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“That’s me.”
“What the fuck?” I say, my crude language much louder than I intended. But seriously…
What the fuck?
Before my mind can try to figure out a way that this is possible, I’m pulled back into the conversation by the sound of something I haven’t really heard from Boyd.
Laughter.
And not the quiet chuckles from the plane. This is a deep rumbling laughter that barrels through the phone and hits me square in the stomach, making me wish he wasn’t all the way across the water.
“How the hell did we sit next to each other for that whole flight and not talk about the fact that your dad lives in Cedar Point?” he asks.
I put a hand on my hip. “Because someone let me fall asleep then never woke me up again.” My tone is sassy, though there’s no heat behind it.
How can I be irritated at him for earlier when he’s here! Right there! Right across from me.
“Your dad is Ken Bellows,” he says. “I don’t know him that well, but my parents are friends with him. What a small world.”
Yes, it is. A very small world. A wonderful world where sweet baby Jesus has blessed me with the fortunate luck to be just a few houses away from the most handsome man I think I’ve ever seen in my life.
Though wrapping up all of Boyd into just his looks isn’t fair. He’s charming, too, and a secret softy, though he’d never admit it.
“So,” he continues, “have a drink with me. A vodka-less cranberry juice or sparkling water or something.”
My heart pounds in my chest.
Our interaction during the flight was flirtatious, but there wasn’t anything solid behind it. How could there have been? We were strangers who met on a plane.
But now, he’s right there. Right there. And he’s asking me to go get a drink and I just…
“You’re serious.”
“As a heart attack.”
I’m suddenly thankful for the few hundred yards of space between us as my cheeks flush and my smile grows.
“I’d love to.”
“Good,” he says. Then he pauses. “That’s good.”
“How crazy is this?” I whisper, still watching him across the water and wishing I could see his face even though I don’t want him to see mine.
“Very.”
We’re both silent for a moment, a lull in the conversation that isn’t unpleasant, just silent. I wonder if he’s feeling as overwhelmed as I am.
This is unexpected, but in a good way—at least for me.
I hope it is for him as well.
“I’ll pick you up in an hour. I just need a chance to shower off the plane ride.”
“Sounds good. Me too.”
“See you soon, Ruby,” he says, his voice sounding so much closer now that I know he’s at the house across the water.
“See you soon, Boyd.”
