Page 24

“And he said I should be trying harder.” She gives me a tiny smile that I know is meant to minimize how much she hurts, but her eyes are so sad that all my anger turns into tenderness for her.

I run the back of my hand down her bare arm. “Hey, you know how on-brand that is for him? He’s the biggest fucking snooze on the team. Plain chicken wrapped in white bread smothered in mayo—and not even the name-brand mayo either. He was never good enough for you.”

“Thing is, you know I get down on myself about the same things he laughed at me for. But I wasn’t ashamed of that job, and I wasn’t ashamed I lost it.

I knew how it looked to everyone else, and for once that didn’t bother me, because I wanted that job and I chose to give it up. But he didn’t see that.”

Of course he didn’t, and I should have known from the beginning it would end up like this. I told myself Brad was good for her because he didn’t have a drug habit or an arrest record, but he was just as shitty as all her exes. Not one of them ever saw her for who she was. Not like I do.

I pull her into a hug, unable to resist the need to feel her body against mine. “Proud of you for not taking his shit. He never deserved you.”

She nods against my shoulder.

“None of the guys you fall for ever do.” I release her but don’t move from my spot, because she has two fingers ringed loosely around my wrist.

Ruby leans back against the counter and holds my gaze. “None of them?” It’s only because I know her so well that I catch the subtle change in her voice.

This is where I should look away. Turn around and grab a drink. Make some excuse to move so my body’s not six inches from hers. But I’m trapped by her eyes and the possibility that she’s talking about me. “I don’t know. Did any of them see you for what you are?”

“Well, what am I?”

I hesitate. What is she doing?

“What am I, Lorenzo?”

I smile. Yes, she was talking about me. When Ruby turns it on, she’s such a fucking tease. “You want to play that game, huh? Let’s see ... starting with the obvious? You’re weird. Emotional, impulsive, forgetful ... all your classics.”

“Clearly.”

“You’re fun. A little wild. Easy to be around.”

Her eyes are locked on mine in a way that tells me I’m walking into a trap. “Keep going.” She’s still holding my wrist.

“You’re brave. Loyal to the bone.” Her chest rises as she draws a quick breath. I don’t deserve the power these words have over her. “You’re beautiful.” My eyes take in the pout of her lips before I force my gaze away.

“One more,” she whispers.

“One more?”

I watch her throat constrict as she swallows.

“You’ve told me those things before. One more you’ve never told me.

” She cocks her head, a gesture of pure challenge.

We’re not talking about all the guys who never appreciated her anymore.

The way she stares at me with those beautiful brown eyes tells me we’re only talking about me.

I’m the one whose opinion counts. I’m the one she wants.

We both know it. The kiss said it all. And now she wants me to cross a line.

“One more, huh?” I ease my wrist from her grasp so now I’m the one holding on to her, her palm pressed between my fingers. “Okay.” I nod. “You’re a great fucking kisser. And I’m damn lucky you once took pity on me.”

She draws in a slow breath, her lips parted. “Say that again,” she says, her voice low, pulling me in.

Now I’m staring at her lips, remembering the determined way she kissed me like she had no doubt it was right. “You’re an amazing fucking kisser.”

Her body is closer than it was a minute ago.

Did she move or did I? She smells like the floral soap her mom has kept in the shower as long as I’ve known Ruby, and she smells like a lifetime of summers together.

If I just lean forward, I’ll be kissing her.

And I don’t think I can do anything else right now. Desire has a death grip on my muscles.

“You always said we should never kiss.”

I hear her, but the meaning of the words takes a few seconds to hit me. I drag my eyes off her lips to meet her gaze. I said that?

She nods, seeing the question in my eyes.

“I said we should never kiss,” I repeat slowly. I did say that. A long time ago. But my brain is foggy with wanting her, and I can’t string together a coherent series of memories to tell me why I said that. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” she whispers. Her fingers reach for my face, and adrenaline pumps through me, my body hungry to kiss her.

Hungry to pull her T-shirt over her head and slide her panties down her legs and push her up against the counter.

Fuck. What’s happening? But she’s not reaching out to kiss me.

Her thumb slides over my eyebrow, the one with the scar, and I remember that night.

Suddenly I’m awake, dragged back to reality by memory and my own prescient warning that we should never kiss.

This is dangerous. Stupid. I’m about to blur the lines all over again and drag us into round three of drunken kissing.

Ruby and I have too much history to do this without knowing what we’re getting into.

I owe her better than that. “Yeah, I—” I blink, straightening up, pulling my gaze off hers.

“I don’t either. But I should probably go. ” I clear my throat. “To bed.”

“Oh.” I feel rather than see the way her body sags. “Okay.”

“I’ll sleep at my place.” Suddenly I need to get as far away from her as I can.

“You can sleep here,” she says innocently.

I stare at her. Does she even realize how close I just came to undressing her? To stripping her bare and tasting every inch of her skin and fucking her right here against the kitchen counter? I shake my mind free of the notion. “I’ll sleep better in my own bed.”

She nods. “So I’ll see you in the morning.” The way she holds my gaze, her body still frozen in the same position, tells me she realizes exactly how close we just came to destroying every rule we set for ourselves.

“Yeah.” I turn and head out of the kitchen. “Sleep well.” I stop in the doorway just before I reach the foyer and turn back to her. She’s watching me. “Ruby?”

“Yes?”

I pause. “Lock up behind me.”