“The VA Medical Center in St. Louis,” Claudia said. “It really would be best to make sure he’s not already on his way home. ”
“I just…wanted my visit to be a surprise. ” That wasn’t a lie. The why was really the lie. And the escape route she’d wanted to keep open was looking more and more viable by the moment. Only now, Wes would know she’d been here. Backing out would be messy.
Claudia smiled. “You came all the way from California, didn’t you?” She waved a hand. “I should have recognized your accent, not to mention your car, your clothes, that movie-star look about you. ”
“I’m…” she laughed softly, “not in the movie industry. ”
“Come on in. Let me call him. ”
She held the door open and waved Rubi forward. “Would you like a can of pop or some sweet tea?”
“No, thank you. ” Rubi parted her lips to tell them she couldn’t come in, but hell, she was tired and she didn’t know where she was going. So she climbed the stairs, wondering if Wes had grown up here. Then found herself wondering all about his childhood.
The interior of the home was spacious and open, with big rooms flowing together and vaulted ceilings. The kitchen was as modern as Rubi’s—correction, Dolph’s—with granite counters, stainless steel appliances and light wooden, glass-fronted cabinets. The dining and family rooms, all open to the kitchen, were painted different jewel tones, offset by white ceilings and lots of light through the windows. The floors were wide-planked, light wood. The overall effect was sophisticated yet homey.
Birdie stirred something on the stove, and the scent of spices filled the air. “Can you stay for supper, Missy? I know how you love my corned beef. Wesley’s favorite. ”
Wes liked corned beef?
Rubi rubbed her forehead. “Thank you, but I’m just going to—”
Claudia held up a finger to her lips, then into the phone said, “Hey, Wes, it’s Claudia. ”
The thought of Wes so close made Rubi’s stomach jump and burn. Made her yearn to fall into his arms. The longing itself made Rubi uncomfortable. She was completely twisted.
“Yeah, everything’s fine. Listen, your mama and daddy are still in Kansas City. They’re getting a late start back. Grams is fixing up corned beef. Do y’all think you’ll make it back for supper?” She was quiet a moment. “All right, then. No fuss. Take care now. ”
She hung up the portable phone on the kitchen counter. “He’s still at the hospital. Said he wouldn’t be heading back for another hour or two. So you should have just enough time to catch him. ”
Armed with Grams’s Special K bars—whatever the hell those were—and a can of “pop” in the form of Coke, Rubi followed Ms. GPS’s directions back to St. Louis and the VA Medical center with a shitload of misgivings. And even by the time she slid her rental—a crisp, white BMW sports coupe—past the front of the hospital’s spinal injury center, she still hadn’t decided whether or not to call him.
But fate decided for her.
As she pulled the car into a parking spot at the front left of the building, she spotted Wes strolling the path leading to the main entrance. And he wasn’t alone. Whoever the woman was had long blonde hair and knew Wes well judging by the minimal distance between them.
Fine. Rubi turned off the car to wait. After Birdie, Rubi wasn’t exactly up for meeting any more of Wes’s family or friends at the moment.
With his hands in the front pockets of his jeans, staring down at the concrete beneath his feet, he looked ridiculously adorable. Rubi found herself wondering if he had baby pictures she could see. The thought made her smile. She soaked in the sight of him in his jeans and long-sleeved tee after not seeing him for three days. The first time they’d been apart in two months. Crazy. Not at all a normal relationship. But then, Rubi didn’t know anything about normal.
She shifted in her seat, restless to surprise him. Her smile widened as she realized how quickly her uncertainty morphed to excitement. All it took was his proximity and her fears seemed to melt.
“Come on…” she murmured, leaning her head sideways to get a better view. “Go home already, blondie. I’m exhausted. And I can’t wait to get my hands on that man. ”
“Wesley’s always preferred blondes. ”
The comment scraped along Rubi’s nerves. His grandmother was definitely a little off. But Rubi’s mind drifted back to what she knew of his previous girlfriends. Jax and the other Renegades razzed each other about women often enough for Rubi to catch a few details. She knew Kayla had been blonde, but she couldn’t remember if his other girlfriends had been too.
It didn’t matter. Rubi was secure enough with herself to know a hair color didn’t determine attraction. And she also knew if she had to choose a type, blond would not be her top choice, yet she was hot as hellfire for Wes Lawson.
Wes and the blonde woman slowed their pace as they neared the parking lot and continued talking. He laughed at something she said, and she leaned into him.
A trickle of heat coursed down Rubi’s neck. “Don’t…” she barely whispered.
He didn’t pull away but neither did he take his hands from his pockets to touch her. They talked another moment, a span of time that seemed like an eternity to Rubi. Then the blonde made her move—one Rubi had known was coming. That hadn’t surprised her. She lifted her hands to Wes’s shoulders, pushed up on her toes, and kissed him. Not just a peck either. She lingered there.
Rubi’s stomach clenched. And as if she’d been numbed, a dull ache filled her chest. “Don’t…” she begged Wes in a whisper.
He lifted his head and said something, hands still in his pockets as if they’d been glued there. The blonde responded by sliding her hand around his neck and pulling Wes’s mouth down to hers.