Shacking Up(39)

"Did you?"

I nod. "I told her we could play poker against each other all the time and she was sold."

Ruby laughs. "She's a card shark?"

"She was."

"It sounds like you're close."

"We were. She passed away last year." I'd been away at the time and almost missed the funeral, much like I'd missed a lot of things relating to my family. That's why I'm glad to be back in New York.

"I'm so sorry." Ruby reaches out and puts her hand on my arm, giving it a soft squeeze.

"Me, too. She was a great woman. She was the mastermind behind the whole hotel empire, although my grandfather took all the glory for that. Anyway, when we were cleaning out her place I found the answering machine and took it. It was one of those things . . . I should probably get rid of it, but . . ."

"I think it's sweet."

"Hardly anyone calls me on that line. My mother sometimes does. There's a manual in here if you run into issues." I tap her hip and she shifts to the side. I open the drawer and show her the dog-eared manual in the Ziploc bag.

Her nose crinkles. "Maybe I'll just leave this one alone."

I lean against the counter behind me. "That's probably best, and if there are any real issues you can always call, text, or email."

"It might be easier than going through this." She pats the binder tucked under her arm. "Unless there's an appendix and a quick reference guide."

When I say nothing, she moves to stand beside me, her arm brushing mine as she sets the binder on the counter and flips to the back page, where there is, indeed, a quick reference guide, but only for the most major of potential issues, such as Francesca getting ill or the fire alarm going off in my condo, both of which I sincerely hope don't happen.



       
         
       
        

"Wow. You're uh . . . super organized, aren't you?"

I shrug. "I just like to be prepared."

She shifts, angling her body toward me. I'm quite a bit taller than she is, so I get a nice peek at her cleavage. "Were you a Boy Scout?"

"I spent a few years in Cadets."

"Ah. So you're very disciplined, then?"

"I guess." I suppose in some ways I am. As an athlete, I had to constantly push myself, especially when I was injured.

"Does that mean in addition to being organized, you're a rule follower?"

"It depends, I suppose."

"On what?"

"Whether I like the rule or not."

She laughs. "So you just like to enforce them? Not follow?"

"Something like that."

Ruby pinches the sleeve of my T-shirt between two fingers and lifts it until she reaches the edge of my tattoo. "This seems pretty anti-rule to me."

"It's hardly anti-rule anymore. Everyone has tattoos these days."

"I don't."

"I bet you've thought about getting one, though." I imagine it would be something small. Not like mine.

Ruby shrugs. "If I did it would have to be somewhere I could hide it."

"Like your hip?" I tap the spot with a finger, then quickly retract my hand when she jumps a little.

"I guess, and then what's the point of wearing art if no one else gets to see it?"

"You'd see it every day, and I'm sure someone would get to see it, eventually."

"But only when I'm wearing a bikini, or maybe not even then."

"Or when you're naked," I supply.

Ruby leans in a little closer, until her chest is an inch from mine. She has to tip her chin up in order to maintain eye contact. If I didn't have a better handle on my hormones I might be tempted to lean down and kiss her. But my dick is not in control of my brain right now. Mostly.

Her voice comes out low and sultry. "You realize this is the second time you've referenced me being naked since I've been here."

"Are you keeping track?"

She fingers the strap of her tank. "I'm just noting your apparent obsession with me being naked."

"I'm just providing helpful suggestions; you're the one making it about nudity."

She scoffs and backs up a step, which is unfortunate, I could've sworn I felt her nipples brush my chest a second ago. Or maybe that's wishful thinking on my part. It's not as if I'm going to say no to her if she happens to make a move. I just don't think I should be the one to make the move being that I assaulted her in a hallway and just moved her into my condo. 

"You're putting an awful lot of thought into a tattoo I'm never going to get."

"Never say never."

"I hate needles and I have no interest in letting someone I don't know put their hands that close to my . . . my . . ."