The Spitfire Girls(55)

She watched his cheeks turn beet red at the realisation that she wasn’t a sir.

‘Thank you,’ she said.

He stuttered and passed her the tea, looking like a rabbit caught in headlights, his hands shaking.

‘I’m sorry ma’am, I . . .’

‘Thank you for the tea,’ she said politely before swinging the door shut again.

She breathed a sigh of relief and pressed her back against the wall, taking a quick gulp of tea as Tom emerged from the nest of blankets.

‘That was close,’ she muttered.

‘Ah, I think my absence may already have been noticed,’ Tom said, looking guilty. ‘I . . .’

‘Urghhhh,’ Ruby groaned. ‘I don’t want them thinking I’m some kind of, of . . .’

‘Hussy?’ he asked, standing up and crossing the room. ‘Lady of the night?’ He chuckled, seeming to enjoy how mortified she was. ‘Raunchy pilot?’

She darted away from him, embarrassed at his nakedness. ‘Tom!’ she scolded.

‘You were practically begging me to take my clothes off last night – now you want me to put them on?’

When he dodged towards her she laughed and held up her tea to stop it from spilling, but he swiftly took it off her and took a big slurp. He was grinning as she looked on, trying not to drop her gaze and get an eyeful of his nakedness.

‘Come here,’ Tom said, catching her wrist, still holding the cup in the other hand.

Ruby’s breath started to come in fast pants, her pulse thumping as Tom slowly bent to kiss her.

‘We’re starting over,’ he murmured. ‘Good morning.’

She touched his bare chest and traced a circle where she imagined his heart to be. ‘Good morning,’ she whispered back.

‘Thomas!’ a deep voice boomed from outside. ‘Get your backside out here right now!’

Ruby froze. Oh my goodness. They’d been caught red-handed and instead of trying to sneak Tom out, she’d ended up back in his arms again.

‘Dammit,’ he cursed, leaping away from her and scrambling for his shorts. She watched him pull them on, followed by his undershirt, then open and shut the door and disappear.

She leaned against the door and tried to listen. She cringed. It wasn’t exactly hard to hear his superior’s booming voice.

‘I’m sorry sir!’ Tom apologised. ‘I won’t disobey a direct order again, sir.’

‘Put some clothes on, boy, and then report for duty immediately,’ he was told. ‘And don’t expect this to go without punishment.’

‘Yes, sir,’ Tom replied.

There was a pause and Ruby wished she could see what was happening.

‘And tell our guest that there has been a change of plan,’ the other man instructed. ‘I want her to take back a Typhoon that needs repairs and return as soon as practicable with a brand-new Halifax that we’re waiting for.’

‘Yes, sir, I will.’

Ruby jumped back as Tom opened the door again. He kicked it shut and wrapped his arms around her. She held on tight, not knowing when they’d have a moment alone together again. This time when he kissed her, it was full of love and tenderness, a goodbye kind of kiss, and tears welled in her eyes.

‘Goodbye, Ruby,’ he whispered, kissing a tear from her cheek.

‘Not goodbye,’ she said, her voice cracking as she tried to be brave. ‘Until next time.’

‘Yeah, until next time, beautiful,’ he said, stepping back and stroking down her arm until he caught her fingers. He held them up and kissed them. ‘And I’m so sorry. For everything. I acted like an idiot – some of the things I said to you, I’m just . . .’ He ducked his head lower and looked straight into her eyes. ‘I’m sorry and I love you.’

She smiled through her tears. ‘I love you, too.’

He kissed her, long and slow, one last time.

‘Will I see you when I come back with the Halifax?’ she asked, wiping her cheeks with the back of her knuckles. ‘Or will you be gone by then?’

His smile faded. ‘If the cloud has cleared, I’ll be gone. This was just one hell of a coincidence, us ending up on base together.’

She watched him dress, stepping closer to hold up his jacket for him to shrug into. Suddenly she didn’t care that all the men on base knew what had happened, that he’d snuck in and spent the night with her. They’d been engaged to be married since before the war, and as soon as it was over they’d be husband and wife. Either of them could go down in a plane before then, and she didn’t want to live with regrets. He might have been an idiot these past months when she’d been wanting his support, but he’d more than made up for it now.

The door shut with a bang and she swallowed a sob as she gathered her things and dressed properly, powdering her nose and using the little mirror in her compact to apply her lipstick. Her stomach growled, but she ignored it.

She had a plane to fly, and it was time to go. There wasn’t time for tears; there was only time to do her job.





CHAPTER FOURTEEN

WHITE WALTHAM AIRFIELD, BERKSHIRE,

AUGUST 1942

MAY

Over the past few years, May had experienced so many firsts she could hardly keep up with them. But waiting to meet the first lady of the United States? Her head was spinning just at the thought of it. What was she supposed to say? How was she supposed to behave like a normal person without talking too fast or . . . ? She glanced up, noting anxiously that black clouds were gathering ominously overhead. She was sitting outside around the back of her old hangar at White Waltham; in less than an hour she would be meeting Eleanor Roosevelt, holding out her hand to greet her and welcome her on base.