Page 66 of Always a Bridesmaid
“We’ll head to the bog,” Ford said. “It’s nice and muddy right now.”
“And that’s a good thing?” she asked.
His husky laugh reverberated through the spot where his torso met her back and knocked more bricks out of the wall she’d built around her heart. “You’ll see. I’m glad you’ve never been mud bogging before. It’s gonna make this even more fun.”
Violet bit her lip, fighting the impulse to throw herself at the mercy of Ford’s mouth. “My mom was always a stickler about staying clean. I think since we were hard up, she didn’t want people to think we were pooranddirty.”
Crap. Why had she told him that? Ordinarily she kept that fact to herself. Not even Benjamin had known the full extent of their financial instability.
That while her siblings and father lived in the biggest house in Uncertainty, she, Mom, and her bubbie could hardly afford their matchbox of an apartment in a not-so-great neighborhood.
It’d taught her a strong work ethic, which was why being unable to do her job, having to pay a giant fine plus the cost to fix Benjamin’s car, and losing the townhouse all within a few months had thrown her for such a loop.
“Well, we have that in common,” Ford said. “In case you didn’t figure it out from meeting my brother.”
“I take it you’re not close to your family?”
Silence stretched from one second to the next, and she glanced over her shoulder. She didn’t want to pressure him. She simply wanted to figure out what made him tick. Plus, it sounded like they had more in common than she’d realized.
Since he didn’t fill in the blank, she offered her own backstory. “While I’m fairly close to my mom, I wasn’t close to my dad or any of my siblings growing up. Then my mom and I had a bit of a thing over going to art school—she didn’t think it was a sound investment and told me I was choosing ‘a silly career.’
“Maisy and I only began chatting more after she got married, which has brought us together and shown us how much we were missing.”
“When my family talks, it’s primarily to argue. And even if they don’t start off that way, it’s not long before a fight breaks out. I’ve tried through the years. I have. But they…” He sighed.
Violet rested her hand on his knee. “Sometimes it’s not worth the effort. I get that. I gave my dad one more shot, and he forgot about my almond allergy and poisoned my latte.”
“Did he ever leave you in the forest after you broke your ankle while pheasant hunting? Dad did say he was going to get help, but he couldn’t remember where he’d left me because he was too drunk. Eventually I found a big stick to use as a crutch and limped my way home.”
Her jaw dropped—she couldn’t help it. “You win.”
A mirthless laugh spilled out. “Oh yeah? What exactly do I win?”
Violet tucked up her leg so she could fully face him. Then she raised onto her knees and kissed his cheek. She pulled back so she could read his expression, and the passion that swam through his eyes sent a shock wave down her core.
One hand gripped her waist. The other tangled in her hair. “A pity kiss?”
“More like half apology you had to go through that, half teaser of what’s to come if you play your cards right.”
The tip of his nose skimmed across her cheek, and he pressed a featherlight kiss to the sensitive spot under her ear. “I should warn you, I’m real good at cards.”
Ford punctuated his warning with a nip to her earlobe, and a shiver had its way with her spine. Her nipples puckered against the fabric of her bra, declaring they were now invested in the outcome of this evening, and the temptation to crawl onto his lap and forget the whole mud-bogging thing inundated her.
She’d managed to deliver a flirty line without making a fool of herself, though, so she stuck with playing coy. “I certainly hope that’s not the only thing you’re good at.”
…
Violet’s squeal rent the air as she made a sharp turn. Tires skidded, mud flew. Ford leaned the opposite direction, using his weight to prevent them from tipping into the ankle-height puddle.
Her squeal morphed into a giggle.
“You neglected to tell me you were a speed demon,” he said.
“I never have been before, but there’s never been mud before, either.”
Affection boosted his mood as high as the fluffy white clouds in the sky. At one point in his life, Ford had declared there was nothing better than climbing onto an ATV and getting lost in the wilderness for days.
Violet’s happiness, however, had him thinking about empty lives and full ones. It wasn’t until this very moment that he realized he had, in fact, been missing something.
