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Tonight all his self-control deserted him. He let his hands linger for too long on her shoulders. He held her hand until dinner started. While these were all little things, they were incidents that would make anyone suspicious. If the tables were reversed he’d be questioning the depth of her affections.
“This is the first time we’ve danced together.” Ruth’s hands moved from his shoulders to behind his neck. “And trust me, I’d remember if we’d danced before.”
He suspected he would, too. In fact, he doubted he’d ever forget the way it felt to have Ruth in his arms tonight. “How is that possible? We’ve been friends for...” he paused and thought. It seemed like he’d known Ruth forever.
“Seven years.” Ruth provided the answer. “It’ll be eight in May.”
“You remember the exact month we met?”
At some point she’d leaned her head against his shoulder, and he felt her nod. “You and Mark came into the store for soda. You were driving the Ferrari you got for your birthday.”
Wow . “I cannot believe you remember that.”
He’d gone into the store too many times over the years to remember one particular occasion. However, he did remember that, until the night he’d helped her with a boyfriend who couldn’t take no for answer, she’d always been polite but not friendly to him. “You didn’t like me, did you?”
“Honestly, not really. That day I expected you would pull an ‘I’m god’ routine like some of your country club friends did when they came in. I had a great reply prepared for when you did.”
He could guess some of the people she referred to. “I doubt any of them were my friends.”
“You’re right. I never saw you with any of them. I guess I should’ve said acquaintances.” Ruth’s hands moved against his neck, and a shudder of pleasure passed through him.
The song ended and Ruth pulled away. Unwilling to let her go, he pulled her closer. “I better make up for all the years we’ve known each other and not danced.”
She rewarded him with a radiant smile then leaned her head against his shoulder again. “I’m glad you said that. I love to dance.”
Now that she mentioned it, he remembered her telling him that once. Personally, he didn’t like dancing, but if it would please Ruth, he’d dance every song with her tonight.
He lost count of how many songs they danced before Ruth finally said she needed a drink.
“I haven’t danced this much in a long time.” She took a sip from the white wine he handed her when he came back from the bar.
“I don’t think I’ve ever danced this much in one night.” He shrugged off his suit jacket and wished he could loosen his tie. The combination of the warm ballroom and holding Ruth so close had pushed his body temperature up toward the boiling point.
Ruth lowered her glass and gave him a wide-eyed look. “That’s right, you don’t like dancing. I completely forgot. I’m sorry.” She touched his arm. “You don’t have to dance anymore tonight.”
“Maybe I didn’t like dancing before because I never had the right partner.”
***
Ruth shivered while they waited for the valet to bring around Warren’s car. The temperatu
re in the ballroom had been perfect. Out here near the door, it was another story. The temperature had been in the mid-thirties when they arrived at the hotel but had dropped considerably since then, and her gown provided no protection against the cold wind. If she’d been smart, she would have brought a sweater or something along with her that morning and wouldn’t be freezing to death now.
“Put this on.” Warren held out his suit jacket.
“I’ll be fine. The car should be here any minute.”
The jacket came down on her shoulders. “You’re shivering, Ruth. Besides, the car will be cold too.”
She prepared her argument and slipped her arms into the jacket at the same time. “Now you’ll be cold. It doesn’t seem right that you should freeze because I was an idiot and didn’t grab a jacket when I left the house.”
“The cold air feels good. It was too warm in the ballroom.” He took her hand when his car pulled up to the curb.
She let him lead her to the passenger side and waited as he opened the door for her. She’d noticed a long time ago that he always did things like open doors and pull out chairs for women. It was just another thing she loved about him.
Once he’d tipped the valet, he got in the car and pulled away from the curb. Light flurries fell, but no snow accumulated. She hoped it stayed that way. It would stink if she went to her car in the morning and found it covered with a few inches of the white stuff.
“Helen looked very happy tonight.” Warren shifted the car into third gear.
