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Molly took Ruby’s hands and held them in hers. “Both Kurt and I want you to know we’re here for you and your mom.”
Kurt spoke up. “She’s right. Whatever we can do to help, you only have to ask.”
Jill’s eyes watered, and she spoke from the heart. “Both Ruby and I have been fretting about the future. You can’t know how much this means to us. Having Molly helping with the baby will be the perfect answer to all our worries.” She grinned at everyone, “Now choose your food, and we’ll bring out a bottle of the wine Ruby and I always use when celebrating.”
Her chuckle teased. “All but the mother-to-be. She can have a large glass of ginger ale with a cherry.” Ruby understood the teasing cherry comment. From the time she was a little girl, she loved cherries and would often ask that they be added to whatever drink or ice cream concoction she’d order.
Ruby grinned and felt the husky laugh coming from Kurt. A strange kind of pleasure pulsated over her body from the sound. He’d slid closer so their bodies were touching and having no place to move away from him, she used her elbow and heard him grunt.
The pleasure intensified.
***
By the time they’d finished the meal, it felt like they’d all known each other for a long time. At least with Molly it was so. Kurt had become strangely quiet, and Ruby caught Jill looking his way a few times before she also picked up on his sudden reserve.
All through the meal, he’d been talkative and had charmed Jill and his mom with tales of his recent experiences traveling in China, sharing a lot about their culture and how he found their cities to be modern and wonderfully organized.
She watched both women fall under the spell of his friendly warmth and interesting words. Pretending not to be captivated like the others, she sensed when things changed.
She turned his way in time to see his eyes had narrowed and rigidity had entered his previously relaxed frame. Looking to where he stared, she saw two Chinese men sitting at the table close to the door. They were finishing their meal, trying very hard to be inconspicuous. Instantly, she recognized the one closest to the window as her stalker from the bar.
Kurt suddenly stood, and before he could approach that table, Ruby slid out of the booth also and grabbed his arm, hauling him toward the hall where the washrooms were located and an office for her mother. “Hey, Mom, I’m just going to show Kurt some of the… ahh, the family photos on the wall in here.”
She waved at the two women and continued forcing him into Jill’s space.
“Hey, what are you doing? I want to talk with those men.”
“Me too. But not in the restaurant. What if there’s a confrontation? Mom just refurnished after a terrible storm last year. We can go out the back, circle the block, and wait for them outside.”
“There’s no we. You need to go back with the ladies.”
He started to walk toward the exit, and she quickly slid between him and the door. Not realizing how close their bodies would be, she tried to push against his chest, but he didn’t budge.
Hemmed in and completely addled, she stumbled over her argument and all she managed was, “I’m coming too.”
“No, you’re most certainly not.”
“The man closest to the window followed me into the bar the first night we met. Now he’s stalking me again. I want some answers.”
“Is that right? You have proof.”
“No. I mean, I know it’s him. He’s always popping up and he makes me nervous as hell.”
“No doubt. But you’re staying out of it. I’ll make those inquiries for you. I can be pretty persuasive.”
When she looked up into his eyes, the world stood still and then started to spin. A vortex of pure emotion overcame her as he stared down, his questioning face looming and then lowering. As if a magic curse had claimed her, forgetting everything but how his lips tasted, she arched upward invitingly.
Sexual sensations rampaged. Tensions exploded. If he didn’t kiss her soon, she’d be forcing her lips to his so she could experience that electric explosion of pure delight again.
Inches away, he paused. “You’re married. This can’t happen.”
“No, no. I’m not married.”
“You’re pregnant.”
“Yeah. It’s my problem, and I’m dealing.” Her mind filled with words she almost blurted. Are you going to kiss me or not? Agitation formed. Tugging away from him, she tried to move but found his arms had wrenched her back and his lips had drilled into hers so there was no more thinking. No more breath… no more world.
Only satisfaction.
