“I’m glad you’re here,” she whispered.
“Me too.” He’d wanted to see her again so badly, and while he really wished she weren’t sick, he was so glad that he could be here for her. And with her.
They lay there like that for a while, dozing and holding each other, before they finally got up. Ruby spent the day on the couch, alternately napping and watching TV, while he worked at his laptop at the desk in the corner. It felt disconcertingly comfortable, domestic even. And as much as he was glad to be here helping her, he had to grudgingly admit she’d had a pretty good handle on things on her own.
There was a chart pinned to the fridge with her daily medication schedule, including probiotics and vitamins, each one dutifully checked off after she’d taken it.
“Weren’t you supposed to be taking a break from lists on this trip?” he asked jokingly as he brought over her antibiotic and a glass of water.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “That rule pertained to my trip. I wanted to have an uncharted adventure, but I don’t mess around with my health.”
“I’d say you’ve had quite an uncharted adventure.” He leaned over to kiss her cheek as a wave of affection barreled through him.
Ruby snuggled into her blanket nest on the couch, smiling up at him from behind her glasses. Her hair was kind of a mess, her face makeup free and pale from her illness, and yet she looked so lovely, he could hardly draw breath. “I suppose I have,” she said. “I certainly didn’t see this coming.”
His phone began to ring. He swiped it from his pocket to reveal his mother’s name on the screen. “Be right back,” he told Ruby before he stepped into the bedroom and connected the call. “Hello, Mother.”
“Hello, darling,” she said. “I hear you’re in Paris?”
“And how did you hear that?” he asked, running a hand through his hair as he paced toward the window, wishing it was low enough to look out of. He felt a sudden kinship with the animals at the zoo, looking for a way out of their enclosures.
“Your father and Aidan spoke today about financial matters, and he mentioned you’d run off on him, chased a girl to Paris.”
“I didn’t run off on him. I had completed all the surveying work and gone over the initial renderings with him when a friend became ill, and I flew out to stay with her for a few days while she recuperates. Aidan’s project is proceeding according to schedule.”
“It’s just that you have a habit of doing this, Flynn. You lose focus before you’ve completed a project.”
“I’ve got everything under control, Mother.” He didn’t add that Aidan was the one who’d first suggested Flynn come to Paris, knowing that was beside the point his mother was trying to make. “I’ll be finished with this project on time, and I’ll be in Dubai on the first to begin work there.”
“All right, then. So, who is this friend you’re caring for?”
“Ruby Keller. You met her briefly at the Langdon wedding last week.”
“Oh? I thought you two had only just met that night.”
“We did, but we’ve remained in touch. She came down with pneumonia, and since she was so far from home, I offered to give her a hand while she’s recovering.”
“That’s very sweet of you,” his mother said. “Just be careful that you don’t get distracted from your work, that’s all.”
11
The sounds of the city awakened her, cars humming down the street outside and a church bell clanging in the distance. Ruby stretched, opening her eyes to peer at her surroundings. The blurry living room of the flat in Paris appeared in front of her, which meant she’d dozed off on the couch. Sometimes, it was hard to remember whether it was day or night when she slept so much. The one constant was Flynn, and there he was now, handing her glasses to her.
She slid them onto her face, and the room came into focus. “Thank you. What time is it?”
“Just past noon.” He sat beside her on the couch. “Feeling any better?”
“Yeah.” She pushed herself into a sitting position. This was the fifth day since starting antibiotics, the fourth day since Flynn’s arrival, and the medication was definitely starting to take effect. Her fever was gone, and her cough was beginning to ease.
“Ready for lunch?” he asked.
“Sure.” She wasn’t particularly hungry, but she knew she needed to eat to aid her recovery. “What do we have today?”
“I picked up some bread, meats, and cheese at the market this morning. I thought we could make a light meal out of it, if that sounds good to you.”
“It sounds perfect.” She sat up, coughing. “And actually, what do you think about making it a picnic?”
“A picnic?” A wrinkle appeared between his brows as he processed her request.
