“You didn’t fuck me into anything, Ryan. I’ve told you many times before. I don’t do anything I don’t want to do.”
“Oh. Good. I guess.”
“I was actually going to wake you up soon,” she said. “We need to talk.”
Yes, we did need to talk, and I had to figure out a really quick way to get her to move in with me.
She stood. “Want some coffee?”
I nodded, and we walked back into the kitchen. She poured two cups and set them on the table. Then she sat down. I followed suit.
“Ryan, last night was… There really aren’t any words.”
“Does that mean it was good or bad?”
She smiled. “It was good. Very good.”
“Thank God.”
“And I want to tell you…” She bit her lip, looking down. Then she met my gaze, he
r blue eyes burning. “I love you, Ryan. I really do love you.”
Happiness surged through me. And a giant weight floated off my shoulders. Though I had wanted to hear those words last night, I’d had no idea how much they truly meant to me until they left her lips.
“Do you? Really?”
“I do. I have for a while. I just never in a million years dreamed that you could love me.”
I took her hand, entwining her fingers with mine. “I do. What I feel for you is something I never imagined. It’s almost an ache.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that. Since I have no frame of reference, I wasn’t sure exactly what I was feeling, but you just described it perfectly.”
“Then will you move in with me? Let me protect you?”
She closed her eyes and let out a breath of air. “I’m sorry, Ryan. I can’t move in with you.”
“Why? If we love each other—”
She held up her hand to stop me. “Because. Because I need to figure some things out about myself first. And quite frankly, you’re not ready for this either.”
“Ruby, I know exactly what I’m ready for.”
“Do you? You admit yourself that your life has just been upended. Don’t you need to work through all of that before you start a serious relationship?”
“I’m pretty sure that ship has sailed, Ruby. This relationship is already serious.”
“Because we love each other?”
“Yes, because we love each other. Don’t you know anything about relationships?” I regretted the words as soon as I said them. Of course she didn’t know anything about relationships. I was her first one. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“It’s okay. But I think this is new for both of us.”
She had the right of that. “So it’s new. So what? I want you to move in with me. I want you to be safe.”
“Keeping me safe is not the best reason to have me move in with you,” she said. “I may not know much about relationships, but I do know that much.”
“Fine,” I said. “I love you. Isn’t that a good enough reason?”