Page 12 of Something Tangled Something True
He follows me over to my room, which presently looks like an outlet mall threw upin it.
“I see some things never change,” he chuckles beside me. “When will you realize you look incredible in everything? Just pick something off the floor, and let’s get going.”
I roll my eyes, facing him with my hands planted on my hips. “When willyourealize I’m unaffected by your charm?” That’s a total lie, and I’m sure he knows it too. I am but a puddle at this man's incredibly large feet.
“Mhmm. Whatever you say, darlin’.” That smirk of his remains fully intact as he traipses into my room—uninvited, might I add. Maybe I should get some garlic for my door to keep him out, seeing as he’s become a vampire to my heart, sucking me dry of my mental fortitude and the strength to keep him at arm's length.
He looks around for a moment, making a decision far more quickly than I could have. Ryder grabs the white linen sundress with tiny floral cutouts off a hanger and tosses it at me. I catch it just before it hits the ground.
“For the record, I’m glad this is the only white dress you’ve got in that closet.” He drops that bomb on me and strides out of my room, the door clicking shut behind him.
I guesseveryoneis glad I didn’t marry thatpendejo.
His opinion shouldn’t matter. I’m not ready for another relationship, and I have no idea if staying here will be sustainable.
Ryder Lockhart isnotthe kind of man you do casual with.He’s the one you marry.
Chapter Eight
MOUNTAIN OUT OF A MOLEHILL
FRIDAY, APRIL 25
Lola’s presencebeside me on the bench seat pulls a tight knot in my stomach, leaving me unnerved, hyperaware of the minimal space between us. It would be so easy to slide her over to me, but Ican’t.
Lola has always been the first to dive into any situation—unless it involvedme.She’salwaysbeen a runner where I’m concerned, at least when it mattered most. And if I have any chance in hell of convincing her to give us another shot at a relationship, I need to lethercome tome.
As she gazes out the window, her dark curls hanging like a curtain over her smooth, bronze shoulders, I can’t help but recall the very first time we were in this position…
“How did you convince your dad to gift you a truck for your seventeenth birthday, Ry? What happened to ‘working hard and earning the things you want most’?” Lola chided, her lips pressed together in a smirk that set my world on fire.
“Obviously, he saw how unbelievably hardworking, talented, and deserving I am and decided now was the perfect time to show me that,” I teased, my chin held high as I turned thecorner at the outer edge of the property, passing the red barn at the top of the hill.
“Mhmm, and the real reason?” she asked, a dark brow quirked.
I released a huff of laughter. “Okay, fine. He wanted a new truck, and this one wasn’t worth enough to warrant sellin’.”
“Ajá, and the truth is out!” she shouted playfully, pointing a finger at me in mock accusation.
I rolled my eyes, grabbing her outstretched finger and twining mine into hers, bringing her hand to my mouth, pressing chaste kisses against each knuckle.
She squirmed in her seat, rubbing her thighs together, but she made no effort to pull away from me. “We really shouldn’t, Ry,” she whispered, her small voice booming in my ears.
I released her hand, mine quickly growing cold with the loss. “I always want you to feel safe with me, Lola. No matter how our lives pan out, that’ll be true. So, if you don’t want me to kiss your knuckles or tuck your hair behind your ear”—or any of the other small gestures I’m desperate to do—“we won’t.”
“The barn. Park at the barn,” she rushed to say, her dulcet tone a complete one-eighty from her quiet words moments before.
I did as she said without hesitation, pulling up beside the barn and shifting into park. She stole my hand, clutching it to her chest, and raised her other hand to my cheek, dragging my face to hers. Our noses pressed together; my breath caught in my throat as she stared into my eyes with longing.
“I don’t want you to think I don’t want those things, Ry,” she said, her warm, sweet breath coasting over my lips.
“Then why can’t we?” The words that left my mouth nearly brought me to tears. Even then, I’d known I’d loved her for every moment of my life that mattered, and if she’d been too scared to take our friendship any further, I’d live, but it might feel like I was dying.
“Because—” She averted her gaze, biting her lower lip before saying, “I want you too much, and if things get weird between us, I’ll never forgive myself for losing you.”
“You’ll never lose me, Lola,”I assured her, swallowing thickly.
“You can’t know that,” she whispered, her voice wobbly, chin quivering.
