Ruby shook her head. “No. I thought about doing mine and my mother’s birth flowers, but in the end, I didn’twantit to mean anything. I went with what I thought was pretty and what would make me happy every day, not sad.”
He smiled as he touched the big pink peony on the base of her right breast. “It’s stunning. I could look at you all night.”
Ruby raised a brow. “Seriously, dude? That’s not what I signed up for when I invited you up here. And why are you still wearing clothes when I’m buck naked?” She reached into her nightstand and took out a box of condoms, then tossed it at Rashid.
He laughed and started unbuttoning his dress shirt. Ruby didn’t remember ever feeling so comfortable with another person in bed. Laughing so much. As soon as his clothes were off, he climbed on top of her, kissing her deeply.
Honestly, the whole night exceeded all her expectations. She should never have put the brakes on this last week.
Because now Ruby was quite sure that thanks to the good Dr. Hakim, she was going to have the absolute best holiday season of her life.
AFTER RASHID THOROUGHLY WORSHIPEDRuby, and she gave him his fair share of worship, too, he spent the night in Ruby’s tiny apartment. She hadn’t expected him to—she assumed he’d go back to Jasmine’s. But after they’d soaped each other in Ruby’s shower—where he’d kindly bit his tongue about the shower gel she used on him—he got right back into her bed wearing nothing but his boxers and moisturizer (he gave in and used her illuminating body cream because he said he couldn’t shower without hydrating his skin) and motioned her to join him. They were in constant contact as they slept—first spooned together, but when Ruby got a little warm and rolled over, he rested his hand lightly on her bare hip. Ruby was sure she’d never slept that soundly in years.
But when she woke up and felt him still sleeping next to her, she had a full moment of panic as everything they’d done the night before came back to her. What the hell had she been thinking? She couldn’t blame getting caught up ina moment—she had been the one to instigate getting physical. What happened to keeping that solid line of friendship between them? To not jeopardizing the twins’ holiday season by complicating their relationship?
Ruby exhaled. The heavy weight of his hand on her hip reminded her how spectacular the sex had been last night. Actually, better than spectacular. She shivered, remembering his intensity and the way he looked at her body. He’d not only accepted her somewhat lopsided reconstructed breasts, but called them beautiful, even with their tattoos.
But at no point between the hand foreplay during the ballet and passing out in each other’s arms had they talked about what they were doing. She had no idea what he wanted. Was he expecting them to be a couple? Maybe this was going to be a friends-with-benefits situation? If circumstances were different, there was no question in Ruby’s mind what she would want—she would happily jump headfirst into a relationship with Rashid. He was thoughtful, kind, and so incredibly sexy. He was complete boyfriend material.
But circumstances weren’t different. She was leaving town in a few weeks. And even if she changed her plans (which she had no intention of doing), he was leaving a month after she did anyway. It was the absoluteworsttime to be getting into a relationship.
The hand on her hip was suddenly moving. And like at the ballet last night, the man’s hands had the ability to turn her insides to complete goo. There was a definite plus to sleeping with someone who understood her anatomy.
But she knew she needed to put a stop to those talentedhands before she climbed on top of him for more of what they’d done last night. She couldn’t be Impulsive Ruby now. She couldn’t risk everything—the twins’ holiday season, her mother’s dream, or her friendship with Rashid—by not approaching this thoughtfully and with maturity. She put her hand over his wandering fingers, locking them in place.
“We should talk,” she said. Then she exhaled. She probably should have started withGood morning. MaybeThank you for all the orgasms last night. Instead, she awkwardly said the phrase that started most breakup conversations.
She heard him sigh. “Okay. Coffee first?” he asked, sitting up. “Wow. It’s almost eleven. Brunch?”
Ruby hadn’t realized how late it was. At least she wasn’t working today.
Taking the bedsheet with her to cover herself, she got up and searched for a robe.
“You regret last night,” Rashid said, voice flat. It was a statement rather than a question.
She looked at him. He was uncovered on her bed since she’d taken the sheet with her when she got up. She’d known he was athletic and he played hockey back in Calgary. It had been such a treat to feel his strength last night. But now, seeing his muscles and smooth skin on her pink bedsheets in daylight… she looked away.Focus, Ruby, she told herself.
“No,” she said. “Honestly, I don’t regret anything. I just… I want to regroup. Talk about our expectations before things get awkward. Brunch sounds perfect. We can probably get a table at that Egyptian place I was telling you about, if you’re interested.”
He swung himself out of bed and nodded. “Sounds perfect. I’ll take a three-minute shower if you don’t mind.”
They were lucky to get a table at one of Ruby’s favorite restaurants, a cute place that specialized in Egyptian brunches and was absolutely filled with natural light and plants. When they were seated, Ruby ordered a cardamom latte and Rashid an Americano. Ruby wasn’t usually a coffee drinker, but after last night, she needed the energy boost.
While stirring a pale brown sugar cube into her fragrant coffee, she smiled at Rashid. They’d barely spoken on the way here—and when they did it was only about things like traffic and how lucky they were that the restaurant didn’t have much of a line.
After ordering their meals, Ruby finally started the difficult conversation. “Okay… I mean, I wanted to talk… I feel we should—”
He smiled at her. “Relax, Ruby. It’s me.”
She exhaled. “Yeah. I’m not sure what you… you know…expect? Maybe last night was a mistake because I don’t want—”
“You don’t want to complicate things between us, you mean?”
Ruby nodded and took a sip of her coffee.
“So… does that mean you want alongengagement?”
Ruby literally spit cardamom coffee out of her mouth, which made Rashid laugh, and Ruby realized he was kidding. Ugh. Her grump was actually a shit disturber. She wiped her mouth and shook her head. “You’re trouble, Rashid Hakim.”
