Page 142 of When Wrecked Meets Ruined
“What did he do?”
Jesse roughed his hand through his hair. “It’s probably not my place to say.”
“Second thought. I think I’ll take you up on that breakfast offer. You started it, so now you have to finish.”
“Is that how it works?”
“Yep.”
“I never did know when to keep my big mouth shut,” he muttered.
Despite the lump in my throat, I laughed. “I’ll be right down. I just have to change out of this dress.”
We sat at the table on the patio, and I picked at my breakfast. I was more interested in information than food. Maybe it was time to get some of the answers to questions I’d been too scared to ask.
“So, what did he do?” When Jesse hesitated, I prompted him, “Don’t sugarcoat it. I want the truth.”
Jesse thought about it for a minute. “He got himself kicked off the football team.”
I gaped at Jesse. “Oh, my god. What? Why would he do that?”
“He wasn’t thinking straight. He skipped practices. Wasn’t showing up for classes. Came damn near close to failing. They were going to take away his scholarship.”
“How did he fix everything?” I knew that he’d played football all through college. Otherwise, he never would have gotten drafted into the NFL. So he must have found a way to fix it.
“I’m not entirely sure what went down. Guess he finally got his head out of his ass and realized what he was throwing away. From what I heard, he apologized to the coaches and all the players for letting them down. Then he pretty much begged and pleaded to get back on the team. It must have been a hell of a grovel. Ridge has a way of getting what he wants.”
Not always. But I kept that to myself. “Knowing him, he took groveling to a whole other level. He does everything in a big way.”
“He’s a McCallister,” Jesse said with a shrug, and as I’d come to learn, it was the catchphrase for everything in that family.
Ridge was a part of an ordinary family that did extraordinary things. Their hearts and egos were bigger than Texas. When they fucked up, they fucked up epically. But when they won, they hit the jackpot. There was no such thing as half-assing it for the McCallisters. Win or lose, they were all in.
Looking back, I think I always had one foot out the door. Not because I didn’t want to be with Ridge. But because I did. I’d been scared. Scared that if I loved him with my whole heart, I’d give him the power to destroy me.
Guess I beat him to the punch. But that didn’t make it hurt any less.
CHAPTERFIFTY-THREE
Evie
Jesse and Quinn’swedding was beautiful and perfect. The venue was an olive ranch in the Malibu hills above Paradise Cove. They exchanged vows in front of two hundred guests under an arbor of sunset-hued flowers on a flagstone patio overlooking the ocean. Quinn looked radiant. When she walked down ‘the aisle’ to an acoustic guitar rendition of “Here Comes the Sun” and Jesse saw her for the first time, he brushed away a few tears. Becauseshewas his sunshine.
After the ceremony, it was time for photos. We gathered in the grove of olive trees just as the sun was starting to set. I smiled and posed for the camera with the entire wedding party. Then a few photos with Quinn, just the two of us with our arms wrapped around each other. She wore her blonde hair half up and half down in loose curls and a strapless ivory tulle gown by Vera Wang. I only knew it was Vera Wang because her mom mentioned it when we helped Quinn get dressed earlier. Quinn looked like a princess, and she wore a permanent glow that no amount of money could buy.
Now I stood under the shade of a tree with Priya and Addison and watched the McCallisters posing for their photos. The men stood behind the women, with Quinn in the middle and the kids in front. A big, beautiful, rowdy family. They looked like they belonged in a glossy magazine.
“Wow,” Addison said. “What do they put in the water in Texas? How are they all so hot?” She fanned herself.
It was true. All the men were handsome. Even Noah, who must be twelve now, was shaping up to be just like his dad and uncles. Hot with a side of serious swagger.
“I’d go for that one,” Priya said, pointing to the only McCallister I’d never met. “What’s his name, and what’s his story?” She looked over at me as if I was an expert on all things McCallister.
“All I know is his name. Gideon.”
“Oh god.” Priya put her hand over her forehead and pretended to faint. She had a degree in drama and was trying to break into acting. “Even his name is swoony.”
“I don’t know,” Addison said. “He looks kind of intimidating.”
