Chapter Twenty-Five
Ruby
I attempt to lock the salon doors behind us as Alayna and I head out for the night, but the stupid key gets stuck. I jerk it out, and sigh. "Always on a weekend…"
“I’m so glad we close early on Saturdays,” Al notes. “All I want to do right now is take a bath, curl up in bed in my air-conditioned room, and finish this book I’m reading.”
After fiddling with the key another minute, I'm finally able to lock the door and slide the key out slowly. “Contemporary or fantasy?” I ask, already knowing Al will choose a romance novel.
“Fantasy this time. There’s mystery and political intrigue mixed in, too. High stakes and all that.”
“Sounds intriguing.”
“You’re so punny.”
My laugh is cut off when Dash pulls up to the curb.
“Your white knight, milady.” Alayna’s eyebrows dance as she cuts a glance my way. “Do I officially get to meet him as your best friend and not just your colleague this time?”
“Of course.”
Dash steps out of the vehicle, rolling his shoulder slightly, then stalks up to us like he’s every bit the white knight Al described.
His gray T-shirt stretches taut across his broad shoulders, leaving his impressively sculpted chest on display.
My eyes cling to the way his biceps flex as he lifts his hand in a wave.
“Good evening, ladies.”
“Hey,” I say, accepting his hug. Every cell in my body screams for me to keep him close and inhale the scent I’ve come to know as his, but I pull back for Alayna’s sake.
“Dash, I’d like you to meet my best friend, Alayna.
Alayna, this is Dash.” My boyfriend, my brain supplies.
But I can’t say that out loud. Because, while we’ve kissed and gone on an official date, we’ve never quite defined our relationship.
Besides, boyfriends don’t live hundreds of miles away.
Boyfriends state their intentions from the outset.
Don’t they?
I brush the uncomfortable thought aside and smile.
“It’s nice to meet you, Dash.” Alayna offers him a handshake, which he happily accepts. “I’ve heard so much about you in such a short period of time.”
I give her enough side-eye to warrant a visit to my eye doctor.
“It’s great to meet you,” Dash says, his polite demeanor never faltering. “Ruby mentioned how grateful she is to have a friend like you helping her at work.”
“Aw, well, that’s sweet.” She releases Dash to lean into my side. “She’s a keeper, this one. Even if she is a bit of a workaholic.”
“That’s okay, I can relate.” Dash offers me a warm smile.
“Speaking of,” Alayna cuts in, holding up a single finger.
“Do you happen to have any more single hockey friends looking for love in DC? Because”—she holds out her hands like she’s offering herself up on a silver platter—“I’m single and ready to learn all about a sport that I’ve only ever read about in romance books. ”
My jaw flaps open.
“They write about hockey in romance books?” Dash seems genuinely surprised.
“Um, duh.” Alayna tuts. “Hockey romance is one of the hottest genres right now. Think rough-and-tough players, possessive declarations. Even the game play draws interest from romance-obsessed readers. Believe it or not, we like to learn new things from our books.”
Dash nods like he’s processing her word vomit.
I tug on his arm. “We’d better get going if we don’t want to be late.
” I have no idea where we’re going or what Dash has planned tonight, only that we’re spending time together.
But I can’t let Al pressure him into setting her up with one of his hockey buddies all because she’s envisioning some kind of fictional whirlwind romance taking place.
Dash must sense my urgency because he dips his chin. “Right. We’d better get going. It really was great to officially meet you, Alayna. Hopefully we can chat more soon.”
“Oh, we will!” Al chirps. “I have no doubt of that. You two have fun.” Al waves us on as she skips down the sidewalk.
Dash opens the passenger side door for me to slip inside the car. “She’s nice. And clearly into books.”
I shake my head, laughing. “You have no idea. But please ignore the whole I’m single, set me up comment. Sometimes I think she forgets that reality isn’t exactly like fiction.”
“Noted.” Dash closes the door. Seconds later, he’s in the driver’s seat. “I do have single friends in hockey, you know. It’s just that most of them are back in Utah.”
“Right.” I twist my hands in my lap, refusing to dwell on my and Dash’s reality.
That this romance can only ever be short-lived.
That though we shared the sweetest, best kiss of my life, I’ll have to say goodbye to him in another week.
But I don’t want to entertain those thoughts right now.
All I want is to enjoy him while he’s here.
“So where to?” I say, hoping to change the subject.
“How does watching fireworks sound?” He tosses me a smiling glance before pulling away from the curb.
I gasp, delighted. “Did Beck tell you I love fireworks?”
“No, I just thought it might be romantic. You and me, snuggled up on a blanket in the dark…”
A shiver runs through me at his low-spoken suggestion.
“I’d love that. But who has fireworks a week after the Fourth?”
“A small town about thirty miles north of here,” he says confidently. “It only took a twenty-minute internet search to find it.”
“Oh, wow. You’ve got it all planned out.”
He aims a slow smile my way. “We can grab a bite to eat first. I’m sure you’re hungry after a long day of work.”
“I am,” I admit. “Saturdays are always busy. I only took a ten-minute lunch.”
“Well, let’s get you fed first, then, shall we?” He flicks on his blinker before pulling out onto the road.
“I’d like that.”
“I found an Italian place that makes cannoli almost as good as my mom does.”
A wide smile breaks free. “Sounds great. Though I’ve never had cannoli before.”
His mouth pops open in shock. “Oh, Tinsel. Please allow me the pleasure of introducing you to cannoli.”
Am I imagining it, or does everything he’s saying tonight sound scandalous? I suppress another full-body shiver. “Whatever you say. You’re clearly the one in charge here.”
“Ruby, Ruby, Ruby.” Dash makes a low sounding growl in the back of his throat. “Don’t tempt me with a good time.”
All right. This time, I’m sure I’m not imagining it. But I’m not the least bit concerned. I know I’ll be taken care of and respected by Dash wherever he takes me.
“Okay,” he says brightly. “Cannoli first, fireworks second.”
“I’m yours for the night, DiFranco.” We share a long, heated look. His uttering flirty promises, mine making a bold declaration: that whatever tonight has in store for us, I won’t let my reservations about our future hold me back.
***
After eating at the Italian restaurant and bringing our dessert with us, the drive to the small town Dash mentioned takes nearly an hour with traffic.
But it’s spent talking with him about his life growing up in Ohio, how he got drafted to the league, and his dad’s influence on his hockey career.
Of course, he’s asked me similar questions in return, but my life isn’t nearly as exciting as the one he’s led up to this point.
I could spend all night talking to him about his family, his interests, even his pet cat, Jersey. Apparently one of his neighbors back in Utah is caring for her while Dash is away. The only downside is, the more I learn about Dash’s life, the more I long to be a permanent part of it.
But even with the new boldness flowing through me, I can’t tell him that.
I went into this knowing it wouldn’t last long, yet still craving all that Dash makes me feel.
And since he hasn’t exactly said where all of this is going, I won’t either.
I’ll simply soak him in while I can and be thankful for the experience.
Dash parks the car in a packed lot marked Fireworks Parking, then helps me out of the car, the bag full of our cannoli-to-go dangling from his forearm.
“I can’t wait for you to try this,” he says for probably the fifth time as he gestures to the bag.
“It better be as good as you described, DiFranco, or else I’ll never believe anything you tell me.”
He scoffs. “Oh, it will be. And if it’s not, I guess we were never meant to be.”
I force myself to laugh through the pit of anxiety his words create.
“Let me just grab the blanket from the trunk.”
“You came prepared.” I smile, thinking of all the work he put into this date.
“Only the best for you, Tinsel.” He shuts the trunk and returns to my side. “Shall we?”
I stifle the giddy smile that wants to take up permanent residence on my face while around Dash and accept the hand he offers me.
We start toward a large grassy knoll filled with people, looking for a good spot to sit.
We navigate through a sea of red, white, and blue pride, even though the actual holiday was a week ago.
“How about over there?” Dash points to an area where trees line the outskirts of the crowd. It’s behind most of the people, giving us a small measure of privacy.
“That spot looks cozy.”
“That’s what I’m going for.” A thrill shoots through me as he runs a hand down the length of my back.
“All right, let’s go.” When we reach the spot, Dash lays out the blanket and sets our bag of dessert on top.
A warning flare bursts in the sky, startling me.
“Looks like the fireworks are about to start.” Dash lowers himself onto the blanket, and I can’t help but notice the way he seems to favor his left shoulder.
Before I can ask what that’s about, he’s removing our dessert from the plastic bag and handing me a fork. “We’d better dig into this before it’s no good, yeah?”
I join him on the blanket, scooting close enough that our hands touch.
Dash breaks off a piece of the creamy dessert with his fork before offering it to me. “You first.”
My eyebrows lift. “You’re going to feed me?”
“If you’ll let me.”
Tentatively, I open my mouth, nervous I’ll look ridiculous chewing in front of him. He carefully places the piece on my tongue, and the flavors melt into a frenzy of goodness.
“Mmm,” I hum, covering my mouth with my hand. “This is delicious.”