Page 102 of When Wrecked Meets Ruined
I took a few tentative steps. When my calves hit the mattress, he grabbed my hand and tugged me down next to him. I lay on my back and stared at the popcorn ceiling. I’d positioned the fan to blow directly on my bed, but it was still so hot that it was better to lie still and not move too much.
Ridge shifted and rolled onto his side, propping his head on his hand.
“Nothing about you is ugly.” He traced my eyebrows, my nose, my cheekbones, my jaw, and my lips. “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” He trailed his fingers down my neck and over the hollow at the base of my throat. “And this life you’re living now. This house. This neighborhood. It’s not who you are. It’s just temporary.”
I looked into his eyes, wanting so much to believe him.
He gave me a ghost of a smile. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”
“What’s that?” I asked, my voice hushed because I knew. I knew what he was going to say, and it scared me.
“I love you.”
I swallowed hard and averted my face. I was trembling all over. So shaky, I felt like there was an earthquake inside me. Nobody had ever said those words to me. But he’d made it sound so easy, so effortless. Like he was just commenting on the weather.
Ridge was so brave. So honest and true. How could he say something like that? So casually, as if it was nothing. And yet it was everything.
He flopped onto his back and groaned like he was truly in pain. I was scared to look at him. Maybe he regretted the words. Maybe he wanted to take them back.
“I’m in love with you, Evie. I didn’t plan it. I didn’t even want it to happen. But it fucking did.” He sounded angry. Like he was pissed at himself for letting something like this happen.
I started laughing. I was laughing so hard my stomach hurt.
“What the fuck is so funny?” he growled.
“You.” I laughed again.
“You think that’s funny? I just spilled my guts, a-fucking-gain and—”
I flung myself on top of him and kissed him hard on the mouth, halting his words and stealing his breath. His tongue parted my lips and swept inside, and we kissed, and we kissed, and we kissed.
Breathless, I pulled away and looked down at him. “I…”
He tugged on a lock of my hair. “Use your words, Cherry.”
I took a deep breath, and it all came out in a rush. “Iloveyoutoo.” I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Sorry. I didn’t catch that.” He cupped his ear. “What did you say?”
“Ugh. You heard me.”
He flipped me onto my back and hovered above me, his arms braced on either side of me. “Say it.”
“I love you, okay?” I rolled my eyes. “I love you.”
He grinned. “Damn straight you do. What’s not to love?”
I fought another eye roll. “You’re annoying.” My smile gave me away.
“But you love me anyway.”
I did. Damn him. This summer hadn’t gone the way I expected. But everything about Ridge was unexpected.
“I have my period,” I blurted.
“I have a big dick. What’s your point?”
I smacked his arm. “I’m not having sex with you tonight, so you should go.”
