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Chapter 14
Lookingthrough the fridge for something to eat, Ruth opted for a peanut butter sandwich. Her fridge was sadly close to empty. Once the sandwich was made, she leaned on the counter to eat while she looked through her texts, all twelve of them.
Some were from the book club, which she responded to. There was also a group one that said book club was on for tomorrow. The other six were from Anderson. Those she ignored, not wanting the relationship they’d had to end with a text. Because that was what he was going to do, whether in a text or in person, it didn’t matter. It was over. Daphne wanted him back.
When she had made it home from the office after the call from Anderson’s ex, she had been in tears. After shedding her clothes and changing into sweats and a T-shirt, she had locked herself in her office—not the bed she wanted to bury herself into.
Forcing herself to stop thinking of Anderson, she had put on her noise-canceling headphones and lost herself in a love story that was going to work out in the end. The hero was smart, charming, and madly in love with the heroine. It was a story and nothing like real life. Today, all she wanted was the fantasy, throwing herself into the story until her stomach had made her stop typing. At least she had been able to block out everything for hours.
At that point, it had been in the early morning hours after her first and last Valentine’s Day with Anderson. It was then that she called her mom and told her she would not be going to the farm this weekend. Then she had ignored all of Anderson’s texts and sent him a message saying she would not be in the office that day, which was Friday, giving her a weekend alone. She’d lied about being sick, which wasn’t a lie at all. Her heart was sick. It counted.
After that, she had done something she never thought she would do. She contacted her rental agency and asked if there were any apartments open in Grand Forks. It was a possibility since she wasn’t the only apartment owner they worked for. There was an opening, and she had told them she wanted it empty for her. For the first time in her life, she was considering moving away from Landstad.
Now that her relationship with Anderson was over, her job would be over, and her happiness would be over. Sunday, she would tell the book club that she was leaving. Then she would use the weekend to go down and clean her desk out. Monday, she would turn in her two weeks’ notice, and since she had over two weeks of vacation, she would be done.
That had been a day ago, she was sure. Between writing and sleeping, she wasn’t keeping track of time. Time didn’t matter anymore anyway.
The new song in her headphones was a fast and fun one she had always enjoyed. Turning up the volume, she hoped it would improve her mood as she finished her sandwich. She decided to get a pop and chips for the evening and headed back to her office.
Movement caught her eye, and Anderson was standing in the doorway of her apartment. For a moment, she regretted not locking the door but realized it was better to get this over with now. She had been putting it off long enough as it was.
His lips were moving, but she couldn’t hear what he was saying because of the headphones still on her head, still blaring her music.
Frozen in her spot, she clenched the chips bag and can to her chest, just watching him stalk towards her. For two days, she hadn’t even tried to control the tears, letting them fall whenever her heart hurt too much to keep them in. Now she didn’t want him to see how the end of their relationship was affecting her. As he drew close, she backed up until the cabinets stopped her retreat.
Taking a deep breath, then another one, she gently put the items in her arms on the counter beside her. She then pulled off her headphones and put them on the counter. In reality, she wanted to throw it all on the floor and start yelling at him for leading her on, for using her until the one he loved wanted him back. For breaking her heart.
Instead, she calmly said, “Hello, Anderson.”
“Where have you been? I have been looking for you for two days,” he demanded angrily, still in his winter jacket and snowy shoes.
“I have been here.” She waved her hand around the mostly dark room, except for the kitchen light that she usually left on.
“Try another story, Ruth,” he replied sharply. “I have been here looking for you many times. I have been calling you, but you aren’t even answering your phone.”
She almost looked at her phone so that she could tell him he hadn’t called, but she stopped herself. He had called and texted, but she had just ignored it. All of it. But what was she supposed to do, answer and hear him tell her their little fling was over? That they were going to go back to just working together? She couldn’t do that again, not after getting to know him. It was too late to go back.
“I will turn in my two weeks’ notice on Monday. I have enough vacation time to cover that.” Even saying the words hurt her, but not as much as him telling her they were over.
“What are you talking about?” He sounded confused by her revelation.
“Anderson, we both knew I would have to leave when this was over. And now it’s over. Don’t worry, I will not bother you or her.” Just breathe, she demanded herself. Don’t let him see you fall apart.
“You think that I want Daphne back? You think I would leave the moment she called and wanted me back?” he said, taking a step closer to her.
“You love her.” Ruth shook her head, trying to hold the tears in.
His hands pushed the hair from her face and forced her to look at him. “I don’t love her, Ruth. I thought I loved her once, but not anymore.”
She tried not to look into his eyes. She didn’t want to see his true feelings. “But it’s been over two weeks, and you haven’t made a move. And you pushed me away when I did. I knew it was over before she called. You aren’t interested in me, not like that anymore.”
“That’s not true. I wanted to give you time. You needed time, and I am willing to wait for you, as long as it takes.” Smiling, he brushed his thumbs against her wet cheeks.
“I thought you weren’t interested anymore. I knew you would tire of me after a while. Everyone does. It was just quicker than I ever thought it would be,” she whispered, admitting her worst fears to him.
Brushing a kiss across her lips, he whispered back, “I am anything but tired of you, Ruth. I want you in my bed as much today as the day we talked about it. No, that’s wrong. I want you more than I did then.”
“Me too.” She grabbed his jacket and pulled him to her, pressing her lips fully to his. Giving in to him, she felt his tongue run over her bottom lip. She didn’t hesitate to tilt her head and match his every movement. She ran her hands up his chest and into his hair so that she could hold his mouth to hers, feeling his hand slide up under her T-shirt until they cupped her bare breasts. Never was she so glad she chose to not wear a bra. A shiver ran through her at the touch.
