“Oh, we’re just, you know, having fun. Nothing serious. A fling.”
Reena laughed, then looked lovingly at her husband, who was sitting in the living room holding a martini glass. “Hey Nadim, remember when we werejust having fun?”
Ruby rolled her eyes at her friends. “You know I’m leaving town in two weeks, right? It isn’t serious.” She wasn’t sure if she added that last sentence to tell her friends or to remind herself.
“Does he know that?” Marley asked taking a burfi from Ruby. “Because the way he looks at you isn’tnot serious.” She took a bite. “Oh, man, these remind me of your mother.”
“I agree,” Reena said. “He’s besotted. I can’t believe that’s the same man who scowled through the Santa Claus parade. He’s wearing a Christmas sweater! Maybe he’s hoping you’ll stay in Toronto. Or come back.”
“It’s a holiday vest,” Ruby said. “And he’s leaving Toronto, too… probably a month after me. He’s only helping his sister here temporarily.”
Amira shrugged. “He told Duncan he’d come see his hockey tournament in Toronto at the end of February—so he expects to still be here until then. Also, weirdly, they were talking about going to the ballet together.”
The front door opened then. “Looks like the men are back, smelling like motor oil and rubber,” Shayne said loud enough for them to hear.
Anderson laughed as he walked over to Shayne and put his arm around his waist. “It’s an electric vehicle, and you love the smell of motor oil, so what are you complaining about?” He kissed Shayne on the lips.
Rashid joined Ruby and casually put his hand on the small of her back. When she looked up at him, he kissed her on her forehead before taking a burfi from her tin, then whispering in her ear, “These are the best things I’ve ever tasted.”
Shayne put the movie on soon after that, and people were mostly quiet while watching it. Rashid seemed to be enjoyingCarol—but that could be because it was barely a Christmas movie. After the movie ended, Shayne put on some Christmas music. “Present time! I’ll hand them out. Who needs a new martini first? We can do espresso or eggnog martinis.”
Everyone found seats in the living or dining room. Still wearing his Santa hat, Shayne went through each gift under the tree and handed it out. Ruby was glad she’d decided to get things for her friends, because it seemed everyone got her something. Last year she’d only had gifts from Marley and Shayne.
Even Rashid had a gift. His eyes were wide as Shayne handed him an ornately wrapped package.
“Oh,” Rashid said. “You didn’t have to do this! You only found out I was coming yesterday!”
Shayne waved his hand. “Do you honestly think I would let someone leave my Caroling party empty-handed?”
Everyone opened their gifts at the same time. Shayne’s gift to Rashid was a DVD copy ofCarol. Ruby laughed at that, remembering that Shayne had given her the same thing last year. She wondered if he bought them in bulk.
The gifts Ruby received were all UK or travel themed, which was thoughtful. Some packing cubes, a tourist book on things to do in London, and a new toiletry travel bag with small fillable bottles that had tiny droppers.
“So you can have all your serums and lotions on the flight!” Marley said.
“You know,” Rashid said. “All you’ll need is a rich emollient cream with—”
Ruby put her hand over Rashid’s mouth to shut him up. Okay, he wasn’t acompletelydifferent person.
He kissed the hand that was on his mouth, making Ruby laugh. Everyone loved the gifts Ruby had bought, too. Shayne put his tie clip on immediately, and Marley squealed at the glass teapot and floral teas that Ruby had chosen for her.
It was pretty late by the time all the presents were opened. After helping clean up, Ruby called an Uber to take her and Rashid back to her house.
“Did Ebenezer enjoy that holiday party?” Ruby asked after they were in the car. “I see some seasonal glow on your face. Or that could be Shayne’s glitter spray.”
He laughed. “Yeah, actually Ididenjoy myself. Your friends are a riot. They’re a really eclectic bunch. I can see why you get along so well.”
“Yeah, I only met most of them when I moved here just over a year ago. It’s shocking how close we’ve all gotten.”
“Why shocking? How much time do you think it takes to get attached to someone?”
Ruby didn’t answer that question. She wasn’t sure if he had intended the subtext—he and Ruby had only known each other just over a month, and they were clearly quite attached to each other. He may not have meant it about them, but that was all she heard. This was a fling, but she was already thinking about how hard it was going to be to walk away. When the car dropped them off in front of Ruby’s building, Rashid paused instead of going inside with her.
“I haven’t had a drink for a few hours,” he said. “I can drive.”
“So… you’re not coming up?” Ruby frowned. That was why he’d left his car here, wasn’t it? So he could spend the night.
“Do you want me to come up?” He looked at her with his intense gaze. What was he thinking? Did he know that Ruby had been terrified about how addicted to Rashid she already was?
