Page 39 of Ride By Your Side

“Well, in that case, I want all the juicy details about your runaway bride road trip extravaganza,” she says, drawing me in closer as she casually drapes her arm over my shoulder. “Babe, can you grab the rest of her things from the back?” Blair asks, shooting her new boyfriend her beautiful puppy-dog eyes as she bats her eyelashes at him.

“Of course. You two start catching up. I’ll be up soon.” He smiles like the lovesick man he so clearly is. “And Ronnie, welcome home. We missed you,” he adds, turning his smile in my direction.

“I’ve missed you both too,” I say, and I truly mean it. Sure, I needed to get away from Evergreen Grove, and a part of me is still uneasy about what coming home might bring. But right now, standing here with my favorite people? I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.

24

Miles

“Yousureyoudon’twant to back out?” Veronica asks as I roll my eyes, working with Ford to carry the massive yellow couch out of the apartment. Unlike my place, which is on the second floor, hers is on the ground level, making it much easier to move things out as we load the moving truck.

The boxes pile up as Veronica and Blair sift through them, deciding what’s coming to my place and what’s going into storage. Meanwhile, Ford and I sweat it out, hauling the heavy stuff onto the truck.

“Don’t tempt me,” I struggle, my voice strained. While I appreciate the help with the heavy lifting, I’m not sure his skinny frame was made for this kind of work.

“Sorry, bro. I think it’s too late to back out now, especially now that she’s secured the bag and has that pretty little ring on her finger to prove it,” Blair teases as I thankfully walk backward out the door, no longer having to listen or force a reply.

Ford, seemingly, knows better than to encourage her or say anything else as we struggle to finish this task, carefully setting it down in the truck, beads of sweat dripping down our foreheads. Then again, judging by the way he’s hunched over, breathing heavily with his hands on his knees, I’m not sure the guy even has the strength to say anything right now.

“Don’t worry,” I say, leaning forward and giving him a pat on the shoulder. “We’re almost done with the heavy stuff. Just the bed and the dresser left.”

He tries to speak, or at least I assume so, as his lips twitch, as if trying to form words, but all that comes out is a series of gasps for air, and instead he just nods.

“Maybe let’s take a water break first,” I suggest, more for his sake than mine. With the spring heat kicking in, the thought of water is tempting. But honestly, I’d rather just power through and get it done. Clearly, though, we’re not built the same.

“Sounds good,” he finally manages with a grateful smile.

I bite back a laugh and retreat inside, grabbing the water bottle I’d left on the counter.

“I think we’re killing your boyfriend, Blair,” I joke to my sister from her spot in the kitchen as she continues to wrap the glassware in newspaper and bubble wrap.

“Eh, he’s tougher than he looks,” she says, brushing me off nonchalantly.

“No, I think Miles is right. I might actually be dying. My arms feel like they’re going to fall off,” Ford says, his face pale and his voice shaky as he walks back inside the apartment.

“Aw, don’t worry, babe. Tonight I’ll hook you up with a nice massage.”

“Oh, I like the sound of that,” Ford grins, his voice carrying a suggestive lilt, a tone I don’t exactly appreciate when it comes to my sister.

“Well, that only makes one of us, because I’d rather not know about these massages, or anything else you two choose to do behind closed doors,” I say, my nose wrinkling in disgust.

My sister may be a grown adult, but in my eyes, she’ll always be my little sister. As much as I appreciate Ford and the way he takes care of her, I’d rather not know about the inner workings of their relationship.

“Oh, come on. We’re all adults here,” Blair defends, stuffing a wrapped glass into a brown box.

“And I’m an adult who doesn’t want to know about my sister’s sex life,” I say before shivering. Those are two words I never want to use in the same sentence ever again. “And on that note, I’m going to see if Vee needs any help in the bedroom,” I say, more than ready to make my escape.

“Vee, huh?” Blair asks with a smirk and a wiggle of her eyebrows, but I choose to ignore her yet again.

Turning into the bedroom, I spot Veronica leaning over. I don’t want to come off as a creep, but it’s difficult to resist glancing at her perky, shapely ass, especially in the form-fitting hot-pink yoga pants she’s got on.

Glancing over her shoulder, she sends me a quick smile, either too busy or too kind to acknowledge the fact that I just got caught checking her out. “Sorry, I promise I’m about done. I’ve almost cleared out all the dressers,” she offers as she stands up and stretches her arms out in front of her.

“You’re fine,” I say, moving to take a seat on the stark white mattress that’s been stripped of its comforter and sheets. “Just taking a little break for Ford’s sake and wanted to see if you needed any help in here.”

She lets out a knowing chuckle. “Let me guess, what you’re really wanting a break from is the sugary-sweet, lovey-dovey duo?” she asks, shooting me a teasing grin before turning back to the box that’s already half-full.

“Somewhat. It is a lot, huh?” I muse. Since the moment we got home, they’ve treated us to a front-row display of their constant touching and declarations of love. Though they’ve kept the overt PDA to a minimum, the lingering brushes of their hands and the longing glances leave little doubt that they’re making up for lost time.

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