Page 22 of Melting His Grumpy Heart
Jake paused. His eyes tracked slowly over Ru’s face, down to his mouth, then back up in a way that made Ru’s heart rate accelerate. “Might have something,” he said, setting aside his just finished garland. “Give me a minute.”
He disappeared upstairs, returning several minutes later with a battered cardboard box that had seen better days.
“I found these in the attic when I moved in. I’ve only used them once or twice before.”
Inside were several strands of fairy lights, old-fashioned with large coloured bulbs rather than modern LED strings.
“These are perfect.” Ru lifted one strand. “Do they still work?”
“Don’t see why not. They’ll look best hanging from the mantlepiece in the living room.” Jake gathered them up, along with the garland, and Ru followed him out of the kitchen.
In the living room, Jake knelt by the side of the big, brick fireplace and pressed the plug into the socket.
The lights didn’t even flicker. Instead, they lit up in a warm glow of red, green, blue, and yellow, transforming the room. Monty, stretched out on the rug in front of the wood burner, wagged his tail in approval.
“They’re beautiful,” Ru said softly, watching as Jake draped them along the mantelpiece, weaving them around the garland he’d created.
The lights cast both highlights and shadows along Jake’s cheekbones, making Ru’s stomach tangle and tighten. He looked away. What the hell was wrong with him? He was runningawayfrom complications, not runningtothem. Hadn’t he toldAntonia, when he’d shocked her by wanting to stay in the cottage at Bobblecombe, and as far away from London, double shot macchiatos and biscotti as he could get, that he was for the sake of his sanity and dignity distancing himself from men who only ever wanted him before someone, or something, better came along.
Guilt pulsed through him. Jake wasn’t like any of the men he’d known. No glossy veneer, what you saw was what you got. And what you got may have been grumpy and terse sometimes, but it also came with a healthy dose of care, consideration, and protection. A sour taste filled Ru’s mouth. He’d been shortchanged on all three by his lousy ex. All he was doing was responding to the difference that was Jake, and the situation, the pair of them marooned in a sea of snow. It was… Ru searched for the word.Projection. That was it and it was all it was. And he’d better remember that.
“Think I could do with a drink. What about you?” Jake quirked a brow.
“Erm, yes please. Wouldn’t say no.” A drink to settle him down, that was exactly what he needed.
Jake disappeared into the kitchen, returning with a bottle of something dark. But that wasn’t all. He was also carrying a wicker hamper and a couple of plates.
“I’d forgotten about this.” He set the hamper down on the coffee table and sat next to Ru. “My neighbour Barbara, who makes the bread, gave this to me. I put it aside and kind of forgot about it.”
Ru looked at the hamper, decorated with ribbons and bows.The way you’d forgotten all about Christmas.
Jake opened it up, and Ru leant forward. His arm bumped against Jake’s and he told himself it was no more than an accident.
“Wow, that looks good. Like one of those fancy hampers you get from posh grocers.” Ru went to pick up a cellophane bag filled with mini mince pies, rustic enough to look appealingly homemade but not quite a mess. His hand brushed Jake’s, who was reaching for a beribboned box of chocolates. They both pulled their hands back, as if the touch had burnt. “Sorry,” Ru muttered. “It’s your hamper, and here’s me diving in head first.”
Jake unpacked the contents, spreading the sweet and savoury items on the coffee table. Cheese and biscuits. A selection of fancy nuts. Tiny Christmas puddings, bite sized pieces of stollen, a mini Christmas cake covered in thick layers of marzipan and icing, chunky bars of chocolate stuffed with cranberries, chocolate covered brazils, and a box of squidgy sweet dates.
“God, I haven’t had these since I was a kid. My nan used to love these, but they played havoc with her dentures.” Jake picked up the dates and grinned.
Ru couldn’t help but smile, the memory wiping away the guarded look that so often hung around Jake, making him seem both younger and more at ease. Jake looked up, catching Ru’s gaze before Ru could look away. He’d been caught staring, but as the firelight played across Jake’s face, highlighting the firm line of his jaw, casting shadows beneath his cheekbones, and glinting in his auburn hair, he looked like everything Ru quietly yearned for: strong, sure, and steady.
“Quite the feast.” Ru’s voice was loud, bouncing off the walls. But it wasn’t loud enough to drown out the thud of his heart.
“Which you’re going to help me eat. Come on, let’s have that drink we promised ourselves. Sloe gin. It’s good stuff, and sweet on the tongue.”
Sweet on the tongue…Oh, god…
Ru accepted the glass, and hoped Jake didn’t notice the slight tremor in his hand.
The sloe gin was a deep, dark colour that caught the firelight, making it sparkle like rubies. He sipped. Sweet, just as Jake had said, not cloying but rich, with a warming depth that spread through his chest and lower, adding to the heat already building there from Jake’s proximity.
“That’s really good. It’s like summer berries and winter warmth combined.”
Jake nodded, taking his own sip. As he swallowed, Ru found himself watching the movement of his throat. He looked away, not wanting to be caught gawping again.
They shared most of the hamper’s contents, Ru nervily, almost painfully, aware of every movement, every seemingly accidental touch. The light press of Jake’s knee as he leant forward, their fingers brushing as they both reached for the same mince pie, or chocolate, or morsel of stollen, and the way Jake’s eyes darkened when Ru licked a crumb from his lower lip.
Monty whimpered, and sat up on his hind legs as he begged for cheese, the dog’s antics providing a few moments’ distraction from the tight coil of warm, delicious tension deep in Ru’s stomach. Jake poured more ruby red sloe gin, and Ru closed his eyes as he savoured its warm richness.
