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Chapter 20: Forever Mine – April 2

When she finished her lunch with Mary, Ruby headed to the grocery story after exchanging phone numbers with her friend and promising to get together with her sometime within the next week.  They had years to catch up on.  

An hour later, Ruby found herself in her kitchen prepping food for dinner.  She set to work cooking and was ready when Blaze arrived.

She was feeling terribly shy as she opened the door.  She was remembering his kisses of last night.  A pretty blush stained her cheeks as she greeted him.  He noticed it and grinned.  Then he decided to test it.

He reached out.  His arm snaked around her waist and hauled her gently up against him.  “Hello, beautiful,” he whispered roughly.  Right before he kissed her.

His lips brushed hers softly.  Sweetly.  But his kiss still seared her.  He was living up to his name after all.  A blaze of desire had sprouted up in her belly as his lips loved on hers.  He didn’t deepen the kiss or continue it very long.  But it still did its damage to her heart.  She hoped he really was as serious about her as he seemed.

As he drew away from her, he quite happily discovered that her blush had deepened.  He grinned down at her.  Then he inhaled deeply.  Expecting to smell food.  He did, but the other fragrance was much stronger.

“Your house smells like a rose garden,” he commented, smiling down at her.

She nodded.  Pulling herself from his arms, she turned away from him and walked several feet towards the back of the house before his voice stopped her.  

He’d noticed a vase of roses on the table she’d just walked by.  “Do you have a rose garden?”

“Yes,” she shocked him by answering, “but it’s not in bloom yet.”

“Really?” he sounded seriously surprised.  “You really have a rose garden?”

She nodded.  “Out back.”  

Still staring at those red blooms, he murmured, “So, you kept several dozen of his roses.  Should I be jealous?”

“I don’t know.  Should you?” she teased him.  “You’re the only one I kissed.”

“Ah.  But is that only because he hasn’t shown his face yet?”

“I don’t think he’s going to.”

“What?  My competition has evaporated?”

“I think he witnessed our kiss.”

“Ahhh.”  He frowned.  “What makes you think so?”

“He left me a poem and two roses today.  On our swing.”

“Our swing?”

She blushed to the roots of her copper hair.

His voice suddenly turned very soft, and he approached her soundlessly.  “Do you mean our swing as in you and me?”

Staring at the floor, she nodded. 

So she missed the grin that suddenly lit up his face like the sun bursting through the clouds at noon.

“You’re sharing your beloved swing with me, Rubes?  I’m honored,” he whispered huskily.

She glanced sharply up at him then.  “What did you just call me?”

“What?  Rubes?”

She nodded as her brow wrinkled.  “That’s so odd.  I just ran into my old friend today for the first time in years, and that’s what she always called me.”

“Mary.”

“Yes.”

“I know.  She’s the one I picked it up from.  She used to talk about you all the time.”

“Because you were quizzing her about me?” she asked teasingly.

His face went blank.  “How did you know that?”

She chewed on her lip.  

“Mary gave me away today, didn’t she?”  Suddenly, another grin broke out on his face.  “Dare I hope this means you two were talking about me because you like me?”  He was peering down at her with the most adorable expression of vulnerability on his countenance.

“You already know that I like you!” she exclaimed.  

“I do?”

She nodded.  “I don’t let just anybody kiss me, you know?” she responded softly.

He took a step towards her.  “Does that mean you wouldn’t kiss your secret admirer?”

“That depends,” she replied coquettishly.

“On what?” he asked, piqued.

“On whether he kisses as divinely as you do.”

Goodness!  What had gotten into her?  She was flirting outrageously with Blaze.

She suddenly found herself in his arms again.  

“I doubt very much that he kisses as divinely as I do.  But thank you for the vote of confidence.”  

He bent his head then, intent on kissing her pretty lips once more.  His eyes were caressing her.  A moment later, so were his lips.  She lost herself in their sweet embrace for several precious moments.  Then Blaze mumbled some words against her mouth, so she stepped away from him.

“I wouldn’t worry about him.”

“Who?” she asked, furrowing her brow.

“Forgot him already, did you?” That grin appeared again.  “Your secret admirer.  A guy who will buy a girl he doesn’t know six hundred roses will not having any trouble finding a date.”

Her lips twisted as her eyes pierced him.  She harrumphed.  

Surprised, he laughed.  “Are you mad at me?” he queried.

“No.”

“You’re just wondering if you messed up something better with him by kissing me.”

“No!  Blaze!  That is not true.”

“Methinks the lady doth protest too much.”

She looked up at him with a pained expression on her face, and he suddenly remembered who he was dealing with here.  Damaged goods.  A heart that had been trampled by her ex-husband.  Blaze couldn’t tease her as he would another girl.  

“I’m sorry,” he rushed to set her at ease.  “I was just teasing you.  I know you wouldn’t choose money over love.”

“Love?” she echoed hollowly.

His eyes grew serious as he faced her.  “Yes, Ruby.  Love.”

Her eyes bore deeply into his.  But she didn’t say a word.

“Would I scare you away if I told you that I love you?” he whispered roughly.

She blinked up at him.

“It’s not that strange, is it?  I mean, I loved you in high school.”

“No.  Blaze.  You don’t even know me.  I mean, we didn’t even talk until two days ago.”

“That’s not true.  You gave me your Ho Hos.”

“You love me because I gave you Ho Hos eleven years ago?”

He nodded his head.  Then his lips quirked into a teasing grin.  “Well, that, and you have the most glorious red hair.  I’ve always wanted to run my fingers through it and see if they would catch on fire.”

A puff of air escaped her nose as she chuckled breathlessly.  “You had me going until that last line.”

“What?” his eyes found hers.  

“About your fingers catching on fire.  That’s simply absurd.  You’re clearly pulling my leg.”

His eyes burned into hers.  “I am not.  That line, yes.  But I meant the rest with all my heart.”

An awkward silence developed between them.  He extinguished it with some words a moment later.

“I brought you a present.”

Her eyes widened in surprise.  He was holding a gift sack out to her.

“What?”  She stared up at him in astonishment.

A smile teased his lips.  “Open it.”

She reached for the bag and peeked inside.  She pulled out a box and read its description of its contents.  “A diffuser?”

He nodded.  “There’s more.  Reach down to the bottom.”

She unearthed a vial of rose oil.  Then she gazed questioningly up at him.

“Don’t you remember?  Yesterday you said of your house smelling like a rose garden, ‘I would wish for it to always smell so wonderful.’”  He glanced down at the fragrant oil in her hand.  “Now it will.”

But her eyes never left his face.  Her heart was doing some strange dance in her chest right now.

“I don’t want you to ever lose the wonder of your rose garden, Ruby.”

She stared at him in awe as another wave of his indescribable force flowed over her.  His powerful words were undoing her.  Why had she never noticed him in school?  How much grief would she have been spared if she had fallen in love with him the day that she’d handed her Ho Hos to him?  

“I don’t understand.”

“What?” he furrowed his brow.

“What you see in me.”

His heart shattered.  Those tiny shards bit into his voice, making it bleed.  “Ruby,” he whispered brokenly, “you are the sweetest girl I know.”

She simply stared up at him.  “I think you have me confused with someone else.”

A dart of irritation struck his face, but he held onto his patience because he was certain her attitude stemmed from Owen’s mistreatment of her.  “Just like your secret admirer?” he asked, provoked.

She nodded her head.

“Ruby…what exactly did Owen do to you?”

“What do you mean?” she blinked.

“What did he say to you?  How did he treat you that you have such a low opinion of yourself?”

She felt tears invading her eyes, so she closed them.  “We don’t need to talk about Owen.”

“I disagree.  I think we do need to talk about Owen.  Very much.  He’s the only one you allowed to give you input for several years.  I think he was bent on destroying you.  At least, by the end of your relationship.”

Her eyes flew open.  “What?”

“What did he say to you, Ruby?  What did he do to you?”

She started to tremble as her ex-husband’s words spun around her mind again with the force of a tornado.  She repeated them in a breathless whisper.

“‘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.’”

Blaze’s sudden spurt of fury manifested as a wave of compassion flooding his countenance, but she didn’t see it.  She was staring at the wooden floorboards of her lovely house.  

“Ruby,” Blaze whispered, but she didn’t look up.  “Ruby.”

Still, her eyes remained trained on the floor.

So he reached out with one long finger and touched the bottom of her chin.  Gently, he lifted her face as he spoke tenderly, “Ruby, look at me.”

Finally, her eyes met his.  And he could see that hers were shining with tears.

“You are everything to me,” he spoke very clearly.  

He gave her time for his words to sink in and was rewarded by the widening of her eyes.  So he repeated his sentiment, “You are everything to me.”  

He stopped to listen to her breathe.  And to watch as new tears flooded her eyes.  For a completely different reason.  

Then he uttered the words a third time.  “You are everything to me.” 

Only God knew how many times Owen had spoken his evil words over her.  How many times had he poured the poison of his soul into the precious soil of her heart?  Blaze was going to have to painstakingly dig up those corrupt seeds.  One by one.  And plant something true and sweet into that fertile soil.  Something that would come up smelling of roses.

As she continued to gaze up at him, tremors passed over her face, and she blinked.  Releasing tears to stream down her face.

“I…how can you say such a thing?”

“Because it’s true, Ruby.  I’ve loved you since the moment you set your Ho Hos in my hand.  I was absolutely crushed when you married Owen.”

Her eyes grew wide.  “You knew?  That I married Owen?”

He nodded.  

“But how?”

“When I returned from college, I looked you up.  I walked by your house one day.  I saw you sitting on your swing with Owen.  A few days later, I saw your wedding announcement in the newspaper.”

“You looked me up?  But how did you know where I lived?”

A smile quirked his lips.  “You’ve always lived here.”

Her eyes met his again.  “But how did you know that?”

“The day you gave me the Ho Hos, I followed you home.  Just to see where you lived.”

She couldn’t tear her eyes away from his.  

All this time.  All this time a wonderful man had loved her.  While she was ignoring her friends to pursue a jerk.  While she was married to him and sharing his bed.  While said jerk was sleeping with another woman and Ruby was at home crying her eyes out in her forlorn bed over the loss of that jerk.  While he was stomping all over her heart and demanding a divorce.  Telling her he’d fallen in love with someone else.  And all those cold, lonely months that Ruby had slept alone in her bed.  All this time, Blaze had been eating his heart out for her.

“I’m really not, you know.  I can’t be your everything.  I’m not even my everything.”

“Ruby.”  His eyes flooded with pain as he peered down at her.  From his height of several inches taller than her.  “I love you.  I have always loved you.  Since the first day you turned your radiant smile on me, and the sunlight bounced off your fiery hair.  I wanted to be your friend.  And your lover.  I wanted to kiss you and to talk to you.  

“And,” he glanced down and reached out to take the bag out of her hand.  He set it on the ground before reaching out to slide his fingers along her own.  His hand suddenly engulfed hers.  “And to hold your hand.”  He drew it upwards to his lips before brushing a delicate kiss over the back of that precious hand.  

Then he murmured some more lovely words against her skin.  “You are the most beautiful human being in the whole world to me.  And I want you to live a very long, very happy life.  With me.”

His words were the antidote to Owen’s.  Blaze had thoughtfully crafted his response to the horrid spite her ex-husband had poured into her soul.  But he knew it was going to take some time and patience to excavate all the lies Owen had sown into her heart.

She continued to stare up at him as teardrop after teardrop cascaded down her cheeks.  No man had ever spoken such precious words to her before.  She didn’t know what to do with them.  But they seemed to have fallen into her heart, into some watering can full of dirty water hidden there.  And the weight of his beautiful words was pushing the water higher.  And its filth was surfacing along with it.  It was now in danger of spilling out of that can.  Could it be that one day she would check that can to discover that all the filth had floated to the top and been removed to slide down the sides of that can, leaving to dwell in that watering can only the good Blaze had spoken over her?

—

He let her weep.  She had earned those tears after years of enduring that man’s abuse.  

“How often did he speak his horrid words over you?  When did it begin?”

She realized with a start that such little jibes had been commonplace from the very beginning.  Of course, back then Owen had laughed off his words when she’d appeared hurt.  

“I’m just kidding, babe,” had been a common refrain of his.  After he’d slipped a crude comment into her heart.

“You’re such a little idiot.  An adorable little idiot.”

“Of course, they’re not talking to you.  I’m the only one who would be your friend.  Stick with me.”

“Why are you looking at that guy?  He would never look your way.  I’m the only one who’s ever noticed you.”

“Of course, you can’t figure that problem out, Ruby.  You’re such a dunce.  Come here.  I’ll help you.”

“Come on, Ruby.  Let me have another kiss.  Do you think another guy is gonna look your way?  It’s not going to happen.  I’m the only one who can see you.”

Blaze watched as her grief poured down her face.  He prayed that this conversation was healing her heart.  Someone had to confront the lies she’d breathed in for years.  The task had fallen to him.  He relished it because he wanted to see her set free.

Suddenly, she spoke.  In a tiny whisper.  “He said them all the time.  From the very beginning.  How did I not see it?”

“Because you loved him.”

Her eyes careened into his.  “But he was right.  I was a little idiot.  How could I not see what he was doing to me?”

“I don’t know.  But you’re not an idiot, Ruby.   I think you simply loved him and wanted him to reciprocate your feelings.  You interpreted his attention as love.”

She was suddenly exhausted.  Thoroughly exhausted.  She turned towards the couch in her living room and plopped down on it.  

Blaze briefly wondered if dinner was going to burn.  But it didn’t matter.  If it did, he’d take her out.  Or cook something for her himself.

But the fate of their dinner also occurred to her.  She stood up.  “I need to check on the chicken.”

“I’ll do it.  Just tell me what needs attending to.”

She smiled at him.  “Come on.  We’ll check on it together.” 

She reached up to wipe the tears off her face.  She grabbed a Kleenex and blew her nose before she turned to lead him back to her kitchen.  She opened the oven door and tested the temperature of her roasting chicken. 

“It’s perfect,” she smiled.

She pulled it out and set it on a counter before turning on her pot of potatoes to boil.  

“I hope you like roast chicken and mashed potatoes.”

“That sounds positively heavenly.  But, Ruby, I meant it.  You can let dinner burn for all I care.  I care only about your heart.”

She was looking tired now.  All that expense of emotion must have taxed her greatly.  He reached out and drew a strand of that blazing hair back behind her ear.  Before he skimmed her cheek with his fingers.  He saw her shiver.  So he did it again.  A smile curved his lips as her eyes closed.  And he realized the touch of her hair had set his finger on fire.

He reached for her and pulled her gently into his arms.  “Come here,” he spoke huskily as he buried his nose in her fiery hair.

He inhaled deeply as she melted into his arms and buried her face over his heart.  She smelled like the roses she so loved.  Of course, the whole house was permeated by their fragrance, but the top of her head smelled like she’d poured some of that rose oil into her hair.  He inhaled deeply.  He could get used to this.  Quickly.  

He had spent years dreaming of this moment.  Of holding his beloved Ruby close to his heart.  And reveling in the scent of her hair.  For some reason, he had always imagined that she smelled like heirloom roses.  He had longed to feel her soft body pressed up against his.  Her heart beating out its steady cadence under his.  While he listened to her breath slip past her lips.  

He wanted this woman to be his.  Forever.

Chapter 21: Kissable? – April 2

She clung to him for several minutes.  Silently.  Simply listening to the beat of his heart beneath her ear.  Reveling in the warmth of his embrace.  While she attempted to calm her racing heart.

But after a while, the pot on the stove suddenly boiled over, and she shoved him away in an attempt to break loose of his arms to rescue his dinner.  A few moments later, the pot of potatoes was boiling happily away, without flooding the stovetop, and Ruby was once more facing Blaze.  

“Um.  What would you like to drink?”

His eyes were still caressing her countenance.  There was some mysterious light burning in them right now.  

“Water’s fine.”  He pulled his gaze away from her to scan the kitchen.  “Your house is beautiful.  Even more beautiful than mine.”

He had been imagining himself.  Living here.  In this beautiful house.  With her.  Evenings spent on their porch swing together.  Dinners prepared by the two of them in this kitchen.  Movies watched in her living room while she curled up against his side.  And he stole kisses from her during the commercials.

Suddenly, she spoke, disrupting his reverie.  “I love this house.”  Her eyes lovingly traced the walls of the kitchen as she continued to speak of her beloved home.  “My mother left it to me.”

“She died?”

Ruby nodded.

“When?”

“My junior year in college.”

“Oh, Ruby.  I’m so sorry.”

“Me too.”  She sighed.  Then a rueful smile twisted her lips upward.  “But she left me this house.  And her books.  And her rose garden.”

He gasped inwardly.  “Roses remind you of your mother?”

She turned her eyes on him and beamed at him, the light of her smile suddenly swallowing him whole.  “Absolutely.  Yes!  She loved her roses.  She had such a green thumb.  She could get anything to grow.  Oh, not simply to grow!  But to flourish!  She was a master gardener.  And she always smelled of roses,” she sighed.

“Your secret admirer filled your house with the scent of your beloved mother… Wow.  How can I compete with that?” he groaned.

He’d had no idea that her mother had planted a rose garden in the backyard of their house.  Or that she’d smelled like roses.

Ruby quirked a copper eyebrow at him.  “But you already did.”

Confused, he drew his midnight eyebrows towards his nose.  “What?”

“The fragrant oil.  You’re going to fill my house with the comforting scent of my mother long after these blooms have died and their petals have fallen to litter my floors.”

“Oh.”  Slowly, the light of a sweet smile encroached upon the darkness of his countenance, bathing his whole face in joy.

Ruby turned towards the stove and stuck a knife in the potatoes.  It slid right through them.  

“They’re done!” she grinned.  “I’m so glad!  I’m starving!”

“Are you?”

“Yes.  It’s been hours since I ate lunch with Mary.”

“So…you ran into our old friend.  How is she?”

Ruby responded as she drained the potatoes before pulling her hand mixer from its cabinet and plugging it into the socket, “Good.  She’s moved back in with her parents to escape a terror of a roommate.”

“Ahh.”  His eyes were still tracing the lovely planes of her face.

He could hardly believe that he was now living the dream he’d spun in his imagination for eleven long years.  Standing in her house with her.  Enjoying her presence.  And her kisses.  Lingering in the night air with her on her cherished porch swing.  Taking his fill of her every single time he glanced her way.

Soon, conversation became impossible while she beat the potatoes until they were fluffy.  Blaze’s lips quirked as he watched the bountiful amount of butter and salt she added to those potatoes.  But he would discover just how perfect they were in a few more moments when he first tasted them.

After she’d served their dinner up onto two plates, Blaze questioned her, “Ruby, this meal looks incredible.  Would you like to eat it out on the swing?  I ask only that we turn on your living room light and leave the curtains pulled back so that I can see your face while we’re on the porch.”

She turned towards him then.  She had completely forgotten her initial discomfort over inviting him into her house.  She marveled that she found herself so soon comfortable in his presence.  

It was more than that.  She wasn’t just comfortable with him.  She felt comforted by his presence.  Her face flooded with tenderness as she gazed up at him.

He glanced her way and caught that sweet expression.  He had to resist the very strong urge to pull her into his arms and ravish her lips with his own.  And then to tuck her into his pocket and carry her through life with him.  Protected from every chill wind of harm.  Safe in his warm embrace.

“Sure,” she responded.  “I’d love that.”

Blaze grabbed their plates and headed for the porch as she picked up their glasses of water and followed him.  She opened the door and let him precede her onto the porch.  A few seconds later, they were seated next to each other in her secret haven.  

She smiled at him after setting their drinks under the swing.  Blaze handed her a plate and returned her happiness with some of his own.

“Thanks for inviting me to dinner,” he murmured.

She smiled shyly as she plunged her fork into her mashed potatoes.  He followed suit and moaned with pleasure a moment later as he enjoyed a scoop of the delectable vegetable.

“Ruby!  These are the best mashed potatoes I’ve ever eaten!”

Startled by his exuberance, she glanced up in surprise at him.  “They are?” she queried uncertainly.

“Yes!” he responded emphatically.

“Huh.  Owen never liked them.”

Inwardly, he groaned over her repeated mention of her ex-husband.  But he realized suddenly that she had spent ten years of her life with Owen.  And four of the last five had contained only Owen’s presence after her mother had died.

“You must have been so lonely,” Blaze murmured suddenly.

“What?”

“All those years after your mom died.  Having only a selfish man for company.  You must have felt so alone.”  And during the last two years too.

She stifled a sob as she turned to stare at him.  His eyes met hers.

“I’m sorry you spent all those years without a true friend, Ruby.”

But as she gazed at him, she remarked, “I’m beginning to think I wasn’t as alone as I thought.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I believed no one ever thought of me.  Owen sure didn’t.  Not the last two years anyway.  But today at lunch Mary said several things that made me realize that she never forgot me.  She talked about moments over the last few years where something sparked a memory of me.  

“‘Oh, if only Ruby were here, she’d laugh at this with me!’ Mary said.

“Remarks like that.  And now you’re telling me that you’ve loved me since high school.  And thought of me and…”

“Dreamed of you.”

“What?”

“I’ve been weaving daydreams around you for years.  I knew I should stop after you married, but I…  I couldn’t stop thinking about you.  Even then.  Wondering if you were all right.  If Owen was treating you well.  If you were happy.”

“I thought I was for the first year.  But now I realize how often he minimized me.  Made me feel little.  Unimportant.  And then the day I first suspected he was having an affair—”

A sob cut off her air.

He reached out and slid his arm around her shoulders.  “Hey, hey, it’s all right.  He can’t hurt you anymore.”

“I hope that’s true,” she gasped.  “I…in the beginning I didn’t suspect anything.  He missed a few dinners.  Had a few late nights.  Nothing unusual.  Though now I wonder if all those missed dinners and late nights were a sign of something sinister instead of an indication of a booming business.  Were any of those dinners ever about business?  Or was every one a rendezvous with one of his girlfriends?”

His gaze sharpened on her.  “You think he had more than one girlfriend?”

“I do wonder if he did.  I don’t have any proof, but…”  She cleared her throat.  Then she continued with her story, “I didn’t begin to suspect anything until one night when he climbed into bed in the middle of the night.  He smelled different.  Something sweet was clinging to him.  A feminine scent, you know?

“Then there were many nights when I woke up to an empty bed.  The few times I went to search for him, I often found him in another room whispering to someone over the phone.  Sometimes I didn’t find him at all.”

“He left your house in the middle of those nights?”

“I think so.  But I didn’t know for sure until I found the text messages.”

“What text messages?”

“She texted him one day when he was in the shower.  He’d left his phone on his nightstand.  I was still in bed.  I reached over to grab it in case his boss was calling him.”  

Even now her stomach revolted as she recalled that message.

“What did the text say?”

“‘Hey, babe.  When are you going to come join me in this bed?’”  Ruby closed her eyes.  “The second one was more explicit.  I won’t repeat it.  I wish I could burn that image out of my mind.”

Sympathy flowed from his gaze as her eyes met his again.  

Those messages had shattered her heart.  She had set the phone back down on the nightstand and rolled away from it.  As though turning her back on it would erase its existence.  But, of course, it hadn’t.  Owen had only made it worse when he’d kissed her goodbye before walking out the door twenty minutes later.  He hadn’t seen her wipe her hand across her mouth before wiping it on the sheets.  As though she could eradicate the presence of the man’s unfaithfulness from her skin with a mere brush of her fingers.

She had waited until he left for the day before she’d burst into tears.  She’d called in sick to work and spent the day drowning her sorrow in mint chocolate chip ice cream and tragic romances on her TV.  But nothing had healed her heart.  Nothing had touched her pain.  

Until the day some kind soul had left a red rose on the pavement in front of her house.

That was the moment she had become aware that she was no longer alone.

How he longed to blot out that text message from her mind.  And every instance of her husband’s infidelity.  Blaze wished he could give her selective amnesia.  Simply burn away every disagreeable memory.

“I can’t burn that image from your mind, but I’m here, Ruby, any time you need to talk.  And I’d be happy to kiss your pain away,” he teased her with an empathetic smile crowning his lips.

She glanced at his mouth then.  The comfort of his kiss sounded blissful.  She leaned towards him.  She closed her eyes as she lifted her face to his.

He gazed down at her uplifted face with an expression of aching vulnerability lacing his features.  Ruby was offering him her lips.  He had dreamed of this moment for over a decade.  He didn’t want to take advantage of her fragility.  Was that even possible?

He wasn’t looking to use her.  He loved her.  With all of his heart.  He had for a long time now.  For almost as long as he could remember.

He just wanted to make her feel cherished.  He wanted her to know how precious she was to him.  How could he communicate such a truth to her in a way that she would both believe it and could receive it?

Rejecting her kiss certainly wouldn’t be the first step.  So he leaned forward happily and embraced those proffered lips with his own.  After a few sweet moments, he drew away from her.  Just a smidge.  He was still close enough that his breath flowed across her lips as he opened his mouth to speak.

“I don’t even begin to understand how that man could ever kiss another woman when you were in his arms, Ruby.  The man was insensate.  He had to be.  Blind.  Tasteless.  Stupid.”

Her lips quirked.  “Something he often accused me of.”

“Stupidity?” he asked, incredulous.  “That is the last claim that could be leveled against you.  You’re brilliant.  You were the valedictorian of your class, weren’t you?”

She nodded.  It was true.  She’d been the top student.  But she’d never felt like it.

“I always felt stupider than Owen.”

“That’s impossible.  No one is stupider than Owen,” he grumbled.

Suddenly, she began to giggle.  Blaze glanced up at her in surprise before a huge grin lit up his face.

“What’s so funny?”

“What you just said.”

“No one is stupider than Owen?  It’s true.  Any man who could push you away is a complete moron.”

Her laughter faded as her eyes met his.  A look of such vulnerability slid over her face as she whispered, “You are so kind to me, Blaze.”

He leaned forward until he was just a few millimeters from her mouth.  “Good.  It’s about time someone was.”  Then he gave her a quick peck on her lips.  “Time to eat up!  Our dinner is getting cold.”

After a few minutes of quietly chewing their delicious food, Owen glanced at her.  “Do you like your job?”

“What?  Oh.  I guess,” she shrugged.

“What exactly do you do?”

“I answer phones and greet customers.”

He frowned.  “You went to college for four years to do that?”

“No.  Actually, I got a degree in event planning.”

“Event planning?” he asked, incredulous.  “How did you end up working in an office building?”

“I couldn’t get a job with any of the event planners near here.  I needed a job, and Owen knew someone in the company.  I started out as a receptionist.  Within six months, I got a promotion to personal assistant for one of the junior executives.  I’m just covering the front desk position until they can find a permanent replacement for the girl who used to have that job.”

His eyebrows stormed his nose.  “Did you ever try to create a side business as a party planner?”

She shook her head.  “No.  I decided I’d been out of my mind to pick that major.  Who on earth would hire me to plan a party?”

“I would.”

She glanced sharply at him as a dumbfounded look struck her countenance.

“Ruby, you’re a natural with people.  You’re sweet and definitely hospitable.  You speak very easily and kindly to people.  You set everyone at ease the other day when you handed out those roses.  Your words touched several hearts too.  I could tell that nearly everyone instantly liked you.  And you helped Mrs. Taylor organize her party last night, right?  It was amazing!”

“I just did what she told me to.”  Mostly.  Except for a few finishing touches.

“But that’s exactly what party planning is.  Figuring out what the client wants and doing it.  I think you’d be great at it!  You’re very intuitive.  And I think you’d add all these sweet little touches too.”

Her eyes widened in shock.  Had he just read her mind?

“I can’t imagine anyone would hire me.”

“I would.”

“What?” Her head snapped up.

“I’m throwing a reception at the cafe in two weeks.  It’s for a wedding party.  They asked me to plan it all out.  Honestly, I’ve shoved it to the side because I didn’t have the foggiest idea how to make it special for the bride.  Could you help me?  I’ll pay you twenty-five dollars an hour.  That’s what they offered me.”

Her eyes danced.  “I’d love to!  But you don’t have to pay me.”

“Yes, I absolutely do!  Besides, they’ll be the ones paying you.”  He grinned at her.  “Really?  You’ll take the job?”

“Of course.  Anything to help a friend.”

He pecked her quickly on her pouty lips again.  Then he murmured, “Do you have any idea how kissable your lips are?”  He would never have spoken those words to any other girl, but he had a feeling Ruby needed to hear them.

“What?” she drew back in surprise.  “Owen—”

“Let me guess,” Blaze uttered dryly, “Owen never said your lips were kissable.  He did, in fact, tell you that they felt like sandpaper.”

Her eyes popped wide.  Then a giggle erupted from her lips.  And Blaze smiled.

This was an improvement.

“I was going to say he never seemed to like kissing me that much.  At least, not once he got other things…” She let that thought slide away.

“Like I said, the man was a complete idiot.”  Blaze grabbed their plates and set them on the floor before turning to draw her into his arms.

Then he bent himself to the task of proving to Ruby just exactly how kissable her lips actually were.

Chapter 22: Gorgeous Heart – April 2 – 3

They had spent a lovely evening sitting in their swing while they enjoyed the night air and each other.  Ruby had drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face.  Completely forgetting about her secret admirer and his roses.

But the next morning as she breezed out her doorway on her way to meet Mary for breakfast, Ruby was suddenly arrested by the sight awaiting her on her porch.  A dozen roses had been scattered across her porch directly in front of her door.  But they had been strategically placed to spell a word.  

LOVE.

The L had been lovingly crafted from two long-stemmed red roses.  So had the V.  The O resembled a square formed by four of the flowers.  The E had also been created using four of the bright crimson blooms.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone.  She snapped a couple of pictures as she stared in wonder down at her gift.  Apparently, her secret admirer hadn’t deserted her.  Though, as she looked about for a poem, she couldn’t find one.  

Finally, she bent to rescue the roses.  She carried them inside and added them to the biggest vase she owned.  It was a tight fit, but she managed to cram them in with the other dozen blooms already residing in that vase.

Then she headed for her breakfast with Mary.

—

“How was your date with hot Blaze?” Mary chuckled.  “That’s never going to get old.”

Ruby thought it already was.  “When you get a boyfriend, you’ll stop calling Blaze hot, right?” she asked dryly.

“What?  You don’t like it?”

Ruby shrugged.  

Mary sobered.  “Hey, I’m not going to steal your guy,” she admitted softly.  “You know that, right?”  

But as she gazed into Ruby’s eyes, she read her insecurity.  “Ruby!  A guy who’s held onto his high school crush for eleven years in spite of the fact that she married someone else is not going to drop her for her best friend.  Whom, I might add, he never even noticed.”

“Mary!  I’m sure that’s not true!  You’re beautiful!  Much prettier than I am.  You’ve got all that gorgeous midnight hair.”  

Why did she suddenly remember Blaze calling her own copper locks glorious?

“And those stunning emerald eyes!” she finished.

“Hmph,” Mary snorted.  “No one seems to be noticing my gorgeous midnight hair or my stunning emerald eyes,” she retorted sarcastically.

“That’s just because you haven’t met the right guy yet.  But you will.  One of these days.  You’ll see.  Probably when you least expect it.  You’ll turn a corner and bump right into him.”

“Yeah, right!” laughed Mary.  “I think you’ve been reading too many romance novels.”

“Guilty as charged,” smiled Ruby.  “You know I can’t get enough of them.”

“Still?  Even now?  Wouldn’t you rather be kissing Blaze?”

Ruby turned scarlet.  That was the problem with a pale complexion.  All her emotions bled out into her skin.  Letting the entire world read her heart like an open book.

“Ah.  I see.  You’re already kissing Blaze.  How was it?”

The blush deepened.  “Let’s just say that he wasn’t named Blaze for nothing.”

“Ha!  I knew it!”  Mary heaved a deep sigh.  “Man, I want some guy to set me on fire too.”

Ruby grimaced at her.

Mary glanced her way.  “Boy!  Do I sound stupid.  Here you are, a girl who’s been married and probably wishes she hadn’t been.  You deserve all the good that comes your way.  I’m really not jealous of you.  I’m happy for you.  So happy that you found Blaze.”  

Suddenly, Mary brightened.  “Hey!  Could I have your secret admirer?  Maybe you could leave a note on your front porch: ‘Sorry, I’m taken.  But my friend, Mary, needs a boyfriend.  How about you pick her?’  I think I’d do very well with a guy sending me six hundred roses.”

Ruby chuckled.  “Mary!”  She shook her head.  “Sure.  Figure out how I can efficiently write that in roses, and you’ve got a deal.”

“Write it in roses?” Mary’s brow puckered into two deep ridges.

“My secret admirer struck again this morning,” Ruby confided quietly.

“He did?” Mary responded excitedly as she leaned towards her friend.

“He left me a dozen red roses.  But this time they were arranged to spell out the word LOVE.”  She pulled her phone out and showed her friend the pictures.

“Wow,” Mary breathed.  “I guess you didn’t scare him away after all.  He must really like you.”

“I know,” Ruby sighed.

“I don’t know why you’re sighing.  I can’t even get one guy to notice my emerald eyes, and you’ve got two guys eating their hearts out for you.”

“Ugh.  Don’t remind me.  Either way, someone is going to get hurt.  And I can’t even communicate with my secret admirer to tell him how I feel!  What if he doesn’t know about Blaze?  Then he’s just going to get pulled deeper and deeper into his feelings for me.  While I’m falling for Blaze.”

“Are you?” Mary perked up.  “Falling for Blaze?”

Ruby glared at her friend.  “You know I am.  I would never kiss a guy I wasn’t serious about.”

“It’s awfully fast for you, though.  Isn’t it?” Mary frowned at her.  “I mean, you liked Owen for seven years before you ever even approached him.”

“This is different.  Blaze is…different.  He feels like…my best friend.  I…I can’t explain it.  I know this isn’t like me…”

“Hey.  It’s okay.  I think Blaze is safe.  I mean, how many guys hang on to their love for a woman for over a decade?  That’s amazing.”  

Mary stared out the window for a few seconds while she chewed on her blueberry scone.  “Wait a minute!  Haven’t you already communicated with your secret admirer before?  Didn’t you say you wrote him a poem?  And he took it.  Right?”

Ruby nodded.

“Couldn’t you do it again?  Leave him another note?”

Ruby shrugged.  “I guess.”

“Here.  I’ll compose it for you.”  Mary cleared her throat.  “Dear Gorgeous Heart.  I am taken.  But my beautiful best friend is not.  If you like long black hair and great big emerald eyes, call her.  Her name is Mary.  Here’s her number…”  Mary grinned at her, showing off her rows of perfect white teeth.

Ruby laughed.  “It didn’t rhyme.”

“It has to rhyme?” Mary despaired.  “All right.  I’ll try.  Let me see…

“Dear Gorgeous Heart,

You didn’t think we’d part.

But I’m in love with Blaze.

I’ll love him all my days.

So please go pursue

A girl who’s perfect for you.”

Mary beamed as she cleverly came up with this last part.

“Her name is Mary.

Her legs aren’t hairy.”

Ruby burst out laughing, but Mary continued unimpeded by her cackle.

“She has long black hair.

And a friendly air.

Her eyes are too green.

But she sure is keen

To make your acquaintance.

Please give her a chance.”

Mary smiled broadly.  “What do you think?”

“Pretty good.  Except the line about you not being hairy.  I mean…what if he likes hairy girls?  You’ll scare him away.”

It was Mary’s turn to have a chuckle startled from her lungs.

“What do you suggest then?” 

“Hmm,” Ruby replied.  “Her name is Mary.”  She paused to run through the alphabet to find a word that rhymed with her best friend’s name.  Her face lit up as she found it.  “With her will you tarry?”

“Perfect.  I would love to linger with this man.  He’d probably make me a bed out of rose petals.”

“Man!  I missed the perfect opportunity!” Ruby gasped.

“What do you mean?”

“I could have covered my own bed in rose petals.  If I had kept the other five hundred fifty roses!”

“Oh, well.  Live and learn.  You’ll be prepared the next time a guy gives you fifty dozen red roses.”

Yeah.  Like that was ever going to happen again.

Chapter 23: Mistaken Identity? – April 3

“Ruby?”

“Yes,” she breathed into her phone.  She didn’t recognize the number.  She wasn’t even sure why she’d answered it.

“Hi!  This is Stephanie.  I was wondering if you could help me plan another party.”

“What?”

“My usual party planner is still sick.  And I really loved your ideas the other day.  You saved my anniversary party!”

“I did?”

“Yes!  Absolutely!  Your decorating ideas were priceless.  Especially since I didn’t have the additional things my planner was supposed to bring with her.  And your food suggestions were spot-on.  I don’t know how you made such amazing hors d’oeuvres just with the stuff in my pantry and fridge.  You’re very talented!  Your food was simply delicious, my dear!”

Ruby didn’t know how to handle such praise, so she simply ignored it.  “What do you need help with?”

“My daughter’s graduation party.  For the middle of May.  The fourteenth, to be exact.”

“Um…”. She didn’t even need to check her calendar.  She never had any plans.  “I’m free.”

“Great.  Do you have some time to meet with me today?  To discuss ideas?”

“Sure.”

“Oh!  And I’m going to ask that cafe owner if he’ll contribute the desserts.”

“What cafe owner?”

“Blaze, I think, was his name…Wait a minute.  Isn’t that the name of the guy you like?”

“Um, yes, but my Blaze is a waiter.  Not a cafe owner.”

“Huh.  Are you sure?  I could have sworn you’d met the cafe owner before.”

Now Ruby just felt pained.  She didn’t want to embarrass Mr. Taylor.  But she didn’t want to lie to her friend.  

“Yes, that man is my Blaze.”  She smiled at that characterization.  “But your husband was mistaken, I think.  Blaze was my waiter at The Picnic Basket.”

“But, darling, he made the chocolate soufflé for our party.”

“Didn’t he just deliver it?”

“Did he?  I don’t think so.  I was under the impression that he baked them in our kitchen.”

“You were?” Puzzled, Ruby frowned.  

Had Blaze lied to her? 

She wracked her brain as she tried to remember what Blaze had said that first night.  He’d referred to a chef who was making them dessert.  As though he’d given that chef an order.  He hadn’t said that he was the chef.

Ruby puckered her forehead as she thought furiously.  Something else was niggling at the back of her mind.  Suddenly, another conversation floated through her head.

“You should try my son’s chocolate soufflé.  It’s to live for!”

“Is he a chef?”

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

“The Picnic Basket?”

“That’s the one!  Do you know it?”

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

Then a while later…

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

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

“My son?  My son was at your boss’s house?”

“Well, not your son.  Blaze brought the chocolate soufflés to the party.  My boss threw his wife a fortieth anniversary party.  The chef from The Picnic Basket sent a bunch of miniature chocolate souffles with Blaze.  He presented them to Stephanie.  She delighted in them.”

But Anne had never revealed the name of her beloved son, for when Ruby had asked for it, she’d been interrupted.  They had never finished that conversation.

Surely, this was all just a misunderstanding.  Stephanie and her husband had confused the matter.  Now her voice sounded on the line again.

“I thought so, dear, but that night was so busy.  I might have misunderstood.  I could have sworn he had just removed them from the oven, though.  They were so good!”

Ruby had to agree.  “I can meet with you any time this afternoon.”

“Excellent.  Can you come for lunch?  We could eat and discuss our plans.”

“That sounds delightful.  What time?”

“Noon?”

“Perfect.  I’ll see you then.”

—

But as Ruby hung up the phone, she couldn’t shake her conviction that Blaze might not be who she thought he was.  If he was the chef – No, wait!  Not just the chef but also the owner of the diner! – then he had misled her.  But why?  Why would he deceive her about such an inconsequential thing?

If he had lied to her, then that also meant that Anne was his mother.  Was that possible?

Ruby felt so uneasy.  If Blaze would lie about something that didn’t matter, how could she trust him to speak the truth about more important concerns?

Such thoughts really hurt her heart.  She had already trusted one dishonest guy.  She couldn’t go through that again.  Her heart sank.  How was she going to confront Blaze and discover the truth?

Chapter 24: Heart to Heart – April 3

Ruby headed to her meeting with Stephanie.  They spent a delightful afternoon together planning the soirée.

“You have quite a head for party planning, Ruby.  Why are you working in an office?  You should be doing this full-time.”

Ruby glanced up at her in surprise.  “Actually, event planning is what I got my degree in.  But when I graduated, I couldn’t find a job anywhere.  My husband knew someone that worked for your husband, so he got me an interview.  I was hired on the spot.”

“I can see why.  You are clever and capable and so creative.  But,” Stephanie frowned, “you have a husband?”  She glanced doubtfully at Ruby’s empty ring finger.

“Correction: I had a husband.  I don’t now.”

“Oh.  What happened?” Stephanie asked gently.  

“I divorced him.”

“Oh.  I’m sorry it didn’t work out.”

“I’m not.”

Stephanie’s eyebrows flew north at the uncustomary sharpness in her new friend’s normally gentle tone.  “Do you mind if I ask why?”

Ruby sighed.  “I guess it’s not much of a secret.  For all I know they’re married now.”  She met the woman’s eye.  “He cheated on me.  While we were married.  Repeatedly.”

“Oh, sweetheart!  That is just awful.  I am so sorry!”

Ruby shrugged.  “It’s been two years since we divorced.”

“But it still hurts.”

Ruby glanced up at her in surprise.  “It does, actually.  Though,” she reflected, “not as much as it did two weeks ago.”

“What’s different?”

“Blaze,” Ruby murmured, “and my secret admirer.”

“Your secret admirer?  Ooh, that sounds romantic and mysterious.”

“It is.  Very.  It also complicates matters.”

“Why?” Stephanie narrowed her eyes.  “How are you and Blaze doing?”

Again, Ruby could feel herself blushing, so she dropped her head to stare down into her notebook, but Stephanie hadn’t missed that telltale flush. 

“Hmm.  It appears things are heating up between the two of you.  How could they not with him having a name like Blaze?” she asked jokingly.  

But she was dismayed a moment later to see distress written on the canvas of her young friend’s countenance.

“Ruby?  What’s wrong?”

“I think he lied to me.”

“Blaze?  About what, dear?”

“The night I first met him, I went to dinner at The Picnic Basket.  He was my waiter.  When he saw I was alone, he asked if he could join me for dinner.  He claimed his shift was ending.”  

She felt the need to back up and explain their connection.  “We went to high school, you see.  I don’t remember ever talking to him, but he clearly remembers me.  In fact, he claims he’s loved me ever since I was a freshman.”

Stephanie’s eyebrows flew up to challenge the high ceiling of her grand house.  “How romantic!”

“It is.  Terribly.  Except that…”

“What, dear?  What is it?”

“He led me to believe he was a simple waiter.  But if what you said is true, then he’s not only also a chef, but he’s the man who owns the café too.”

“I don’t see what the problem is.”

“Why didn’t he just tell me those things that night?  Or any time we’ve met since then?”

“I don’t know, but surely there’s a simple explanation.  Did he tell you he wasn’t the chef or the owner?  Did it come up in conversation that night?”

“He told me that he had placed our dessert order with the chef.”

“Well, that’s not a lie.”

“No, but it still makes me feel like he deceived me.  I’m uneasy.  Lying was like air to my ex-husband.  I will not be bound to another liar.  I can’t go through that again.”

She began to weep quietly.

“Awww, sweetheart.  You really love Blaze, don’t you?”

“Do I?” Ruby glanced up in alarm.  Then she sighed.  “I guess I’m beginning to.  How could I not?  He’s been so kind to me.  But I can’t tolerate deceit of any kind.”

“Maybe he was afraid to tell you who he was.”

“What do you mean?”

“Maybe there’s more to the story than you know.  Clearly, he recognized you.  Maybe he made special plans for you, but he didn’t want you to know because he didn’t want to put any pressure on you.”

Ruby remembered how he’d backed away from her when he’d interpreted her silence as discomfort with his presence.  He had been very thoughtful of her feelings.

“I think you just need to have a simple conversation with him.  Just ask him directly.”

“You’re right.”  Ruby blew her nose.

“I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation.”

“I hope so.”

“Now, my dear, tell me about this secret admirer…”

—

“Blaze, we need to talk.”  

He didn’t like the sound of that text.  He wondered why.  Those were innocent enough words.  So why were they shaking him?  Because he could feel in his bones that something wasn’t right.

Perhaps he needed to buy himself some time to make things right.

“I can’t meet tonight.  Tomorrow night?  Your swing?”

“No.  My kitchen table.”

Now he knew something was wrong.

Chapter 25: The Mystery – April 3

“So… Your secret admirer gave you six hundred red roses?” Stephanie responded in astonishment to Ruby’s story. 

“Yep.  They were all taking a ride in my swing.”

“Do you think that’s significant?  That they were in your swing?”

“What?” Ruby’s eyes flew wide open at such a unique thought.  

She hadn’t considered that.  But who knew that swing was special to her?  No one.  Obviously, not even her husband had known.  Or he was just excessively cruel.

“You’re sure you have absolutely no idea who your secret admirer could be?”

Ruby shrugged.  “There’s no one.  I’ve never dated anyone but Owen.  I had no friends until a couple of days ago.”

“You’re seeing Blaze now, aren’t you?  Could he be your secret admirer?”

“What?  Blaze?  No.  I started receiving the roses a week before I ran into him at the cafe.  It was pure coincidence.”

“I have discovered that there are very few coincidences in life,” Stephanie opined.  “Maybe none at all.”  After a moment, she asked, “Do you have the poems handy?” 

“Actually, I do.  I took a picture of each one.”

“Can I see them?  In the order you received them.”

Ruby opened the first picture on her phone before handing it to her friend.

Stephanie read through the first two stanzas of the first poem.

“‘Good morning, beautiful rose.

Lift your lovely face to the kind sun;

Tell it all your wicked woes.

Every single, heartbroken one.

“‘You’re too captivating to drown in pain.

Don’t be anticipating more heartache.

Don’t wallow in any sorrow or strain.

Run free, my dear, flee from your old heartbreak.’

“So, he calls you a rose.  A beautiful rose,” she smiled at Ruby.  “You are one blessed lady now, aren’t you?  Let’s see…he alluded to woes, a broken heart, pain, heartache.  Your old heartbreak.  Obviously, he knew about your divorce. 

She glanced up at Ruby.  “Who knew about your divorce?”

Ruby shrugged.  “No one who would care.”

“Did Blaze know?”

Ruby’s eyes careened into hers.  “Yes, actually, he did.  Owen visited The Picnic Basket a couple of days after he asked me for a divorce.”

“Oh?”

“With his girlfriend.  Apparently, Blaze overheard them discussing it.”

“Hmm, now that is interesting.”

“Why?”

“Because Blaze has known for two years that you got divorced.  And now he’s admitted he loves you, hasn’t he?  He’s been pining for you all these years.  Perhaps he’s been making elaborate plans to woo you since he discovered you were getting divorced.”

“But if that’s true, then why didn’t he ask me out sooner?”

“Well, he must have known you were heartbroken.  He was giving you space and time to heal.”

“Which never happened.  Not until the roses began to appear,” Ruby mumbled to herself.

“Indeed.” One elegant dark eyebrow ascended Stephanie’s forehead.  Then she turned her attention back to the poem.

“‘You were meant for days under the sun.

Kinder, simpler ways than what’s been done.

You were born for love’s gentle embrace.

To see devotion in your lover’s face.

“‘Could I perhaps be the blessed one

To open your eyes to a new joy?

Could we call the weary past now done?

Have you room in your heart for this boy?’

“Oh,” Stephanie sighed, “he’s so sweet.  He definitely implies that he loves you.”

Ruby nodded.  “Which is crazy.  Because he doesn’t know me.”  She tilted her head at Stephanie.  “Is there something wrong with me?  Am I just surrounded by crazy guys?”

“What?” Frowning, Stephanie replied, “Why would you say such a thing?  You are perfect.  Just wonderful.  So are these two men you’re having to choose between.  

“It’s completely believable that Blaze has loved you all this time.  And that your secret admirer has loved you from afar.  You’re just that lovable, Ruby!  I mean, I just met you two days ago, and I already adore you!  Oh!  So does Susan!  She wants to get together with you when she moves home at the end of the semester.  You must get to know her!  You two are two peas in a pod!”

Ruby wondered if Susan was really all that enthralled with the idea of seeing her, or if Stephanie was just projecting her own sweet feelings on her unsuspecting daughter.  Ruby grimaced.  She sure hoped the kind woman didn’t attempt to force her daughter to be her friend.

Not privy to Ruby’s silent musings, Stephanie returned her attention to her friend’s phone and quoted the second poem.

“‘Do you think I’m a fool for you?

Is there anything I wouldn’t do 

To woo a gentle heart like you?

Do you believe I’ll always be true?’

“Why does he call himself a fool?” Stephanie frowned at her question.

“Oh,” Ruby grinned.  “That was the clever part.  He gave it to me on April Fools’ Day!”

“Ah!” Stephanie’s smile lit up.  “Quite clever.”  She quoted the next line before questioning its meaning.  “‘A single rose for each week of longing.’  According to this line, he’s been longing for you for six hundred weeks!  How many years is that?”

Ruby shook her head.  “I don’t know.  I never looked it up.  I figured it couldn’t mean that.”

“Why not, dear?” Stephanie’s brow wrinkled in question.  

“Because that’s a really long time to be in love with someone and not have them reciprocate your feelings.  Most people would give up and move on.”

“Not this man here.  He’s quite serious about you.  Six hundred roses!”  She shook her head.  “And not Blaze either!  In love with you since high school!  I can understand your dilemma.”

Ruby glanced at her in surprise.  “You can?”

“Of course.  Who wants to pass up a wildly romantic man?  Even if he hasn’t shown his face yet.”  Her eyes perused the poems.  “I mean, this man is so romantic!”

“It’s eleven and a half years,” Ruby suddenly informed her after consulting an internet search engine.  “Six hundred weeks is eleven and a half years.”

“Eleven and a half years!  This man has been pining for you for over a decade!  Wow.  How old would you have been eleven years ago?”

Ruby knew exactly how old she’d been.  Fifteen.  In fact…

Out of the corner of her eye, Stephanie saw Ruby jump.  She glanced sharply at her young friend.

“What is it, Ruby?”

The girl cleared her throat.  “Um…”. She was checking on her phone just to be sure.  But she hadn’t been wrong.  “I was fifteen.  That was September of my freshman year in high school.”

Right around the time I gave Blaze my package of Ho Hos.

“Your freshman year of high school?  Did you know Blaze then?”

“That’s about the time we met.”

“Mmm.  Hmm.”

Ruby looked sharply over at her friend.  “What’s that mean?”

“I think that Blaze is your secret admirer.”

“You do?”  Ruby’s heart began to race.  She took several deep breaths, but she just couldn’t seem to slow its crazy canter.

Blaze was her secret admirer?  

It could be true.  But why?  Why would he act like he wasn’t?  Why wouldn’t he just tell her?

It felt like another lie.  

She groaned inwardly.  How could such sweet behavior feel like a lie?

But she knew how.  

Owen.

His sweet behavior had often been a lie.  A cover for his real activities.  She still remembered the first night he’d come home from work late.  Carrying a carton of mint chip ice cream.  And bestowing a kiss on her cheek as he bent over her, his breath teasing her ear…

“Sorry I’m late.  I had to go to three ice cream parlors to find the kind you like.”

He wasn’t usually that thoughtful.

“You’re late because you bought me ice cream?” she’d asked him.  Then she had glanced at the time.  “But work got out three hours ago.”

“No.  It ran late.  Then I hit a traffic jam.  I waited in a tremendously long line at the first ice cream parlor expecting to find mint chip.  But they were all out.  The second store had a long line too.  Finally, the third place had the ice cream, at least.”

Had all his lies been so elaborate?  Why hadn’t he just told her his meeting ran late?  Why had he even bothered to bring her the ice cream?  Clearly, he hadn’t really cared about her.

Ruby had learned that elaborate lies attached to gifts were a dangerous thing.  They hid horrible truths.

Stephanie’s voice sounded again as she continued quoting the secret admirer’s – Blaze’s? – poem.

“‘It’s in your heart that I am belonging.

I’ve desired you to walk with me.

Would precious you please come talk with me?’”

Stephanie smiled.  “Whoever he is, he’s a darling.  What’s the third one say?”  Then she began to look over it, reading it silently to herself for a few seconds before offering her opinion.

“Hmm.  Maybe he isn’t Blaze.  I agree with you.  The third poem makes it sound like he is stepping back.

“‘My joy has bled into your soul.

My prayer is that it makes you whole.’

“He’s saying that he’s accomplished his goal by giving you the roses and poems.  He’s allowed his own joy in you to overtake your soul.  He’d hoping that it’s enough for you.  That his gifts have healed your heart.  The man is so sweet!” Stephanie was swooning.

She continued to recite the mystery man’s poem.

“‘No matter where you go or what you find,

You will always be priceless, sweet, and kind.’

“Clearly, he thinks you’re leaving his life.  Ah!  This next reiterates the idea that his flowers have changed your life.  They’ve brought you the happiness he was seeking to give you.

“‘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.’

“This last seems to imply that he does know you’re seeing Blaze.  But…how would he know that?”

She glanced up at Ruby to discover the young woman blushing.

“Blaze kissed me on my porch swing,” she admitted sheepishly.

“Ah!  Of course, he did!  That man’s not going to let any moss grow under his feet!  Now is he?”

Ruby giggled at her friend’s description of him.

Stephanie resumed reading the poem aloud.

“‘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.’

“Once again, he’s telling you to enjoy your life.  To leave your pain where it belongs.  In the past.  And he’s reiterating what a sweet girl you are.  That’s obvious to everyone.”

Not to Owen.

Ruby grimaced at the thought.  When would she leave him in the past?

“He sounded like he was bowing out in that last poem, but you said today he gave you twelve more roses spelling out the word LOVE.  But no note?  No poem?”

“Right.”

“Curious.”

“What do you think it means?”

“I have no idea,” Stephanie admitted.

“Neither do I.”

She also had no idea what to do about it.  The only thing she knew for certain was that she was going to have to confront Blaze.  But just thinking about it was making her stomach ache.  And her heart too.

Chapter 26: A Change of Pace – April 4

That demanding sun was encroaching on her darkness again.  Pulling her into the light of day.  The light of a day she didn’t want to face.  For today was the day appointed for her to confront Blaze.  She didn’t want to do it.  She didn’t want to discover all her dreams had been dashed again.  She didn’t want to unveil another deceitful man.  She couldn’t handle the heartbreak.  

Couldn’t she just stay in bed forever?

But that bothersome sun was insisting that she could not.  She must rise and face this day just as she had all the others for the past two years.  Why did today feel so much harder to face than even a Monday a month ago had?

She knew why.

She’d gotten her hopes up.  She’d begun to believe in love again.  It was all Blaze’s fault.  And that of her secret admirer.  Unless they were the same person.  In which case, it was all Blaze’s fault.

Before Blaze, she had been miserable.  But it had been a misery that completely centered around Owen.  Now she had a new misery that revolved around Blaze.  If Blaze would hide the truth from her too, then what man was safe?

Was she destined to spend the rest of her life alone?  Eating mint chocolate chip ice cream out of the carton while she cried her way through twenty seasons of the most tragic love stories she could find on TV?

Would she never ride her swing ever again?  Had Blaze also ruined it for her?  He’d given her their first kisses on that swing.  If he turned out to be a jerk too, how would she ever recover her joy in that moving seat?

She groaned.  She didn’t want to face today.

—

She was running late.  For being early.  She needed to stop by Mr. Taylor’s office before she started work today.

She grabbed her purse and ran out the front door.  After she’d turned and locked it, she spun around and jogged forward.  Only to come to an abrupt halt.

Her mouth dropped open.

Someone had cut a huge heart out of a piece of red poster board.  This time the poem was written with a black calligraphy pen.  She sighed.  She didn’t have time to read it now.  She pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of it.

She glanced around for a rose but found none.  She bent to retrieve the paper heart before running to her car.  She tossed the poem onto the passenger seat as she climbed into the car.  Then she started it and sped off towards work.  At least, work would take her mind off her troubles for a while.

—

“Mr. Taylor?” Ruby knocked on the frame of the doorway leading into his office.  “May I speak with you for a moment?”

Work didn’t start for another fifteen minutes.  She had arrived early on this Monday morning to return his change to him.

His face lit up as he lifted his head to peer up at her from his seat behind his desk.  “Ruby!  Why, hello!  Yes!  Come in.  What can I do for you, my dear?”  

Then he gushed, “Oh!  Stephanie said you’re helping her with our daughter’s graduation party.  Thank you so much!  You have taken all the pressure off my wife.”

Ruby smiled at him.  “I’m happy to help, sir.”  She opened her purse.  “I came to return your money, Mr. Taylor.  The box of chocolates cost only about fifty dollars.  So, here’s the other fifty.”  She held the bill out towards him.

He just stared at it for a moment before meeting her gaze once more.  “What about the vase, the baby’s breath, the eight white roses?”

“You noticed those, sir?”

“Yes.  Stephanie said something about them being years to grow on…or some such nonsense.”

Ruby’s lips quirked into a grin before she bit it back.  She cleared her throat.  “The florist gave me all the materials for the bouquet.  The white roses were a gift from her to your wife.  With that blessing attached to them.  ‘Eight to grow on for the golden years ahead.’  I think she thought your wife should get an even four dozen.  One dozen for every decade of marriage maybe?  I’m not really sure.”  She frowned.

“No matter,” he waved his hand to dismiss such inconsequential talk.  “But why didn’t she charge you anything?”

“I have no idea.  I told her about my roses, and she just wanted to help.  She said to tell you that I had found favor with her.”

Mr. Taylor just stared at her.  “You have an extraordinary effect on people, do you know that?”

She simply continued to hold his gaze.  What on earth could she say to such a compliment?

“I think we have been totally wasting your abilities on the fourteenth floor.  Donovan can find himself a new personal assistant.  How would you like to work in the lobby from here on out?”

Her heart sank.  “Answering phones and greeting people?”  

She was being demoted.  She wondered what kind of a decrease in pay she’d be receiving.  She hadn’t made a ton at her old job.  She didn’t have too far to fall, did she?  Thankfully, she had no house payment, or she’d be in trouble.

She swallowed.  

“Ruby, I’d like to create a new position for you.  You would spend the mornings greeting my employees and welcoming our customers as they enter the building.  You know, guiding them to the right place.  Giving them an encouraging word.  Maybe a rose sometimes.”

As she furrowed her brow in confusion, he hastened to add, “I would pay for them, of course.  You would just hand them out.”

She nodded as he continued, “In the afternoon, I would have you head to the fifth floor.  That’s where my activities director works.  You would report to her.  I want to put you personally over all the office parties.  You would be our event planner.  We have about twelve parties a year companywide.  You would get to plan them all.  And any major events our company hosts as well.  There are at least four of those a year.  What do you say?  Will you be our party planner and company greeter?  I think I’ll give you the title head of hospitality.”

She simply stared in astonishment at him.  He was creating a new job for her?  Why?

“Oh!  I forgot to add that the position comes with a twenty percent raise.”

A twenty percent raise to do her dream job?  That loosened her tongue.

“Yes!”  She bobbed her head.  “Thank you, Mr. Taylor!  I will do it!  I’ll take the job.  Thank you so much!”

He grinned at her.  “Thank you, Ruby.”  He glanced down at the fifty-dollar bill still nestled in her palm.  “And keep the change.  You did me a big favor by taking those flowers to my wife.  Consider that your tip.”

Her face lit up.  “Thank you, sir.  That’s immensely kind of you.  I better head to work.  Who do I report to on the fifth floor?”

“Amy Schmidt.”

“Will do, sir.  Thank you, sir.”

Ruby’s heart was racing as she headed for the elevator.  She was breathless.  Today was almost more excitement than she could handle already. 

What changes would this evening bring?  She was afraid to find out.

Chapter 27: Epiphany – April 4

Her secret admirer wanted to meet her tonight.  At the same time, she was supposed to be meeting with Blaze.  But she had no way to tell her mystery man that she was busy.  If she didn’t show up to their rendezvous, she might never know if he was the true love her heart was craving.  Now that she had begun to question her faith in Blaze, this man might be her last hope.

But it appeared that she might miss both of them tonight.  Her new job was requiring more time of her today than she had to give.  As she consulted her phone for the time for the umpteenth time, her new boss, Amy, glanced at her sharply.  

“Do you have somewhere else to be?” 

“Um.  I have a meeting I’m supposed to attend at six tonight.”

“Oh, Ruby!  Why didn’t you say something?  We can do this tomorrow.”

Ruby’s head snapped up.  “We can?”

It was ten minutes until six.  She had a bit of a drive before she’d arrive at her destination.  She didn’t think it was possible to make it on time now.

“Yes.  Go!  Go!  I hope you make it on time.  By the way, I love your ideas, and I’m so glad Mr. Taylor sent you my way.”

“You are?” Ruby mumbled under her breath as she ran out the door.  “See you tomorrow!” she shouted over her shoulder as she dashed towards the elevator.

“Ruby!  Where are you off to in such a hurry?”

Ruby glanced up to see Brenda waiting outside the closed elevator doors.

“I’m headed to a meeting on the other side of town.  At six.”

Brenda consulted her phone.  “Yikes!  You’re going to be late.”

“Probably.”  Ruby’s heart sank.  She was going to miss him.  She shouldn’t have cancelled her date with Blaze.  At least, she could have gotten her confrontation over with tonight.

“It’s too bad you’re busy.  I’m meeting a couple other girls for dinner.  You could come with us.”

“Thanks for the offer.  Maybe some other time.”  Ruby gave her a half-hearted smile.

I’ll probably have lots of time on my hands pretty soon.  Seeing as I’ve now lost my chances with two men.  The only two men who have ever really pursued me.

Brenda chatted about inconsequential matters until they reached the bottom floor, then Ruby dashed out to her car.  Where she found the red heart.  A reminder that she was running very late.

She’d taken a picture of it before she’d headed into work so that she could read it on her break.  She’d read it this morning, a couple of minutes before her shift had started.  She recalled its lines as she started her car and glanced down at the black calligraphy.

“What are you, my very dear?

You are a red rose in bloom.

What do you release into the atmosphere?

You steal all my gloom.

“Your smile robs me of all my air.

And you take away all of my care.

Your voice comforts me sweetly.

Your laughter wraps around me neatly.

“I wish to hold you in my arms,

Sampling every one of your charms.

I want to see you face to face.

And I know the perfect place.

“Meet me at The Rose Garden.

The perfect place to pick a bloom.

Please don’t let your heart harden.

Your disdain would seal my doom.”

The Rose Garden.  She was familiar with it.  It was the floral shop where she had met Anne.  Was her secret admirer waiting for her there?  Had he, perchance, bought her six hundred roses there?  From Anne?

It mattered little.  Ruby was going to be so late that she was sure to miss him.  Her heart sank even further.  She really wanted to see the face of the man who would deem her worthy of six hundred pristine red roses.  But it was Blaze’s words echoing in her ears now.  

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

She heaved another deep sigh.  She had texted him at noon.  To tell him that she couldn’t meet him until tomorrow night.  He had never responded.  Was he angry with her now?

She felt tears biting into her eyelids.  Her distress was growing by the minute.  She chafed at the bit as traffic slowed to a crawl.  She could see where an accident had occurred half a mile up the road.  Who knew how long this would take?  All she could do was sit miserably in her car.  Tapping her foot to lessen her irritation.  

She glanced at the clock.  Six-oh-six.  She was still twenty minutes from the florist’s shop.  

Make that forty minutes.  That slow crawl had turned into a true traffic jam for over fifteen minutes.  By the time she finally broke free of it, she’d known all hope was lost.  Her heart hit the floor.  There was no way she’d meet him now.  But she kept going anyway.  Maybe Anne could tell her what he looked like.

—

Ruby dashed into the floral shop at six forty-five.  Greatly disheartened.  She was nearly an hour late for a very important date.  Anne had several customers.  But none of them fit Ruby’s vision of her secret admirer.  

Tall.  Dark.  Handsome.  Great jade eyes.  And a toothy grin.  That lit up the entire world when it was manifested.

She realized with a start that her mind’s eye had conjured up a picture of Blaze.  Or his identical brother anyway.  Did he have one of those?

But no one here resembled Blaze.  Not in the slightest.

Was she hoping Blaze was her secret admirer?  But why?

Because that would solve the parting of ways her heart was encountering.  As though she were standing at a crossroads and could only travel down one road.  But she was hoping that both roads looped around and met in the middle.  Because then her heart wouldn’t have to choose.

Is that what her conflict was really about?  

Not that Blaze had hidden the truth of his full identity – his occupation and resources – from her.  But that she was afraid to choose one man over the other.  Believing that once again she would make the wrong choice and ruin her life?  Had she been assuming that a figment of her imagination was safer than a flesh-and-blood man who had claimed her lips and her heart as his own?

Her heart?

That heart was suddenly struck by lightning as she realized the truth.  

She was in love with Blaze.  

No matter who her secret admirer was…it didn’t matter.  Because it wouldn’t change her heart.  Whether or not he was Blaze, her heart was given.  She’d fallen in love with a man who had never forgotten her.  Never forsaken her.  Never ceased dreaming about her.

A man who had asked to share her dinner because it broke his heart to see her lonely.  A cook who had made her green spaghetti and fancy pizza to impress her.  A chef who, after eleven long years, had remembered her absolute favorite dessert and created one for her to enjoy.  A knight in shining armor who had appeared in her moment of need and carried her burden for her.  A treasure seeker who had unearthed the gold in her and convinced her of its worth.  A lover who had sought to steal her pain and reclaim her favorite place for her by sealing his devotion to her with a kiss in that favored seat.  A garden dweller who had filled her home with the fragrance of her childhood and of the person dearest to her heart, her mother.  A man who had declared his love for her in many different ways.  A sweet spirit who truly did care for her.

He was Blaze.

The man her soul wanted.

The man her heart yearned for.

The man her lips craved.

The man she loved.

As she experienced this epiphany, her eyes fell on a display of roses.  Nestled amongst the vases was a heart cut out of poster board.  Nearly identical to the one in her car.  She reached for it.  And began to read its beautiful calligraphy.  In black pen.  She would know that handwriting anywhere.

“I grew up amongst the roses,

Their fragrance invading my head.

I studied their silly poses

And hung on every word they said.

“But I couldn’t outrun their perfume.

So when I met sweet you, I just knew

That you were a perfect fragrant bloom.

Gentle, kind, beautiful, and so true.

“I should have fought for you back then.

I should have told you the whole truth.

I should have asked you out right when

I knew your boyfriend was uncouth.”

What was he talking about?  He should have fought for her when?  He’d known her boyfriend?  Owen?  When?  Where?  And what did he mean by uncouth?

Her eyes took in the rest of the missive.

“When I was so tiny, you could find me 

Quietly hidden between the bright blooms,

Among those bushes, no one to find me

Nestled in a garden with many rooms.”

A garden with many rooms?  What was he talking about?

Anne sidled up alongside Ruby just then.

“Need some help?”

Ruby frowned.  “I can’t find him.”

“Who?”

“My secret admirer.  He’s been leaving me roses and poems.  Today he sent me on a scavenger hunt.  His last clue sent me here.  But I don’t understand these poems at all.  I thought he was going to meet me here.  I’m hoping that he’s the prize awaiting me at the end of today’s rhymes.  But I can’t figure this last clue out.  I have no idea where to find him.”

“A secret admirer?  Poems?  Roses?  How romantic!  If you decide you don’t want him, can I have him?”  Her eyes were twinkling at Ruby.

Ruby furrowed her brow.  “I’m so confused.  He says he knew my boyfriend once.  But I don’t know who he is or how he knew him.  And I can’t figure out where he wants me to meet him.  In a garden with many rooms?  Where is a garden with many rooms?”

“That’s easy.”

“It is?” Ruby glanced up into her eyes in surprise.  “You know what he’s talking about?”

Anne nodded.  “Of course.  The garden with many rooms is behind my shop.  Come.  I’ll show you.”

Ruby stared at her in consternation.  There was a garden behind the florist’s shop?  She supposed that made sense.  But why would her secret admirer put one set of clues inside the florist shop and another just a few feet away in a garden?  Or was he himself there waiting for her?

She followed Anne into a private oasis.  Ruby gasped as she entered the garden full of flowering trees and colorful bushes.

“Anne!  It’s beautiful!” she breathed.

“Isn’t it just?” Anne had an expression of absolute rapture on her face.  “I grew up in this garden.  So did my son.”

Ruby glanced sharply at her.  “Your son?”

“Do you understand the part about there being many rooms?  Can you see it?” Anne didn’t seem to hear her question.

Distracted by the older lady’s question, Ruby looked from one corner of the garden to another.  Then her eyes traversed the remaining corners.  She grinned suddenly.  

“It’s the hedges.  They seem to divide it into rooms with passageways in between.  So lovely!  Especially now when the fruit trees are blossoming.”

Anne nodded.  “He picked the perfect time of year to show you his garden.”

“His garden?  This is his garden?”

Anne nodded.  “It’s mine too.  But someday, this will all belong to him.  He wanted you to see it.”

“Then why isn’t he here to enjoy my delight in it?”

“Who says he isn’t?” Anne smiled mysteriously.

Ruby’s eyes traveled around the garden again.  Trying to catch a glimpse of her mystery man.  But she found no one.

“Anne?  What’s your son’s name?”

Chapter 29: Nestled – April 4

Anne suddenly beamed at her.  “My dear, I would take all the fun out of today if I were to answer your question.  Why don’t you see if you can find your next set of clues instead of wasting your time questioning a silent woman?”

Ruby laughed.  “You silent?  Never!”

Anne chuckled.  “Maybe not.  But I can’t give you the information you seek.  I’ve been sworn to secrecy.”

Ruby furrowed her brow.  “Can you, at least, tell me why?”

“I think he needs to explain that himself.  My only part to play is to help you find the clues.  So, my dear, have a look.”

Ruby consulted the poem again.  Suddenly, her face brightened.  And her eyes danced.

“The rose bushes!”  She turned towards Anne.  “Where are the rose bushes?”

“Ah, yes!  In that corner there.”  She pointed at the southernmost corner of the garden.

Ruby headed that way and began to search between the bushes as she mumbled, “Quietly hidden between the bright blooms…Nestled in a garden with many rooms.”

Suddenly, she gasped and leapt forward.  She bent to pick up the big red heart off the ground.  It was very similar to the one she’d found on her porch this morning.  Only this one was half its size.  Her eyes scanned it as she murmured its contents aloud.

“You were always my heart’s desire,

The one I wanted above the rest,

Within my soul, a raging fire,

But I never did pass that test.

“I could have had lovely you had I pursued you,

But I lacked the courage to fight for what I’d dreamed.

Instead, I acted as if I never knew you,

As if the lonely world was what it always seemed.

“So now I’ve come to beg your kind pardon

You deserve more than your dead dream’s casket.

I’m hoping to find in a sweet garden 

What wasn’t found in the picnic basket.”

The picnic basket?  The Picnic Basket?!

Her heart began to pound as all her suspicions coalesced…

Chapter 30: Conclusions – April 4

Her suspicions coalesced…as she collected the evidence.

On March twenty-third, she had found the first rose.  Eight days later, she had discovered the first poem.  Written by a man who had known she’d suffered a broken heart.  Blaze had known that Owen had left her for another woman.  

After finding the first poem, later that same day, Ruby had visited The Picnic Basket and run into her waiter, Blaze.  Who had noticed she was alone and asked to eat with her.  He had ordered – or made? – chocolate soufflé for dessert.  Because he knew it was her favorite.  According to him, the chef had been making it since Blaze was in high school.  Which implied that he had known the chef in high school.  That was the same time that Blaze had learned from Mary that Ruby loved chocolate soufflé.  If Blaze was the chef, then he had learned how to make the luscious dessert after he discovered it was her favorite.  Most likely, anyway.

Her eyes widened in astonishment.  Was it possible?  Had Blaze learned how to make chocolate soufflé for her?  If he had, that was further evidence that he really did love her.

It was almost too much to take in – that Blaze had loved her enough to go to all these extraordinary lengths.  Just for her.  That he had been the man behind it all.  Her secret admirer was over the top.  Full of extravagant gifts.  But so was the man who became a chef so he could make her chocolate soufflé.  However, if he was one and the same, then he was truly amazing.

Her heart continued to race along as she drove across town. She was beginning to feel a certainty that Blaze was both of these men – a chef and a poet.  A restaurant proprietor and a bearer of bright blooms.

The second poem had accompanied fifty dozen red roses.  It had also declared that he had loved her for eleven and a half years, desiring to be with her, to get to know her on a deeper level.  Blaze had admitted that he had loved her since the day she’d given him her chocolate snack cakes.  Eleven and a half years ago.  Surely, that was too big of a coincidence for Blaze not to be her secret admirer.  There was no way two men had been in love with her for that long.  

How had she not seen it from the very beginning?  As soon as she read that each rose represented a week of his longing for her, she should have known that her secret admirer could be only one person…Blaze.  But that wasn’t the end of the evidence.

Blaze was Anne’s son.  Ruby was sure of it.  If Blaze was the chef, then he had to be.  He had shown up at Stephanie’s anniversary party bearing chocolate soufflé.  A dessert which her friend had been nearly certain he’d baked in her own kitchen.  Not carried across town from the restaurant.  Ruby had tasted that soufflé for herself; it had been identical to the one Blaze had brought her on their first date.  It had been freshly baked.  So either the chef had been hiding in the kitchen too, or Blaze had been the chef.  Also, Mr. Taylor had introduced him as the creator of that delicious dessert.  Surely, such a brilliant man wouldn’t have confused a chef with a waiter.  But she might have.

Furthermore, Anne was a florist…with access to an abundance of resplendent red roses.  As her son, Blaze would have had a plethora of beautiful blooms from which to choose to send Ruby.  He also would have learned from his mother how much a girl could love roses.  According to her admirer’s most recent poem – and according to his mother – he had grown up nestled between rose bushes, giving him a love for the sweetly scented flowers.  From Anne’s behavior, it was apparent that her son was Ruby’s secret admirer.  He had to be Blaze.

Anne had already admitted that her son was the chef and owner of the restaurant.  Now Ruby was convinced that all the evidence added up to the fact that Blaze was both the proprietor and the chef of The Picnic Basket.  Not just a waiter.

Blaze was also her secret admirer.  A poet.  A bearer of beautiful blooms.  He had to be.  He had to be all three.  The mysterious poet who had given her a garden’s worth of red roses.  The chef and owner of her favorite restaurant.  And, of course, her one true love, a man who had pursued his passion for her for over a decade.  Watching over her even when she belonged to someone else.

These were all her suspicions.  But with each passing moment, they transformed more and more, bit by bit, proof by proof, into her convictions.

—

Her heart was hammering as she drove towards The Picnic Basket.  Would she find him there?  Or would she simply find another clue?

She was disappointed when she entered the little bistro.  She wasn’t greeted by Blaze.  In fact, she didn’t see him at all.  Her heart slid to her toes.  

Was he in the kitchen?  

She had to know.  The restaurant was quite busy.  There weren’t any empty tables right now.  So she approached the kitchen.  

She glanced around.  No one seemed to be paying any attention to her.  She took a chance and pushed on the door before slipping into the room beyond it.  Why did it instantly make her think of Blaze?

It resembled him.  But how?  

She couldn’t put her finger on it.  But it was there, nonetheless. 

It smelled like him!  That was it.  

She closed her eyes and inhaled.  Blaze’s scent wrapped around with such comfort that she nearly wept.  Until this moment, she hadn’t realized how much she loved the way he smelled.

As much as the fragrance of roses comforted her and returned her mother’s presence to her, Blaze’s scent consoled her and invigorated her.  It made her long for his presence too.

Where was he?  She wanted to see him.  Right now.  Her eyes popped open, and she glanced around, hoping to find him hidden in a corner of this beautiful kitchen.  

Beautiful because it was Blaze’s domain.  She was sure of it now.  He lived in this kitchen.  Creating tantalizing dishes that both he and his customers loved.  Amazing works of art that she loved too.

Pesto pasta.  Bruschetta.  Chocolate soufflé.  Creamy cheesecake.

Just then, an older gentleman looked up from his position in front of the stovetop.  A great big grin suddenly suffused his face with joy.  It was certainly not the expression she’d been expecting from someone who had caught her trespassing.

“Ah!  You must be the ravishing Ruby, no?”

She nodded and smiled at him.  “Yes, I’m Ruby.”  She wasn’t so sure about the ravishing part.  “Are you the chef?”

He suddenly chortled.  “I am a chef of sorts.  But definitely not the chef.  He’s not here right now.  But I have something for you.”  He reached up and pulled a small card off a shelf overhead.  

When he handed it to her, she recognized it as a recipe card.  She began to laugh.  How fitting!

The poem was written on that little lined card.  With a simple black pen this time.  No calligraphy.  Her eyes devoured his words as her heart became more convinced of the truth she was certain she’d unearthed tonight.

“I know that you prefer a good book.

Could you love a man who is a cook?

Even if he hid this truth from you

‘Cause he didn’t want to pressure you.

“He has watched over you for years

And seen you shed too many tears.

He’s longed for you with all his heart,

Wants to give you a brand new start.

“He yearned to see you ride your swing

And dream again of better things.

He wants to make your dreams come true.

And forever just be with you.”

Her heart melted.  Blaze was an extravagant giver of gifts.  The roses had been stunning.  Six hundred was overwhelming and obviously outrageous.  But the poems took time and effort to craft.  Blaze had lavished more of his love on her through his words than he had through any other outlet.  He had also cooked for her.  And baked for her.  Brought her rose oil.  And taught her to love her swing again.

Suddenly, she was simply bursting to see him.  She wanted to ravish his lips with her own!  To sink into him and never let go.  To throw her arms around him and hug him tight.  For loving her so dearly.  So beautifully.  With that beautiful heart of his.

For spending his time and money on her.  For giving her back all the joys she used to love.  And now loved again.  

Her swing.  A good poem.  The fragrance of roses.  Chocolate soufflé.  Ho Hos.

He had introduced her to new joys too.  Jade green eyes.  And a beaming grin full of white teeth.  Perfectly imperfect ones.  Adorably crooked at the front.  Yet blindingly wonderful.  His smile lit up her life now.  She couldn’t imagine a day without it.  In fact, yesterday had been such a day.  And it had been full of disappointments.

But his gorgeous face wasn’t the only joy he’d introduced her to recently.  Pesto pasta.  Bruschetta.  Sharing her swing with him.  Basking in his embrace.  Giving him her kisses.  And relishing his.  

She had to find him!  She was now yearning for him.

She glanced up at his friend.  “Is this it?  There isn’t another clue?”

He grinned at her.  “Usually the instructions are on the back of the recipe card.”

Her eyes flew wide open.  She flipped the card over.

“Isn’t it always true

That the end is found at the start?

Come visit me, my love,

Where I first lost my heart.”

Where he first lost his heart.  She beamed.  She knew exactly where he was.  Of course!  She was on her way to their old high school.  

But first, she had a stop to make.

Chapter 31: Wonderful Words – April 4

She found him sitting under a tree.  Looking outrageously gorgeous in the light of a dying sun.  Green grass spreading out under him to run in four directions across the lawn of their old high school.  There was a pleasant breeze stirring the air around them.  The sky had been brilliantly painted in shades of rose and violet as the slumbering sun turned the horizon golden.

“This is where it all began,” he breathed.  “For me, at least.”

He glanced up at her.  Then at the tree.  

“This is our tree, you know.”  His eyes found hers again.

“Our tree?  What makes it so?”

But she recognized the spot now.  What she had forgotten – what had lain buried under the mists of time – suddenly resurfaced.  A vision of Blaze as a darling seventeen-year-old boy instantly floated up out of the recesses of her mind.

“This is where I first laid eyes on you,” he whispered.  He stood up.  “This is where you handed me…”

“A package of Ho Hos,” she breathed as she reached out her hand to him.

He lifted his own hand reflexively as his gaze dropped to hers.  But she didn’t take his hand.  Instead, she set something in it.  His eyes widened in surprise.  

Ho Hos.

“You knew?” he gasped.

“I suspected,” she clarified.

He grinned at her suddenly, and the sun rose in her heart.

Oh, yes.  That grin was beloved.  That face was dear to her in ways that surprised her.  She had never felt for Owen the things that she now felt for Blaze.

She had been a rose tightly sealed in Owen’s grasp.  Perhaps her heart had always known that it wasn’t safe in his hands.  She’d wrapped her velvet petals firmly about herself to keep out the chill winds of his indifference and his spite.  But the sun of Blaze’s love had shone down on her with warmth and cheer until he’d begun to coax her petals open.  She was now fully unfurled before his heat.  Wallowing in the welcome of his lavish love.

“Can you forgive me?” he whispered.

A tremor rippled across her face.  “For what?”

She felt a cool wind slip past her soul.

“For so many things,” he sighed.  

His eyes met hers again.  “First of all, for not fighting for you back in high school.  I loved you, and I knew Owen was a jerk.  I saw him kissing another girl during the second month of my senior year.  While he was dating you.  I wanted to tell you, but I just lacked the courage to break your heart.  We weren’t friends; I didn’t know if you’d even listen to me.  I thought you’d hate me if I told you.  I wasn’t brave enough to lose even your indifference.  

“But now… Oh!  How I wish I’d told you.  Even if you’d hated me, you would have been forewarned.  Perhaps forearmed.  Maybe it would have stopped you from marrying him.  So that’s the first thing I’m sorry for.”

He took a deep breath.

“You saw Owen kiss another girl?”  Her eyes were wide open now as she stared up at him in horror.  “He cheated on me from the very beginning?”  But it wasn’t anything she hadn’t already suspected.  

She narrowed her eyes.  “Was she wearing a red Cardinals cap?” she asked suddenly.

Blaze started.  Now his eyes grew wide.  “How did you know that?”

She growled, “He missed my sweet sixteen birthday party to go to a baseball game.  With her, apparently.  Not with his father.  I knew it!” she exclaimed.

“You did?”

She nodded her head as she stared up at him out of sad eyes.  “It wasn’t your fault, Blaze.  The signs were always there.  I let him talk me out of them.  Every single time.  Until I had irrefutable evidence.  I couldn’t really ignore a naked girl in my bed.  Sharing it with my husband,” she gasped.

“Ruby,” Blaze breathed out his compassion for her.

She blinked back tears.  “Will that vision ever stop hurting me?” she whispered suddenly.  “The two of them wrapped in each other’s arms?”

“My precious girl, you’re worth a million of that man.  You deserve so much better.”

“Do you think he loved her because she didn’t have cherry hair?  She has glorious dark brown locks and big brown eyes.”

“Stop.”

Her eyes collided with Blaze’s again.

“There is nothing on this earth as glorious as your flaming curls,” he breathed the words out with awe as his hand came up to finger one of those tresses.  “And I swear my fingers do catch their fire every time I touch one of them.”

He drew her lock of hair up to his lips and kissed it while his eyes held hers reverently.  Then he spoke again.

“And your eyes are like two deep aquamarine seas.  They’re my favorite place to take a long swim.  I’ve drowned in them more times than I can count.  Even in just the memory of them.  You have no idea how many hours I stared at our yearbooks.  Just to get a glimpse of your incredible eyes.”

She swallowed.  Her heart was hammering away again.

She was breathless.

From his words.

But mostly from the look in his eyes.

“I hope that today the memory of your ex-husband’s betrayal dies a swift death in your heart.  Never to be revisited again.  I swear to you, Ruby, I will never so betray you.  I will never treat you as Owen did.  I worship the ground you walk on.  You do know that, don’t you?”

She simply stared up at him.  As tears filled her eyes.

“I mean, I gave you everything I could conceive would make you happy.  Everything that would return your delight in life to you.  Roses.  Poetry.  Your swing.  Chocolate soufflé.”  His lips twitched.

“I’m sorry if you feel I deceived you.  I…  I had no idea that you were going to walk into my restaurant that day.  I was trying to gently awaken you to life.  A rose here.  A poem there.  To make you begin to crave the sun.  To coax a smile from your pretty lips.  I wanted to return the joy of your swing to you.  So I planted six hundred roses in it.  

“You used to ride that swing every single day.  But a couple of years ago, you stopped.  I saw Owen speaking to you on that swing.  A couple days later, I overheard him telling that girl he brought to dinner that he was divorcing you.  I didn’t put two and two together until later.  

“But the months passed, and you didn’t sit in your swing anymore.  Not even in the cool air of spring.  Or the crisp evenings of autumn, nestled under your blanket.  I missed you.  I missed seeing your delight as I drove down the block.  

“I had to return that joy to your face.  I thought about it for a long time.  I left you alone forever.  Thinking that eventually you’d be ready to return to the land of the living.  But you never did.  You stayed hidden in the dark.  For two whole years.  You weren’t getting better.  If anything, you were getting worse.  

“I had to try to rescue you.  So I sent you a rose.  And then another.  Finally, a third.  And it worked!  Those three blooms had caused some sort of chain reaction.  They had returned at least a little of the joy of life to you.  For I saw you sailing through the air on your swing.  That third night.  I was so overjoyed!  I wanted to rush up your steps and twirl you around and say, ‘Welcome back to the land of the living!’”

He beamed down at her.  “Of course, I didn’t do that.  I just kept sending you roses.  And picturing them in a vase in your house.  But it wasn’t enough.  I wanted you to have incontrovertible proof that you are priceless.  So I buried your swing in roses.  One for every week I had longed for you.  Eleven and a half years.  Six hundred weeks of yearning.

“I had to give you some words too.  I was sure Owen had.  I had to undo the damage I was certain he had done.  So I began to tell you how I felt about you.  

“I wasn’t sure your heart was ready for love again.  I thought that if I spoke to you face to face, you’d be overwhelmed, and you’d flee from me.  So I hid behind roses and poems deposited on your porch.  I was hoping that I could slowly coax your heart open again.  Then at some point, I would walk down your block and run into you in person outside of your house.  Strike up a conversation with you.  Become your friend.  And hope things developed from there.   

“But you spoiled all my plans the day you walked into my restaurant.  I saw you sitting there.  Alone.  Forlorn.  And I just couldn’t leave you alone.  I had to come to your rescue.  I had to leave all my well-constructed plans behind.  And fly by the seat of my pants.  I knew you loved chocolate soufflé, so after I took your dinner order, I went back to my kitchen and made the soufflé.”  He glanced back into her eyes and grinned.  “It’s a forty-five-minute process from start to finish.”

“Wait.  You started making the soufflé before I ordered dessert?”

He nodded.  “It wouldn’t have been ready in time if I had waited.”

Her face melted.  So did her heart.  “Blaze…did you learn how to make chocolate soufflé in high school?”

He nodded.  “For you.”  He smiled sweetly at her.

“For me?” she echoed.

“The day Mary told me you liked chocolate soufflé, I went to my dad’s restaurant after school and asked him to help me figure out how to make it.  I’ve been making it ever since.  It became my favorite dessert too.”  His lips quirked upward.  “Every time I ate it, I thought of you.”

Another wave of tenderness crashed over her face.

“You learned how to make chocolate soufflé for me?”  It was still hard to believe.

He nodded.  “I had hoped that maybe the roses had done the trick and opened your heart enough for you to go on a date with me.  That’s why I asked you out after we ate dinner together.  But you…”

“…was so stunned I lost the ability to speak. And you assumed I didn’t want to eat dinner with you again.  Which wasn’t true,” she rushed to assure him.

“It wasn’t?” he queried, surprised.

She shook her head.  “I loved that night with you, Blaze!  You were the first person to show me any kindness in over two years.  I was dying for lack of a friend.  I just couldn’t believe that you would want to date me.  I mean you’re gorgeous, and I’m…”

“I am?” he grinned, making himself even more gorgeous.

She nodded.

“And you’re what?” 

“I was just this pathetic little thing whose husband hated her enough to cheat on her.”

“Ruby,” his tone held a warning note.

“It’s how I felt, Blaze.  I couldn’t understand why you would want me.”

“Do you understand now?”

“I guess,” she shrugged.

“Ruby,” he managed to breathe out all of his exasperation in that one word.  “You’re beautiful.  You’re sweet.  You’re kind.  You’re brilliant.  You’re funny.  You’re talented.  All the pieces of the puzzle that is Ruby.  Haven’t I managed to show you those sides of yourself yet?”

She thought back to all the things he’d said.  His words came back to her.  

His wonder at her fiery hair.

“…you have the most glorious red hair.  I’ve always wanted to run my fingers through it and see if they would catch on fire.”

“There is nothing on this earth as glorious as your flaming curls.  And I swear my fingers do catch their fire every time I touch one of them.”

His delight in her eyes.

“And your eyes are like two deep aquamarine seas.  They’re my favorite place to take a long swim.  I’ve drowned in them more times than I can count.  Even in just the memory of them.  You have no idea how many hours I stared at our yearbooks.  Just to get a glimpse of your incredible eyes.”

And his general attraction to her whole person.

“You were – and still are – the prettiest girl I’d ever seen.  The way the sunlight glints off your copper locks.”

“You have the most captivating smile.”

His admiration of her personality.

“I always liked you.  You were so nice.”

“You are a truly kind person, Ruby.”

“You always intrigued me.”

“Ruby, you are the sweetest girl I know.”

“You are the most beautiful human being in the whole world to me.”

He hadn’t been talking about just her looks then.

 His appreciation for her quirky humor.

“You always did have a great sense of humor.”

His belief in her ability. 

“You’re brilliant.”

Putting that faith into practice, his questioning her about starting her own business.

“Did you ever try to create a side business as a party planner?”

Implying she was capable, creative, and clever.  He’d gone on to elucidate.

“I think you’d be great at it!  You’re very intuitive.  And I think you’d add all these sweet little touches too.”

“Ruby, you’re a natural with people.  You’re sweet and definitely hospitable.  You speak very easily and kindly to people.  You set everyone at ease the other day when you handed out those roses.  Your words touched several hearts too.  I could tell that nearly everyone instantly liked you.  And you helped Mrs. Taylor organize her party last night, right?  It was amazing!”

Then he had shown how much faith he had in her.  It wasn’t just words.  He’d acted on that confidence too.  He’d hired her to help him throw a party in his restaurant. 

But then, of course, there were also the words of the poems.  For they, too, were Blaze’s words now.

“Beautiful rose…”

“Lovely face…”

“Too captivating…”

“Gentle heart…”

“Precious you.”

“You will always be priceless, sweet, and kind.”

“Always remember when you see a rose that within your heart its sweetness grows.”

“You are a red rose in bloom…a perfect fragrant bloom.  Gentle, kind, beautiful, and so true.”

“You were always my heart’s desire.”

“Your voice comforts me sweetly.  Your laughter wraps around me neatly.”

Other words came back to her too.  For Blaze had actually been referring to himself when he alluded to her secret admirer.

“This guy is madly in love with you.”

And then, of course, his beautiful admission face to face with her.

Timidly, at first.

“Would I scare you away if I told you that I love you?”

Then, more boldly.

“Ruby.  I love you.  I have always loved you.  Since the first day you turned your radiant smile on me, and the sunlight bounced off your fiery hair.  I wanted to be your friend.  And your lover.  I wanted to kiss you and talk to you….  And to hold your hand.”

 

And then, some of his most beautiful words.

 

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

Finally, his pièce de résistance.

“You are everything to me.”

So much solace after so many years of pain.  And harsh words from Owen.  But this man, this Blaze, was wonderful!

Chapter 32: How to Woo a Woman – April 4

“Ruby, can you see yourself as I do now?” he prodded her gently a moment later when she failed to respond to him.

“I think so, Blaze.  But I might need you to remind me every day for a while.  Owen kinda decimated my faith in myself.”

He smiled sadly down at her for a little while.  “I will gladly remind you how perfectly wonderful you are every single day of your life for the rest of our days.”

He lowered his head and brushed a kiss across her lips.  Softly.  Sweetly.  Until she melted.  Thoroughly.

Then he straightened and spoke again.  “I left you disheartened that night.  I wanted you to know how much I loved you, but I didn’t think you wanted me.  At least, not yet.  But I knew you still needed your secret admirer.  I asked myself what gesture could convince you of your worth.  I thought about how long I had adored you.  I figured it out.  To the day.  Then to the week.  And I realized it was a whole six hundred.  What better gesture than to overwhelm you with six hundred roses?  I could pile them all in your swing too.  To make such a beautiful memory there that you would be drawn to it over and over again.”

“You were there, weren’t you?  When I found them?”

He nodded.  “Of course.  I wasn’t about to miss the look on your face when you discovered I had left you fifty dozen roses.”

He grinned with delight.  “It was priceless.  I’ll never forget your expression.  Utter shock.  Then pure wonder.  I wish I had a picture of it, though.”

“Where were you hiding?”

“I was sitting in my truck across the street.”

“How did I not see you?”

“I think you didn’t expect me to still be there.”

“But how did you know I wanted to take the flowers to work?”

“Well, I saw you get the tub, but then you carried a bunch of roses inside by themselves.  You didn’t return for the tub.  Not immediately.  So I thought about what my sweet Ruby would do.  The girl who gave me her Ho Hos when I had no lunch.  And I realized she would find other girls with no roses and give hers away.  That’s when I realized you’d taken some inside to put in vases but left the others in the tub to take with you to work.  I knew that tote must weigh a ton, so I moved it to your car for you.  I would have put it in the trunk, but it was locked.”

“You found the poem I left you?”

“But, of course,” he murmured with a tantalizing smile dancing upon his lips.  “I loved the poem you wrote me, Ruby.”

She beamed.  “You did?”

He bobbed his head slowly.  “It was beautiful.”

Her face lit up with her pleasure at his praise.

“So…you followed me to work?”

He nodded.  “I knew you’d need help lugging that tub inside.”

“So you came to my rescue.  My veritable knight in shining armor.”

He grinned at her, his teeth nearly twinkling at her.

She laughed.  “Then later I saw you at the Taylors’ party.  Mr. Taylor introduced you as the chef.”  She frowned.  “I questioned you about that later, Blaze.  And you lied to me.  You acted like he’d mistaken your identity.  But he hadn’t, had he?  You are the chef of The Picnic Basket.  And you own it too, don’t you?”

He nodded.  “I thought it was too soon.  I thought that if you put all the pieces together and figured out what I’d been up to, that you’d get scared and run away.  I didn’t want to scare you away.  We were making such excellent progress.”

His gaze sharpened on her, and she knew that he too was remembering their first kiss.  And the two that followed it.

“I guess I understand, Blaze.  But…”

“What?  What is it, Ruby?”

“I want you to promise me something.”

“Anything.”

“Promise me that you won’t ever lie to me again.  That you won’t mislead me either.”

“Can we make one exception?” he prodded her gently.

“What?”

“That I’m allowed to if I’m doing it solely to surprise you.  If I’m doing something that will bring you delight.  Not to cover my own tracks.”

Could he read her mind?  Did he know she was remembering Owen’s kindness which had been unleashed on her simply to distract her from his own hideous truth, his infidelity?

She took a deep breath.  She shook her head.  “I don’t want to be lied to or misled.  Not for any reason.  You can try to keep your plans secret, but if I confront you about them, I still want the truth.  Even if it ruins my surprise.  I value the truth more than gifts, Blaze.  Anyone can buy a present.  It takes a good heart to speak the truth.”

He nodded his head.  “I understand.  I will always give you the truth, Ruby.  From here on out.”

She furrowed her brow.  “So…why didn’t you stop giving me presents on my porch after I kissed you?”

“I was going to.  But then the night I ate dinner with you, I could tell that the idea of losing your secret admirer was disappointing to you.  I realized that I couldn’t just stop sending you the roses and poems.  You’d think your secret admirer had grown cold towards you.  That would have hurt your heart too.  So I sent you another gift the next morning.”

“It didn’t bother you that I needed gifts from another man?”

“Well, I knew he wasn’t another man.  And I also knew that it was those gifts that had first opened your heart to me.  I didn’t want to risk you slamming the door shut again.”

“I see.”

He bent then and retrieved a bouquet of roses from the ground.  

She stared at the eleven glorious crimson blooms.  How had she not noticed them before?

Then her eyes were drawn back to his face.  And the vulnerable expression in his eyes. 

“Ruby, these roses are for you.  Not just from a secret admirer.  But from a man who is putting his whole heart on the line.  From me, Blaze.  Each one represents a year of my life that I lived without you after I fell in love with you.  I don’t ever want to have to add another bloom to this bouquet.  I love you, Ruby.  And I’m hoping you feel the same way about me.  Will you accept these roses from me?”

Her expression melted as she stared into his beautiful jade eyes.  She could feel tears welling in her own.  She nodded her head and reached out to receive the bouquet.  As she held the blooms close to her heart, she gazed up at him. 

“I love you, Blaze.  Just…be patient with me, okay?  My heart still feels so tender.”

“Ruby,” he breathed, “I will always be tender with your heart.”

The look in his eyes was making her stomach do little flips.  There was nothing subtle about them at all.  They were communicating to her that a party had broken out on the inside of her heart.  She knew who it was for too. 

Blaze.  Her secret admirer.  Her best friend.  Her personal chef.  Her bringer of beautiful blooms.  Her private poet.  The love of her life.

“I believe you, Blaze.”  She paused for a moment.  “Who gave you your love of poetry?”

“My mother gave me my love of words.”  He smiled fondly as he thought of her.

“Anne!  She’s your mother?”

He grinned.  “Indeed, she is.”

“I just love her!”

“So do I,” he chuckled.  “Another thing we have in common.”

“Now I understand why she was so nice to me the first time I visited her shop.  She knew who I was, didn’t she?”

His lips quirked.  “She figured it out pretty quickly.”

“How long has she known about me?”

“I just have one phrase for you.”

“What?”

“Six hundred roses.”

She furrowed her brow.  “Does that mean she’s known about me since you gathered all those bouquets for me?”

“No.  It means she’s known about you since the day you gave me a package of Ho Hos.”

“What?” she gasped, astounded.  “You told your mother about me that day?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I wanted to know how to woo you.”

“Woo me?”

He nodded his head sagely.

“But all I did was give you my chocolate snacks.”

“Ah.  But I know how much you love chocolate.”  His lips quirked; though, he tried to keep them straight.

“What did she say?”

“What?”

“When you asked your mother how to woo a woman?”

His bright grin suddenly broke forth.  “She gave me her trade secrets.” 

“Which are?”

“Poetry and roses.”

“Ah.  So the chocolate soufflé?  Whose idea was that?”

“That was all mine.”

“And the pesto pasta?”

“Mine.”

“The bruschetta.”

“That was mine too.”  Those lips continued to twitch.

“Well, together you and your mother are positively brilliant.”

“So I wooed you with chocolate, roses, and poetry?”

“Mmhmm.  And I wooed you with Ho Hos.”

“Absolutely.”  That chuckle escaped now.  “Speaking of which…  Shall we share them?”  He held up his little bag of twin treats.  “There’s two.  Just enough for us to share.”

“I don’t know if that’s enough, Blaze.”

He glanced up at her in surprise. 

“I really like Ho Hos.”

He laughed.  “You can have them both.  I can live on your love alone.”

She giggled.  “Are you trying to sound cheesy?”

“Just a bit.  Am I succeeding?”

“Definitely.”

“Excellent.”  He opened the bag and pulled out a little snack cake.  “Open up, Ruby.”  He held it up to her lips.

“You really enjoy feeding me, don’t you?”

“Yes,” he responded as she took a bite, “but not as much as I enjoy kissing you.”  He dipped his head so he could enjoy her snack too.

She snickered as she pulled away from him, chewed her chocolate cake, and swallowed.  “Blaze!  How am I supposed to eat my snack and kiss you at the same time?”

“You’re a smart girl.  You’ll figure it out.”  His arm snaked around her and dragged her up against him as his lips descended upon her own. 

“I’m hungry for your kisses.  I waited over eleven years for them, you know,” he growled against her lips a few moments later.

He was breathing on her now.  Making her heart race in the most delicious way.  But she was feeling breathless again.  Blaze always seemed to have that effect on her.  He both warmed her with his ardor and stole her breath at the same time.

But suddenly, he pulled away from her.  “Come here,” he snagged her free hand.  “I want to show you something.” 

He drew her towards the tree.  “You asked me why I called this our tree.  This is why.”

He pointed at some initials that had been carved into the tree.

“B.C. plus R.M,” she murmured.

“Blaze Campbell plus Ruby Montgomery,” he explained.

Her eyes widened.  “You carved our initials in a tree on school property?” she asked incredulously.

“I’m a bad boy; I know,” he joked.

“Blaze.  When did you do this?”

“My junior year.  After you started dating Owen.  It was my promise to myself that I would love you forever.  And rescue you from him if the chance ever came my way.”  He frowned.  “Unfortunately, it didn’t.”

“That’s not true.”

His fingers still clinging to hers, he glanced up at her.  “What?”

“You did rescue me from Owen.  From my memories of him.  A few days ago.”  Her gaze sharpened on his face.  “You don’t know, do you?”

“Know?”

“What March twenty-third is.”

“March twenty-third?”

“The first day you left a rose in front of my house.”

He shrugged.  “The first day of spring?”

“Indeed, it was.  The first day of spring after a long, cold, hard winter frozen out of Owen’s heart.”  Her eyes careened into his.  “Blaze, it was the two-year anniversary of my divorce.”

He gasped.  “What?”

She nodded.  “You brought me a rose on the day I most needed a little joy.  A little hope.”

Her eyes were filling with tears again.  She tried to blink them back.  But they began to slide down her cheeks.  His gaze turned tender.  He reached up and gently cupped her cheek.  Then the soft pad of his thumb began slip over her skin, brushing those moist tracks away.

“I’m glad, Ruby, that I could let a little sunlight into your life.”

“No, Blaze.  You didn’t introduce a little sunlight into my life.  You brought the whole blazing star.”

He laughed.  “Was that a joke about my name?”

“Maybe just a little.”  Her smile peeped up at him.  “But it’s true, nonetheless.”

She paused for a moment.  “I thought you were angry with me.”

“What?”  His brow wrinkled as he pursed his lips.

“Earlier today.  I texted you to tell you that I couldn’t meet you tonight.  But you never responded.  I figured you were angry.”

He shook his head.  “No.  I didn’t know you’d texted me.  I misplaced my phone at the restaurant this morning.  I couldn’t find it anywhere.”

Concern sketched itself into her eyebrows.  “You never found it?”

He shook his head.

“Let’s go look for it.”

“Right now?”

She nodded, tugging on his hand.

But planting his feet firmly on the ground, he pulled on hers.  She stopped and glanced back at him.

“Ruby…we’re okay, right?  You’re not upset with me?  About misleading you?  And hiding so much from you?”

She shook her head.  “I’m not upset anymore.  We’re okay.”

She closed the distance between them and brushed her lips against his.  Then she led him to the parking lot.  They had a phone to find.

Chapter 33: Adored – May 5

Ruby and Blaze had spent a lovely season together basking in the sun and in the light of the moon too.  As they sat on her swing and conversed.  About so many things.  All the things that Blaze had dreamed of discussing when they were in high school.  And college.  And over the past few years.

They reminisced about their shared years in high school.  Recalling the lively personalities that had surrounded them.  The teachers who had elevated school from doldrums to entertainment.  The popular kids whose antics had driven them both nuts.  The struggling students who had pulled on their heartstrings.

Ruby shared with him about her college years.  And the welcome break they had been from Owen.  She had often been too busy studying to spend much time with him, as he had been too. 

“I should have realized then that marrying him was a bad idea.  But I think I thought it would fix our problems.  That if I married him and gave him what he wanted, then he would become a happier person.”  She heaved a mighty sigh.  “Marriage only made our problems worse.  He seemed happy for a few months, but after a while, I could tell he was growing bored with me.  I discovered the telltale signs of an affair a few months later.”

“Ruby.”  Blaze stopped.  He was hesitating to bring up the subject that was dearest to his heart. 

They had been officially dating for a month now.  They had weathered the wedding reception at The Picnic Basket together.  Ruby had proven herself to be a brilliant party planner.  The bride and her mother had both been in transports over the décor and activities that she had chosen.  They had also loved the food that Blaze had made. 

He had commented when the night was over, “Ruby, you and I make the most amazing team.  I hope you’ll partner with me again in providing such a pleasing experience to our customers.”

Of course, he’d had more on his mind then than mere parties.   Still, he had yet to speak his desires aloud.

Now he cleared his throat.  “How do you feel about marriage now?” he forced the words out then convinced himself to keep going.  “I mean, I know you had a horrible one with Owen.  Would you ever be open to the idea of getting married again?”

They were sitting in her swing.  It was late evening now.  The moon had risen and was beaming happily down on them.  As were the twinkling stars.  But Blaze wasn’t feeling any of their love right now.  He was too nervous.  Too many of his hopes and dreams were tied up in her answer.

He had already dreamed of waiting for her at the end of the aisle.  Of lovely Ruby dressed from head to toe in white, her glorious copper hair spilling down her back in a mess of curls that begged his fingers to tangle themselves in them.  A radiant smile pouring from her eyes.  And from her lips.  The light of her love for him illuminating her beautiful countenance.

He’d seen the two of them living in this home she loved so much.  Hosting parties on her wraparound porch.  Nurturing the roses that bloomed in her backyard.  Sailing along every evening in her swing. 

He’d pictured her joining him in the kitchen at The Picnic Basket.  Cooking alongside him.  Sampling his new delicacies.  Enjoying his desserts.  Wowing him with her innovative ideas.  Of which he knew she had many.  She’d already shared some of her ideas for increasing his business through hospitality initiatives.  The woman was brilliant.

He had also envisioned a couple of children joining them in a few years’ time.  He’d seen himself carrying a small girl on his shoulders.  And chasing a little boy about their front yard.  While their daughter and her mother smelled the roses at the back of the house. 

He’d dreamt of pushing two small children to greater heights in that beloved swing that hung from the ceiling of a most prized porch.  He could even hear their squeals of delight as he saw tiny hands clinging to the armrests.  Little legs pumping up and down in an effort to increase the velocity of their amazing flying seat.  The brilliant joy framing two beautiful darling faces as they beamed up at their daddy.

“Blaze,” her voice interrupted his reverie, “are you asking me if I would consider marrying you someday?”

Her eyes probed the depths of his.  He nodded his head.  His heart was crashing wildly into his throat right now.  Making him breathless.  His entire future hinged on the words about to fall from her lips.  He closed his eyes.  He almost couldn’t take the second’s worth of suspense.  He was actually feeling lightheaded.  He inhaled deeply as she responded.

“Blaze.”

He opened his eyes and stared deeply into her captivating aquamarine orbs.

“There is only one man I know who could convince me to get married again.”

His heart must have beaten five times before she finished her thought.

“You.”

His face broke into a relieved grin.  “Really?  You’d consider marrying me?”

“No, Blaze.  I would marry you.”

He felt suddenly immensely humbled by her faith in him. 

“Thank you,” he breathed because he was so grateful that her heart had opened to him.  That she had placed her confidence in him.

“Blaze, I love you.  So much more than I ever believed I loved Owen.  And this time, I know I’m loved in return.  I know you love me.  You’ve been so good to me.  I think we’d have a beautiful life together.”

But he couldn’t help but notice the sorrow in her gaze.

“What is it, Ruby?  Why do I feel like there’s a ‘but’ to your statement?”

She swallowed.  It was the one thing crushing her still.  The one truth that gave her pause concerning a marriage to Blaze.  Or to anyone for that matter.

“There’s something I’ve never told you about myself.  Something that might make you change your mind,” she spoke hesitantly.  Then she met his eyes again.  “Blaze, if it does change the way you feel about me, I won’t hold it against you.  If you decide to leave me, I will understand.”

She had just broken his heart. 

“Nothing you could ever say would make me walk away from you,” he breathed.

“Blaze,” her eyes clung to his, “I might be barren.”

“What?”  Now her words were crushing him too.  “What makes you think so?”

“I shared a bed with Owen for eighteen months.  I used no form of birth control.  But I never got pregnant.  I’m not sure I can have children.”  Suddenly, a sob broke forth from her mouth.

And Blaze knew he had discovered a hidden fount of her pain.  He had believed that he had uncovered it all in the last few weeks.  But this was something new.  Something still raw.  Something that hurt her very deeply.  To the very depths of her heart.

He couldn’t imagine Ruby not being a mother.  Beautiful, brilliant, sweet Ruby was born to raise children.  To dance in the sun with them.  To glide in her swing with them.  To sing them lullabies and teach them how to write poetry.  To share her favorite stories with them.  To tend her roses with them. 

He gathered her to his chest and held her close to his heart as she wept bitter tears against his shirt. 

“Have you ever discussed it with a doctor?”

She nodded.  “She ran some tests.  She found nothing wrong.  She said that sometimes it just takes a while.  But I’m afraid, Blaze.  What if I can’t have children?”

She lifted her tear-streaked face to his.  In the rays streaming from the porchlight, he could see her pain cascading down her cheeks.  He spoke a few quiet words. 

“Then we will adopt.”

“What?” she gasped.  “You – you’re willing to take a chance on me?”

“Ruby,” his voice broke.  “You were willing to take a chance on me.”

Another sob broke loose of her lips. “I love you, Blaze.  With all my heart.”

“It’ll be all right.  You’ll see.  You know, if there was a problem, it might have been with Owen.  It wasn’t necessarily with you.”

She brightened as she gazed up into his hopeful eyes.  “That’s true, isn’t it?  Oh, Blaze!  I want a baby so bad!  I really hope we can have one together.”

“I really hope we can have several together,” he growled as his lips descended to cling to hers once more.

Whatever came their way, Ruby felt assured that she was secure in his embrace.  She knew one thing for certain.  Blaze adored her.

Chapter 34:  Success is a Shared Kitchen – May 14

“Oh, Ruby!  I can hardly wait!  Susan is going to walk through that door at any moment!  My baby girl is finally coming home!” 

As usual, Stephanie was exuberant.  Even after an entire day of decorating, baking, and cleaning.  Ruby, on the other hand, felt positively exhausted.  She was ready for tonight to be over already.  She was beginning to question her choice of profession.

Until she saw the joy that lit up both the faces of Stephanie and Susan.  They were positively beaming as Susan’s guests began to arrive.  Ruby glanced around the great hall and into the rooms she could see from the foyer.  She admired her handiwork.  She did have a knack for this sort of thing.  It did make her incredibly happy to celebrate other people’s successes, joys, and families.

But it was exhausting work on the day of the party.  She felt like she was running from sunup to sundown on the day of each auspicious event.  The most fun she’d had so far had been the wedding reception that she had partnered with Blaze in producing.  She’d loved working with him.  In her wildest dreams, she worked with him at the café, serving customers and baking in the kitchen whose presence still comforted her just like Blaze did.

But she hadn’t told him about that dream yet.  She figured the restaurant didn’t bring in enough revenue to support them both.  She also had an excellent insurance benefits package through the company she worked for; she was loath to give it up.  However, that didn’t stop her from dreaming about the day that she’d be raising a little girl within the confines of the café.  She could just see that little midnight head tilted up towards her as she rolled out pie crust.  Those great jade eyes studying her every move.  That tiny mouth questioning her.

“Mommy, whatcha making?”

In her dreams, their daughter always looked like Blaze.  With his blinding grin and wide jade eyes.  His gorgeous head of dark hair too.  Ruby had even picked out for their little girl a name that had the same meaning as her daddy’s.  Born of fire.  Ember.  Her mind breathed the name again.  Ember.  She smiled as she pictured that little darling.  She fervently hoped that one day this ardent dream of hers manifested.

But unbeknownst to her, Blaze was also considering names for a little girl.  He preferred to stay in the realm of precious gems.  For his Ruby was his most treasured jewel.  And he knew any daughter they produced together would be too.  He was considering Emerald or Sapphire.  Perhaps Garnet.  Especially if she inherited her mother’s flaming hair.

“My love,” Blaze whispered in Ruby’s ear a while later as he pulled her from her musings, “you have outdone yourself with this party.  Both Stephanie and Susan are over the moon.  And everyone is having a fabulous time.  But my compliments to the caterer.  The hors d’oeuvres are amazing.”

She turned to smile up at him.  “Do you really think so?!”

He nodded. “I need the recipes.”

She twisted her lips as she considered him.  “The caterer might be willing to turn them over to you if you share your recipe for chocolate soufflé with her.”  Her eyes were teasing him.

Which was driving him wild.  He snagged her hand and dragged her towards the kitchen.  Once they were safely on the far side of that white door, he pulled her into his arms and ravished her lips with his own.  After a few breathless moments, he leaned back and grinned down at her.

“All right, I give in.  I’ll share my recipe with you if you give me yours.”

She giggled.  “Finally.”

His lips quirked upward in a reluctant grin.  “You little minx.  You knew that one of these days you’d get it out of me, didn’t you?”

Her eyes wide, she exclaimed, “Do you have any idea how many hours I spent on the internet trying to find recipes that would intrigue you?  Just so I could get my hands on that chocolate soufflé recipe?”

“You work too hard.  I would have given it to you for a kiss.”

\

“What?” she ejaculated, outraged.  “Why didn’t you tell me that?”

“Because you’ve been giving me your kisses for free.  Why would I give away my precious recipe for one when I could get it for free?”

She socked him on the shoulder playfully.  Then she chuckled.  “Oh, well.  It was still time well spent.  Stephanie adored all the hors d’oeuvres I chose and wants me to supply them for every party she throws in the future.”

“It seems, my dear, that your business is flourishing already.  I don’t see it failing anytime soon,” Blaze remarked as he bent to kiss her on the tip of her nose.

“Thanks to you,” she whispered.  “You gave me the confidence to pursue my dreams.”

“Did I?” he asked skeptically.  “I seem to recall Stephanie dragging you, kicking and screaming, into your future.”

Her mouth fell open, prepared to argue with him, but then she changed her mind, shrugged her shoulders, and responded, “I resemble that remark too.  You’re right, she did drag me into the future.  But I find that I quite like it.”  She grimaced.  “Except for the day of the party.  Then it just feels like a lot of pressure.”

“Look around, darling.  You did an amazing job.  Everyone is happy.  They are all having the time of their lives.  You have definitely stepped into your destiny.  The only thing missing is…”

“What?” she frowned up at him.

He bent his head and brushed his lips across hers once more.  “Me.  I have this wild fantasy in which you and I work together at the café.  I can just see myself tripping over our kids in the kitchen while you teach them how to make a pie.”

Her mouth dropped open.  “What?” she gasped.

“What?” He wrinkled his brow.

“That’s my dream too!”

“Really?  You’d want to give up your glamorous job at the office to come work in a hot kitchen with me?”

“In a heartbeat.”

He just stared at her.

“But…does the restaurant bring in enough income to support us both?”

“If we shared that big house of yours, and I sold mine, it would.”

She blinked.

Just then, the door to the kitchen flew open.

“Oh!  Ruby, there you are!  We’re almost out of lemonade.  Can you put some more out?”  Stephanie smiled at the clearly amorous couple.

Reluctantly, Blaze’s arms dropped away from Ruby’s waist.  He gave Stephanie a rueful smile.  “Work is calling, my dear,” he murmured as Ruby turned away to grab some more lemonade from the fridge.

“You are coming home with me after the party tonight, right?” she asked him as she opened the refrigerator door.  “To sit in our swing with me?”

“And share a cup of lemonade?” he finished.

Her eyes met his.  “Absolutely.”

“I’ll be there.  I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Chapter 35: The Dream Garden – May 23 – June 5

One day in late May, Ruby whispered to Blaze, “Take me to your garden.  I want you to share it with me.”

He turned towards her in surprise.  “My childhood garden?  The one behind Mom’s shop?”

She nodded.  “Yes.”

“I would love to,” a secret smile teased his lips.  “Just give me a few days.  I need to arrange for someone else to cook on a Sunday afternoon, so we can steal a few hours in my garden.”

That sounded blissful to her.

—

Blaze was waiting.  For the red roses to bloom.  As soon as he could tell those beauties were going to open soon, he scheduled a day off from the restaurant.  Not an easy task, but he had trained several people to make his Sunday specialties for just such a purpose as this.  He would move heaven and earth to spend a day with his beloved Ruby.  Especially in his rose garden.

—

He stopped by her house around eight o’clock Sunday morning.  As she jumped into his passenger seat, she saw the picnic basket sitting on the back seat of his car. 

“What’s that?” she queried.

He grinned.  “My restaurant.”

She laughed at his joke.  “What are you up to, Blaze?”

He glanced sharply at her.  “You didn’t eat breakfast, right?”

She shook her head from side to side.  “Nope.  I listened to you.  I did not eat breakfast.”

“Good.  Because there is nothing more delightful than a picnic breakfast in a rose garden in early June.”

Her eyes lit up.  “Ooh!  Does that mean your roses are blooming, Blaze?”

“Are yours?”

She nodded her head.  “I meant to tell you!  The first bloom opened yesterday!”  She sighed dramatically.  “Oh!  It smells delightful.”

“Does your house still smell like a rose garden, Ruby?”

She eyed him.  “You know it does.  You were just in my house last night.”

He grinned at her.  “Just checking.”

—

A few minutes later, they entered his mother’s shop. 

“Ruby!” Anne greeted her cheerfully before engulfing her in a warm embrace.

Blaze stood by simply shaking his head.  “You, my love, have replaced me in my mother’s affections, I think,” he murmured loudly enough for them both to hear.

“Oh!  You are ridiculous, son!  Come give your mother a hug!”  Anne responded as she released her favorite girl. 

She turned towards her son and rebuked him.  “I listened to you for eleven years as you talked about how wonderful this girl is.  Now I agree, and you’re quibbling with me?”  But her voice was teasing him.

He grinned widely as he set the picnic basket on the floor before sliding his arms around his mother and drawing her close.  “You’re still my favorite woman in the world, Mom,” he whispered into her ear.  “It’s just that I have two favorites now.”  His eyes met Ruby’s over his mother’s shoulder.

A sweet smile suffused her face.

His mother chuckled.  “You’re such a charmer, Blaze.”

Ruby frowned and corrected her friend, “No, Anne, he is not a charmer.  Blaze is the genuine article.”  Again, that smile lit up her face.

“You’re right about that, my dear,” Anne replied.  “Well!  Are you two off to the garden?  The roses are in bloom, and the whole place smells like heaven.”

“Excellent!  Just what I was waiting for!” Blaze grinned as he grabbed his picnic basket off the floor and snagged Ruby’s hand on the way out the door.

He tugged her towards his favorite place in the all the world.  Second only to Ruby’s swing.

She entered the wonder of his garden for the second time.  But this time she was here to linger.  To enjoy the cool morning zephyr that was blowing her copper hair gently away from her face.  Her wide aquamarine eyes were free to roam over the lush greenery and the bright blooms beckoning her to take a long look.  And to breathe deeply of their aromatic perfume.  He drew her deep into the garden towards the resplendent red roses.  His mother’s beautiful blooms.  The most gorgeous ones on the entire earth.

“Blaze, you’re sharing your garden with me,” she whispered blissfully as they found themselves immersed in a sea of crimson roses a moment later.  “Did I ever tell you that before you placed a rose on my sidewalk, I dreamt of a garden nightly?”

She inhaled the peace of that pristine sanctuary.  And lifted her face towards the sun.  Now because of Blaze, she found its rays comforting.  The serenity of his beautiful garden engulfed her with joy.

“Did you?  It’s because you were meant to flourish as these roses do.”  He smiled down at her.

“I do, Blaze.  Especially when I’m with you.  You’ve renewed my hope in the future.  And made my dreams of love come true.” 

She inhaled deeply and found her senses filled with the sweet perfume of a hundred blossoming rose bushes.

“You were born to live in the garden, Ruby.  Surrounded by this marvelous scent and basking in the gentle rays of the kind sun.  If you’re worth six hundred roses, then you’re worth a hundred rose bushes.  I give them all to you.”  He threw his hand out to encompass the entire garden surrounding them.

She smiled up at him.  “I love you, Blaze.  Thank you for coming for me.  Thank you for invading my life with your roses.  And your poetry.  And the scent of a thousand rose blooms.  It’s still filling up my house with your joy.”  She sniffed in the perfume of those roses once more.  “But most of all, thank you for reminding me of the happiness I once found gliding through the air on my swing.  It’s like a newborn joy in my life once again.  You’ve returned the happiness of my childhood to me through your gifts.  And your love.”

She lifted her face towards his – and towards that cheerful sun – and planted a kiss on his lips as she reveled in the adoration that she could feel flowing from his heart into hers.  He had shared the beauty of his garden with her.  More than once.  And in manifold ways.

Chapter 36: The Swing – June 10

“Mom, I need every single bloom,” Blaze insisted as they cut roses from her bushes.

“I know, darling.  Are you going to want my help delivering them?”

“Nope.  I got this.”

“Yes, I rather suppose you’re becoming an old hand at this by now, aren’t you?” she responded with a quirky grin that matched his own.

—

An hour later, Ruby pulled her car up in front of her house.  As she exited her vehicle, she glanced up and caught sight of Blaze’s truck across the street.  Eagerly, she turned towards her house.  And stopped cold as her eyes touched her porch swing.  She slammed her door shut and hurried towards her home. 

Blaze was grinning down at her as she rushed up the sidewalk and took the stairs as quickly as she could.  She came to a halt three feet from her swing.  It was covered in red roses.  Except that…in the middle of that swing sat a beautiful man.  He was beaming at her.

“Blaze?  What on earth?  You’ve planted a garden in the middle of my swing again.”

“Actually, no.  I’ve planted a man in the middle of your swing.  And a garden surrounding him,” he chuckled.

“Why?”  Her eyes hadn’t left his face.  She was more enthralled by the man in the middle of those beautiful blooms than she was by the roses themselves.

He cleared his throat.  “I believe the answer you’re looking for is found in a poem.  So I shall recite it to you.”

He held her gaze as he spoke.

“I could never have found

A love more resplendent

Than my lovely red rose.

By her gaze I am bound.

Nothing’s more transcendent

Than being where she grows.

“Can I live in your pretty garden

Under the rays of your brilliant sun?

Can I revel in your devotion,

And not allow my heart to harden,

But bask in the joys my friendship won,

And delight in the heat of your passion?

Ruby, my shining gemstone,

Would you walk with me for life,

Always clinging to my hand?

Ruby, my resplendent rose,

Would you be my willing wife?

I’ll join you in your dreamland.”

Carefully, he stood up and reached for her hand.  “Come, sit among the roses.”

He helped her get settled in her favorite seat as the perfume of hundreds of roses engulfed her with their peace.  He beamed down at her for a moment before his smile faded, and a serious light entered his eyes. Then he knelt before her on the boards of her old porch.  He gazed earnestly up at her as he spoke with all the passion that he’d contained in his heart for her for nearly twelve long years.

“Ruby, I love you.  Will you marry me?”

A tear slid down her cheek as she realized what he had just done.  He had redeemed her favorite seat in the whole world.  He had brought her swing back into a place of beauty, by replacing the memory of a requested divorce with an appeal for her hand in marriage.  To a most wonderful man.

“That depends,” she responded as another tear slid down her other cheek.

“On what?”

“How many roses I’m surrounded by.”

“Ah.  How many should you be surrounded by?”

“Enough to last the rest of our lives.”

His grin split his face in half then.  “That works.  There are enough here for both our lifetimes then.  One for every year.”

Her delicate copper eyebrow quirked.  “How many is that?”

“Two hundred and forty.  One hundred twenty years for you and one hundred twenty years for me.”

“But, Blaze, you’re two years older than me.  So I should get two roses fewer.”

“No.  It’s one hundred twenty years more for each of us.  I want to spend at least one hundred twenty years with you, Ruby.  That way we can get to know our great-great-grandchildren.”

“Our great-great-grandchildren?” That lovely eyebrow was dancing in the sky again.

“Yep.  The ones with fiery copper hair and bright aquamarine eyes.”         

“Don’t you mean midnight hair and jade green eyes?” she asked with a teasing smile.

“Well, either way I’m not going to see them if you don’t say yes.  And I still think they’d be prettier if they favored you.”

“Yes, Blaze.  I will marry you!”

A smile danced about his lips as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a little velvet box.  He opened it and held it out to her.  Inside, nestled above a golden band was a perfect solitaire diamond.  On either side of it two rubies sparkled in the light of the sun.

“I couldn’t resist,” he whispered.  “A girl named Ruby should own at least one ruby.”

“But, Blaze, there’s two rubies in this ring.”

“I don’t know if you noticed, love,” he glanced at the twenty dozen roses, “but your fiancé believes in extravagance.  Only one ruby would never do.  That’s why you’re getting two.”

“Ha!  Once a poet, always a poet.  You’re rhyming again, Blaze.”

“Am I?  I didn’t intend to.”

“That’s just what poets do.”

“Oh, dear.  Is it catching?  Now you’re rhyming too?” he breathed as he lifted his face to receive her kiss.

Then amid their chuckles, he slid the ring onto her finger. 

“Does it fit?” he asked with concern.

“Perfectly,” she murmured as she quickly discarded the remembrance of her ring from Owen never fitting her quite right.  Owen’s days occupying any real estate in her mind were long gone.  She had room for only Blaze now.

“Blaze?  I’ve been giving thought to baby names…”

“Oh?  Have you now?”

“Mmhmm.  I think we’re going to have a little girl with midnight hair and jade eyes, and I’d like to name her after her daddy.”

“You want to name her Blaze?” he asked incredulously.

“Ember.”

“Hmm.  I think we’re going to have a little girl with bright copper hair and beautiful aquamarine eyes, and I would like to name her Emerald.”

“Emerald?” she laughed.

“What?  You’re my Ruby, precious like a gemstone.  I think we should carry on the family tradition your mother started.  Naming all our girls after jewels.”

“Hmm…you do, huh?  How about we compromise.  We could name her Emerald Ember.  But she definitely has to have green eyes.”

“All right.  It’s a deal.  Emerald Ember with green eyes.  As long as she gets her mother’s glorious flaming copper curls.”

And that is precisely what she got.

The smile crowning her tiny face left both of her parents breathless.