Page 17 of Break Me Like a Promise (Oak Valley)

When she finally stood, she was covered in a fine dust. Curls had escaped her bun and tickled her sweaty neck. And she was dying of thirst.

But all of the seat bolts had been cut. Step one was complete. Ruby smiled at the progress, even though she couldn’t really see it. That would come after her quick lunch of leftovers and a million gallons of water. Her body hurt in ways she hadn’t known were possible, but there was a sense of pride along with it.

The crunch of gravel brought her attention to the driveway, half-expecting a package-delivery truck and half-hoping her mom had surprised her with food-delivery. She froze at the sight of the black Audi, somehow still squeaky clean despite the country town its owner resided in.

He wasn’t supposed to be here until Monday.

Ruby paced the bus aisle, trying to smooth down her hair but knowing that, at this point, the curls couldn’t be tamed. She went to wipe her face but her hands were just as dirty.Fuck. Just because she couldn’t stand him didn’t mean she couldn’t put her best foot forward. Hell, that was as good a reason as any to do just that.

Sighing, she hopped out the back door. His door swung open, that cocky smirk plastered on his face. One hand shut the door while the other held the handles of a large brown paper bag. Colton Taylor sauntered over, stopping just within reach. If she wanted to touch him, her fingers could graze his chest. Which Ruby definitely did not want to do.

“You’re early.” She crossed her arms, trying not to count the abs beneath his thin white shirt. Still no coat, his light jacket open and revealing the tightness of said shirt as he brushed a hand over his short hair. His smirk turned to a small smile.

“I thought you might be hungry.” He held out the brown bag.

Goddamn him.

Ruby’s stomach growled, causing his dimples to come out in full-force. “I was going to have lunch with my mom.”

Colton looked around. “Really? Because I’m pretty sure I saw her car at the library on my way over here.”

“Either way, you shouldn’t have,” she said, rolling her eyes. Her stomach grumbled again and she snatched the bag from his hands.

“Clearly someone needed to. Shall we eat inside?”

Ruby glared at him before leading the way. While she appreciated the food, she didn’t ask for it. She didn’t owe him anything, least of all her company.

17

Belly full, Colton followed Ruby out to the bus, almost tripping on a rock because his eyes were glued to her ass in those workout pants.

He could watch her walk away all day, every day. Even if it was because she was pissed at him. Which she was, given her silent treatment during lunch and their slightly heated argument about whether or not she needed help removing the seats from the bus.

And hey, he’d listened to her side. This was her project, she needed to do it, she hadn’t asked for his help.

But he was here and those seats had to be heavy. They were both stubborn, but only one of them won this argument.

Colton chuckled to himself as Ruby popped open the back emergency door, hauling herself into the narrow bus aisle.

“Okay, since your stubborn ass insists on being here, I was thinking I’ll wiggle the seat out and you can take it to that empty spot?” Ruby pointed to a bare patch of lawn at the front of the bus.

“Sounds good,” he said, stripping off his jacket. Colton caught Ruby’s gaze, her cheeks burning red when their eyes met. She disappeared into the bus.

“Ready?” She yelled out.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

She pushed one of the backseats toward the back, slowly lowering it down as he grabbed one end and pulled it to the ground. The two-seater had to weigh a hundred pounds. Sweat trickled down his spine. Colton put his hands on his hips, looking at Ruby. She was already out of breath, soft lips parted as she panted.

He cleared his throat, wanting to break the ice. “These are heavier than I thought.”

She barked out a laugh. “Do you need help moving it?”

“Seriously?”

“I wasn’t sure if this was too hard on you.” She shrugged, her face softening. “You know, with your knee.”

Colton met her gaze. He could’ve sworn he saw a glimmer in them, one he hadn’t seen in over ten years.

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