Page 19 of A Photo Finish
It’s fucking bizarre, is what it is.
Am I mad? Yeah. I’m mad at myself.
“I’ll stay out of your way. Short of going home, I’m not sure where else to go. You won’t even know I’m there.”
I somehow doubt that, but deep down, I also don’t want her to leave. It’s a relief to not be alone all the time. “Okay.”
“Okay.” She sighs, relaxing back into the leather seat with a small smile on her shapely lips.
She’s only quiet for a few moments. It seems like our tenuous peace treaty has paved the way to her inquisitive side.
“Why Golddigger85?”
I try to act casual, but I’m not sure I’m ready to talk about that. About what happened between us. It’s too . . . well, it still fucking hurts. So I try to play dumb, praying she might drop it.
“Huh?” I grunt distractedly as we turn onto the main street of Ruby Creek.
It is literally called Main Street. One sad little street in a place that seems to be stuck in some sort of time warp. A bar, a coffee shop, a grocery/liquor/hardware store, a bank, and a few other stores line each side of the road. You can drive farther and have access to everything you need and more, but this is Ruby Creek. Not a single thing has changed since I was a child.That’sweird.
“The screen name.” I can see her peering up at me from my periphery. “Why’d you choose it?”
Why is the speed limit so damn low here? I want this to end.
“Because I run a mining company. We dig for gold. I was born in 1985.”
“Huh.” She taps her index finger against her lips, a loose piece of platinum hair resting against her rosy cheek.
“Why ‘huh’?”
“It just sounds like you’re after money or something. You know, like the Kanye song. It’s kind of funny.”
I try so hard not to smile, forcing my mouth into a straight line. For some odd reason, the name made me chuckle when I created the account. Now all it does is remind me of her.
“Why’d you pick . . . your name?” I ask, not wanting to say the name out loud.
She flushes and looks away at the stores as we roll past them. “Purple is just kind of my color.”
I only look at her for a moment. It’s all I can stand before blood rushes between my legs. But as I turn my eyes back to the road, my mind fixates on that blush. The memory of the way she blushed for me.More like pretty in pink.
My god. I need to get the hell out of this truck.
Finding parking is easy, so I pull into an angled parking spot in front of The Country Grind, the local coffee shop. Violet has her door open and is sliding out before I can get over to her side. I hear her whimper and then gasp when she hits the ground. I cringe.So fucking stubborn.
I stride up to the entryway and hold the door open instead of picking her up and carrying her.
She limps past me with one eyebrow up. “This gentleman’s act is cute.”
Cute? I can’t remember ever being called that. Distant. Grumpy. Creepy even. I shake my head and follow her in.
“Hi, Macy!” Violet says.
“Honey!” the curvaceous redhead behind the counter booms back. “What have you done to yourself?”
“Oh, this?” Violet nibbles on her lip as she looks up at me where I stand beside her. “Minor spill. Nothing major. I’ll be back in the tack in no time.”
“Oh, baby,” the middle-aged woman continues, “let me get you a cookie and a coffee. That will help.”
“What about you, darlin’?” These pet names. They’re brutal. Thankfully, Violet jumps in and rescues me from this line of questioning. Or maybe she rescues Macy from me. Who knows?
