Chapter 22 Grant
“Mateo!” her mom exclaimed sharply.
“I’m Grant Clifford,” I said, though no one seemed to be paying attention.
“I’m so sorry, darling. If I’d known you had company, I would’ve come alone.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mateo asked.
Her mom rolled her eyes. “You’re a little... intense.”
“I’m dating your sister,” I said without further ado. “And I’m here to take care of her.”
Her mom’s eyes widened. Her brother stared at me, then turned to look at Ruby.
“Mateo, will you relax a little? I’m not fifteen anymore. No need to flex your older-brother muscles.”
“I disagree. I’ll always have to do that.”
I respected that even though he was looking at me with disdain.
But I tried to put myself in his shoes. If I had a sister, I’d probably be even more overprotective of her than I was of my brothers.
If I’d walked into her house and there was a guy there I’d never seen before in my life, I’d definitely ask some pointed questions.
“We don’t want to disturb you,” her mom said. “Darling, as I said, I brought the usual. It’s honestly enough for both of you. You know I always cook too much. It’s why it took me so long to bring them by. Do you have all the medicine you need?”
“Yes, Mom, and thank you,” Ruby replied.
“I’m taking care of her, Mrs. Ward,” I added. “Don’t you worry about anything.”
“Please call me Christine, Grant. We’ve met a couple of times now. No need for formalities among family,” she insisted.
I was certain I heard her brother grunt, but whatever. I’d be leery too.
“Grant, please make sure she takes her meds. Sometimes she says she did just to shut me up. You won’t get healthy if you don’t take medicine, honey.”
Ruby huffed. “I already took something, Mom.”
“I’ve got it covered,” I told Christine.
She smiled from ear to ear. “All right, then. We’ll get going.”
Mateo stayed put as Christine opened the door.
“Any time you want to talk,” I offered, “let me know. I’m an open book, Mateo.”
With a sharp nod, he shook my hand, and they both left.
I turned to Ruby, who was staring at me.
“Don’t indulge my brother.”
“Why not?” I asked as I went to the kitchen counter, opening the food containers.
“Because then he’ll think his behavior is normal.” My woman looked worried.
“It is.” I shrugged. “As an older brother, I can see where he’s coming from.”
“You two are both lunatics.”
“Let’s agree to disagree. Want to check out what your mom brought?”
“Probably beef stew, chicken Alfredo, and tomato soup. Those are my favorites. She always spoils me when I’m sick.”
“Sounds about right. What do you want first? Soup? ”
“Grant, you don’t have to baby me,” she said as I opened all the drawers, searching for a spoon.
“You’re sick, Ruby. Don’t think you can fool me. You need pampering.”
She sighed. “Well, I will never say no to that.”
I filled a bowl with soup and brought it to her with a spoon. She immediately took it and started to eat.
“Oh, I love it. I know people say drink lots of fluids when you’re sick, but I’d much rather have soup. You should taste some. It’s delicious.”
“I’m not hungry, babe. It’s for you.”
I wanted her to have all of it. She needed to eat.
My phone vibrated in my pocket a few times. It had done so earlier, too, but I didn’t bother looking at it.
“Is that my phone?” she asked.
“No, it’s mine,” I replied, finally taking it out from my suit jacket.
Cameron: Dude, heard you blew off your meetings in Seattle?? Are you going to show your face at the office?
Heath texted too.
Heath: Heard you’re coming back early. Let me know when you’re here. We can use the time to brainstorm a bit about the LaCroix account.
LaCroix was a huge client. They were also a pain in the ass.
I made a split-second decision and texted the same thing to both of them.
Grant: Not coming to the office today.
They were going to be shell-shocked and would demand an explanation, and I had no problem providing them with one. But right now, I was focusing on my woman .
After she finished the soup, I grabbed her bowl and said, “Second course coming right up.”
“I can’t eat anything more right now.” She smiled sheepishly. “But I could do with some more of that fondling. It was hands down the best medicine.”
“I was going to suggest that too. Clearly, you feel much better.”
She took off her robe and draped it over the chair. She was still wearing pajamas: little shorts and a white T-shirt. It was a fucking turn-on.
“Fuck, you look sexy.”
“In this old thing?” She tugged at her T-shirt as I sat next to her. “I look like something the cat dragged in.”
I put my mouth to her ear. “You’re fucking sexy. But you’re sick. Otherwise, I’d show you how much I want you.”
Goose bumps pebbled her skin. “I was wondering why you weren’t attempting any sexy time at all. I heard that can help with sickness too.”
“Nah. For now, I’m just taking care of you. But we have the whole weekend in front of us. There’s plenty of time for everything. Come on, let’s lie back down.”
We went to the living room and lay back on the couch, Ruby snuggling against me. It was not easy because her couch was tiny.
“Babe, I have a proposition for you.”
“Mm. I’m listening.”
“Let’s move the party to my house.”
She lifted her head. “You want to take me to the fortress?”
I grinned. She couldn’t be feeling too bad if she was joking.
“I can take better care of you there.”
“How so?”
“For one, I have an infrared cabin and a sauna, both of which help with colds.” I narrowed my eyes. “Though not when you have a fever. We’ll have to wait for that to pass first.”
“We can go in the pool. ”
“Not if you’re sick.”
She laughed. “You’re not really selling me on your house.
But you don’t have to. I’d love to go there.
I’m already starting to feel a bit trapped in here, which is insane.
I usually love spending time at home.” She looked up at me then.
“Oh, I know. It’s you. You take up so much space here that it’s starting to feel small. ”
“I love your logic, babe.”
She yawned. “I’m guessing I should take a change of clothes.”
“You absolutely should.”
“Packing might take a while.”
My eyes bulged as I rose onto my elbow, looking down at her.
The corner of her mouth quirked up. “Hey, it’s a process for me.”
I laughed. “Then you’d better get started.”
She pushed herself up to a sitting position, looking much better than when I first arrived.
“And since you won’t be here, do you mind if I tell my team to send someone to install security cameras?”
Her eyes widened. “Wow. We’ve got big plans this weekend, huh?”
“I’ve wanted to secure this place ever since I came here the first time.”
She shrugged. “Why not? I’m a bit careless, and the last thing I want is for someone to break in. As you said, cameras might scare them away from attempting that in the first place.”
I wanted to take care of Ruby. It was a fucking privilege to do so.
While she went into her bedroom to pack, I called Fran. “I need the installation team to place cameras in a very small private residence today. I already messaged you the address.”
“I saw it. Was wondering what it’s for, I’m on it. When exactly?”
“If they can be here in about an hour, that would be great. ”
“I can make that happen.”
“Thanks.”
After hanging up, I went to the bedroom. As soon as I peeped in, she said, “Oh no, you wait outside. Otherwise, you’ll hurry me, and I’ll end up packing even more clothes.”
What kind of logic was that? But I loved that she was so feisty. It meant she really was feeling better. I went back into the living room to wait.
Half an hour later, Ruby announced that she’d finished packing. She surprised me by rolling out the same huge suitcase she’d taken to the cabin.
“Don’t you have any smaller bags?”
She smiled sheepishly. “No. Besides, my toiletries take up a lot of space. Anyway, I’m ready to go.”
“We still need to wait for the team to arrive. Do you feel comfortable leaving the key with them?”
“Sure. I mean, they’re your people, right?”
I nodded. “Yes. Once they’re done, they’ll bring the key to my house.”
“Sounds perfect. Want to eat some pasta Alfredo while we wait?”
“Sure. You sit down, and I’ll warm it up.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to take care of you. I would’ve packed for you too.”
She shook her head. “Oh no. I like choosing every outfit.”
I managed to keep myself from asking how many outfits she needed to sleep at my house. Then again, if she had enough clothes for a long weekend, that was a win. The more time I was with her, the better.