Page 89 of Sweet Escape
“Enough to sign my ass? Or would you prefer a boob? Oh, I know! Let’s do a tramp stamp! I can get it tattooed.”
“So my brother can look at it every time he’s got you bent over the side of his bed? No, thank you.”
“Oh… my God.” My cheeks flame, and I cover my face with my hands.
“What? Did you forget howthathappened?” She gestures to my belly.
“Technically speaking, I wasn’t bent over at the time,” I deadpan.
“Ok. Some things are TMI… even for me.”
I dig my tongue between my back molars, working out an irritating popcorn kernel that’s lodged in my teeth.
Ruby cocks her head to one side, studying my face. “What’s your story?”
“What do you mean?”
“Orphan? Stalker ex-boyfriend? Tortured past? Scorned lover? The Hayes siblings have a history of falling for broken things.”
“In chronological order… my twin brother died in childbirth, I got catfished on a dating app, my ex-boyfriend of three years cheated on me with my best friend on my birthday, I got knocked up within five hours of meeting your brother, and I’m pretty sure I’m halfway in love with a man who can never love me back. Take your pick. I’m basically the lost and found bin of emotional trauma at this point.”
“Nevertheless, she persisted.” She fist pumps the air. “For what it’s worth, I saw the way Wilder looked at you earlier. If he’s not already halfway in love with you, I’ll letyousignmyass.”
“Are you always this straightforward?”
“Only when I’m at home. I can’t afford to be this version of Ruby in the public eye. My management team would lose their minds.”
“That can’t be easy. Filtering yourself, I mean.”
“I’m used to it.”
For the first time since we met, I notice a crack in her perfectly curated exterior, and I wonder if maybe Ruby is right there with me in the lost and found. Her expression sobers as she watches Emmy play, a soft smile tugging at her lips. “I’m playing an impromptu concert at The Ridge tomorrow. You should come.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. Wouldn’t it be weird for a pregnant girl to be hanging out at a bar?”
“You don’t have to drink, and Wilder can be a buffer between you and any of the judgmental cunts who try to come for you. Come on,” she whines. “It’ll be so much fun!”
“Ok fine. I’ll go.”
“Hell yes! Just one more thing.” Ruby smirks and pulls out her phone, and I watch over her shoulder as she exchanges a string of text messages with her brother.
Ruby: I’m kidnapping your baby and your baby mama.
Wilder: Against their will?
Ruby: We’re going shopping.
Wilder: Come by the barn and get my card first. And make sure you stop at the baby store. Tell Olivia to pick out whatever she wants for the baby. If she refuses, do it for her.
Ruby: You’re a good egg, Wilder Hayes.
She stows the phone in her back pocket. “Let’s go, girls.”
Chapter 24
Wild and Reckless
?Your Man - Josh Turner
