Page 122 of The Invitation
“I know.”
“But if you’d like someone to sit with you while you talk to her, I’ll do that.”
“Let me figure a few things out, and then I’ll call you this afternoon. Deal?” I ask.
She smiles the way Georgia does when she thinks things might be all right. “Deal.”
I nod and step off the porch, my mind reeling.
Peaches, I hope to see that smile on your face again soon. Very, very soon.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Georgia
“It’s been an eventful day,”I say, looking into the camera while stopped at a red light. “I quit my new job because, unbeknownst to me, there is some very bad blood between the Downings and the Brewers. Well, it is worse than just an argument or clash of characters. But, while I don’t know where I stand with Ripley right now, I’d never do anything to hurt him. My loyalty lies with him.”
I tap my fingers against the steering wheel, thinking.
“Mom asked me if I’d talk to her today,” I say. “She sent me a text as I was walking to my car after quitting my job. I wanted to be a brat and tell her no because I don’t want to hear a bunch of excuses, really. And God forbid she actually takes responsibility for anything.” I frown. “Myla, let’s not use any of this, okay? I just need someone to talk to.”
I need Ripley.
“Ripley also called. It was the first time we’ve really spoken since the whole showdown with Mom in my driveway. He asked if I could swing by his house this evening and, of course, I saidyes. Am I nervous? Yup. Do I know what he wants? No. Am I tired of living without him? Absolutely. I just hope he doesn’t get me over there and try to let me down gently. I don’treallythink that’s what will happen, but he has to have had second thoughts about getting involved with my life’s drama.”
My heart aches as I consider the idea of not having Ripley in my life. Of not being his. I only got a taste of it, and it’s all I can think about. I just know that he isn’t like the other guys I’ve dated, because if Ripley breaks things off with me? I’ll be ruined. I’ve never felt that way before, even when I’ve blown dates off. Knowing he has that power over me is terrifying.
“Okay,” I say as the light switches to green. “That’s it for now. Wish me luck!”
I toss the phone on the passenger’s seat next to the purple gloves Ripley gave me, and head toward his house.
Ripley swings his front door open before I’m even on the sidewalk. He steps onto the porch, gripping the railing as if he might fall off it if he doesn’t.
His eyes are alight, yet tired. They’re without their usual sparkle and mischief, and to see a part of him be lost to this mess kills my heart.
And it makes me resolved to find a solution—and that solution begins with me.
My steps quicken as I grow closer. I practice saying a casualhelloin my head. Instead, I fall into his arms without thought.
He pulls me close, so close that I can almost not breathe, and buries his head in my hair.
I close my eyes and feel him around me, and for the first time in days, I feel like I can relax. I’m not alone. For the moment, at least, I’m safe and don’t have to carry everything by myself.
“I’ve missed you,” he says, kissing my forehead before pulling back and searching my face like he hasn’t seen me for much longer than a week. “How are you? You look tired, Peaches. And thin.”
“Well, it’s hard to eat when you’re upset.”
He pulls me into another hug.
I press a kiss to his chest before leaning back, needing the safety in his eyes.
It occurs to me that this is the place where I’m the calmest. The happiest. The most untouchable. Along with those feelings comes a fear that it’ll be robbed from me. It’ll be taken away. I’ll be discarded. Never called again because I’m not worth the effort or loved unconditionally.
Still, I hope, because I have Ripley. I need to have hope.
Because I love him.
I’m not afraid to name the feeling that’s been fluttering in my heart lately. It’s been growing and changing, twisting into a sensation that takes up my entire being.
