Page 41 of When Wrecked Meets Ruined
She blushed a deeper shade of red and hung her head, mumbling the words. “That’s because nothing happened.” Thank fuck for that. She covered her face with her hands. “Oh, god. This is so humiliating.”
“What is?”
She lowered her hands and widened her eyes in surprise. “You really don’t remember?”
I rubbed my jaw, trying to recall last night. It came back to me in pieces then all at once. Oh shit.
Nobody had ever accused me of being a gentleman, but I wanted to spare her feelings and save her from further embarrassment. “How about we pretend last night never happened?”
With a sigh of relief, she nodded. “Okay. I can do that. So, I guess… I’ll see you around. Or not. Whatever.” She shook her head and climbed into her car, fumbling with her keys before she finally jammed it into the ignition.
I hoped to hell she told her dad she was staying with a girlfriend. I could really live without him turning up here to kick my ass. Which he would.
And I sure as hell couldn’t tell him the truth. Your daughter got drunk atmyparty and begged me to take her virginity.
Not sure that would fly.
But I couldn’t let her leave like this either. I signaled for her to roll down her window and crouched next to it. “Hey Callie, do me a favor?”
“Yeah, sure… um, what kind of favor?”
My eyes flitted over her face. Callie was a good girl. Sweet and innocent. She’d probably never touched a drop of liquor before last night. There was a good reason her dad told us she was off-limits. He loved her and wanted to protect her from guys like me. “Don’t just give it away to the first asshole that comes along, okay?”
She averted her face and nodded. “You said that last night but yeah, you’re right.”
“Good.” I rapped my knuckles on the hood of her car, then backed away and waited for her to leave.
“Ridge?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re not an asshole. I mean, you could have just done it, but you were trying to protect me from making a mistake.” Her eyes widened, and she rushed in, speaking so fast she tripped over her words. “Not that I thought you were a mistake… or would have been… just that… Oh, my god. Just shut up, Callie,” she muttered.
“Callie. It’s cool. We’re cool.”
She nodded and gave me a little smile before she drove away.
When she was gone, I took a deep breath and let it out.
Crisis averted. Thank fuck for that.
This could have turned into a serious problem with lasting repercussions. I shuddered. I didn’t even want to think about it.
Now I had to face my brother.
CHAPTERSIXTEEN
Ridge
I got dressed in a T-shirt,jeans, and the work boots Brody bought me for these special jobs and jogged across the field to the main house. The horses hung their heads over the fence and flicked their tails as if they knew I’d be cleaning up their shit soon, and they were mocking me for it.
I found Shiloh and Noah eating breakfast at the island, but no sign of Brody.
“Hey, Ridge,” Shiloh said with a big smile. “Your plate’s in the oven.”
“Thanks.” I poured myself a glass of orange juice, grabbed the warm plate from the oven, and sat across from Shiloh and Noah.
“When are you going to get rid of Brody and realize that I’m the only man for you?” I teased. I ate a strip of bacon in two bites, my hand already reaching for the next one.
