Ruby bit her lip. He was right. There was no way she could walk the five minutes to her apartment without dropping the tree again or seriously hurting herself. Or ruining her coat. She could call a friend, but her cousin Marley wasn’t able to lift heavy things yet after her surgery, and her friend Shayne had a photo shoot today.
“It’s fine. I can take it,” Ruby said, slipping off her coat and hanging it off her arm. “It’s only a five-minute walk home. I can—”
“Which way?” the guy said, the tree still on his shoulder.
“Which way what?”
“Which way ishome? I need to head back to work, so let’s get going.”
Ruby shook her head quickly. “Is this a pick-up, because I’m not looking for chivalry here.”
The guy actually huffed a laugh at that, which completely changed his face. This grump was very cute. His gaze swept from her heels to her white mohair scarf. “You’re not my type. Where am I taking this tree?”
Ouch.Ruby bit her lip. It was fine—based on how he was dressed, women in vintage red coats, Michael Kors shoes, and the perfect red lipstick for their skin tone weren’t his type. But to hear an exceedingly attractive man with the most amazing skin she’d ever seen say he wasn’t interested based on how she looked didn’t feel nice. Maybe he was one of those guys who thought girls with makeup and nice hair were “high maintenance” (carswere high maintenance… people wereworthit). Or more likely, it was Ruby perpetually sticking her foot in her mouth that had turned him off.
Ruby pointed to the grouping of condos in the distance. “I’m in there. Thank you.”
“Okay, let’s go,” he said, walking past her with a whole entire tree on his shoulder like he was a chimney sweep carrying a broom or something.
Ruby took a few quick steps to catch up to him while putting her coat back on. “I appreciate this a lot,” she said. “Did you say you need to get to work? Which is weird because you’re all dusty, so I assume you came from work? That’s dust, right? Or maybe it’s flour! I know a baker; she’s always covered in white when she’s working. She’s on maternity leave right now, which sucks because her bread is the best. Well, it doesn’t suck for her, because her baby is gorgeous.”
Ruby was rambling. Which she did when she was uncomfortable. Seriously, with her nervous motormouth, and her permanent foot-in-mouth, someone should really remove Ruby’s mouth. But then she wouldn’t be able to wear MAC’s Ruby Woo—a red lipstick so perfect for her skin tone that she was convinced it was named after her.
The man kept walking, focused on the sidewalk in front of him. It was hard to keep up and incredibly awkward to walk with someone holding your Christmas tree without saying anything at all.
“So… do you work around here, too?” she asked. He didn’t respond. This mystery lumberjack was a man of few words. “I mean, I assume you must. Oh! Do you work at the pet store!All that dust could be cat litter! I don’t have a cat—I move too often. But I want to get one. Maybe after I move to England. British shorthairs are so cute! Why do they look so different from North American cats? Like—”
“It’s not cat litter,” he said. “It’s drywall dust.”
“Oh. So, you’re in, like, construction? Cool! I work in the Distillery District. It’sgorgeousthis time of year, right? I love the Winter Market so much. It used to be called the Distillery Christmas Market, but they changed the name to be more inclusive, which is great. Not that I have anything against Christmas, but I mean, I’m all for inclusivity. I’m the manager at the Reid’s Holiday pop-up store. You know Reid’s, right? The department store in Yorkville? They have a mini store in the Winter Market only for the season. We have lots of gift-giving options, like designer ornaments, fragrances, and skin care. And services, too, like bespoke wrapping, custom gift baskets, and private shopping services for corporate clients. You should come by! I’d be happy to wrap some of your gifts for you, free of charge. As a thank-you for carrying my tree! You don’t have to shop at the store for wrapping…” Ruby’s voice trailed off. She hoped he didn’t think she was implying that he couldn’t afford to shop at Reid’s. Because she didn’t mean that at all. The store was expensive, but she knew people in construction could make good money, especially if he was a skilled tradesman.
“You work in a Christmas store?” he asked.
Ruby nodded. “Reid’s Holiday. I know it’s not the most original name. But… seriously, you should come by with gifts you need wrapped so I can repay your kindness.”
He shook his head, making his blue beanie drag against the needles of the tree on his shoulder. “I don’t celebrate Christmas.”
Ruby laughed awkwardly. “Oh, I don’t either. I mean, not religiously. But I love this season! We have non-denominational wrap, too. And some Hanukkah paper, and Eid—”
“I don’t doanyholidays.”
Ugh. She’d offended the lumberjack. But as usual, her mouth didn’t know when to shut up. “But gifts don’t have to just be for holidays, do they? You must have someone in your life that deserves a ‘just because’ gift! I love giving people little things for no reason, you know? To show you have their back. It’s like—”
He turned sharply to face her again. Thankfully there was no one behind them, or he would have hit them with the tree.
“Do you always talk this much?”
Ruby gave an awkward smile. “Yes. You’re taking my tree all the way home, and it would be rude if I said nothing, wouldn’t it?”
The guy stared at her for several long seconds again before turning back around and pointing to the building in front of them. “That yours?” he asked.
“Yeah. Um, you don’t have to bring it upstairs for me or anything. I mean, I can have the building concierge help.”
He didn’t respond. He climbed the two steps to the entry and rested her tree next to the door. “You can take it from here,” he said, already walking back down the stairs and away.
“Wait,” Ruby called out. The guy turned back to her. He was still frowning. Such a shame. The guy was breathtakinglygorgeous when he had laughed for half a second. “Thanks again for helping me. I really appreciate it,” She smiled. “I think… I think maybe that was fate. I mean, if you hadn’t found me, I’m sure I would have spent the rest of my birthday in the ER with a broken back. And I meant it—if you work nearby, come see me at Reid’s Holiday so I can repay your generosity. I’m Ruby, by the way.”
“My mother taught me to never leave a woman struggling. Happy birthday, Ruby,” he said, that small smile appearing on his face for a moment before he turned and walked away.
