Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
DECLAN
Setting the rules last night was a good idea.
It was something we should have thought about doing before Susie and I actually moved in, but as we discussed, there are going to be a handful of moments when we need to make a ruling as they arise.
I jog up the stairs, the image of Ruby in her pajamas last night still on my mind.
It was a random pair of sleep shorts and a short-sleeved T-shirt.
They weren’t even matching. They weren’t revealing.
I mean, sure, the shorts were short and maybe if she moved in a certain way I’d have seen more, but everything about it was pretty modest. Which turned me on even more. She revealed just enough to tease.
The part that turns me on the most is the fact that she doesn't even know how beautiful she is.
She’s smart, creative, and loves her kid with all her heart.
I guess there are a lot of things about Ruby Asher that turn me on.
And then she invited me to watch a movie with her.
Innocent. Everything about it, yet my mind instantly went to how I haven’t done something that mundane with a woman in more than a year. Maybe even two.
And I wanted to. In fact, I want to—
“You’re kidding me, right?”
I spin from making coffee to see the woman who has been on my mind all night long glaring at me, her arms crossed, hip cocked to the side, and a scowl on her face. She’s wearing the same pajamas she had on last night, but now they are wrinkled. Thoughts of her lying in bed cross my mind.
I don’t need more images of her in my mind.
As her eyes take me in, the scowl morphs from annoyed to … hungry.
Fuck. This does it for me, too.
“Are you just going to stand there like”—she gestures up and down my body—“that?”
I glance down at my sweats and bare feet. I flip my ball cap backward and match her stance, only I’m leaning on the counter.
“You’re going to have to be more specific. I’m a smart man, Ruby Asher, but it seems I have no idea what’s going on when it comes to you.”
I’ve never spoken truer words.
“Gross, is that a pickup line?”
“A pickup line?” I repeat. “This proves my point. I have no idea what’s going on right now.”
She huffs and marches into the kitchen, nudging me with her hip, so she can take over making the coffee.
“What’s going on is, you seem to enjoy walking around in nothing but a pair of sweats. I never said anything when we were at your house or in your space, but this is two mornings in a row.”
She’s counting?
“I have a hat on.”
“I’m aware.”
“Sooo, the problem is …”
“You need a shirt if you’re going to be standing in my kitchen.”
“Oh, is that a rule we made last night and I forgot?”
“It’s a rule I made just now because I didn’t know that I needed to make it a rule last night.”
I grin as her gaze slips to my pecs, pausing just long enough for me to catch it.
“Is this a new rule because I’m actually shirtless or because you can’t seem to stop sneaking a look at my naked chest?”
She sighs, and even though I know it shouldn't, it makes me smile.
“I’ll go put a shirt on, but save me some coffee.”
“Thank you.”
I jog down the stairs to retrieve a shirt and then return to the kitchen to find Max at the kitchen island, eating a bowl of cereal shirtless.
Alright. Alright. So she had a good point.
“Morning, Dec,” he grins.
“Morning, Maxwell.” I ruffle his hair. “Where did your mom go?”
“Um, she said she needed a cold shower.”
“Did she now?” I pour myself a cup of coffee and then make myself a bowl of cereal. We eat in silence until Susie comes up the stairs.
“Oh wow,” Max says, his eyes wide.
My daughter’s hair is a wild mess. I do not doubt that there are tangles in it. It’s a normal sight for me, but I understand the shock on his face.
When she was younger, she wore a ponytail every single day for a year. Maybe more. Any other hairstyle was a fight that I tried to avoid every morning, so the quickest style I knew how to do was a simple ponytail.
Brushing a young girl’s hair is an experience all on its own.
Thankfully, she manages it mostly on her own now.
“What?” Susie asks, grabbing the box of cereal and sitting next to him. She reaches her hand into the box and pulls out a handful.
“A bowl, Susie, please,” I say, and she rolls her eyes before getting up to get one.
“Your hair,” Max says and then looks at me. “Is it always like that?”
“In the morning, yes.”
“Don’t be mean,” Susie says just as Ruby walks back into the kitchen. Her hair is pulled into a messy bun on her head, and she is wearing makeup.
That was a quick shower.
“Can you do my hair like yours?” Susie asks. Ruby pauses.
“Oh, um, I’ve never done someone else’s hair before.”
“What about Max’s?”
Ruby pours her coffee. “His hair is short and easy to style.”
“Oh, okay.”
Susie’s shoulders drop, and she hangs her head.
Ruby looks at me.
I mouth it’s okay, but I can see in her eyes that’s not enough.
“Can I watch a YouTube video or something first?” My daughter's face lights up as she nods.
“Dad, show her the ones you like.”
Ruby’s little side smile makes my heart skip a little.
I like it when Ruby smiles at me.
It makes me feel like I did something right, and that’s a rare moment in her eyes.
“I’ll text you a couple of links,” I say.
“I’ll go change while you look at them,” Susie announces and races down the steps.
My phone alerts me just then.
Shit. I forgot I had this call this morning. I meant to get Susie up earlier to be ready to go to the library where I could work and she could play or take her tablet as backup. I was clearly distracted.
“Is everything okay?” Ruby asks.
I hold up my phone.
“With all the changes in the last week, I forgot about a Zoom meeting I have in thirty minutes. It’s probably going to take an hour or two.”
Ruby doesn’t miss a beat.
“What does Susie do when you’re working?”
“If she is not with Max, she’s watching TV. Sometimes we go to the coffee shop or the library and she colors or—”
“What if she came with me and Max today? We are just going to be out for a couple of errands and then to The Marina to hang out with Shay on the beach around lunch. We debated hiking the trails at one point, too. She’s more than welcome to join us.”
Her offer cuts off my train of thought.
“You want to watch my daughter while I work?”
She waves a hand in front of her face. “Oh, please. Once these two get going, it’s hardly watching anyone. They entertain each other.”
She’s right, but still, that was not my intention with this arrangement at all. But the temptation of all the work I could get done knowing Susie is taken care of and having fun is big.
“I … I didn’t move in here for you to become my babysitter.”
“I know,” she says before I can say more. “But I know what it’s like to juggle a work-from-home job and a kid all on your own. Take it while you can.”
“I’d love to, but it’s boys’ night, too, and I would feel awful asking someone to watch her for this and then ask someone else again for tonight. It’s—”
“Fine with me. I’m here anyway, Declan. Relax.”
My phone buzzes again—my lead manager back in Chicago reminding me of the meeting and asking whether I have the reports he sent me.
“Okay, yeah. If you’re positive.”
“We are,” Max answers for her and then pushes away from the table. “Susie!” he yells as he races down the stairs.
“You might have your hands full today,” I say and stand up.
“I’ll manage.”
“Well, thank you.”
She nods.
I rinse my bowl out and place it in the dishwasher, glancing over my schedule. She’s watching me.
I don’t comment on it though. She’s doing me a favor, and I’m not about to rock that boat, but a part of me is going to wonder all day long what’s going through her mind.
And as much as I want to know, I do know how lucky I am right now.
The sooner I prepare for this meeting, the sooner it will go and if I’m lucky, the closer I’ll be to owning Collins Corp.
My meeting lasts three hours.
Three.
Hours.
I come upstairs to see what Susie is doing, but the house is empty. Only a note from Ruby that says they left, about an hour before my meeting was over, and that they will be gone for a few hours. Leave it to Ruby to leave a note instead of texting me.
She despises texting me.
That gives me two full hours with nothing on my plate.
I start by cleaning the dishes in the sink and placing them in the dishwasher. Then I wipe the counters down. Then I vacuum.
That takes up a whole hour of my time, so I make a sandwich for lunch and head back to the basement to see what I can clean there.
It isn’t much. Ruby keeps things clean.
So I settle for more work until I hear the patter of feet upstairs a couple of hours later.
I race up the steps to find my daughter.
I crave time for myself, but the moment I get it, I wish she were here with me.
“Dad!” Susie calls out and runs to hug me.
I beam, hugging her back.
“Wow,” I say. “Look at your hair.”
“Isn’t it the best? I think Ruby just replaced you as the one who does my hair.”
“Well,” I say, “we can take turns. I mean, if she’s up for it.”
Ruby is smiling, so that’s a good sign.
“It was just two French braids down the sides, nothing fancy.”
“Nothing fancy,” I repeat. “There are hardly any stray pieces falling around her face, giving her that wild child look.”
Ruby laughs.
“I had a paste, and it seemed to work.”
“I need to know what it is so we can buy some.”
“I’ll go get it!” Max cheers and runs up the stairs.
Susie follows him.
After they are out of sight, Ruby turns to me. Her skin is sun-kissed, and her smile is contagious. “I’m sorry we were later than my note said. The kids were having so much fun, and I didn’t want to ruin it by making them come home.”
“It’s fine. It looks like she had a good time.”
“She did. I have pictures I can text you later.”
“Great.”
“When do you leave for boys’ night?”
“Just under two hours. Do you want me to cancel?” I ask without hesitation. She’s had Susie all day.
“Nooooo,” Susie says as she comes down the stairs. “You can’t cancel boys’ night. We have plans, Dad.”