“Do you use this room much?” she asked. It seemed too formal and didn’t suit him at all.
“Hardly ever. I almost didn’t have it included in the plans when I had this place built, but I figured I might want to entertain sometime.”
“So, where do you usually eat?”
“Standing at the kitchen island, mostly.”
“You had this place built?”
He nodded. “Yep. I can give you a tour after dinner if you’d like.”
“I’d love that.”
As they ate, he asked her questions about herself, just like he did when he came down to the bar for a drink in the evenings. It started out simple enough. She told him about her love of animals and music. But he started to probe for more details about her life, and she ended up sharing the whole story of small-town gossip that led her to move to Misso City.
Ruby had always been an open book, and she didn’t mind sharing this stuff with Owen. She wanted him to really know her. The problem was that he didn’t give as good as he got. When she asked him about himself, he was cagey, responding in the simplest terms or just being vague. He changed the subject twice.
It was frustrating. She wanted to get closer to him, but he was making it impossible.
When they finished eating, Owen put their dishes in the sink, insisting that he’d deal with them later. It was time for that tour.
Owen led her through the downstairs first. He had a home office, which she found surprising, considering how much time he spent at the restaurant. He showed her the bathroom and finally, at the back of the house, he opened a door to reveal a massive home gym.
It was no wonder this guy was in such good shape. He had just about everything a person could need here. Treadmill, elliptical machine, weights, and a chest press. The floor was made of blue rubber and there was a wall of mirrors on one side of the room. It looked like a professional gym all for one person.
Ruby spotted a punching bag hanging from the ceiling, and strolled over to it with a grin. “So, I guess we’ve solved the mystery of how you look like that.”
“Like what?”
She rolled her eyes. He had to know what she meant. He wanted to hear her say it. “Come on, dude. Your body looks like it was carved from stone. Like a Greek statue or something.”
He looked amused as he crossed his arms over his chest, making his biceps bulge. “Is that so?”
She slapped his hard arm and gestured to the punching bag. “Do you know how to fight?”
“Enough to get by. I’m not much of a fighter.”
He was lying. She wasn’t sure how she knew it, but she did.
“Teach me,” she said impulsively. “Show me some moves.”
“Why?”
“Why not?”
He hesitated for a moment. “You could get hurt.”
She took his hand and pulled him to an empty spot on the floor. “I trust you.”
“You have terrible instincts.”
It was said as a joke, but she could see sincerity in his eyes. She tightened her grip on his hand, trying to tell him without words how she felt about him, that she meant it when she said she trusted him.
“Show me a few things, just in case someone gets handsy at the bar again.”
“That guy won’t be coming back,” Owen said darkly. He dropped her hand and came to stand in front of her. “But I guess I could show you a few things.”
Ruby raised her hands in front of her like a boxer, making fists. Owen grinned.
