Page 11 of Break Me Like a Promise (Oak Valley)

He moved past her, close enough to brush his arm against hers. Goosebumps erupted over her skin, and she pulled her jacket tighter around her. Entering the bus, Colton turned the key, listening to the engine catch and fall. Ruby waited outside, watching the flex of his bicep beneath his jacket, the furrow of his brow as he concentrated on the sounds. He’d never been fond of the mechanic work, but he’d always been good at it. He’d helped more than once when they had just started driving — bald tires, where the brights were located, oil changes. He climbed down the stairs, again too close for comfort but not close enough to satisfy the ache in her. Popping the hood, he went to work fiddling with the wires and tubes.

“Do you have socket wrenches?”

“Um… yeah, hang on.” Ruby was lost in the veins of his forearms, revealed from the push of his jacket sleeves. She let out a deep breath, heading into the basement. She’d stocked up on some tools for this project. Finding the multi-piece set, she brought him the wrenches. He smiled at her with those damn dimples and took the case, just barely missing her pinkie with his.

She shuddered. It had been a mistake to call Will’s Auto, but Google said they were the nearest diesel auto shop around. When she called, she’d sent a little prayer that Colton had managed to get out of the family business — even if she knew that was a stretch. She’d known he was back in Oak Valley after his injury last year, and she knew how his dad was. Katie had thankfully answered, and Ruby asked for discretion. Clearly Katie had other plans, and while she couldn’t blame Colton’s younger sister, Ruby was still pissed. Seeing him here was a reminder of so many things, including one of the reasons she’d ended things. While she’d worked to build a life for herself and what she wanted, he had built a life that was so far under his father’s shadow, she knew he’d never be happy. Could never be happy.

That wasn’t the life she wanted, even though it nearly killed her to let him go.

But he hadn’t fought for her, and that said everything she needed to hear.

Colton packed up the wrenches, hopping back into the bus. He turned the key, the engine sputtering before catching. He grinned, dimples on full display.

Good thing he couldn’t see the way her nipples hardened when he threw that smile her way, bounding down the steps.

“Okay, you’re all set.” He ran his tongue over his lips, staring at her. “So.”

“So.”

“You’re back.”

“So are you.” She didn’t know what else to say. She wasn’t supposed to feel this way around him. It’d been years, and they’d hurt each other. She thought she’d moved on in college — and based off of his social media and paparazzi photos, it certainly seemed like he had. But just because they were back in the same town, surrounded by the same memories, didn’t mean she needed to entertain the idea of them being friendly. They could be civil, and it would have to be enough.

He rocked on his heels. It was a nervous move, one that brought Ruby back to times before he launched into rants about his dad or anxiety before a test. “You know, if we’re going to be in the same town again, maybe we should clear the air.” His eyes pierced hers.

Ruby held back a sharp laugh. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s necessary.”

“Really?”

“Really.” She scrunched up her nose. “Thanks for helping with the bus, I’ll see you around.” It was dismissive, but his energy was stifling. She wanted, needed to be surrounded by him. Under him.

His eyes softened, the hurt apparent in the disappearance of his dimples. He set his jaw, cheeks flushing.

“Yeah, see you around.”

Stomping past, he slammed the car door behind him. The engine revved as he backed down the driveway faster than was necessary. Ruby watched until his car disappeared behind the bend, shoulders involuntarily sagging.

It felt like her heart had been ripped out.

It’d been ten years.

It wasn’t supposed to feel this way.

12

Colton pulled into the lot beside the abandoned church, head reeling from his encounter with Ruby.

He tried to get as close to her as he dared, even when her lemon jasmine scent became an assault. Even as the urge to cup her face almost overwhelmed him. The way she parted her lips, hazel eyes pleading for him to come closer…

And then she’d frozen him out.

“Fuck!” He slammed the steering wheel with his palm.

In, out. In, out.

It’s not like he had forgotten what she looked like. He’d followed her social medias, trailing her success in New York City, watching her grow into the beautiful, smart woman he’d seen hidden beneath her teenage skin.

But he had forgotten what it felt like to be in her magnetic field. Forgotten what it felt like to see the slight gap in her front teeth when she smiled at him, to count the stars on her skin. He wasn’t even sure if he wanted to be close to her again, but there had been no denying the way his body responded to hers.

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