like another glass,” I added in an impish tone.
I wanted to get good and drunk. Why not? I was in the middle of the woods with this gorgeous man who looked at me like he was about to jump my bones any second.
He smiled differently than before. “What a great idea. How about we take the party out to the Jacuzzi?”
“We’re going to drink wine while sitting in hot water, overlooking the forest? This day is getting better by the minute.”
I got up, clutching my empty glass. He stood as well, grabbing the bottle and his glass. As we started toward the balcony, I swung my hips ridiculously. I heard his sharp intake of breath behind me.
So, my exaggerated catwalk is working, huh? So far, I was loving this weekend. What a great idea to come out here.
As I walked up the stairs, I confessed something. “I thought I’d obsess over the restaurant this weekend while being away, but I already forgot that they’re serving lunch right now.”