I throw on jeans, a tank, and a ratty hoodie and am in my car within minutes. St. Anthony’s is in Frisco and only a couple miles from my house. Turning my head to check for cars at the stop sign, my hair rustles from being frozen. The irony of racing to see Neal with wet hair doesn’t escape me.
My phone rings as I’m parking, and the screen says the call is from Nika.
“Hi.”
“Ruby, where are you?”
“In the hospital parking lot. What happened?” I slam my door and walk briskly toward the entrance.
“I don’t know for sure. Neal was really confused and not making sense. From what I gather he was on his way to see you, and a drunk driver hit him. He kept saying he had to talk to you and tell you something important, but wouldn’t say what.”
“Okay. I’m inside. I’ll call you later.” I click off my phone and approach the front desk.
An older woman in a poor excuse for a uniform shirt is behind it, reading an electronic device. “Hi, my boyfriend was in a car accident and brought here. I just found out. Neal Morgan. Can I see him?”
A keyboard clicks as she says, “Hang on, let me find him in the system.” She stands and says, “Let me go get a nurse. I’ll be right back.”
Now that I’m here, I want to leave. I can’t sit, so I start to pace the waiting room. Carpet designed for heavy traffic is hard under my feet as I pass the burnt orange, brown, and olive upholstered chairs. Who picks these colors? Could they be any more depressing?
The reality is Neal will probably be just fine, and all I’ve done is force myself to deal with his cheating. Anger begins to boil in me as the half a cup of coffee in my stomach sloshes around as if it’s acid. I pull out my phone and open up his texts. I scroll down to the first one.
“Please let me explain why Bianca was in my shower.”
“I don’t know what you think you saw, but Bianca was only borrowing my shower because hers is broken.”
“Love, please talk to me.”
There’s more, but I’m interrupted by a hand on my shoulder. It’s the woman from the front desk. “What’s your name?”
“Ruby.”
“You can see him now. He’s been asking anyone who’ll listen to make sure they let you in.” She smiles and adds, “He seems quite smitten.”
A glimmer of hope flashes in my mind. Bianca’s shower was broken? I definitely didn’t go there with my thoughts. But that doesn’t explain why Neal took one, too. We push through two doors to enter a vinyl-floored hallway. Fluorescent lights throw color off and add to the surreal sensation I’m experiencing.
Was I really an emotional girlfriend last night with an ego as fragile as thin ice? My self-berating thoughts vanish when we enter a room and Neal’s mouth turns up in a small smile. He holds his hand out to me. “Ruby.”
I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. “Neal, what happened?”
Warm fingers grasp my hand, and I place the other on a cold metal rail as he speaks. “Bianca was changing a keg and couldn’t get the seal right.”
“I—” I try to interrupt and say I was asking about the accident, but he keeps talking.
“It was spraying everywhere, and I went to help. By the time I fixed things both of us were soaked in beer. We went home to shower and change, only when Bianca tried to turn on her shower, the handle snapped off. She came over to use mine.”
“I’m an idiot. I thought that—”
“I know.” He squeezes my hand. “I understand how it looked that way. I also understand we act based on past experiences. Love, I’m not Trevor.”
I nod and whisper, “I’m sorry.” Did I assume he was just like Trevor? I did, and my heart aches that I didn’t trust the man who has never given me a reason not to.
Oh, no. I touch my lips at a realization. “You got in the accident because you were coming to see me.” Oh, God. What if he had died? What if things were so much worse than a concussion?
Neal shakes his head. “No. Don’t go there. What happened isn’t your fault.”
“But it is. I was being a stupid girl and throwing a hissy fit when I should have let you explain.” I squeeze his hand. “How could I have been so stupid? I’m sorry I didn’t trust you.” My cheeks heat up with embarrassment.
“I’ve had time to think about this, and I don’t think you were being a stupid girl.”
“No?” I furrow my brow. Because I’m horrified at the way I acted. I’m not the type to do drama, and that’s exactly what I created.
“Ruby, stop. Stop thinking you’re an awful person. If I saw Trevor come out of your apartment in just a towel and then you came out of your bedroom getting dressed, I might have jumped to the same conclusions.”
I’m not convinced that’s true, but I do know this man wants to ease my shame. I step closer to stroke the stubble on his cheek. “I’m not sure what you see in me. You’ve never given me a reason not to trust you, and yet it took me seconds to believe the worst. I know you wouldn’t have done the same thing. You would have let me explain.”
“And if something like this happens again, you will, too. We old guys just have more experience.” He pulls my hand to his mouth and kisses my palm.
“Oh, Neal.” I trace the cheekbone I love to sketch. “When do I get to spring you from this place?”
“I’m not sure. They gave me a CAT scan and said they wanted to keep me for observation.”
I scan his body but don’t find any visible injuries. “Does anything hurt?”
“My head and my chest where the seat belt was. I’ve got a red welt that will probably be a bruise.”
“What happened?”
He explains how a drunk driver came into his lane and he tried to swerve out of the way but because of the speed he couldn’t in time. We have air bags and German engineering to thank for his minimal damage.
“How long do you have to stay?”
“I’m not sure but at least through the day. Want to keep me company?”
“I’m not going anywhere.” Neal hasn’t let go of my hand, and his thumb is rubbing the back of it. I say, “I’m not sure how you came into my life, but I can’t believe I’m this lucky.”
He pulls my hand to lay it over his heart. “It’s more than luck. Believe in us, Ruby.”
“I do.” I lean down and kiss him.
Chapter 39
Neal isn’t going anywhere today, but unfortunately I have to. The concussion has made him confused, and the doctor said he shouldn’t be making any important decisions for a few days. I’m stepping in to do the necessary things Neal does every day for his businesses.
My first task is to make the cash deposits. It’s not going as quickly as I had hoped because everyone wants to hear what happened and how Neal is doing. Plus, I have to make sure the managers know to call me if there’s an issue that needs attention. I’m crossing my fingers there isn’t, because the idea of making big decisions in Neal’s absence terrifies me.
My last stop before the bank is Stone Soup. They don’t serve lunch, and I park in a nearly empty lot. A large ring of keys jingles as I search for the right one to let myself in. A cleaning crew is here, and a vacuum roars as I make my way to the small back room where the bartenders cash out at the end of their shift.
A utilitarian desk is in the middle of the closet-sized space, and a large safe is set in the corner. Getting the money has been interesting. Neal gave me a list of combinations for each business, but so far none of them have been right. The numbers seem to be correct, but they aren’t in the proper order.
The managers all have access to the safe at their establishment, and I’ve had to call each one. I don’t even bother to try at the restaurant and call Bianca as soon as I shut out the noise of the cleaning crew.
“Hello.”
“Hi, Bianca. This is Ruby.”
“Oh, hey, I heard about Neal. Is he okay?”
I stifle a sigh of annoyance at having to relay the story one more time. “He’s fine. But he�
��s got a concussion, and the combination to the safe he gave me is wrong. I need to make the deposits, could you give it to me?”
She chuckles, and for a moment my insecurities make me think she’s laughing at me. “You’ll be able to remember this one. It’s your name if you assigned a number to each letter of the alphabet. That’s how I memorized it. 18-21-2-25.”
The combination to Stone Soup’s safe is my name? “That’s kind of sweet.”
“Kind of? It’s freaking adorable. He’s so into you, it’s not funny.”
I squash my knee-jerk reaction to say it isn’t so and reply, “What a nice thing to tell me, thank you. As you can imagine, Neal won’t be working for a couple days. You can call me if you need anything.”
“Will do. And Ruby?”
“Yeah?” I twirl a pencil with my fingers, and it rasps against the fake wood desktop.
“Thanks for making Neal happy. He’s a lot more fun to work for these days.”
Wow. “He makes me happy, too. Thanks.”
Driving to the bank night deposit box, I’m feeling accomplished when my phone rings. “Hello.”
“Ruby, it’s Lisa. The goat cheese guy is here with a delivery, and I don’t have a check to pay him. Can you come do it?”
A check? Crap, I don’t have it. “Be right there.”
I make a U-turn and call Neal. It’s New Year’s Day. Who delivers on a holiday?
“Hey, love.”
“Hi. I need to get a check for the goat cheese guy. Where do I find one?”
Neal answers, “In my desk in the Wine and Cheese Shop office. The key for it is next to the front door one for that business.”
I cross my fingers he’s right. “Great, thanks. Gotta go.” I know I’m being short, but I bet Neal understands.
As I drive downtown, my phone rings again. “Ruby, it’s Jed.” Jed is the manager at Down Under. “The dishwasher is on the fritz again, and Neal usually can fix it. What should we do?”
Great. Like I have a clue how to fix a dishwasher. “Do you have a plumber or a repair guy that you call?”
“Yeah, but Neal hates how much they cost and won’t do it unless he has to. Especially on a holiday. “
I sigh. “I know, but unless your dishwasher can keep up cleaning things by hand, I think you have to.”
Jed says, “Okay. I’m on it. Thanks.”
“You got it.” I’m beginning to see why Neal is on the phone all the time.
I pull into my parking spot and almost swear when my cell rings again. This time it’s a tenant with a broken window who got my number from Jed. I tell her to board it up with cardboard for now, and I’ll call when I have an appointment with a glass guy to fix it.
After I pay for the cheese I’m finally on my way to the bank again when my phone rings and makes me wonder how quickly I can get a headset for calls.
It’s Neal. “Hey, love. How’s it going?”
“Oh, my God, is it always like this? I’m running around like a crazy woman.”
“Yeah, sometimes it can be. What’s going on?”
I give him the Cliff Notes, and he assures me I’m making good decisions. It could be the head injury talking, but I pretend he’s right. I say, “By the way, I love the combination for Stone Soup.”
“Oh, right. Yeah, I changed it the day after we had dinner and I drove you home.”
I snort as I park in the bank lot. “I guess the drunk me made quite an impression.”
“No, that’s the day I realized I was in love with you.”
Oh, my God. My phone beeps with another call. “You’re making me blush, but I’ve got to go. It’s Bianca.”
I don’t wait for his reply and switch over to her.
“Hey, Ruby. Mathias, the chef, thought Neal might like a decent meal. He says he’ll make a picnic for you two if you want to stop by and get it on your way back to the hospital.”
I hold back the manic laugh that threatens to come out, and say, “That’s a lovely idea. Tell him thanks, and I’ll be by when I can.”
Once I hang up, I decide I can run triage just as easily over the phone driving to Frisco as I can in Breck and everything will be fine. I’m not sure I’m cut out for this and think it’s going to be a long few days covering for Neal.
After I put out a few more fires, I’m on my way back to the hospital. My stomach growls as I glance at the picnic on my front seat. Mathias explained, in great detail, what’s inside, and I exerted great willpower to keep myself from telling him to hurry up and not eating everything the moment I got in my car.
I call Neal to let him know I’m on my way. When he answers, I say, “How do you manage to look so good all the time? I’m sweating, and I might have a bald spot from pulling out my hair.”
“It doesn’t seem so crazy when you do it all the time.”
“Yeah, well, I’m never going to complain about being bored in my shop without customers ever again, because the pace you keep is insane.”
“I would be insane if I had to be in a quiet shop all day, that’s why we’re such great partners. We each have our strengths.”
“I guess. Anyway, I’m calling because I have something yummy from Mathias for you. I’m on my way with a picnic.”
“Hallelujah. I was about to order takeout.”
I chuckle and imagine he’s not joking. “I’ll be there soon. Someone’s beeping in.”
As it turns out, I end up dropping off lunch for Neal and racing back to Breckenridge to deal with another crisis. I get the call to pick him up early in the evening, and when he comes to me with a picnic basket in his hand, I pray food is left over, because I haven’t eaten anything other than the apple I swiped earlier.
I wrap my arms around his waist and inhale the slightly ripe odor of Neal. “Being you today was overwhelming.” I glance up at him. “I’m not cut out for this much interaction with people. I don’t think I really like them.”
Neal grins down at me. “Tell me all about it.”
In the car on the way home, I catch him up on the day’s happenings. I want to groan when I think about having to do this for a few more days, but he swears today was unusually crazy.
Neal’s warm hand is holding mine as we walk slowly up the steps to his apartment. “You may not like my job, but you handled it really well. You’re resourceful.”
“Growing up it was only me and my mom, and she had to work to support us. Over the years, I learned how to do things around the house that needed to be done instead of depending on her. She nurtured it in me.”
He pulls me into his apartment. “Remind me to thank Rachael again for raising you so well.”
I think about the sweet things Neal does for me that could easily go unnoticed. I stand on my tiptoes to kiss him and say, “Remind me to do the same when I meet your parents, because they raised you well, too.”
Chapter 40
The doctor suggested Neal not be alone tonight and that I should watch him for an unusual behavior beyond general concussion symptoms. But there’s nothing unusual about the way he’s kissing me. He’s still in a towel from his shower, and the spiced soapy scent that I associate with him is tempting me to do more. His warm fingers move up my back to remove my shirt, and I remember the doctor’s instructions to avoid heavy physical activity.
I push him away. “You’re not supposed to exert yourself.”
There’s a twinkle in his eyes when he says, “I also shouldn’t experience extreme stress, and if I can’t be with you tonight that will be extremely stressful.”
Neal grabs the hem of my shirt and yanks it over my head. I lift my arms to let him. “Then perhaps I should do the heavy lifting.”
His eyes widen, and I let out a deep breath as I scan his body with my gaze. “You should let me seduce you.” I place my hand on his chest and push him gently backward toward his bedroom.
“Yes, I think you’re right. The first step is for you to get out of those clothes.”
“Uh-uh, I’m the seducer, you’
re the seducee. Shut up.”
He tightens his mouth, as if he’s holding back a secret.
I nod with my head, and the button on my jeans is warm in my fingers as I work on taking them off. “Go sit on the bed.”
He scrambles on it like a child in trouble, and it makes me snicker. Moving my pants down over my hips slowly I make sure to bend and give him a nice view of my cleavage. Stepping out of them, I lift a bra strap off my shoulder and move closer. I turn around and ask, “Unhook me please?”
Neal’s breath against my skin makes a small shiver run through me as he leans forward to brush his lips over my shoulder blades. I sigh and then catch myself. “Oh, no you don’t.” I whip around in mock anger.
His eyes get big in pretend fear as he plays along. I slither out of my bra and toss it behind me. “Lie down.”
Neal moves himself back on the bed and does as I command. I place a knee on either side of his thighs and slide my finger under the towel still around his waist. His stomach trembles at my touch. “This really must go.”
I yank at the thick fabric and lay it open, revealing his long, hard cock. “Oh, my.” Licking my lips slowly, I let out a low sound and bite my lower lip. “The things I can do to you.”
Neal reaches down to touch himself, and I bark out, “No. Nobody touches what’s mine.”
His eyebrows rise up. “Mine?”
I grip his hardness. “Uh-huh, mine.” And I lower my mouth to drag my tongue along the length. He hisses in response, and I take as much of him as I can. Neal’s hips buck up as I suck and move up and down to please him.
I glance up to find his eyes on me, and he says, “So good, love. So good.”
When his hands push at my head to stop me, I rise up. He asks, “Let me touch you.”
The power I have over him right now is a heady sensation, and I reply, “Not yet.”
I stand with my feet sinking into the plush velour comforter near his chest. Tugging my panties over my hips, I ask, “Do you have any idea what I do when I’m alone in my bed at night?”
Exposed: New Adult Sport Romance (The Boys of Winter Book 5) Page 19