Chapter Thirty-Five
Ruby
Neil takes me to the side as everyone packs up. “You just have to say the word, Ruby, and I’ll take you back.”
I suck in my cheeks. “You’re engaged to Viv, or have you already forgotten her?” I snap. I should have known that engagement meant nothing to him and his wandering eye.
He dismisses my comment with the flap of his hand. “I don’t know what that chef arsehole thinks he knows about you, but I know the real you. We were together for years, and I saw you change and helped you develop into the woman you are now.” I hold back both my laughter and the fist I want to hit him with. “No one knows you like I do.”
The irony is that Neil was with me all those years but never knew me. The story about the fake first date shows Garett understands me better than Neil ever could. The kiss I gave him was to hide my shock of emotion.
Garett watches as he tidies up the remnants of the mince pies from his demonstration counter. I give him a wink, not to annoy Neil, but because I want to. This is what I’d do if my boyfriend were here, and for one glorious night, I was lucky enough to learn how it felt to be Garett’s girlfriend.
“So what do you say?” Neil asks.
“Go fuck yourself, Neil,” I reply with no anger or bitterness. “And never come near me again. I’m happy without you, happier than I thought possible.”
“Car, Neil. Right now,” Viv yells from the doorway.
Neil stares at me longingly. “Bye then.”
I turn away, which seems to be the hint that Neil needs. I talk to the stragglers, who tell me their first date stories and ask more about Garett. He’s their new romance hero.
“And have you seen his forearms?” one of the pensioners asks. I have seen them, kissed them, been held by them as he does the filthiest things to me.
I wave them off ten minutes later. Should I suggest a hookup tonight with Garett? All those kisses and the care have made me hornier than a frat boy during rush.
But Garett has gone.
“Have you got a second to help, Ruby?” Kath asks. “We need to set up for tomorrow. We’re fully booked with wreath making and Christmas classes for the next three weeks.”
“It’s great, isn’t it? Amber’s hard work over the last few years has made a difference. There’s so many return customers.” I glance around the cookery school. “Is everyone staying on to help?”
“Everyone except Garett. He said there was somewhere he had to be. All that fake boyfriend work must have exhausted him.” She chuckles.
Did he run off because of something I did? I can’t message him to check if he’s okay, because that’s against the rules. I know he’s not seeing anyone, but that doesn’t explain his disappearing act.
I’ll check in tomorrow night, all casual. I don’t know how because I don’t do hookups, and it’s not like I can speak to anyone about it because that’s against the rules, too.
I grimace as I walk up the stairs to the mezzanine.
“You doing okay, Ruby, love? I couldn’t believe it when Amber told me you were caught here in the snow on Saturday,” Kath says as we tidy the hideaway. “How is Amber?”
The scents of oranges and firs from the wreath making fill my lungs. Christmas will be good this year. I catch a whiff of cinnamon. My gaze is drawn to the sofa bed, but I shake my head.
“She’s been better. The pregnancy is going according to plan, but she’s frustrated that she had to go on maternity. She’s missing being involved. She knows it’s not safe for her or the babies, but it was so sudden.”
Kath clucks in agreement. “I do miss her. I bet your grandma would have loved to have seen her pregnant and blooming.”
“She adored Amber and wanted a good future for her. It’s nice she got to meet Kalen before, well, you know.”
Kath perches on one of the chairs brought up to make wreath making accessible for those who struggle to stand. “She was ecstatic to meet him. It’s a shame we don’t know when he’ll return.”
I nod, unsure what else to say. With Kath, you can never be sure what her angle is.
“And your grandma would’ve been delighted to have you back here, too.”
I smile as I busy myself making a pile of wreath bits that can be used for tomorrow. I don’t want to return to the regrets of not being around my grandparents in their last months, although it’s motivating several of my life decisions.
“But she’d want different for you, too.”
I catch Kath’s eye. She’s staring at me with the raised eyebrow stare that used to annoy Jem and me when we were younger. She always knew when we’d pilfered grandma’s silver cake sprinkles. “What do you mean?”
“You’re amazing for this cookery school and carrying on your sister’s work amiably, but it’s not what you want. I’ve tasted your practice bakes for Clive’s competition and seen the skills you teach the groups here. You need to start your own business again. When baking, you’re individual, creative, and in your own world. You’re a lone wolf, and your future should reflect that.”
I stutter to respond. It was often what I thought with Naughty Treats. I want to go it alone, but I don’t have the capital to start something like that again. I don’t want to do the competition with Clive. With the skills Garett taught me, I want to start my own business, but I can’t without the finances.
Kath jumps up. “Let’s get on because we’ve got busy weeks coming up.” She reels off the following days at the cookery school, ticking them off with her fingers as she does. “Wreath making the next three nights, then Friday we’ve got a ladies group in the day. On Saturday, we’re hosting a children’s party during the day, followed by more wreath making in the evening. Sunday is that Christmas meal cookery session for beginners. That was such a good idea of Garett’s. Of course people hosting for the first time want help.”
I nod absentmindedly. This competition with Clive could limit me rather than benefit me. But Amber and the babies need the money.
“Garett really seems to care.” Her words grab my attention.
“About me?” I squeak.
“About the school.” Her eyes soften, and some of the wrinkles around them disappear. “But he cares about you, too. Tonight was enlightening.”
I recall the teasing and the laughter. It pulls at my heart like the old wives’ tale of tying a string around a wobbly tooth and shutting a door to pull it out. “But it was fake.”
“It’s not how it looked to me, but then I’m an old lady with no knowledge of people.” I cock my head at her, and she laughs. She’s not fooling anyone. “But is anyone that good at faking feelings, especially a formerly grumpy chef who’s changed since you joined us? It appeared real.”
I shrug and turn away to hide the myriad of emotions reflected on my face. There were the public moments, but there was also his extra care when no one was watching, like when he slipped me a dark red flower to add to the wreath or ensured I had a glass of wine and sat comfortably before he sipped his. The glances and the occasional touch of hands were just for me.
A shiver crosses my shoulders as Flora stomps up to the hideaway. She eyeballs me suspiciously, and I recall how she glared at me the night we met.
“It was all for show,” I counter to Kath, my face flaming under Flora’s stare. “We’re friends, and he’s very good at doing the right thing. That’s all. He probably employed all his skills with his dog-stealing ex-girlfriend.” I laugh in an attempt to lighten the moment, but no one joins in. When we were together, he said he’d only had one-night stands, but I’m sure that meant in addition to his ex-girlfriend. I shake my head. I don’t like thinking about that awful woman who stole his dog. “But let’s talk more about Amber. I want your advice on how I can help her mood."