Page 10 of Break Me Like a Promise (Oak Valley)

“We don’t do house calls.”

“We do for this. Some guy bought a school bus to convert, but it’s stranded in his yard. Engine’s turning but not starting. I figured you could use a break.” Her big eyes softened, the unspoken understanding of their father in them.

“Okay. Where is it?” Colton sighed. At least it wasn’t here — he hadn’t wanted to come into work, but living with the boss made it difficult to play hooky.

Katie shrugged. “It’s down on Cypress, past that big barn that says Ryder’s Farm.”

Colton stared at her, but she averted his gaze for some papers on the desk.

Ruby lived out there.

“You don’t have an address?”

“It’s a freakin’ school bus, Colt. You can’t miss it. I’ll finish the oil change.” She nudged him as she made her way back to the garage. He watched her go, his skin heating at the thought of being on the same street as Ruby. Katie had said it was a guy, and he took solace in that.

Colton left the shop, hopping in his two-year-old Audi R8. The black luxury sports car was a holdover from his pro days, bought just before his knee injury. It was the one thing he’d held onto, the one thing that still made him feel alive. He revved the two-seater, taking the curves a little too fast but relishing the way the gears shifted as he flew.

He hadn’t driven this way since he last saw Ruby, ten years ago. The time they ended things for good. It amazed him how deep the muscle memory to her place was. He knew the old church, the river on the right, the turn that was hidden by trees. It wasn’t until he passed Ryder’s that he slowed down, engine purring as he crawled along. He was nearing Ruby’s, and he’d be lying if there wasn’t a small part of him that hoped he’d catch a glimpse of her outside her house.

But it wasn’t a glimpse of her that undid him.

It was the bright yellow school bus sitting in her backyard, her mop of red curls burning in the sun as she stared at the monstrosity.

He’d been had.

11

Ruby heard the sports car engine but refused to turn around, every atom in her being willing it to not be who she knew it was.

There was only one person in this town who could afford a car like that.

She kept her back turned as she heard the wheels crunch down the gravel driveway. At least he had the balls to continue. The rushing in her ears only intensified when the engine cut, and the door opened and shut, and she heard those familiar footsteps that she’d memorized over years of being near him. It lacked the confidence of the strut she’d seen on television. No, this was his walk, his awkward teenage gait that struggled to catch up to his manly looks, his football stardom.

Ruby turned to face him, this ghost that haunted her every night.

But there he was, real as ever. And way too attractive.

He still towered over her, all broad shoulders and lean muscle. She had no doubt there was an eight-pack hiding beneath his thin green henley, the light jacket more for show than for winter protection. He shoved his hands in his blue jeans, hiding the black grease stains. Her eyes traveled up his chest, well defined beneath the fabric, landing on his eyes. Those deep brown, warm and rich like mahogany. Her face flushed. Those eyes had seen parts of her no one else had seen. They knew her inside and out. They’d loved her, from gangly teen to confident woman. He gave her a small smile, the hint of a dimple threatening to undo her.

This was him. This was the Colton Taylor she remembered, just cocky enough to take a chance. And fuck if she was going to let him back in.

“Why are you here?” She cleared her throat, trying to sound braver than she felt.

He shrugged. “Katie told me some guy had a school bus that needed starting. But something tells me you’re not some guy and that this is your bus.” He looked at the bus and shook his head, smile spreading. “You sure are full of surprises, Ruby Delacey.”

Ruby thought she swooned when he said her name. The way he savored each letter before letting them go.

It shouldn’t still feel this way.

“Some things never change.”

“Ain’t that the truth.”

Their eyes met, and Ruby heard everything they’d left unspoken. Maybe she was just reading into his stance, a little too close to hers. Maybe it was the way his eyes delved into hers. Maybe it was the way his breathing quickened since stepping out of the car.

She shook her head and opened the bus doors. “So, it won’t start. It started just fine when I picked it up, but now it won’t. Hopefully it’s a quick job, I just need to move it over.”And you need to leave.

There was no way she could trust her body if he stayed any longer, even if her heart hurt at the thought of him leaving.

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