“Maybe,” she answered, settling for a vague reply.
“That’s not an answer. Anyone I would know from a movie or something?”
Ruby nodded. “Yup.”
“You and I have led very different lives.”
“We have,” she agreed.
“We still get along pretty well. We make a good team.”
“Ethan, you are currently rowing us back to shore all by yourself because I am too cold to do it. How do we make a good team?”
He chuckled. “Sometimes, being in a good team is doing more than your share of what comes easy.”
Ruby was glad Ethan couldn’t see her frown. She was confused by his choice of words. She could have easily asked for clarification, but if she got the answer she hoped for, they would be entering a whole new kind of territory.
One where this relationship wasn’t just to placate her aunt anymore, but very much something she wanted for herself because Ethan was … Well, if she was honest with herself, Ethan was a whole lot of things she appreciated.
If she spent any more time with him, if she got to know anything more about the wolf, she was going to lose her heart to him.
That was basically a guarantee given the hips and hops in her belly as she sat on the bottom of the boat, Ethan’s body shielding her from the wind. It was a sweet and caring gesture that meant so much more than she wanted to admit to herself at that precise moment.
I am not falling for him.
Considering why she was on holiday, falling for a man wasn’t exactly in the cards for her.
Yet, there was something deep inside of her that was adamant she give it a shot.
I am not falling for him.
Asking herselfwhat would Aunt Portia dolike she did when she was a kid didn’t really help. That answer was simple. If Aunt Portia was into a guy as wonderful as Ethan, she would go for it and enjoy it while it lasted.
Then, when it turned sour as these things often did, Portia would mourn what she had lost, but in no time at all, she was back to being the fascinating Aunt Portia that Ruby had always looked up to.
“Ruby? Did your mouth freeze shut?” Ethan teased. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she replied. “Totally fine. Just thinking.”
“What about?”
She snorted. “That’s usually the woman’s line.”
“Is it?” he laughed. “Too bad. What were you thinking about? You got so quiet. Very unlike you. A man will worry his feet stink or something.”
She leaned down to sniff his feet. “It shows you’ve walked on the sand. That’s about all I can say. No smell, though.”
“I can’t believe you just did that,” he laughed. “I was making a joke.”
She turned to face him, blinking up at him. “I know, but I didn’t want you to keep asking me to tell you what I was thinking about. I needed to change the subject.”
“And why are you telling me this?”
“Because I think it was a mistake to change the subject.” She took a deep breath. “What did you mean, Ethan?”
The man was in her head. He didn’t even need to ask what she meant. He understood. “I’m not good with this stuff. The asking you out stuff.”
“What?”