Page 34 of Heart & Hope

Good Lord, I am a dead man walking.

When she flops on the bed, she pats the mattress and turns on the TV with the remote, flipping through channels. I hesitate but make my way to the bed and take the left side, sitting up near the pillows, leaning on the headboard like she is.

“What do you want to watch?” she asks.

“I’m not fussy. Don’t really do TV.”

She turns to me, her mouth open. “Really?”

“Yeah, not my thing.”

She wriggles, settling down into the pillows before choosing a channel. Something about people renovating houses.

“This one, they have to buy a property and have a set budget to renovate before turning it over within a set time frame.”

She points to the screen with the hand still holding the remote. I stare at her in awe. Little nerd.

A knock rattles the door, and I jump up and grab the food and wine we ordered. It comes in a carton, the chilled bottle swinging from the delivery guy’s hand. I place the bottle on her bedside table and pour her a glass of wine before placing the cardboard container of food in front of her. It feels natural, like the two of us having dinner at home. Not that this is home, or we are a thing. Or could ever be.

Ruby wastes no time digging into her food, making short work of it. And as she pours her second glass of wine, she starts to clean up, popping the now finished plates back onto the tray, pushing it to the door with one hand and sipping on the wine with the other.

On her way back, she drains the glass and sets it on her bedside table before climbing under the covers, still sitting up. But she yawns. It’s been a long day for her.

“Oh, I forgot something,” she says, turning to the bedside and opening the top drawer.

As she twists back to face me, she grabs my hand and drops a ring into it.

“Thought we might need these for tomorrow night, at least.”

I stare at the silver wedding band in my hand, her fingers still wrapped around mine as our hands hang between us. She holds up her left hand and waves her fingers, flashing a white gold wedding band at me. A small smile peeks across her pretty lips.

Heart pounding, I say, “Good idea. Can’t have guys thinking my wife is available,” I joke, but it comes out flat.

“Didn’t want Mary-Sue sussing us out before the gala. Olive would have a fit if this didn’t work out. She is oddly attached to me pulling this off.”

“Sure, can’t have that.”

When she drops my hand and starts to fluff the duvet, I take that as my cue to head to the sofa. Ruby organizes the pillows before rolling over and turning the lamp off. I pull the sheet I found in the cupboard over my frame, now draped over the couch. This is goin’ to hurt in the morning. My neck is pinching already.

I punch the pillow underneath my shoulders.

Then the only sound in the room is our breathing. The soft humming of the town outside fills the spaces between. Ruby tosses and turns before sitting up in the dark. And despite the dimness, her gaze is on me.

“Reed, come sleep on the bed.”

“I’m fine, Rubes. Honest. Go to sleep.”

She sighs and lies down. And when another ten minutes passes, I stifle a groan at the ache in my lower back. Well, almost.

“That’s it,” Ruby says.

She is beside me, looking down at me in the dark a heartbeat later. “In the bed, Reedsy. I promise not to steal your virtue.”

I chuckle as she grabs my hands. “Come on. Can’t have a broken husband.”

Who am I to argue with the woman? I pry myself from hell’s sofa and follow her to the bed. She leads me to the left side, pushing on my shoulders until I sit on the edge of the bed. What I wouldn’t give to wrap my arms around her waist and drop my head to her stomach. To breathe her in.

“You want a pillow wall between us?” she quips. I can feel her smile in the dark. Hear it in her voice. Can imagine her eyebrow raised.

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