Page 6 of Coming Home to Crumbleton

‘Fine,’ the man gave her a wink. ‘Let’s go!’

Ruby gave him an awkward smile as he shuffled past, and then mustering every ounce of her willpower, she took off up the steps like a whippet. How she managed to stop herself from glancing back over her shoulder to see if her gut instinct was correct was anyone’s guess.

Panting as she sprinted up the last few steps, Ruby shook her head. She’d spent years trying to avoid this… him… surely there was no way all that effort had come to nothing just minutes after arriving back in town?

But… that voice…

No – she had to be wrong! She’d probably just imagined him into being because she’d been dreading coming back here and facing the memories.

But what if it was him?

Oliver Evans couldn’t be back in Crumbleton… could he?!

CHAPTER 3

OLI

Oli sucked in a long, slow breath, trying to will his hands to stop shaking. It had nothing to do with the weight of the heavy trunk he was carrying and everything to do with the human roadblock they’d just had to edge past on the narrow stairway.

He’d known exactly who it was the second he heard her voice. Ruby Hutchinson was back in Crumbleton. Of course - it wasn’t exactly a surprise that she was back in town. What was a huge surprise was his reaction to her. He’d kept his eyes down the entire time… but not looking at Ruby hadn’t helped. His entire body had just reacted to being so close to her again after so many years.

It was no good. Oli’s arms were shaking, his heart pounding, and his breath was coming in short gasps.

‘Can we take a sec?’ he grunted, before setting his end of the trunk down on the next available spot to shake out his hands.

‘Dude - you okay?’ asked Lee, following suit before staring at him with a raised eyebrow. ‘Crikey - you need to get back to training if carrying this little thing is proving to be a bit much.’

Oli smirked at his friend and rolled his shoulders, playing up the ready-made excuse he’d just been handed for all he was worth. The last thing he needed was for his piss-taking mate to figure out that his current predicament had nothing to do with carrying the heavy piece of furniture down the hill, and everything to do with a certain famous author they’d just seen sneaking into town via the back route!

‘I’ll be fine in a sec,’ huffed Oli, willing his heart to calm the actual eff down.

Of course, he’d known that he’d be bumping into Ruby in the next few days… but he’d planned the encounter down to the finest detail. He knew exactly what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it. He’d make it light and breezy – like it didn’t still bother him that he’d been so in love with her six years ago, he’d flown to America with nothing but her face in his head. Like he hadn’t been replaying their final moments over and over again for far longer than was sane.

It had taken him a while, but Oli had forgiven her for cutting him out of her life so completely. After all, they’d both been kids at the time. What hope did two eighteen-year-olds have of keeping a long-distance relationship alive when they were up against adults who thought they knew better. Or - one particular adult in this case!

Still, seeing Ruby back in Crumbleton after all this time was bound to stir things up again, wasn’t it?!

‘Dude, was that Ruby Hutchinson?’

Lee’s voice made Oli jump. He’d been so lost in the past that he’d almost forgotten where he was for a second.

‘Erm… might have been?’ said Oli with a small shrug, his heart renewing its ridiculous pounding at her name on Lee’s lips. ‘Didn’t really get a proper look - I was too busy trying not to drop this stupid thing,’ he added, toeing the trunk.

‘You definitely need to lay off the pastries and get back in shape!’ chuckled Lee. ‘Crumbleton’s clearly not doing your reputation as a racing snake any good!’

‘I’m a reformed racing snake!’ said Oli. ‘I’m allowed as much cake as I can fit in these days.’

‘Fair enough,’ said Lee. ‘The fatter you get, the cuter I look standing next to you.’

Oli snorted and rolled his eyes. Lee had always been a bit of an idiot - and not much had changed since they’d been on the school football team together. Still, it had been a nice surprise to discover that his old friend still lived in Crumbleton. He was easy company and always up for a pint at the end of the week.

‘I remember Ruby from school, you know,’ said Lee. ‘Always thought she was pretty cute… for a total nerd.’

‘Mmm,’ said Oli, hoping the noncommittal grunt might signal just how uninterested he was in talking about how cute or nerdy Ruby had been at school. It was dangerous territory and Lee was like a terrier with a bone if he caught even the slightest whiff of potential gossip. Oli had managed to keep this particular secret for a very long time and he didn’t much fancy letting it slip out now!

‘I mean, obviously, I wouldn’t have done anything about it,’ said Lee, glancing up the steps with a raised eyebrow, as though he was chasing after Ruby in his mind’s eye, ‘but nerds are more acceptable now, right?

‘Maybe,’ muttered Oli, ‘but that was a long time ago. She’s probably married with a bunch of kids by now.’

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