"I..."
He stood up and faced her, his gaze moving over her beautiful face again.
"I know I want to spend more time with you, too."
She nodded, slowly.
"I think I should change my clothes first." She looked over her shoulder at the windows and Nick knew she was looking back at her house. "I think it's best that Katie not know that I stayed over last night."
Nick felt a muscle tick in his jaw. He wasn't upset about her words. He was happy to hear it, actually. He just didn't like the idea that anyone would have something negative to say about Ruth or his family.
It also showed how much Ruth cared about Katie.
"I think if she knew you'd slept here, she'd probably turn... what are those things called?"
Ruth's smile was infectious as she lowered her chin just a tiny bit. "Cartwheels?"
Nick snapped his fingers. "That's what I was looking for."
Ruth leaned in and brushed a kiss across his cheek. "I'll be back after I shower and change." She took a step away and he grasped her hand, tugging her back for a kiss.
A real kiss.
Ruth had to poke him in the shoulder to get him to let her go. "If you don't stop that, Katie's going to come back and I'm going to be standing here looking like a rumpled jacket."
"Best looking rumpled jacket I've ever seen."
Ruth shook her head. "Those pick-up lines are-"
"Old? Like me?"
She rolled her eyes. "You're hardly old and decrepit."
He let go of her hand again and she took a few steps away, pausing at the side door.
"I like silver foxes though. The salt and pepper hair does it for me."
She opened the door and stepped out, but he couldn't just keep his yap shut.
"Just the hair?"
He saw more than a flash of humor on her face as she shook her head. "You're everything I've ever wanted, Nick. I... I hope that doesn't scare you, but I'm so glad we got to get to know each other."
Before he could say a word to her, she was gone and he was left smiling to himself.
She might not know it or accept it quite yet, but he knew Katie already wanted to make her a part of the family.
He might have fought it for a bit, unsure of how it might work, bringing someone new into the family.
But he should have trusted Katie more.
She might be younger than he was, but she'd always had a good head on her shoulders, something he could put squarely on her mother's shoulders.
After all, he could and had been pretty dense about the whole thing.
"I just can't wait for Katie to tell me-"
"That I told you so?"
