Page 83 of Can't Win 'Em All
“And when the workers at the casino start teasing us?”
“They’ve been teasing me for months. I don’t care. I want what I want.”
I ran my tongue over my lips. He was so matter of fact, so sure of himself, I wanted to bask in some of that bravado for a bit. “And the only rule is that we’re honest with one another about what we’re feeling at any given moment. I think that’s a must for us.”
“I’m on board with that.” He grinned. “Is that your only rule? No sex and complete and total honesty?”
“Oh, not complete and total honesty.” I shook my head, then grinned at his confusion. “You have to lie to me when I ask how I look. My ego is kind of shredded these days.”
His hand landed on top of mine. “No, I don’t, Ruby. You’re beautiful. You’ve always been beautiful. That hasn’t changed.”
“I don’t feel beautiful.”
“Well, we’ll see how you feel at the end of the date. Maybe I can change that.”
If anybody could, it was him.
22
TWENTY-TWO
Dating Ruby was better than I imagined. Sure, part of me wished we’d done things in the correct order—she was limited on what she could do because she was less than two months away from giving birth—but I designed our outings so that we were taking advantage of what Vegas had to offer.
Nothing fancy. Just normal, everyday stuff. Vegas style.
That meant going on gondola rides at the Venetian. Turned out neither one of us had ever done that before. We went to see the sharks at Mandalay Bay. We had lunch at the Bellagio’s conservatory. Helicopter tours were out, but I had a plan to include those for one of our first dates after the baby was born. We had plenty of babysitters chomping at the bit once things were settled.
It wasn’t all fun and games, though. We also had some practicalities to get through, including setting up nurseries.
“I could’ve hired someone to put the crib together.” Ruby nervously rubbed her hands together as she watched me look over the instructions in her second bedroom. Maintenance had removed all the furniture the previous day and we were getting ready to go all out when it came to decorating the baby’s bedroom. “They have people who do that for money.”
I slid her a dark look. “Are you suggesting I can’t put a crib together?”
“No.” Her answer was automatic. We’d only been dating for a week, but nothing about the way we’d interacted with one another had changed. Well, except for the sexual tension. That was through the roof, and we were no longer ignoring it. Everything else was humming right along on schedule. “You don’t have a plumber’s crack though, and I’ve never seen you use a hammer.”
I was amused despite myself. “We don’t need a hammer for the crib, babycakes.”
She scowled. “I hate it when you call me babycakes.”
I already knew that. It was one of the reasons I kept saying it. “Why would you possibly hate that term of endearment?”
“Because it’s weird. How would you like it if I called you babycakes?”
“I would love it. I would proudly wear a shirt that says ‘Ruby’s babycake’ whenever I was off duty.”
Ruby’s eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. She obviously didn’t believe me. “You realize I’m going to have a shirt made up that says exactly that, right? Not only am I going to make you wear it to the birth, but I’m also going to take photos and frame them to put beside my bed.”
“All I heard was that you want me near your bed,” I drawled.
“Unbelievable,” she muttered. She nudged the instructions on my lap with her foot. “Can you or can you not put this crib together?”
I didn’t have to think about my answer long. “I can do it.” As if to prove it, I picked up the directions, snapped them to make a noise, then went back to reading. “Are you sure you don’t want to paint the nursery before we put the crib together?”
“See, I knew you couldn’t do it.” She threw her hands into the air.
“I just said I could do it.” I pinned her with a serious look. “Why do you always doubt me?”
“I don’t doubt you. I just … I’ve never seen you put something together yourself.”
