Ruby shook her head as she walked toward the door to get her boots. He’d already done enough for her tonight. He’drescued her with no hesitation when she called him in tears. He turned what was easily one of the worst days of her year into one of the best. Spending the evening with Rashid, Jasmine, and the girls was exactly what she’d needed.
“The car is almost here,” she said. “The snow has stopped. I’ll be fine. I had a great time tonight. I think I love your sister.”
He chuckled. “Everyone likes my sisters more than me.” He held out her red coat.
Ruby laughed as she buttoned the coat, then reached up to give him a tight hug. “I think both Hakim siblings I’ve met are pretty great,” she said in his ear. He smelled so good—he wasn’t wearing cologne, but just smelled clean, and likehim. She inhaled deeply before letting him go. “Thank you so much. For dinner, for letting me vent, and for subjecting yourself to that movie. You… you don’t know how much that helped.”
He squeezed her hand a second, warm eyes locked on hers. “Anytime, Ruby. That’s what friends are for.”
WHEN WEDNESDAY CAME, RUBYrushed straight from work to the small Japanese restaurant where they’d decided to have dinner before the ballet. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw Rashid sitting between the girls in a round booth near the back of the restaurant. He seemed to be showing them pictures from the menu, helping them decide what to order, and he lookeddevastatinglyhandsome in a black suit with a charcoal dress shirt and no tie. For a man who claimed designer clothes were a waste of money, he certainly did know how to shop. Ruby watched the three of them for a few moments before joining them. She was just sohappyto see them. It had only been three days since she’d had dinner at Jasmine’s house, but Ruby was growing so attached to this little family. She felt a pang of sadness that it would all end so soon. This was their third outing, which meant there was only one left. And her flight was in less than three weeks.
She took a deep breath. She should be grateful she had them in her life now, instead of dwelling on the ending. She tookout the small gifts she’d bought for the girls—brown-skinned ballerina Christmas ornaments—put a smile on her face, and joined them at their table.
The girls loved the ornaments and played with them all through the meal. After eating, the four of them walked over to the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts and headed straight to their seats. There were a lot of families in the audience, and everyone was in festive clothes. Very soon after they sat, the house lights lowered, and the ballet started.
The show was spectacular. Ruby was mesmerized from the moment the first dancer leapt onto the stage. The music, the artistry, the beauty of it all gave her goose bumps. She loved being transported into the fantasy land with fairies, animals, and the most spectacular dancing she’d ever seen in front of her. She had no idea if Rashid was enjoying the show as much as she was. But gauging by how silent and focused he was for the first half of the show, he was either enjoying it even more than Ruby expected, or he was in absolute misery.
At intermission, before she could even ask if he was enjoying the show, Rashid leaned into Ruby and whispered, “Holy fuck, that was amazing.”
Ruby grinned. “You enjoyed the Christmas ballet?”
He nodded vigorously. “The dancers are spectacular. I could’ve watched the Snow Queen all day. Girls, what did you think?” Ruby had Tara next to her, and Rashid had Noor next to him. He’d explained that they needed to be separated, otherwise they’d talk through the whole thing.
After the girls expressed their delight even though they’d seen the show last year, Rashid nodded, his face still full of awe.“I wonder if we can get tickets to come back next week? Is all ballet like this?”
Ruby laughed as Rashid opened the program to see what other shows the National Ballet was performing. His enthusiasm was… Well, it was like hers when she found something she enjoyed. And the girls were excited, too.
After the intermission was spent with the girls talking about which characters were their favorite and which costume they wanted to wear for Christmas, the second half of the show started.
Now that Ruby knew that Rashid was loving the show, she watched him out of the corner of her eye while she also watched the ballet. He was so focused, but he had this tiny, almost imperceptible smile on his face—one that she’d seen a few times now. This was his content expression.
And it perfectly reflected how she was feeling, too.Content.December was her favorite month. No matter where she was, she’d be surrounded by joy, beautiful things, and happy families overflowing with love. And even though she didn’t have a happy family or that overflowing love, she always felt good being around others who did.
But she didn’t remember ever feeling like thisduringthe holiday season—like she belonged. Like she was actually participating in the joy, instead of just witnessing it around her.
Was it only because of Rashid? Maybe. Or maybe it was because of Rashid, Jasmine, Tara, and Noor. And also, Marley, Reena, Nadim, Shayne, and Anderson. Her well was full this year—the fullest it had ever been.
But it was mostly Rashid.
How had this happened? How had she gone from dislikingthis man so much, to only putting up with him because his father could help her, to feeling like he was the best gift that the universe had ever given her?
Him.Not his father or his hotel manager sister. How had Rashid come to mean more to her than almost anyone else in the world? With his crazy soft skin and tiny content smiles. She watched him enjoyingThe Nutcrackerand was overcome with affection. Maybe even more than that. She was feeling things that she hadn’t felt for someone in a long time. Maybe ever.
After that kiss, she had said they were better as friends, but why? True, she was leaving Toronto soon, but so was he. And maybe that was a reason to lean into this attraction instead of pretending it wasn’t here. They both knew it would be temporary, so it wouldn’t get in the way of their futures. Ruby should be making the best of her time now and not let her last days in Toronto slip through her fingers.
Without saying anything or even turning to face him, Ruby reached over and put her hand on Rashid’s. He turned to her immediately, one brow raised in question. Ruby answered his unspoken question by lightly running one manicured fingernail down the back of his hand, then taking her hand back and resting it on her own leg, which was covered in a soft red Badgley Mischka dress.
Rashid leaned close to whisper in her ear. “What did that mean?”
His voice sent a shiver down her spine. Even in the dark theater she could see his eyes full of confusion… but also heat. She bit her lip, then leaned close so her lips were an inch from his ear. “It means I might be regretting the friends-only deal.”
Rashid blinked, then immediately put his hand over Ruby’s. But he didn’t lightly stroke it like she’d done to his, or even just hold it. No, Rashid lavished her hand with attention, slowly rubbing it and tickling the tender skin between her fingers. He found the tiny bumps on the top of her hand and ran his fingertips over them. When his hand moved to her leg, it became downright erotic. His eyes were on the stage in front of them, but his fingers on her hand and thigh were making her feel things she shouldn’t be feeling while at a family-friendly ballet performance.
The moment the dancers stepped forward to bow after the performance, Rashid’s hand left Ruby’s so he could clap. He still didn’t look at her, which was fine. The house lights came on, and Ruby hoped no one noticed how warm and flushed she felt.
That hadn’t been like any other handholding in a theater. That was foreplay. And Ruby had no idea if Rashid planned to finish the job his fingers had promised.
After navigating the crush of people leaving the theater, the four of them made their way to Rashid’s car, and he strapped the girls into their seats. He seemed normal. Ruby’s mind was going a mile a minute, analyzing that little dance their hands were doing and wondering what he was thinking now, but she played it cool and asked the girls who their favorite dancer in the second half of the show was.
