The By Request Collection. Kate HardyЧитать онлайн книгу.
for him to appear again.
He didn’t.
A knock at her door made her jump. She clicked off the TV and rose from the sofa. Her mind still on Trace, she walked to the door and looked through the peephole. It was Brooks. Seeing him on her doorstep caused her belly to stir immediately. He always made her forget all about Trace and the heartache he’d put her through.
She opened the door and stared into smiling, deep blue eyes. He held a bunch of flowers in one hand and a lavender box from Cool Springs Confections in the other. “Hello, Ruby.”
“Brooks, come inside.” She ushered him in before someone spotted him with date night goodies in his arms. She scanned her yard before closing the door, thankful that no one was in sight. She had no business being alone with Brooks, but she wasn’t about to throw him out, either.
He stood just inside her cottage and grinned. “You look uptight, Ruby.”
If it wasn’t for the light in his eyes, she might have been offended. “Thanks to you. You really shouldn’t be here.”
“I do a lot of things I shouldn’t do. These are for you.” He handed her a dozen beautiful white roses and the box of chocolates. “Listen, I’m not courting you. Well, not in the usual sense.”
“Not in any sense,” she pointed out.
“Still, we’ve been thrown together and it’s been...amazing.” He pushed his hand through his blond hair as he struggled for words. “I don’t know. I had to come. To give you something nice, something you deserve. The way you had to run out from the office after we made love didn’t sit well with me.”
“Thank you, Brooks. But you don’t owe me anything. As you said, we’re not dating. We never could be, and I did what was necessary.”
“I’ve learned never to say never, Ruby.” He glanced at her arms loaded with his gifts. “You want to put those flowers in water?”
“Uh, sure. Follow me,” she said, leading him into the kitchen. She set the box of candy on the table and then opened a cupboard door. “They really are gorgeous.”
“I’m glad you like them.”
“I don’t remember seeing such perfect white roses this time of year in Cool Springs.”
“They’re not from Cool Springs. I had them flown in from Chicago.”
She craned her head around. “You didn’t.”
He shrugged and gave her a simple nod. Her heart beat a little bit harder.
“My florist is known for his perfect roses. Cool Springs didn’t have anything that comes close.”
She kept forgetting he was a zillionaire. He probably did this kind of thing all the time for the women in his life. Though that might be true, the sweet gesture and the trouble he’d gone through weren’t lost on her. “It’s nice of you, Brooks.”
She found a crystal vase, an heirloom from her grandmother, and filled it with water. Arranging the flowers, she placed the vase in the center of her glass-top kitchen table. “Here we go.”
“It’s a nice place you have here,” Brooks said.
“It was my father’s house, and I’ve sort of made it my own.”
Once Ruby was old enough to make changes, she had redecorated the place, adding modern furniture and window treatments that aligned more with who she was. The cottage wasn’t rustic anymore but had a bit of style and flair. She enjoyed living here when she wasn’t at her apartment in town.
“I can see your personality here,” Brooks said.
Why did he always know the right thing to say?
“Then I’ve succeeded. It was a labor of love decorating the cottage.”
Brooks looked down at the box of candy on the table. “I hear Cool Springs Confections makes a pretty good chocolate buttercream candy.”
“That’s what they’re known for. Want to try one? I can make coffee, or—”
“Sure, I’ll try one. And coffee would be great.”
“Have a seat. I’ll get the coffee going.”
“Can I do anything?”
“Grab two mugs from the cupboard above the stove.”
“Sure thing.”
A few minutes later, she poured two cups of coffee and sat down with Brooks at her kitchen table, realizing this could be dangerous. Spending time with Brooks always seemed to be, yet he was easy company and someone she truly liked. She opened the box and glanced at a dozen luscious candies. “It’s going to be hard to choose. Here’s a buttercream for you.” She pointed it out and he grabbed it.
“I think I’ll try the raspberry chocolate,” she said.
“Is that your favorite?” he asked.
“It is.” She didn’t wait for Brooks. She took a big bite and let the soft, creamy raspberry center ooze down her throat. “Oh, yum.”
Brooks grinned and then downed his candy in one giant swallow. “Wow, that was good.”
“Have another,” she said. “I’m going to.”
They sipped coffee between bites and managed to polish off half the box of chocolates. Brooks took a last swallow of coffee and then set down his mug. “We’re not going to talk about what happened in the stable?”
She replaced the lid on the box, stalling for time, and then finally replied, “No. I don’t think so.”
“So we just pretend there isn’t this thing between us.”
“We don’t have to pretend anything.”
“All right,” he said, rising and reaching for her hand. “No more pretending we’re not hot for each other, Ruby. The truth is, I can’t stop thinking about you.” He gave her hand a tug, lifting her from her seat. He was deadly handsome, but more than that, he wasn’t playing games with her the way Trace had. With Brooks she felt special and cared for, and maybe he was what she needed to get over Trace. She’d protected her heart and would continue to do so, but she had Brooks on the brain lately. She knew he would eventually go back to Chicago. He belonged in the city, and her place was here. Maybe they could keep things light. “I came here only to give you the flowers, Ruby,” he said. “I had no ulterior motive.”
“Really? I thought you needed a good reason to down half a box of candy.”
“That, too.” But the truth was in his eyes, and her heart did that thing it did when she was with him. It spun out of control.
She lifted herself on tiptoe and placed a soft kiss on his lips. “You’re sweet.”
He growled from deep in his throat, a desperate sound that resembled exactly how she was feeling right now, and then his gaze fell to her mouth. His eyes darkening, he backed up a step and put some distance between them. “It really was about the flowers, Ruby. I’d better go.” He turned and headed toward the door.
Seeing him retreat put thoughts of the lonely night ahead in her mind. “You don’t have to go,” she blurted the second he reached for the doorknob. “I mean...you don’t have to rush off. I was just going to pop a movie in and kick back. If you care to join me, I have popcorn.”
“That was the deal breaker,” he said, his lips twitching. “’Cause if you didn’t have popcorn, I was out the door.”
“Go sit in the living room, Galahad. I’ll be right in.”
“Thanks—and oh, I like lots of butter.”
She rolled her eyes, and he laughed. “Anything else?”
“No, just you and the