Blog

Chapter 12: A Single Rose – April 1

“You are a truly kind person, Ruby,” he murmured after she’d handed several people a rose along with a sweet word or two.

Blaze had been watching her for ten minutes.  She was standing behind the counter in the lobby greeting people as they entered the busy building.  

“Good morning.  Welcome to Cooper Electronics.  Would you like a rose?”

She had caught every single person off guard.  Blaze had been standing off to the side simply enjoying the astounded glances of the little procession.  Most people didn’t know what to do with her question.  Each of the women had looked utterly delighted by her offer, though.  Blaze decided right then and there that no woman got as many flowers as she needed, apparently.

His lips quirked as he continued to ruminate.  

Except for Ruby.  Today.  

She’d gotten more than she could handle.  They were now overflowing into the lives of everyone around her.  

He watched as one glowing woman turned away from her with an expression of abject joy enlightening her countenance as she clutched her bloom close to her heart.  The next woman in line had a question for Ruby.

“Miss?  I wonder…could I have two roses?  My sister’s boyfriend stomped all over her heart last night, and she was absolutely devastated when I spoke on the phone with her a few minutes ago.  I’d like to take her a rose too.”

“To remind her that she’s priceless?” Ruby murmured.  “No.  One rose will not do.  You can take her a dozen.”  

Blaze watched as she separated thirteen roses from her pile and handed them to the woman.

“The extra one is for you,” Ruby beamed, “because you’re priceless too.”

Was that a tear sliding down the woman’s cheek?

Blaze watched in awe as she reached up with the back of her hand and wiped it away as she murmured, “Thank you so much.  You are an absolute darling!”

But Ruby just looked humbled when Blaze’s eyes met her countenance once more.  Then her gaze shifted his way.  He smiled at her.  Her eyes widened.

“You’re still here!”

“Well…you didn’t tell me what night we’re doing dinner.  Also, I need your phone number and address.”

“Oh!  Duh!”  She slapped her forehead.  “Silly me.  Of course, you don’t know where I live.”

Why did she feel like he’d already visited her at her house?

“Can I see your phone?” she asked as a lull in traffic occurred.  

Just then the company phone in front of her rang.  She picked it up as she held her hand out to receive his own phone.  After he gave it to her, she typed her name, number, and address into it while she fielded the questions of the caller on the business line.

Blaze marveled at her.  Did she have any idea how brilliant she was?

Finally, she hung up the phone and handed him his.

“Thanks,” he muttered.

“I texted myself too, so I have your number now.  Are you free tonight at seven?”

He winced.  “Can we make it eight?  I have to help with a big party tonight at five thirty.”

She frowned.  “Is it a bad night?  We could do it tomorrow instead.”

“How about I meet you on your porch at nine tonight for dessert?  I’ll bring it.  And tomorrow you can make me dinner at seven.”

A huge smile lit up her face.  “That sounds absolutely perfect.  Thank you.  I’ll see you tonight.”

“Tonight then,” he bobbed his head.  “Bye, Ruby.”

Then he was gone.  But she didn’t notice because someone else had stepped up to receive her rose.

—

“Ruby, Mr. Taylor wants to see you in his office.”

Ruby glanced up from the note she was writing for one of the executives.  “He does?”  Her heart skipped a beat.  “Am I in trouble?”

“I don’t think so.  He didn’t look upset.”

She looked around.  “Who’s going to cover my desk?”

“I will.  I got this.  Take your time,” Karen smiled at her, but her kindness didn’t ease Ruby’s trepidation.  

She had never been called into the CEO’s office before.  In fact, she had never garnered the interest of any of the top executives in the building.  She’d been working this job for almost four years.  Since she’d graduated college.  It wasn’t her dream job.  But it did pay her bills.

She walked towards the elevator as she inhaled deeply several times in an effort to calm her racing heart.  It didn’t seem to be paying the oxygen any mind, though.  She stepped into the lift and wandered to the back.  She turned around to face its front and leaned against the wall behind her.  She closed her eyes and tried to picture the garden of her dreams.  But all she saw was fifty dozen roses on a porch swing.  Suddenly, the smile was back on her face.

The elevator came to a stop; its doors opened.  Ruby lifted her head and stepped out onto the top floor of the building.  She headed towards the CEO’s office.

“I’m Ruby Montgomery.  I’m here to see Mr. Taylor,” she murmured softly at the receptionist sitting behind an impressively large white counter.

The lovely woman glanced up at her.  “Oh!  Go right in!  Mr. Taylor is waiting for you.”

He was waiting for her?  The girl who manned the front desk on the bottom floor of a building of which he sat on the top? 

Hesitantly, she strode forward and entered his office through its open doorway.

“Mr. Taylor,” came her tentative voice as she paused on the threshold.

“Ruby Montgomery?” a balding man with glasses perched on the end of his too-long nose pierced her with his eagle eyes.  “Are you the girl who mans the front desk?”

She nodded.  “Yes, sir.”

“What on earth possessed you to hand out five hundred roses today?” he asked abruptly.

She inhaled sharply.  “I’m sorry, sir.  I didn’t think it would be a problem.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“I just wanted to do something nice for the people who work in this building.  Someone left me fifty dozen roses on my porch this morning.  I couldn’t possibly keep them all.  And I have no friends, so I brought them to work and started handing them out.  I’m sorry if I caused a problem.”

“You didn’t.”  His gaze sharpened on her.  “Do you have any more?”

She nodded.  “Several dozen.”

His eyes lit up.  “Excellent.  Can you bring them to me?  Right now.”

“Absolutely, sir.  I’ll be right back.”  Still not understanding this conversation in the slightest, she turned to head for the elevator.

A few minutes later, she entered his office once more.  This time clutching more than three dozen roses in her hands.  He glanced up at her.

“Perfect.  Just perfect.  How many do you have left?”

“Forty.”

“Do you really?”

She nodded.

“Unbelievable,” Mr. Taylor muttered.  Then he pushed a button on his phone and called his secretary into his office.  

A moment later, she appeared

“Brenda, would you please find a big vase to put all these roses in?”  He glanced at them.  “And maybe some baby’s breath?”

Brenda peered down at him.  “You want me to go shopping?”

He looked up at her like she was the most inadequate of secretaries.  “You don’t have a vase here in the office?”

“Uh, no, sir.  And even if I did, I don’t keep any baby’s breath handy.”  She was trying hard not to guffaw.  This was the most ridiculous conversation she’d ever had with her boss.

“Hmm.  What about you, Ruby?  Could you run to the florist’s shop and pick up a vase and some baby’s breath?  And maybe get the florist’s help arranging this bouquet?”

“If someone can cover the front desk for me.”

“I already told Rhonda to do that.”

“Then, yes, sir.  I’d be happy to.”

“Can I see your phone?” he asked suddenly.

She glanced at him quizzically even as she realized that she couldn’t reach for it.  Her arms were completely full of roses.

“I want to give you my address.  I would like you to drop off the bouquet at my house when you’re done assembling it.  Today is my fortieth wedding anniversary.”

“Oh!  Congratulations, sir!  Forty years is an amazing accomplishment.”  

She and Owen hadn’t made it even two.  He’d asked for a divorce several months before their second anniversary.

“Can I have your phone?”

“I can’t reach it, sir.  But if you tell me your address, I’ll remember it.  I have a head for numbers.”

“1212 Pine Street.”

Her eyes lit up.  “That’s just around the corner from my house,” she responded eagerly.

“Is it really?  Well, then when you’re done delivering the flowers to my wife, just go home.  Take the rest of the day off.”

Confused, she drew her eyebrows down over her aquamarine orbs.  “Sir?”

“You did excellent work here today, Ruby.  I’ve heard very encouraging reports out of every single department in this company today.  Everyone is working harder than usual.  And more happily attacking their tasks.  Most of my division leaders are attributing the boost in mood to your actions of this morning.  Apparently, people – especially women – like to receive flowers.  The only problem is now we’re running low on paper cups.”

“Sir?”  Again, she stood stupefied.

“Everyone is using them as a vase to keep their rose alive.”

A smile suddenly quirked her lips.  “I’m happy the roses made them all so happy.”

“It was you, my dear.  You’re the one who made them all happy.  So…  Thank you.  And have a good afternoon off.”

“Thank you, sir.”  She headed towards the door.  Then she stopped.  “Oh!  Mr. Taylor, does your wife like chocolates?”

“No, she doesn’t.  She adores chocolates.”

“Would you like me to stop and buy her a box of those too?”

“Why, yes!  That’s a delightful idea.  Oh!  I need to give you some money!  What does a vase and some chocolates cost?” But he didn’t wait for her reply.  “Here.  Just use this.”  He crossed the room to hand her a hundred-dollar bill.

“Sir, can you just put it in my purse?”  She turned to give him access to the bag on her shoulder.

After he’d deposited his funds into her purse and zipped it shut, he thanked her again before she left his office with Brenda close on her heels.  His secretary closed his office door before turning towards Ruby.

“I have never seen the man that happy before.  You must be some sort of miracle worker.”

Ruby glanced at her in shock.  “Me?  No.”

“Hey.  How come I’ve never seen you around?  You’ve never joined any of us girls for pizza or a drink after work.  Have you?”

Ruby shook her head.

“You should come some time.  I’d like to get to know you.”

Ruby simply stared at her.  “You would?”

Brenda nodded her head.

“Why?” Ruby queried, truly at a loss.

“What do you mean?” Brenda asked as she furrowed her brow.  “You are a very sweet person.  You’re the only person who has ever given me a rose.  Why wouldn’t I want to know you?”

As Ruby gawked at her, she realized that she still didn’t know the name of the only person who had ever given her a rose. 

Chapter 13: Hidden Treasure – April 1

Except that he hadn’t given her just one rose.  He’d furnished her with six hundred and eight roses.

“I came to work today expecting to have someone play a prank on me.  Instead, I was greeted by a lovely smile, a red rose, and the words, ‘You are priceless.’  Do you have any idea how wonderful that was?”  Brenda asked with emotion in her voice.

Ruby considered the woman.  She must be in her early fifties.  As Ruby glanced at her hand, she realized Brenda wasn’t married.  She most likely spent much of her time alone.  Was she lonely like Ruby had been before a man had begun to send her roses?  And another man had offered to share her dinner?

“I do,” she whispered in response to Brenda’s question.  “I know exactly how wonderful it feels.  That’s why I did it.”

“Thank you, my dear,” the older woman beamed at her.  Then she glanced at the roses in Ruby’s arms.  “I’d better let you get back to work.  Mrs. Taylor is probably wondering when her husband is going to remember their wedding anniversary.”

Brought back to the task at hand, Ruby dashed off towards the elevator as she tossed some words back over her shoulder.  “It was nice to meet you, Brenda!  I’ll talk to you later.”

Then she slipped into the elevator and disappeared as the doors closed behind her.

—

Half an hour later, she dragged forty roses into a floral shop.  She felt extremely awkward doing so.  But Mr. Taylor had requested that she come here, so she was obeying his instructions.  Still, one usually walked out of a florist’s shop with flowers.  Not into it with some.

Thankfully, though, there was no one inside to draw the attention of.  Except for the florist.  Another pretty woman in her early fifties, perhaps.

“Can I help you?  Oh!  Those are some lovely roses.”  

That looked awfully familiar.  Anne eyed the beautiful girl standing in front of her. 

Copper hair.  Aquamarine eyes.  Creamy skin.  A multitude of roses.  

Anne was pretty sure she knew who this special girl was.

“What a rare treat!  I must admit, it’s seldom that someone brings me flowers,” she teased the young woman.

Ruby blushed.  “I know!  I’m so sorry!  My boss insisted that I come get a vase and some baby’s breath.”

“Ah.  He had you raid Walmart for the roses, did he?”  But she could tell by their color and quality that they had come from a real florist’s shop.  Her own if she wasn’t mistaken.

Ruby’s eyes grew wide.  “No!”  She glanced down at the blooms.  “Though, to be honest, I have no idea where they came from.”

The woman frowned at her as she wrinkled her brow.

“They were given to me this morning.  Left on my porch.  My boss wants me to give them to his wife for their anniversary.”

That brow grew an even deeper furrow.  “He’s making you give your flowers to his wife?”

“No.  I offered them to him.  You see,” a beautiful flush crept across her lovely pale skin, “someone left me six hundred roses this morning.  On my porch swing.  I didn’t have enough vases to keep them all!  So I took five hundred fifty of them to work.  These were the last of them.  I gave the rest away to people as they entered the building today.”

“Wow.  That’s quite a story.  Here!  Let me find you a vase and fill it with water.  Those roses won’t be too happy soon if we wait much longer to give them a drink!”  

Anne turned towards her supply cabinet.  A moment later, she had unearthed a vase that would hold them all.  She poured in enough water to fill it a third of the way to the top before turning back towards Ruby.  Then she gathered the roses and stuck them into the water.  

“Baby’s breath, you said?”

“Yes.”

Anne set to work creating a beautiful bouquet.  She cut some of the roses shorter to give the spray variety.  Then she interspersed eight white roses with the red ones along with some baby’s breath and some other green plant that added depth to the bouquet.  

“There.  Now you’ve got an even four dozen to give her.  Tell her there are eight to grow on in here.  For the golden years ahead.”

“Wow.  You are really good at your job.  How much do I owe you?”

Anne shook her head.  “Nothing.  I’m glad to help such a sweet girl.”

Ruby’s eyes collided with her own.  “I don’t understand.  I’m not paying.  My boss is.”

“Then tell your boss you found favor with the florist, and she didn’t charge you anything.”

“But the vase, the white roses, they must have cost you something.  At least, let me pay the cost of them.”

“It’s nothing, really.  I can’t tell you how many white roses I have to discard every week.  And the vase wasn’t much.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am, dear.  I’ll tell you what.  You can pay me with one thing,” the florist paused.  “But only if you want to.”

Puzzled, Ruby’s forehead quivered as she drew her eyebrows downward.  “What’s that?”

“Your name.”

“My name?  Oh!  It’s Ruby.”

Yes.  

This was the girl.  The woman she’d heard about for eleven long years.  

What a darling!

No wonder he was so taken with her.  That glowing skin.  Those wide innocent eyes as turquoise as an ocean.  That hair on fire.  She was a true beauty.  But it was her heart that was shining out of her countenance today that revealed her true worth.

“Ruby.  What a perfect name for such a precious gem,” the woman murmured kindly.

The girl could feel heat creeping into her cheeks once again.  “And yours?”

“What, dear?”

“Your name?”

“Oh!  I’m Anne.”  

She held out her hand towards Ruby.  As her soft fingers engulfed the girl’s, a tear invaded Ruby’s eye.  That hand reminded her of her beloved mother.  So did this compassionate woman.  

“Thank you, Anne, truly for your help today.”

“My pleasure.  Anytime, dear.”

Ruby’s hand was still caught in that comforting embrace.  After a moment, Anne squeezed her fingers before letting them go.

“Do you need anything else?”

“Not unless you have a candy shop behind that door.”  Ruby glanced at a door to the left of Anne.

“No,” Anne laughed.  “That’s just a cabinet door.  No chocolate there.  But there’s an excellent chocolate shop about a block that way.”  She pointed down the street to the right.

“Thank you!  I am very familiar with it.”

“A fellow chocolate lover, are you?”

“Absolutely!”  Ruby glanced at the beautiful vase of roses.  “Thank you so much, Anne.  I should head to the candy shop next.”

“Make sure you buy yourself a truffle.”

Ruby smiled.  “What a delightful idea.  Bye.”  

She headed out the door while Anne’s eyes followed her the whole way.

—

Ruby had picked out a deluxe box of chocolates.  Mr. Taylor had given her a hundred dollars, so she was determined to spoil his wife with the huge red heart of assorted chocolate truffles.  It cost nearly fifty dollars.  But she knew Mrs. Taylor would love it.  

Now she was checking out the smaller boxes of truffles.  Something with which to thank Anne for her help.  After selecting a pound of their finest chocolates, Ruby also chose one truffle for herself.  Sea salt caramel dark chocolate.  She paid for her purchases and slowly nibbled away at that delicious truffle on her way to her car.

The smell of freshly brewed coffee assaulted her senses as she stepped out into the bright spring sunshine.  She glanced next door at the little coffee shop whose smells were beckoning her.  The aromas of freshly baked bread and rich caramel macchiatos swirled together.  Drawn by those enticing scents, Ruby headed into the coffeehouse and ordered her favorite drink.  And a chocolate chunk cookie too.  

She was truly pampering herself today.  She realized with shock that she had never done such a thing.  Spending her money on frivolities.  Simply for the joy of it.  She rather liked the idea of treasuring herself.

What an odd thought.  Where had it come from?  Treasuring herself?

But she realized that she did feel cherished today.  Something had shifted in her heart this morning as she had turned to see six hundred roses staring back at her.  Someone had gifted her a garden’s worth of blooms.  Because he thought she was worth six hundred roses.

Blaze’s words suddenly floated back to her.

“Ruby?  You do know that you’re worth six hundred roses.  Right?”

Her secret admirer wasn’t the only one who thought she deserved a garden full of blossoms.  Blaze believed it too.

What a sweet man.

Was it possible that something golden lay buried deep down on the inside of her?  Something that Owen had neither seen nor had the heart to unearth?  Something that both Blaze and her mysterious gift giver could perceive and each valued?  What a remarkable thought.  

She found her heart suddenly flying away on happy musings as she wandered down the block towards her car.  Now she got to go make another woman blissful.

Chapter 14: A Grand Passion – April 1

“1212 Pine Street.”

Ruby read the number off the grand two-story house.  It dwarfed even her Victorian home.  Making it appear like the tiniest cottage.

It must be nice to be the chief executive officer of a major company.  Of course, his wife probably paid the price.  Barely seeing her husband.   After all, Mr. Taylor wasn’t the one bringing his beloved her forty-year anniversary gift.  The girl who worked on the first floor of his building was doing this fun job for him.

She turned off the ignition and climbed from her car before reaching back in to collect a mammoth vase of roses and a huge box of chocolates.  She marched up the sidewalk to ascend the steps to the mansion.  She used the knocker on the door to alert a butler to her presence.  

A butler?  Really?  

They had a butler?!

“May I help you?” he intoned in a deep voice.

“I have a delivery for Mrs. Taylor from her husband.”

“Malfoy?  Who is it?” questioned a crisp voice from the spiraling staircase behind him to his right.

“It’s a gift from Mr. Taylor for you,” he murmured without taking his eyes off of Ruby.

“Rupert sent me a gift?” Her voice was suddenly laced with delight.  “Goodness!  What is it?  It’s not enough that he’s throwing a party for me tonight?”

Perhaps Ruby was wrong about the wife being neglected.  She didn’t sound like she’d been ignored by her husband of forty years.  

She instantly appeared before Ruby.  Now a huge grin lit up the elegant woman’s face.

“Why, hello!  What do you have for me?  Oh!  Those roses are absolutely gorgeous!  And…is that a box of chocolates?  Oh!  Rupert has outdone himself this year!”

Beaming at her, the woman shooed Ruby into the house.  “Come on, come in, my dear.  Malfoy!” she snapped out a cheerful command as she turned towards the austere gentleman.  “Bring us some lemonade.  Out on the veranda.”  She pivoted back towards Ruby.  “Come, my dear.  Follow me.”

Then Mrs. Taylor marched through a sitting room into a dining room and out a set of gorgeous French doors.  Onto a lovely patio that overlooked a sparkling swimming pool.

“Please.  Set the vase on that table there.  I’ll take the chocolates.”  She held out her hand to receive the delectable gift.

Ruby smiled at her as she handed her the box.  Then she crossed to a glass patio table surrounded by chairs and overshadowed by a huge umbrella.  She set the vase carefully down in the center of that table.

As Mrs. Taylor began to savor a chocolate heart, her eyes perused Ruby’s face.  “What’s your name, darling?  You remind me of my own dear Susan.  Without all that glorious red hair, of course.  Poor Susan got my mouse brown hair.”

“Mouse brown?” Ruby roared with laughter.  “You do yourself a disservice, ma’am.  Your hair is a beautiful shade of ash brown.  Quite stunning.  Much more appropriate than my unruly fiery curls, I can assure you.”

“Have you truly no idea of how lovely you are, dear?” The kind woman asked abruptly.

Ruby’s face went blank.  Then a ripple passed over it.  A tremor that made the older woman wonder.

“You are quite lovely,” Mrs. Taylor breathed.

“Thank you,” Ruby whispered before raising her voice to a normal tone to brush away her embarrassment.  “Is Susan your daughter?”

“Yes.  She’s in her last year of college.”  The woman brightened.  “In fact, she’ll be coming home in a few weeks.  What is it now?  Six, I think?  Oh!  I’ve missed her so!  I cannot wait until she comes home.  You would just adore her!”

Ruby chuckled inwardly at the woman’s confident assumption.

“What’s your name, dear?”

“Ruby.”

“What a fitting name you have!  A ruddy little gemstone!  How perfect.”  She seemed to study the girl’s face.  “Do you work for my husband?  I don’t believe I’ve ever met you before.”

Ruby bobbed her head.  “I work behind the front desk.  On the bottom floor.”

“Oh!  I must have passed you hundreds of times then!  How could I forget that glorious hair?”

“No, actually, I was just moved to the first floor last week.  I used to work on the fourteenth floor.  But the girl who greeted people and answered phones went into premature labor, so I’m covering her position until they can find a more permanent replacement.  I thought someone had been hired today, but when I showed up in my old department, I was sent back downstairs.  They still haven’t found anyone to cover her spot permanently.”

“Ah.  That explains it.  Buried on the fourteenth floor, huh?  What was your job?”

“Assistant to a junior executive.”

The woman’s eyebrows flew high.  “Did you like that job?”

“It was all right.”  Ruby shrugged.

“Are you hoping to be an executive someday?”

“Me?” Ruby’s eyebrows had just assaulted some clouds passing by overhead.  “No!”

“Why do you sound so surprised, dear?”

“I haven’t got what it takes to be an executive.  I’m a mouse, you see.”

“We need to trade hair then,” the woman asserted.  “Because I am a lion.”  

Ruby chuckled.  Her statement appeared quite true.

Mrs. Taylor studied her for a moment.  “You’re wrong, you know.  You aren’t a mouse at all.  I think you’re a brave soul like the Celtic warriors of old.  Your hair proves it.  Underneath that quiet exterior, a blazing fire roars.”

Ruby giggled suddenly.  And then slapped her hand over her mouth.

But Mrs. Taylor smiled.  “Why are you laughing, dear?”

“Because I just made friends last night with a man named Blaze.”

“And I just called you a blazing fire.  Hmm.  A man named Blaze, huh?  He sounds like the hero in a romance novel.  This is very promising.  Is he terribly handsome?”

“Umm.”  Ruby could feel herself blushing again.

“Ah.  I can tell by your reaction that he is most dashing.  And probably suffers from a grand passion for you.”

“What?” Ruby asked, shocked.  “No.  I can assure you; he does not.  We’re just friends.  Acquaintances really.  I haven’t seen him since high school.”

“I see.  An old flame, is it?”  Her lips quirked upward at her joke. 

Ruby tensed.

Mrs. Taylor remarked mildly, “Perhaps this is the start of a promising friendship.”

Ruby relaxed.

“And a grand passion,” the woman finished.

Increasing Ruby’s anxiety level greatly.

But Mrs. Taylor just grinned at her as though she knew something Ruby didn’t.

Chapter 15: Adorable – April 1

Ruby cleared her throat as Anne’s words suddenly came back to her.

“Oh!  The florist added eight white roses to your forty red ones.  She wanted me to tell you that they were to grow on.  She hopes that the coming years of your marriage are golden.”

Mrs. Taylor’s face softened.  “What a sweet woman!  How kind of her.”  She took on an inward look.  “I have been truly blessed in my dear Rupert.”  She bent an inquiring gaze on Ruby.  “As I feel certain you will be with your fiery Blaze.”  She chuckled as Ruby blushed.

“Yes, your name is most apt, my dear.  Do you realize that when you’re embarrassed you blush in the most adorable way?  You light up like a crimson jewel.”

Ruby could feel that heat creeping over her cheeks now.  But she felt oddly loved by this effusive woman.

“Are you doing anything this afternoon?” Mrs. Taylor abruptly changed the subject.

“Um.  Well, I don’t know.  Your husband gave me the afternoon off.”

Mrs. Taylor grinned.  “Do you need the time to yourself?  Or would you like to earn some extra money?”

“Extra money?” Ruby echoed.

“Yes.  We’re hosting a grand fete tonight, and my party planner suddenly fell ill this morning.  Most of the details are in place.  I just need someone to run them by.  And a little help here and there.  

“Would you like to stay and help me?  The party is at seven.  I probably wouldn’t need your help much past eight thirty if you have other plans.  But if you can stay until then, I’ll pay you five hundred dollars.”

Ruby just gaped at her.  That’s when she began to believe that she must be dreaming.  First, a secret admirer had left her six hundred roses and a beautiful poem.  Then another seeming suitor had suddenly appeared like a knight in shining armor just when she’d needed his help.  She had found some crazy favor with her big boss and a kind florist.  And now she was being offered a small fortune to help throw a party.  Plus, she had a dessert date tonight with a very handsome man.  Either she was dreaming, or…

…maybe this whole day was an elaborate April Fool’s Day joke.  At the end of it, Blaze, Anne, Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, and a whole host of other people were going to jump out from behind her bushes and yell, “Gotcha!”

Either way, she had nothing to lose and much to gain.  So she agreed to help Mrs. Taylor with her party.

—

Surprisingly, she found herself thoroughly enjoying the entire afternoon, her duties, and Mrs.  Taylor.  Though, that last was not really a surprise.  She was a very sweet woman.   But she was right; she was a lion.

“You know,” Ruby informed her at one point during the day, “you could dye your hair red.  You would look quite ravishing.”

Mrs. Taylor’s lips twitched.  “So, I would look ravishing, but you think you don’t?” she teasingly questioned her new friend.  Then when Ruby kept silent, she spoke again.  “Hmm.  I wonder if Mr. Taylor would like it.”

“You could always just do your tips red.”

Mrs. Taylor’s sudden ripple of laughter echoed throughout the empty house.  “Whatever would my high society friends think?”  She grinned with relish.  “What a delightful idea!  I shall consider it.  I would probably shock Susan too.”

“It would be really cool against your dark hair.  You’d look like you had flames leaping up into your hair.”

“Ooh!  That does sound exciting!”

Ruby chortled.  So did Mrs. Taylor.

At a later point, Ruby addressed her, “Mrs. Taylor, would you like me to put your roses here?”

“My dear, I think we are already great friends.  Enough of this ‘Mrs. Taylor’ business.  Please call me Stephanie.”

Ruby smiled at her.  “All right, Stephanie.”

They worked together throughout the entire afternoon and had just put the finishing touches on all their plans when the first guests began to appear.  Still, Mr. Taylor had yet to arrive.  He finally showed up at half past seven with a friend in tow.

He slipped into the house through the garage.  Allowing his friend and all his goodies in too.  Mr. Taylor surprised Stephanie a few moments later.  But the one who was truly surprised was Ruby.  For an hour later, Blaze suddenly appeared in the grand hall.  He was carrying a tray of miniature chocolate soufflés.  Shocked to see her, he stopped in his tracks as Mr. Taylor turned towards him.  

“Ah, Blaze, my friend.  Come meet my wife.”  He turned towards Stephanie.  “Darling, this man makes the most divine chocolate soufflé.”

Ruby gaped at them.  Mr. Taylor must be mistaken.   She was waiting for Blaze to explain that it was the chef at The Picnic Basket who had made the soufflé.  But he didn’t say anything.  Then she realized that, of course, he didn’t want to contradict the man in front of his friends.

“Chocolate soufflé!!”  Stephanie exclaimed.  “Oh, Rupert!  You left no stone unturned today!  Roses.  Chocolates.  A party with our family and friends.  And chocolate soufflé.”

“I really did turn over all those stones.  And look who I found hiding under the last one!”  Mr. Taylor gestured behind her.

Stephanie spun around.  “SUSAN!”  She leapt forward and threw her arms around her daughter.

Ruby grinned.  All day long she’d heard about how wonderful this girl was.

“What are you doing here?  I thought you had to take an exam this afternoon.”

“I worked it out with my teacher.  He let me take it this morning instead.  Sorry I’m late.  It was a long drive.”

Stephanie’s face melted into a wide grin, and she hugged her daughter tight again.  “I am so glad you’re home!  Oh!  And you must meet Ruby.”

“Ruby, this is my darling daughter, Susan!” Stephanie gasped excitedly. “Susan, this is my delightful new friend, Ruby.”

Ruby smiled shyly at the girl.

“Hello!” Susan responded, with a little wave of her hand.

“Hello,” Ruby reciprocated quietly.  

Why did she always feel stultified around girls her own age?  She had no trouble speaking to people who were a generation older than her.  Or to her colleagues in the workplace.  But one-on-one in social situations, especially with an audience, she was horrible.  All her adolescent fears seemed to come crashing down on her.

She’d had some friends when she was younger.  She’d always been good with people individually when she’d been a child.  But in large groups, she’d been painfully shy.  Still, she’d made friends one person at a time.  By giving a helping hand here.  Or a kind word there.  Reaching out to another shy girl.  Or to someone who’d suffered bullying.  Slowly, Ruby had made several close friends.

However, all of that had changed during her freshman year in high school.  Something tragic had befallen her as she’d begun to date Owen.  One by one, her friends had pulled away from her.  Until the day they had all deserted her completely.  She had never really understood the cause of it.  But because the timing of it had coincided with the beginning of her relationship with him, she had come to believe that Owen had had something to do with it.  

He’d encouraged her to avoid her friends and hang out with him.  He had claimed that he loved her and wanted her all to himself.  She’d been so crazy about him that she’d desired to be completely absorbed by him, so she’d let her friends fall to the wayside.  She hadn’t questioned it when they’d stopped returning her calls.  She’d been too wrapped up in Owen.

It wasn’t until she’d discovered that he was sleeping with another girl that Ruby had finally realized that she was completely alone.  He had isolated her from everyone.  She wasn’t even close to anyone she worked with.  After he’d left her, she’d sunk into a depression and pulled even further away from everyone around her.  She’d forced herself to go to work and to attend to her duties.  But she’d taken no pleasure in them.  She’d come home directly after work each night and buried herself in novels or dramas that made her cry.  She’d been miserable for more than two long years.

More recently, she’d just begun to feel numb.  Lost in a world of darkness.  Still desiring not to wake up in the mornings.  Moving through her day like a sleepwalker.  

Until the roses had begun to arrive.  They had brought the sweetness of spring with them.  And the savor of hope.  Then she’d met Blaze, and he had added another layer of color to her gray world.  Now she stood before Stephanie who had splashed some of her vibrancy all over her today.  And here stood her daughter, Susan, who just might be the friend Ruby had been craving.  If she just had the courage to jump into that bucket of paint and be absorbed by it.  

She glanced at Susan’s sunny smile and chose to return it.  She even found the tenacity to speak.

“It’s nice to meet you.  Your mother hasn’t ceased to sing your praises all day long.”  

Were those words actually tumbling out of Ruby’s own mouth?  She was astonished at herself.

Susan laughed.  “Yes.  Everyone knows my mother adores me!”  She smiled at Stephanie.  “And that I adore her!”

Stephanie grinned broadly at her daughter.  “Oh!”  Her eyes grew wide as she turned towards Ruby.  “Can you check on the cake?  Make sure we set everything out?”

Ruby nodded.  She had already double-checked the dessert table.  She knew that it was stacked high with plates and forks, but she was happy for an excuse to cease being the center of attention, so she fluttered off without even speaking one word to Blaze.

But he was too occupied passing out chocolate soufflés to notice.  However, in the back of his mind, he was wondering if she would confront him later at her house.  He’d been looking forward to their date all day long.  But now he was just plain nervous…

Chapter 16: An Intimate Web – April 1

She was waiting for him in the dark.  Sitting peacefully on her exalted perch.  Remembering how this bench had been covered in roses a few hours ago.  For the rest of her life, she would remember today.  She dearly hoped it wasn’t a dream from which she was about to awake.  Or an elaborate April Fools’ Day prank.  She just wanted this day to be real.  One perfect day that she could tuck away in her heart forever.  

She had been romanced today.  And rescued.  And favored.   She’d made four new friends.  One at work.  One at the floral shop.  And two under Stephanie’s roof. 

And she still had Blaze and dessert to look forward to tonight; though, she hadn’t resisted sampling some of his chocolate soufflé and the cream cake at the anniversary party.  Yet she still had room for more dessert.  She was quite passionate about chocolate.  And sweets in general.  But mostly she was anticipating Blaze’s delightful company.

She leaned back in her swing and closed her eyes as it glided through the cool night air.  The sun had set over an hour ago, stealing the warmth from the atmosphere.  As the sun went to sleep, its heat was also tucked in with it.  She shivered and reached for the blanket that she had left hanging over the back of her glider.  Blaze found her huddled under it a few minutes later when he arrived with a picnic basket full of goodies.

Quickly, he climbed her steps.  He was eager to see her.  Even as he felt a slight bit of trepidation.

“Hello!” he called cheerfully as his feet landed on her porch.

“Hi, yourself,” she responded shyly.  “Did you bring dessert?”

“But, of course!”  He smiled as he observed her gliding through the air still.  “Is there room on that swing for me?” he asked quietly as his eyes slid down her legs which were stretched out along the seat of the swing.  

She nodded and sat up, swinging her legs down until her feet hit the ground.  He noticed her shivering as he sat down next to her.  Instantly, he shrugged out of his coat.

“You’re cold.  Here.  Wear this.”

“But then you’ll be cold!” she argued, drawing the blanket closer to her.

“I’ll share your blanket.  Come on,” he urged her as he draped his coat around her shoulders.

She leaned forward and then slipped her arms into the sleeves.  “Thank you,” she responded through chattering teeth.

“Did you catch a chill out here?”  He bent towards her.  “Here.  Let’s zip you up.”  He grabbed the zipper and wove its teeth expertly together as his fingers rode its pull tab up the center of her torso.  

She gazed down at his bent head.  This moment felt oddly intimate.  She blushed and thanked God for the darkness which hid her tenderness from him.

He reached out and placed his hands on her upper arms and began to chafe them in an attempt to warm her up.  Again, another oddly intimate gesture on his part.  As though they had been the best of friends for years.  Or perhaps even lovers.

“Do you want to go inside your house instead?  We could eat in the kitchen.”

“No!” she practically shouted.  

He recoiled.  Stunned.

“I just…”  She took a deep breath.  “I want to stay on the swing.  I…I missed it, you see,” she grappled for an explanation she could give him.

“You missed it?”

She nodded.  “I haven’t sat on it in over two years…until a few days ago.  It was always my favorite place to be.  When I was younger.”

“But it’s not now?”

“It’s becoming so again.”

“Why didn’t you sit on it for two years?” he whispered in response to her soft voice.

“Because this is where my ex-husband told me he wanted a divorce.”

He gasped.  “He was sitting right here?  Where I’m sitting?”  Blaze was now perched on the edge of the seat as though he was going to fly away at any moment.

“Yes.”

“He took your favorite spot and desecrated it with his infidelity?”  He was growing angry now.

She glanced sharply at him.  “How did you know that he was unfaithful to me?”

He paused.  Wracking his brain for the right words.  “I saw him one night in the café.  Two years ago.  With another woman.  I just assumed…”  He let his voice trail off.

“Ah,” she sighed.  “Yes.  It’s true.  He cheated on me.  While we were still married.”

Stricken, he stared at her lovely face in the dark.  The streetlamp down the block was illuminating her pale face just enough that he could make out her eyes and her skin.  And the soft pink of her lips.

“I am so sorry you experienced that.”  

But it explained so much.  Why she was so fractured.  So timid.

“Does it make you uncomfortable for me to sit here with you?  Where he sat?”

“No,” she gasped as he seemed poised to flee, “please stay.  Relax.  You don’t remind me of him.  Not at all.”

Owen was a sandy blond with blue eyes.  He had neither Blaze’s dashing dark looks nor his captivating jade eyes.  He lacked his easygoing manner too.  And his beautiful sense of humor.  And that blinding grin.

“Please help me rewrite history.  I just want something good to happen on this swing.  I’m trying to reclaim its joy.”

“I wouldn’t say you’re trying.”

“What do you mean?”

“I would say that you’re achieving your goal.  You are reclaiming your joy in this seat you hold.  I agree with you that Owen will no longer steal its joy from you.”  

Blaze was gazing intently at her, but she couldn’t read his eyes in the dark.  His face was in shadows.

“Ruby?”  His voice was just a breath.

“Hmm?”

“Are you comfortable with me?  Do I make you nervous?”

He did.  But he didn’t.

“No.  Yes.  I mean, yes.  No.”

“What?”

They both laughed breathlessly.

“You don’t make me nervous.  I am comfortable with you.”

She glanced up into his face; though, she couldn’t see much but the outline of its planes. 

“Good,” he whispered before he bent his head and kissed her cheek.  As his lips lingered on her skin, he whispered, “Am I creating a good memory for you to embrace as you lie down in your bed tonight?  A good memory of this special spot?”  

His mouth was brushing her cheek tenderly.   He was melting her.  

Her heart began to hammer, and she realized she’d just lied to him.  He did make her nervous.  And uncomfortable.  But in the most delicious way possible.  She wanted to turn her face towards his and find his lips with her own.  And lose herself in their embrace. 

Her thoughts shocked her.  She hadn’t believed herself ready for anything even remotely close to this.  To the feelings she was battling right now.  She cleared her throat.

“What’s for dessert?” she croaked.

He smiled against her skin.  He loved being this close to her.  He knew exactly what he wanted for dessert.  And it wasn’t in that picnic basket.  He sighed against her cheek as his lips brushed its edge before he spoke.

“Several goodies,” he mumbled as he reluctantly drew away from her.

“Several?” she asked, astounded.

“Mmhmm.”  He bent to retrieve his picnic basket.  “First of all, we have the chocolate soufflé. Which really was better two hours ago, so I hope you ate it at the party.”  He was also hoping that his babbling would discourage any questions on her part.

“I did,” she admitted sheepishly.  “It was excellent.  My compliments to the chef.”

It was his turn to blush.

“Speaking of which, wasn’t it funny when Mr. Taylor confused you with the chef at the café?”

“Quite,” he murmured.  “So, are you curious what else is in my basket?” he changed the subject quickly.

“Very.”

He cleared his throat as he pulled out a plate with a slice of cheesecake on it.

“Cheesecake?” she crooned.

“Do you like it?” he quirked a raven eyebrow at her.

“Nope.  I love it!  Is there a fork handy?”

“Right here.”  He withdrew a fork and removed the cellophane covering the cheesecake.  Then he sank the fork into it and held it up to her mouth.  “Care for a bite?”

“You’re going to feed me?”  She sounded oddly vulnerable.

Owen had never done anything as tender as feeding her himself.  

“I forgot to bring another fork.  Want some?”  He continued to hold that bite of cheesecake up to her lips as he waited patiently for her answer.

Why did the idea of sharing a piece of cheesecake with Blaze also sound oddly intimate?

She knew she must be blushing.  Why?  Did she like him?  Was she attracted to Blaze?

She suddenly recalled the tingles that had spread across her face a few moments ago when he had kissed her cheek.  And the answering call that had erupted within her belly.  How she had wanted to lean into his kiss.  With a start, she realized that she did like him.  She did crave his kiss.  And his touch.

She looked for the familiar fear.  Yet she couldn’t find it.  She felt oddly safe with Blaze.  Was she a fool to trust a man she’d just met?  At least, for the first time in ten years.

“We don’t have to share it,” he supplied when she didn’t answer his question.  “I don’t need to eat any.”

“No!  It’s fine!” she burst out.

Ugh.  

Why was she so nervous?  She kept yelling at him.

His lips quirked.  “Open up then.  Try the cheesecake.”

She could hear the smile in his voice.  It lent her his happiness.

She opened her mouth and received his sweet gift.  And her eyes fluttered shut as delight exploded on her tongue.  

“Oh,” she groaned.  “That is so good.”  She cleared her throat.  “I think I changed my mind.”

“What?”

“I don’t want to share.  You don’t need any cheesecake, right?”

He chuckled.  “Wrong.”  He took a bite.

“Hey!  I haven’t had cheesecake in so long.”

“There’s two pieces,” he murmured.

“What?” Her gaze sharpened on his face, but it was still in shadow.

“I brought plenty of cheesecake.  I know you like it.”

“What?”  She was beginning to sound like a broken record.  “How could you possibly know that?”

“You used to bring some in your lunch occasionally.  More than once I watched you enjoy it.  You always looked blissful when you were eating cheesecake.” 

Each time she’d reacted exactly as she had tonight.  Closing her eyes and sighing with pleasure.  Over a simple delectable dessert.

She gawked at him again.  Just exactly how much had this guy liked her back in high school?

“I feel so bad that I barely remember you.  Yet you seem to recall the most intimate details of my life.”

“It’s okay.  At least, you do remember me.  I’m sure you’ve forgotten lots of people.”

That odd statement struck a chord deep in her soul.  She had forgotten lots of people in her pursuit of Owen.  And in his pursuit of her.  She sighed.

“Hey!  Why so glum?  You have cheesecake to enjoy.  Open up.”  

He coaxed another bite into her mouth.  She smiled.  And thoroughly enjoyed that sumptuous bite.  

He shoveled a bite of his own into his mouth.

She closed her eyes again to savor the creaminess of the cheesecake.  And its rich vanilla flavor.  But instead, all her senses seemed to hone in on the man seated directly next to her.  His shoulder was jostling hers every time he moved even infinitesimally.  His thigh was rubbing up against hers.  She could hear the soft inhalation and exhalation of each of his breaths.  Why did she want to share them?

She could feel herself opening up to him like one of those beautiful blooms that had filled vase after vase in her house this morning.  It was as though Blaze were a sun to whom she was drawn.  He was slowly coaxing her petals open.  Was he planning to invade her with his warmth?

Suddenly, she remembered her secret admirer.  The man who was gently wooing her.  The one who had filled this swing with red roses this morning.  Was he watching them even now?  Was she breaking his heart?

She was beginning to crave the intimacy of a deep friendship.  Sitting here breathing in the dark with Blaze was doing odd things to her heart.  But another man had spent a small fortune on her today to do something incredibly sweet for her.  She found that she lacked the heart to break his.  Or Blaze’s.  

What was she going to do?

“What’s wrong?”

It was Blaze’s voice.  He had somehow detected her sudden distress.  But how could she tell him what she was struggling with?

Simply admitting to the conflict would probably upset him if he liked her as much as she was beginning to believe he did.

“I’m wondering where my next bite of cheesecake is.  Did you eat it?” she replied teasingly.

She had just withdrawn from him.  He had felt it happening.  Like a shield had suddenly slid around a heart that had been slowly opening.  He wanted to tap on that defense until it crumbled.  But he knew he had to move slowly with her.  And gently.  

He suspected that Owen had damaged parts of her heart that even Ruby was unaware of.  So Blaze decided to switch tactics.

“Here,” he whispered as he bent towards her, lifting the fork to her mouth once more.

She took another bite, but this time she didn’t even taste it.  His breath was slipping over her lips, causing a deep ache to form in the pit of her stomach.  She wanted to lean towards him and claim his lips with her own.  To be wrapped in an intimate embrace again.  To feel adored.  And safe.

Had she ever felt those things with Owen?  

She had.  But now she realized that it had all been a lie.  That the man had, in fact, woven a tapestry of lies around her throughout their entire relationship.   Nothing Owen had ever said or done had been the truth.  He had been deceiving her from the beginning.

It was little things she had discovered towards the end…

“What’s this, Owen?” she’d asked him one summer’s day in his bedroom between her freshman and sophomore years in high school.

She had pulled the ticket stub out from underneath a notebook resting on the top of his desk.  Her eyes had brushed that little piece of card stock.  It had been dated two Saturdays ago.  A ticket to a baseball game.  On the afternoon of her birthday party.  The one he had said he couldn’t attend because he was sick.

“What?” he had replied vaguely.  “I don’t know.  I’m not sure where that came from.”

“Owen?”  She’d had an uneasy feeling.  Had he lied to her?  “Did you go to a baseball game during my birthday party?”

She’d lifted her gaze to his, and she had known.  She had seen the deceit in his eyes.  She had detected his discomfort at being found out.  She had known in the depths of her soul that he was being dishonest with her.  Why hadn’t she fled from him then?  

Instead, she had given him a chance to explain.  How many times had such a scenario played out over the years?  Why had she allowed him to charm her every time?  Until the end.  When he had no longer wished to charm her.

“I’m sorry, Ruby,” he’d finally admitted his wrongdoing.  “My dad insisted I go with him.  I didn’t want to hurt your feelings, so I told you I was sick.  So you wouldn’t feel like I was putting him before you.”

But now she was certain that had been a lie too.  The girl she’d caught in bed with him had been wearing a red baseball cap.  It had been the strangest thing.  She’d been wearing a baseball cap.  And only a baseball cap.  For the team for which Owen had deserted Ruby on her sweet sixteen.  The Cardinals.  When Ruby had seen that ball cap, she had instantly known that he had lied to her.  From the very beginning.

Chapter 17: Luscious Lips – April 1

Now she was convinced that there had been many such occurrences with Owen.  As she looked back on their relationship over the past decade, she could see them.  He had often canceled plans she’d made with him.  Especially if they had involved any of her other friends.  Her mother had been unaware that she’d had a falling out with her friends after she’d begun to date Owen, so Mom had invited all of those old friends to her sixteenth birthday party.  They had been too polite to refuse her mother.  

No one had been able to resist Mom.  She had always been such a sweetheart.  Ruby could still remember how each of her guests had greeted her mother.  Some of them had even chatted with Mom for a little while.  But very few of them had spoken to Ruby that day.  Mary hadn’t said one word to her.  She’d simply hidden in a corner for the duration of the party.

“Ruby?” Blaze’s voice broke the stillness lingering between them now as her mind revisited a day nearly eleven years ago.  

Suddenly, she was startled as his hand cupped her cheek without warning.  Those strong yet soft fingers slid along her skin, raising more tingles to fly along her nerve lines.  She shivered again.  His thumb slid through a wet track on her cheek.  

“Why are you crying?” he whispered as he bent close to her.

“Oh,” she sniffed.  

She hadn’t realized she was crying.  But Blaze had heard her sob.  Now his thumb was tenderly grazing her tear stain.  His head bent again, and he began to gently brush his lips across that afflicted cheek.  Her eyes fluttered shut as she began to yearn for his comfort.  For someone’s comfort.  For anyone’s comfort.

She was all alone.  Mom was long gone.  Owen had left.  Ruby had no one to solace her in the dark.  She lay every night in her bed alone.  

It wasn’t the same bed in which Owen had broken his marriage vows to her.  She had made him take that bed with him.  She’d spent the money to buy a new one.  Money very well spent in her opinion.  She needed no more haunting echoes of his infidelity.  She already had enough of those.

Still, her new bed was lonely as well.  Lying in that empty bed made her heart ache.  That forlorn heart was yearning to be loved.  Comforted.  Embraced.

Suddenly, without thinking, wrapped in the solacing presence of a very sweet man, she turned her face towards Blaze and breathed across his lips.  He lost it in that moment.  He had dreamed of kissing Ruby for over eleven years now.  

So he softly closed the distance between them until he’d found her lips with his own.  Her stomach flipped upside down, spilling a vat of warmth against her innermost parts.  The colors of his kiss were bleeding into her.  Delving deeply under her skin.  Beneath her lips to race along the lines of her soul.  

She was so drawn to him that she leaned into his kiss.  His fingers left her face to wrap around her as his other hand slid around her back too, drawing her near to him.  His lips pressed gently against her own.  Though he desired more.  So much more.  With his precious Ruby.  The girl he’d loved for over a decade.  

But he would tread carefully.  Slowly.  He hadn’t meant to kiss her this soon.  Even as he exulted in the glory of their first kiss, his heart was beating out a crazy tattoo because he couldn’t believe his boldness.  He was now afraid that he would scare her away with his forwardness.  But he couldn’t draw back from those luscious lips.  They were tempting him to lose himself in them.  So for a few beautiful moments, he did.

His soft lips were playing gently along the bow of hers.  Blaze was tenderly kissing her!  She had never been kissed like this.  Not in all her days.  She had never felt what she was feeling now.  Her eyes had fluttered shut at the touch of his mouth against her own.  Closing out the last little bit of light that had been illuminating them both.

Now she was lost in the dark.  But it was the most beautiful darkness.  Like she’d discovered the depths of his heart where he hid all his secrets.  She felt as though his mouth was communicating them to her.  Drawing her in deeper into the furthermost depths of that precious heart.  Ruby was convinced that Blaze hid treasure there.  She wanted to find it.

So she lifted her face to his and drank deeply of that magnificent kiss.  After a few blissful moments during which he drew her as close to his heart as he could in their awkward position, he pulled gently away from her.  His lips slowly retreating from hers.  Still, his breath remained, slipping over her lips and filling her mouth with his essence and with the sweetness of the cheesecake still clinging to him.  It sent up such a craving on the inside of her that she nearly panicked.  She instantly leaned forward to embrace his lips again.

He could feel the shift in her.  And it broke his heart.  For he recognized what it was.  She was in a very vulnerable state right now.  She was craving things she’d had with Owen, a man who had never cherished her heart.  Yet she had shared all of the intimate places of her body with him.  Had she also shared with him the secret places of her soul?  Of her heart?

Blaze could feel her craving him.  Yearning for a depth of intimacy with him that would be impossible for her to find this early on in their relationship.  She didn’t know him well enough to open herself that fully to him.  But Blaze wanted her to share the deepest places of her heart with him.  Truthfully, he craved that more than he wanted to explore her body.  

And he did ache to touch that velvet skin.  And kiss those soft lips.  And delight in her deepest parts.  But he had to tread lightly with her.  He had always known it.  Sensed it.  Understood it.  

For he could feel her pain.  The loneliness of her soul.  The despair of her heart.  That she would open herself completely to a man, trusting him with her most precious self, only to be forsaken.  Abandoned by the love she had put her faith in.  

Blaze would never do such a horrid thing to her.  But he also recognized that she didn’t know him well enough to know that.  And he didn’t want her to feel any sense of insecurity in his presence.  So he was going to lay a foundation of kindness in her soul.  And temperance.  He could control all his unruly passions to keep her heart safe.

So he allowed her another kiss as his fingers lovingly stroked her back through the thick material of his coat.  But he finally drew away from her lips.  His mouth traveled across her cheek towards her ear.  Where he breathed some words into her.

“Did you want to try another dessert?”

She just had.  It had been the best one she’d ever encountered.  She wanted more of Blaze’s kisses.  He’d just set a fire in her soul.  It was roaring right now.  But as it grew hotter, so did her memories.

Her encounters in her bedroom with Owen began to swamp her.  She shook her head.  

No! 

She did not want to remember being intimate with a selfish man.  She wanted to blot him out completely.  She wanted Blaze.  This super sweet man sitting next to her.  Couldn’t she just lose herself in him?  In his goodness to her?

“You don’t want any more dessert?” Blaze queried after misunderstanding that shake of her head.

“I do,” she murmured huskily.

That voice wrapped around him with desire, and Blaze found himself seeking out her lips with his own once more.  As he sank into their softness, he had to admit that their chemistry was scaring him.  He’d always known he was drawn to her with the strength of a Neodymium magnet.  But he hadn’t known for certain that their kiss would spark a fire in his bones.  But now he did know.  For sure.  Now the question was how to exert restraint.  Enough to keep her heart safe.  From his deepest desires.

He began to plant a series of sweet innocent pecks along those luscious lips.  But then he drew back suddenly.

“I have no wish to hurt you, Ruby.  Or to use you.  But I desire you greatly.  I think we need to stop.  I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Hurt me?” she murmured distractedly.  

Blaze had the most divine lips.  They’d been playing the most beautiful melodies along the bow of her mouth.  She wanted to hear more of his music.  She longed to taste more of his sweetness.

“Ruby, you don’t know me very well.  Not yet.”  He sighed.  “It’s hard because I feel like I know you, but we’ve spent little time in each other’s company.”

His words were like experiencing the shock of cold water suddenly tossed in a face.  He was right.  She barely knew him!  What was she doing?

Last night had been their first date.  Tonight, their second.  And she’d already kissed him three times?!  They needed to slow down.  She needed to cool off.  

She backed away from him.  “You’re right.  I think I’ve had enough dessert for tonight.  I should probably head to bed.”

Alone.

“I understand,” he responded, disappointed.  “But, Ruby, you’re still making me dinner tomorrow night, right?”

She inhaled sharply.  “Yes.”

He bent his head until his breath teased her ear once more.  “Just so you know, I do want to kiss you more.  And to do all the delightful things that are revolving around your cute little mind right now.”

She gasped.  He chuckled.

“But I will take my leave now.  I’ll save the other desserts for tomorrow night.”

Her eyes widened.  “How many did you bring?”

“Enough, apparently.”

But, really, all she needed to be happy were those luscious lips of his.

Chapter 18: Come the Morning – April 1 – 2

She still had his coat.  She realized it as he pulled his car away from the curb a few moments later.  She remained wrapped in his warmth.  His scent lingering in the air around her.  Every time she moved, she stirred its echoes again.  She didn’t want to take that jacket off.  So she wore it to bed.  She was still enfolded by its embrace when she awoke the next morning.

—

She still couldn’t breathe.  From last night’s kisses.  But she woke up to a happy truth.  Yesterday hadn’t been a dream.  Or an April Fools’ prank.  It had been the advent of her first and most amazing kiss with Blaze.  She was still basking in its glow when she opened her front door.

To discover two red roses on the seat of their swing.  It felt like their swing now.  Hers and Blaze’s.  His kiss had redeemed it.  He seemed to feel it too.  For he had placed not one but two roses on its seat today.

But as she approached that swing, she suddenly remembered.  

No, the roses aren’t from Blaze.  They’re from my mystery man.  

She felt a great sense of alarm.  Because she was being pulled between the desires of two men.  She was drawn to them both.  To the heart that had lavished her with fifty dozen radiant red roses.  But also, to the soul of the man who had fed her cheesecake and reined in his burning desires in order to protect her heart.  That heart suddenly picked up speed as she stepped close to her swing and saw the paper heart resting on top of its seat.

She hugged Blaze’s coat close to her in the chill morning air.  It felt like that breeze was bleeding into her soul today.  What was she going to do about this impossible situation?  One man was wooing her with red roses and passionate poems.  Another with the most delicious food and the most gorgeous grins…and the most delightful kisses she’d ever experienced.  How could she choose between them?  How could she break even one of those precious hearts?

She bent to retrieve today’s missive.  Her eyes scanned it with trepidation tripping up her heart.  Had he seen Blaze romancing her on their swing last night?

Their swing?

Yes.  This swing felt like it now belonged to Blaze as well as to her.  For they had shared three kisses on this flying seat.  Three kisses that had seared him into her soul.  

She sighed as her gaze perused the note.

“My joy has bled into your soul.

My prayer is that it makes you whole.

No matter where you go or what you find,

You will always be priceless, sweet, and kind.

“It seems my gifts have done their work,

Pulling you from the darkness that did lurk 

In your soul to keep you bound,

But now true love it seems you’ve found.

“Be happy and free and embrace the future.

Don’t look back to the past and lose yourself there.

Take the hand of the one you love.

Accept every sweet gift from above.

“Always remember when you see a rose 

That within your heart its sweetness grows.

Keep your face lifted towards the sun.

Embrace its rays and revel in its fun.”

She stared at it.  Why did this note feel like a goodbye?  

She felt a little tide of sorrow rush over her.  She’d never know her secret admirer now.  He was backing away from her.  This note made it sound as though his desire all along had simply been to help her begin to live again.  However, yesterday he’d wanted to talk with her and walk with her.  And he had given her six hundred roses.  Surely, that implied a grand passion!  So what had changed?

He had seen Blaze kiss her.  He must have.  She had hurt him.  By kissing Blaze.  She was growing more distressed by the moment.  Unwittingly, she had damaged some man’s tender heart.  A man who would give her fifty dozen roses. 

What should she do?

She had no idea.  So she decided to do the only thing she had on her agenda for today.  She had a box of chocolates to deliver.  She picked up her two roses – probably her final ones – and carried them into her house.  She needed to get ready to leave.  She had a floral shop to visit this morning.

—

The florist’s shop was buzzing with business when Ruby pushed its door open a half hour later.  She slipped into the tiny building and began to study the various plants for sale.  Beautiful blooms bursting with bright color and magnificent fragrances surrounded her with their abundant delight.  She closed her eyes and was instantly transported to her dream garden.  She stood locked in that ethereal world until a gentle voice disturbed her reverie.

“You’ve come to visit me again, I see.  But this time you brought me no flowers.”

Ruby’s eyes flew open.  “Anne!  Hello!”  She beamed at her new friend.

The girl was glowing today.  Did she have any idea how beautiful she was?  But something was different this morning.  Anne couldn’t quite put her finger on it.  However, it was unmistakable.  Ruby had changed.

“Hello, sweet girl,” Anne greeted her.  “What’s that in your hand?”

“I did bring you a gift today.”

“You did?”  Anne quirked a dark brow at her as a smile suffused her face with joy.

Ruby held the box of chocolates out to her.

If anything, Anne’s brilliant smile grew another yard.  “Chocolate truffles?”

Ruby shrugged.  “You told me to indulge myself.  I did.  And I wanted you to also.  After all, you helped me yesterday.  The least I could do was to say thank you with some chocolate.”

“You do know the way to this girl’s heart,” Anne’s lips twitched upward as she glanced at Ruby.

“Chocolate,” Ruby grinned.

“We both love it, don’t we?  Oh!  You should try my son’s chocolate soufflé.  It’s to live for!”

Ruby chuckled.  “‘To live for?’  I thought the phrase was ‘to die for’?”

“I don’t know why anyone would die for chocolate soufflé.  How would you enjoy it then?  I’d rather live for it.”

Ruby stopped to stare at her for a moment.  “So, your son makes chocolate soufflé?”

Anne nodded.

“Is he a chef?”

“Actually, he is.  He runs my late husband’s café.”

“The Picnic Basket?”

Anne’s face brightened.  “That’s the one!  Do you know it?”

“Do I know it?  It’s my favorite place to eat.”

“Is it really?  How wonderful.”

Just then, Anne was called upon by a customer.  She smiled at Ruby and lifted the box of chocolates slightly as though thanking her for them before turning to help the young couple seeking wedding bouquets.  

Ruby continued wandering through the shop.  Sniffing roses here and tulips there.  Reaching out to touch the petals of a multitude of beautiful blooms.  Some velvet, some waxy.  All delightful.  She was grinning from ear to ear when Anne found her again.

“How did your boss’s wife like the flowers?”

“About as much as she loved the chocolate soufflé your son made.”

“My son?”  Anne’s eyebrows flew up into the heavens before falling back down to line her forehead again.  “My son was at your boss’s house?”

“Well, not your son.  Blaze brought the chocolate soufflés to the party.”  

Ruby cut herself off to explain.  “My boss threw his wife a fortieth anniversary party.  The chef from The Picnic Basket sent a bunch of miniature chocolate soufflés with Blaze.  He presented them to Stephanie.  She delighted in them.”  

Ruby leaned towards Anne and whispered conspiratorially, “I think she ate three!”  Then she laughed, and Anne had to admit that chuckle was a delightful sound.

“Did she really?  Well, my son’s soufflé is that delicious!”

Ruby’s brow puckered.  “Anne, what is your son’s name?”

But before she could answer, Anne was once again distracted by a paying customer.  So she bid Ruby farewell as she turned away.  Ruby felt oddly letdown.  She had been hoping to discuss her dilemma with Anne.  But the woman was clearly too busy to help her today.  With a sinking heart, Ruby left the little shop and returned to her car.

Or, at least, she would have if she hadn’t stepped into someone else’s path.  Suddenly, she ran right smack into another woman.  As they sprang apart, and her eyes collided with the girl’s, Ruby gasped.

“Mary?”

Mary’s head flew up.  “Ruby?”  A pause.  “It is you!  How are you?”

Ruby shrugged.  “I’m all right.  How are you?”

Mary sighed.  “Blissful.  I’ve finally moved home.  I had a roommate for two years.”  She frowned.  “It was not a good situation.  But now I’m free!”

Ruby smiled.  

“Hey, I’m going to grab a bite to eat at Pressed for Thyme.”

“The coffeehouse down the block?”

Mary nodded.  “Yeah.  Would you like to join me?  I haven’t talked to you for years!”

Ruby was forcibly reminded of the last time they’d spoken.  It had been their senior year in high school.  It had also been nearly three and a half years since they’d stopped hanging out together.  It had pained Ruby when she thought about it.  Mary had been her best friend since grade school.  Ruby had missed her.  Terribly.  But she hadn’t had the faintest idea how to reclaim their lost friendship.  

She’d finally attempted to speak to Mary at their graduation.

“Mary,” she’d run into her old friend in the girls’ bathroom after the ceremony was over.  “Are you going to Northwestern?”

Like we planned.

Of course, Ruby had changed her plans for Owen.  She had decided to attend the U of I with him instead.  She’d even earned a scholarship.  But she’d had to give up her childhood dream with her best friend.

“Yes,” Mary had spoken in a clipped voice.  “How about you?” 

“Um, no.  I’m going to the U of I.”

“With Owen?”

Ruby had detected her bitterness then.  She’d responded in a tiny voice, “Yes.”

“Well,” Mary had huffed, “have a nice life.”  Then she had spun on her heel and disappeared out the door.

Ruby had felt just awful.

The agony of her memory was bleeding into her countenance now.

“What’s the matter?” Mary asked suddenly.

“You want me to go out to lunch with you?”  Ruby glanced around as though believing that Mary had actually been speaking to someone behind her.

Mary could hear the disbelief in her old friend’s voice.  She smiled.  “Of course.  Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well, we haven’t seen each other in over seven years.  And we didn’t exactly part on the best of terms.”

Mary’s lips twisted.  “I’m sorry.  I was just upset that you ditched me for Owen.”

“What?  I…I didn’t mean to ditch you, Mary.”

“I know.  I realize that now.  I had a boyfriend for a while, and I lost my head over him too.  And basically, ditched all my friends.  So I came to understand.”  She eyed Ruby’s hand.  “Where’s your ring?”

“My ring?”

“Your engagement ring?  Your wedding band?  Someone told me you married him.”

“I guess they didn’t tell you that I also divorced him,” Ruby murmured dryly.

“What?” A spasm passed over Mary’s face.  “Come on.”  She reached out and grasped her friend by the hand and began dragging her towards the coffeehouse.  “We definitely need to talk.”

Chapter 19: Rubes – April 2

Fifteen minutes later, they were settled in the coffee shop in a little booth as they waited for their lunch.  Mary turned towards Ruby.

“What on earth happened?”

“Esmerelda happened,” Ruby grumbled.

“Esmerelda?  Who is Esmerelda?”

“Owen’s fiancé.”

“What?” Mary gasped.

“I found her in my bed.  With my husband.  Eighteen months after I married him.”

“Oh, Ruby!  I am so sorry!”

Ruby just shrugged.  “Guess I got what I deserved.”  She was still feeling bad for deserting Mary in high school.

“What?” Mary gasped.  “You did not deserve that!  You didn’t cheat on him, did you?”

Repulsed, Ruby exclaimed, “No!  Of course not!”

“So why would you say that you deserved to lose your husband to another woman?”

Ruby shrugged again.  “I don’t know.”

Mary’s hand suddenly came down on top of hers on the table.  “Ruby, forget high school.  I forgive you.  Really.”  She peered closely at her friend.  “How are you?  Are you really doing okay?  How long have you been divorced?”

“Two years.”

“That is rough.  You doing okay?”

“I was doing horrible.  Until a few days ago.”

“What happened a few days ago?”

“Someone left a rose on my sidewalk.”

Perplexed, Mary frowned.  “What?”

“Somebody has been leaving roses at my house for the past week or so.  The first eight days, it was just one rose each day.  On the eighth day, I got a poem too.  But yesterday, he simply overwhelmed me.”

“He?”

Ruby nodded.  “According to the first poem, he’s a he.”

“But you don’t know who he is?”

Ruby shook her head.

“How did he overwhelm you yesterday?”

“He left me six hundred roses on my swing.”

“WHAT?” Mary’s eyebrows could be seen hovering above the clouds.  “SIX HUNDRED ROSES!”

Ruby had forgotten how outspoken – and downright loud – her friend could be.  She smiled at her.

“Wow.  That guy really has it bad for you.”

Ruby’s face fell.  “I don’t know why.  And now I think I’ve scared him away.”

“What do you mean?  First…why wouldn’t he like you?”

Ruby shrugged.  “Owen doesn’t like me anymore.”

“Forget Owen.  He’s a jerk!”

“I’ve never really had any friends, Mary.  Nobody but Owen.  So I don’t know who could possibly like me now.”

“What do you mean you haven’t had any friends?  What about college friends?  Or work friends?”

Ruby’s head flew right then left.  “No.  I never had any friends in college.  And none at work.”  But then she thought of Brenda.  “Until yesterday anyway.”

“Yesterday?  Wait.  Back up.  First of all, it’s absurd that a nice girl like you doesn’t have friends.  Owen really did a number on you, didn’t he?”

Ruby shuddered as she remembered one of the last conversations that she’d had with him.  It echoed so many that had preceded it.

“Ruby, you’re nothing.  Nobody but me would ever want to be your friend.  Let alone date you.  You were so lucky that I looked your way.  But even I can’t stand you now.  You’re a pitiful excuse for a human being.  I don’t even know why you’re still breathing.  I’m surprised you haven’t taken some pills or something.  Just ended your miserable existence.”

“Ruby?” Mary’s concerned voice broke through her reverie.  “Sweetheart.”  That comforting hand was back on top of Ruby’s now.  “Why are you crying?”

Ruby glanced up at her friend and blinked.  She reached up and wiped her cheeks with the palms of her hands.  “I – Owen made it very clear that I’m useless.  He said he was the only one who liked me.  And that I had driven even him away.  He questioned why I haven’t just put an end to things.”

Horrified, Mary stared at her, her own disgust of the jerk – who had stolen her best friend – growing by leaps and bounds.  “Ruby!  Those are all lies!  We all loved you in high school.  All of us.  You are a delightful person.  You’re wonderful.  You just pulled away from all of us.  And Owen made it very clear that you didn’t want anything to do with any of us.”  Suddenly, her face cleared as she realized the truth.

“What?”  Sniffling, Ruby stared at her in confusion.  “What are you talking about?  What did Owen tell you?”

“He found all of us at lunch one day.  When you weren’t at school.  Maybe you were sick?  

“He marched up to our table and announced, ‘Ruby is too nice to say it to your faces, but she finds all of you terribly boring and wants nothing to do with any of you anymore.  Why don’t you just leave her alone?  She’s got me and my friends now.  She doesn’t need you.’”

Ruby gasped.  “I never said any such thing!  I would never!  I loved you all.  You were the only friends I’ve ever had.  Owen’s friends never liked me.”

Mary’s face blossomed into a frown of distress.  “I am so sorry that I never talked to you again.  I should have confronted you after he said that to us.  I just was so crushed.  And you had stopped hanging out with us.  And…” Her voice trailed off.

“It’s not your fault.  I did pull away.  Owen always wanted to hang out with his friends.  He said he wanted me to himself.  I thought he loved me.  I was so stupid.”

“Hey, hey.  It’s okay.  We’re here now.”

“After years of pain and grief,” Ruby grumbled.

Mary’s face melted with sorrow for her friend.  “Wait.  You said that you thought you scared your admirer away.  What happened?”

“Do you remember Blaze?”

“That gorgeous guy that was two years older than us?”

Ruby raised her copper eyebrows.  “You thought he was cute?”

“Yeah-ah,” Mary spoke the word like it had two syllables.  “I had such a crush on him.  I prayed for two years that he would ask me out.  But he never did.”  She watched something odd ripple across her friend’s face.  “What is it?”

“He liked me.”

“What?” Mary’s face spread into a wide grin.  “Hot Blaze was burning for you?”

Ruby giggled at her friend’s characterization.  “So he says.”

“Wait a minute.  Says?  You and Blaze found each other again?”

What an odd way to put it.  Ruby had never found Blaze in high school.  She’d been oblivious to him.  But not anymore.

“I ran into him two days ago at a restaurant where he works.  He asked if he could eat dinner with me.  We got to talking, and he asked me out.”

“Did he now?” One delicate dark eyebrow arched into a perfect bow.

“I was so flabbergasted I couldn’t speak.”

“I bet.  I can’t even imagine how gorgeous the man must be by now.”

“No.  You can’t,” Ruby giggled again. 

“So, what happened?”

“He walked off thinking I’d turned him down.  But yesterday he showed up in the parking lot where I work and helped me drag the roses into the building.”

“Hold up.  What?”

“I decided to pass them out at work.  I mean, I couldn’t keep six hundred roses!  Blaze helped me.  So I asked him to dinner.  He’s coming tonight.  But last night he brought dessert to my house.  We shared some cheesecake, and…”

A pleasant flush suddenly painted her cheeks a rosy hue.

“And?”  Mary narrowed her eyes as Ruby remained silent.  Then her eyes flew wide open as she exclaimed, “He kissed you, didn’t he?!”

Ruby nodded.

“Rubes!  That’s great!”

Ruby’s heart melted at the sound of her best friend’s childhood nickname for her.  No one had called her Rubes in over a decade.

“Oooh!  He’s definitely in love with you.  I don’t know why I never saw it before.  Except…”

“What?”

“He used to ask me questions about you.  I’d forgotten.”

“He did?”  Ruby was truly astounded.

Mary nodded her head vociferously.  “Yeah.  When we were freshmen.  He talked to me quite a bit.  That’s how I knew he was so nice.  Gorgeous and nice.  He had it all.  Man, and he’s in love with you!  Where exactly is my guy hiding?”

Ruby smiled at her tremulously.

“So…  Blaze kissed you…”

“On my front porch.  We were sitting on my swing.”

“Ohhh.”  A light bulb went on over Mary.  “You think your admirer witnessed the kiss.”

“Yep.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“The poem he left me today.”

“Poem?  What poem?”

“He’s left a poem the last three days.  Today’s poem basically said that he was happy that I was moving on with my life and he hoped I would be happy.”

“Wow.  So…  You’re disappointed?  But you like Blaze, right?  And he’s such a good guy.  Not to mention gorgeous.  Did I mention he’s gorgeous?”  She grinned at Ruby.

“Yes, you did.  Repeatedly.  I know.  But I…  What kind of a guy buys six hundred roses for a girl he doesn’t even know?”

“You’re afraid you’re now missing out on something better?”

Ruby considered Blaze for a moment.  She thought of how he had noticed she was eating alone and asked to sit with her.  Then he had brought her foods he thought she would enjoy.  He’d even had the chef prepare her absolute favorite dessert.  Blaze had come to her rescue in the parking lot.  Last night he had brought her the cheesecake he knew she loved.  He’d even fed her himself.  Then, of course, his kisses had lit her on fire.

“No.  Not better.  Maybe just different.”

“Well, you don’t need to do anything.”

“What?”

“What can you do?  You don’t know who your admirer is.  He never showed himself.  You have no way of communicating with him, do you?”

But Ruby thought about it.  And she had an idea.