She stood there while he walked around her and to the door.
He opened it up and stepped outside, but just before he closed the door behind him, he heard Ruth's voice reach him from the center of the room.
"I would have let you."
CLICK
The door closed and he went to bed with a hard on that forced him to sleep on his back.
Yeah, he was already halfway gone for this woman, and he hadn't even kissed her yet.
CHAPTER FIVE
RUTH
The world turned upside down the instant she agreed to a date with Nick.
It really was an easy decision. He was... Nick.
Tall. Handsome. Built like a big, huggable teddy bear. Just the kind of man she wanted to snuggle up with and... do things to.
Pretty much the man of her dreams.
Well, except the chip he'd had on his shoulder when they'd first met. He'd given her more than a cold shoulder at first. He'd barely looked at her.
It was his daughter Katie who'd welcomed her with her smiles and laughter.
Katie who'd kept contact with her.
Mostly under the watchful eye of her oftentimes scowling father, but Katie's sunshine was worth it.
It was like finding a light in the middle of the dark forest.
She loved baking. Loved people, too.
She just wasn't good with people.
She valued her quiet too much and only had the social battery of an off brand AAA, one that emptied too quickly to be of use in anything. Baking filled up that battery.
Katie did, too.
And Nick?
He was like a super charger. One touch. One tantalizing smell of his skin and was ready to take on the world.
Well, sort of.
She might get there someday.
Her worry was that she'd burn out or spontaneously combust.
A soft knock at her bedroom door turned her head and she saw herself in the mirror above her chest of drawers. Her face looked like she'd been standing in front of the hot stove for hours!
Ruth lifted her hands and gave her cheeks a patting down for a moment before she realized she was likely going to bring more color up then soothe it away.
Another knock. "Miss Baker?"
Ruth lowered her hands to her sides and walked toward the door. "Katie?"
