I sat at the table and ate while she continued to work on the frosting in the mixer, stopping every now and again to either check her recipe on her iPad, or take a bite of her pizza. We talked about different things. How long she’d lived in the apartment, her job, and how her wild, party animal sister had ended up a vice-principal. Then the conversation turned to my family.
I told her the version of how Dominic and Payton had met at a bar, the story I’d believed until the night my sister had called me from the Federal building. Ruby listened with interest as I explained how Payton had gone on a whim to Japan where Dominic worked, and wound up falling in love.
“Sounds like he’s a nice guy,” Ruby said.
“He is. He makes my sister very happy.” I finished my piece of pizza and grabbed another. “It’s worth mentioning I’m better looking than he is, in case he ever brings it up. We have a bet—”
Her stirring strokes slowed. “When would he bring it up? We’re not dating.”
Fuck. I couldn’t believe I’d walked right into that. My girlfriend might meet family, but she wasn’t that. She was my partner. “I meant, in case he decides to pop in on my place unannounced like Payton did. Let’s just hope it’s not when I’m fucking you against the window in my living room.” I grinned. “Although you’d probably like that, wouldn’t you?”
A half smile was her only answer as she resumed her stirring.
I’d made a huge misstep and was grateful I’d been able to correct it.
The conversation was easier after that. I listened as she explained what she was doing and the detailed process of making the macarons, and enjoyed watching her enthusiasm. I liked her pride when she sandwiched the lemon frosting between two yellow cookie shells and presented it to me.
“I get the first one?”
She nodded.
The macaron was more delicate than it looked. I took a bite, surprised at how soft and chewy it—Oh my God.
“Shit, that’s good,” I said, my mouth still half full. “This is really, really good.”
She laughed. “Thanks. I’m glad you like it. Now is when I break the news to you I have one more batch to make.”
Disappointment flashed through me, and was gone just as quickly. I could make that work. “All right. What can I do to help?”
Doing dishes wasn’t the sexiest job ever, but she had opened a bottle of cabernet, fed me pizza and two of her lemon macarons. If having clean bowls ready for her would speed the process along, I was all for it.
When the dishes were done, she was still whipping egg whites in her stand mixer and measuring out sugar on a scale. She didn’t seem to notice when I slipped from the room and grabbed my bag. I went on a self-guided tour of her apartment and discovered the bathroom across the hall from her bedroom.
As I changed, I glanced around the small room. The clutter of makeup and hair products was contained neatly in a wire mesh basket. Otherwise, her bathroom was clean. What a change from her time at school. She’d been kind of sloppy then. She wasn’t quite that girl anymore. Ruby seemed more pulled together these days. More focused, and with a harder edge.
Was it self-centered to wonder if I had anything to do with that?
I left my clothes folded on the side of her bathroom counter and returned to the kitchen, where she was sifting the flour into a bowl. She didn’t seem to notice my reappearance until I set my bag on the chair. She glanced over her shoulder at me, and then did a double-take. Amusement froze on her face as she stopped what she was doing and gave me her full attention.
“What. Are. You. Wearing?”
“I thought I’d help with the baking.”
Surely she’d never smiled so big in her life. “What happened to your clothes?”
“I didn’t want to get anything on them.”
“Isn’t that what the apron’s for? Oh my God, I’m dying. I can barely look at you.” She giggled. “That’s amazing.”
I’d checked myself out in the mirror before leaving the bathroom, wearing the lobster apron and claw shaped oven mitts, and nothing else. It was funny to me, and her reaction was even better. And at least the kitchen was hot from the oven, so my bare ass wasn’t cold.
“Where did you get that?”
“A white elephant game at my sister’s Christmas party.”
She bit her bottom lip as her gaze dipped down to where the apron stopped. It was just long enough to cover my junk. “You naked under there?”
“Why? You want to see my lobster roll?”