Page 5 of Cinnamon Strudel
Once darkness began to fall over the city, Morgan selected a grey long-sleeved Henley and black jeans from his closet. A golden necklace, rings, and earrings completed his outfit. He took a picture in the mirror, zooming in to make sure he looked okay. Admittedly, he always loved seeing his tattoos peeking from behind his shirt collar. He always kept his hair short so there wasn’t much styling to be done.
With Blue’s harness and backpack over his shoulder, he made his way downstairs and stood by the front entrance. It didn’t take long for a car to roll up, with Ruby’s cheery voice greeting him seconds later.
“You two look absolutely handsome.”Shit, was he blushing? Thank goodness she saved him from a response. “No harness, so that means I can greet Blue as well, right?”
“That’s right—go ahead.”
Ruby pulled him into a side hug before kneeling to give Blue some attention. “I love how you two matched the accessories. Gold suits you both.”
“Thank you.”
“C’mon, let’s get you two in. We have lots to do tonight.”
“Are you always this excited?”
“Apparently I always have high energy levels, but it goes wild during Christmas.” Ruby laughed and led him to her car. “Is Blue okay in the back?”
“I would prefer if he could be in the front with me.”
“Of course!”
Once he heard the door open, Morgan gave a command, “Blue, in.” The dog hopped in, settling on by his feet while Rubywalked around to the driver’s side. “What else do you usually do around Christmas?”
The engine started and Ruby drove off. “Lots of light displays and Christmas markets. The Nutcracker Market is a must of course. Some concerts as well. It really depends on work and who I can convince to go with me. I kind of burned my family out years ago.”
“Well, I’m not a grinch so I’m down.”
“Are you sure? I can be quite a handful,” she teased.
“I assure you I’m more than capable of handling a handful like you.”
Ruby giggled lightly, getting his heart fluttering once more. “I’ve been wanting to go to the Gingerbread Village in Spring for quite some time, but I’ve heard it’s not worth the drive unless you have other plans there.”
He pulled out his phone and searched for it, finding that she might be right. “Fun to take pictures.”
“Yeah, but with bad traffic that might be an hour drive just for that.”
“That’s not too bad with the right company. Since you planned the Zoo Lights, maybe I’ll find something for us to do in Spring.”
“Don’t you want to wait and see if this date turns out to be a disaster first?”
He crooked a brow, a smirk quirking his lips. “I’m sorry to disappoint, but you’re stuck with me.”
“And why is that?”
“First you asked me out, then you had me grinning all evening with that intoxicating bubbliness of yoursandyou know the etiquette around a service dog. You’re not going anywhere, darlin’.”
“And now you have me blushing so hard my face feels like it’s on fire.”
“Maybe too much too soon, huh?”
“You’re honest, I like that.” Ruby changed the topic of conversation, and he was happy to follow along. “So what do you and your brothers do for a living?”
“I buy out bankrupt companies and sell them for a profit.”
“Didn’t see that coming. What made you choose that? I mean, I’m sure I must have missed that on career day.”
“If a car is too broken to be fixed, what do you do?”
