Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
RUBY
The day you decide you like someone is weird. Like, I know all these things about this person. Good, bad, silly, whatever, and suddenly my brain is like, well, I think we should see them naked and also let them see you naked.
And then your heart races or your palms get sweaty when you see them. Suddenly, you’re thinking of them the moment you wake up, throughout the day, and before you go to bed, constantly checking your phone to see if maybe, just maybe, they were thinking of you too.
What is the science behind this? How does this happen?
And how in the world did it happen with me and Declan?
As soon as my eyes open, my mind is a jumble of thoughts.
This trip has turned into one of the sexiest weekends I’ve ever had. I’ll never forget the things we have done in the room, but also, last night was insane.
Somehow, Declan scored us a dinner at Hell's Kitchen. Normally, it has a six-month wait-list, but he called right after someone canceled, so we got lucky. Then he purchased tickets to the Cirque show right outside the restaurant.
It was the best spontaneous date I’ve ever had.
I mean, really, the only spontaneous date I’ve ever had.
We talked, we laughed, held hands, and kissed as if we were living a completely different life. It was us, but not us.
It’s all so … confusing.
I didn’t plan to want a boyfriend, and I know that a weekend of fun by no means is what we are, but I’m not stupid. I’ve developed feelings for this man, and I can’t deny it.
I turn onto my side to admire the man lying next to me. His large body looks like everything he would do is rough and intense.
I smile. Alright, so there is a side of him like that, but the rest of this man is pure kindness, and I can’t believe I resisted him for so long.
I missed out on getting to know the real him because I get so focused on other people’s opinions.
I had a hunch that knowing Declan would result in making me fall for him, and I wasn't wrong.
He’s everything I’d be looking for in a man.
But I guess it doesn't really matter, does it? Once we leave this room, we go back to who we were before we got here, because that was the deal we made two nights ago.
Well, minus the snarky comments from me.
I could never go back to that now that I know this side of him. The flirty side. The side that made me feel more confident in who I am than I have in years.
I close my eyes and roll to lay on my back.
This urge to snuggle against Declan right now, to hold his hand as we walk around this city again, across the airport, anywhere really, hits me in a rush.
It’s not practical.
We are simply two people who are attracted to each other and randomly got stuck in a room together with one bed who also happen to live together back home.
The tension from always being near the other was thick, and we weren’t strong enough to hold back.
It’s as simple as that.
I groan and press the heels of my palms into my eyes.
How many more excuses am I going to come up with for why I made the choices I made?
I like Declan. I think a part of me always has.
“I sure hope you’re groaning because our flight back to Lovers is today and that means we have to go back to our own beds tonight.”
I let out a soft laugh.
I might be now.
“Nope.”
I roll to my side, tucking my hands under the side of my face as I lie there and look at him. He rolls to his side, too, and studies me.
I smile, because when it comes to Declan Young these days, that’s all my face wants to do.
I like the way he looks at me.
I don’t want to like it.
The rush of emotions that comes with it is almost too much.
“Alright, what’s wrong then?” he asks and props his head up to wait for my answer. His eyes stare so deeply into mine, it feels like he’s trying to read my mind.
I shrug. “It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing. You can talk to me, Ruby.”
He reaches for my face, resting a hand on my cheek and leaning in to kiss me.
I let him, but then the worry sets in.
“You … you remember our deal, right?” I ask.
He pauses for another kiss and nods.
“Yep.”
And then he pulls back, flipping the sheets off him and getting out of bed. He has boxers on, but they are tight and leave little to the imagination.
“Good. Because, um, we…”
Why is his body so pretty? I mean, I work out, too, but I don’t have lines the way he does.
“If anyone is going to forget the deal we made, it's you because of the way you’re looking at me.”
I smirk.
“It's hard not to.”
He sits on the bed as he pulls his shirt on. I sit up so that we can talk face-to-face. “You’re still good to keep this all here, right?” he asks.
I nod quickly. That question alone is all I need to know that he’s not overthinking this the way I am.
“Of course, yes.”
“Good.” He nods and then climbs back into the bed with me.
I knew the outcome, but that doesn’t mean my heart doesn’t sink a little at how easily he makes all this out to be.
He swoops an arm around me and jerks me to his chest.
I wrap my arm around him and then crawl into his lap to get the deepest hug that I can.
“We don’t have to meet everyone downstairs for a couple of hours, so ...” He draws the last word out, so I finish the sentence for him, my stomach growling on cue.
“So, we should order room service.”
His laugh makes his whole body shake.
“That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
“I bet.” I smile, giving him a quick kiss before I get out of bed for the menu and give myself room to breathe away from him, even if for a split second.
“I think I’m going to get the blueberry pancakes with whipped cream.”
“Ask for extra,” he says with a wink, and my insides melt.
Being near him when we get home is going to be more than a challenge.
I’m praying I can handle it.
But until then, I want as much of him as I can get.
A belly full of food and three orgasms later, we somehow manage to make it to the lobby before the rest of the group, so I let myself lean into Declan for just a few seconds more.
I glance at my watch. We are ten minutes early.
“Should we go to the little shop and get the kids matching shirts?” I ask.
“To go with the two-pound bag of M&Ms we bought for them, sure, why not?”
I give him a playful shove, and we head for the store.
He comes up behind me, brushing his hand to my lower back.
“I love that dress on you,” he says. “Your eyes stand out when you wear it.”
I glance down at the blue maxi dress I chose for traveling today.
“This dress?”
He nods.
“I wear this all the time, and you’ve never said a word about it.”
“And have you bite my head off for admitting that I was looking at you, no thanks.”
I let out a laugh and nod.
“You’re probably right.”
Suddenly, he grabs my hand and pulls me deeper into the store toward the back corner. He spins me, but stops when we are face-to-face and he can capture my lips with his own. His fingers slide around my waist and over my ass, squeezing it.
I love that he loves my butt.
I shouldn't, because apparently, he only loves my butt in Vegas.
“I’m going to miss this when we get back,” he admits and rests his forehead on mine.
Then maybe I was wrong to suggest we leave it here.
Then he kisses me again.
There is a spark in his eye.
I open my mouth to suggest we be more, but again, he moves on as if it were that simple.
“Hey, do you think this means you’ll finally tell me why you didn’t like me for so long?”
“No,” I say quickly and turn to find a shirt for Max.
He's quick to grab my hand and pull me back.
“Please,” he begs, leaving it at just one word.
“You’ll laugh. Even I am aware of how silly it was.”
His grin widens, and I shake my head.
I want to be annoyed with him, but I can’t. Everything is different now. Before I was snappy. Now... every part of me wants to flirt with him.
“Don’t do that or I won't tell you.”
His expression immediately turns serious.
“I’m ready.”
“Okay,” I blow out a breath. “In school, I was smart.”
“Alright …”
“But the teachers loved to remind me that although I was smart, I was never smarter than Declan Young. Even though we weren’t even close in grade.”
His brows dip in confusion, so I jump straight to a few examples, with voices to go with them.
“Wonderful scores, Ruby, you’re right here in second place under Declan. So many votes on this one, but not as many as Declan Young. We almost have a school record with Ruby Asher, but she didn’t quite beat—”
“I think I get it.”
“But then,” I say, and he groans.
“There’s more?”
I nod.
“Then you moved back the same week as me and Max, and everyone in town just loved that you were back.”
“Same for you though.”
This time I shake my head. “I don’t think so. Everyone praises your day-to-day life, Declan. It was annoying. Here I am, a single parent who shows up for her kid and who owns her own business, too, but they only see me as the girl who …”
My words trail off as I think of how to phrase it.
“The girl who what?” Declan grabs my hand and pulls me closer to him.
“The girl who got pregnant and left.”
“No one thinks that, Ruby.”
“They do.”
“Well, fuck ‘em. Who cares what they think?”
“Me. Apparently.”
His gaze stays on mine for what feels like a lifetime.
Suddenly, I hear my brother’s voice.
Declan and I break apart, and I grab the first shirt I see in Max’s size.
I’d almost forgotten where we are and how this is supposed to be ending right here.
Just when it’s my turn at the register, Declan steps in front of me with his things.
“Now, now, Ruby, have you not learned anything?”
I grin, not having a clue where he’s going with this but eager to find out.
“I go first. Obviously.”
When he turns to pay, I let out a giggle.
Of course, only Declan Young can take the reason I hated him for so long, turn it into a joke, and make me fall for him even more.
He winks when he’s done paying and walks off.
I’m in so much trouble.