Page 129 of When Wrecked Meets Ruined
After she left me, I did what any self-respecting asshole with a broken heart and a grudge to settle would do—a damn good job of destroying everything I’d worked so hard to achieve.
I set my dreams on fire, poured gasoline on the flames, then stood back and watched them burn to the ground.
Then, like a phoenix, I rose from the ashes.
Because I was Ridge Fucking McCallister.
Master of self-sabotage. King of the junkyard. God of the gridiron. A legend in my own mind.
And I sure as hell wasn’t going down without a fight.
Life went on. Without her.
Now she was only twelve miles away.
CHAPTERFORTY-SEVEN
Evie
I was puttingon mascara when there was a soft knock on the door, and Quinn stepped inside. I eyed her in the mirror above the dresser and tossed the mascara in my makeup bag before I spun around to face her. She was wearing a coral cotton sundress. Cool. Casual. Not dressy at all.
“Why am I so much more dressed up than you?” I asked. I looked down at my black off-the-shoulder dress. Fitted on top with a flared skirt. Earlier, Quinn had gone through my clothes and chosen this dress for me to wear tonight. “I should change. This is too dressy.”
“Don’t change. You look perfect.”
“Knock, knock,” Priya said before entering the room and throwing herself on the bed next to Quinn. Priya was wearing a turquoise cotton kaftan and Addison, who stood in the doorway with a smile, wore shorts and a tank top.
They were dressed for a beach party, not a fancy cocktail party at Quinn’s dad’s house, as I’d been led to believe.
I put my hands on my hips and glared at Quinn. “What’s going on?”
“You look so hot,” Priya said, braiding her long black hair so it hung over her shoulder.
“Mmhmm,” Addison said, dropping into the white overstuffed chair in the corner by the window.
Nobody answered my question.
Quinn hopped off the bed and rummaged through my makeup bag. “Don’t forget the lipstick.” She held the tube out to me. When I didn’t take it, she thrust it into my hand.
Downstairs, the doorbell rang, and Jesse yelled up the stairs that he’d get it. Which was a good thing because nobody in the bedroom made a move to answer.
“Okay.” Quinn grabbed my shoulders and turned me to face her. “Just remember that I’m your best friend, and I love you.”
My eyes widened when I heardhisvoice. I’d know that voice anywhere. Low and deep and kind of raspy. It was him. He was here. In this house. Right downstairs.
I went into panic mode. My heart was beating so wildly that it felt like it was going to jump out of my rib cage. I ran my sweaty palms over the skirt of my dress, then wrung my hands.
“Oh my god. I’m not ready. Why didn’t you tell me?” I accused Quinn. She knew Ridge was coming, and obviously, so did her friends. I was the last to find out.
Quinn grabbed my hands and squeezed them. “You can do this.”
All my worst fears surfaced and made my stomach queasy. “What if he hates me?” I whispered.
“He wouldn’t be here if he hated you.”
I almost laughed. What a joke. “Yes, he would. You don’t know him like I do.”
“Hate sex is so hot, though,” Priya said.
