Page 103 of On the Rocks

Noah broke the kiss long enough to bend down and scoop me up into his arms, which earned us another loud cheer as I laughed, head back, eyes cast up to the church ceiling. I looked back at the congregation as Noah walked us toward the doors — at my parents, who both had tears in their eyes; my sister, who smiled at me reassuringly, though I knew she was hurt in her own way by what had happened that day; my best friend, who threw her fists into the air in victory; my town, who wore expressions ranging from excitement and scandal to confusion and anger.

And when I found Betty, I smiled, waving and blowing her a kiss.

Thank you, I mouthed.

She just winked, waving me off as the church doors swung open and Noah carried me out into the Tennessee heat.

I didn’t know what came next.

I didn’t know how my father’s debt would be paid, or how Anthony would react once the dust had settled, or where Noah and I would go from here. I didn’t know if my mother would ever forgive me, or if I would ever forgiveher. I didn’t know what the future held, but there were two things I knew for sure.

Everything would be okay as long as I had Noah.

And that day was a day that the town of Stratford, Tennessee, would never forget.

Noah

Staring up at the stars my father had made in the tin roof of our treehouse with the weight of Ruby Grace’s head on my chest, I decided there wasn’t a single moment in my life that anything had felt more perfect than it did right now.

I ran my fingers through her long, silky hair, still wavy from the braids I’d unfolded slowly before I slipped her out of her wedding dress. That dress now hung from a limb outside the tree house, and her bare chest rested against my rib cage, her arms wrapped around my middle, legs tangled with mine under the flannel blanket that covered us both where we lay.

The crickets sang a song outside the house, the sound mixing with the smooth, steady breaths Ruby Grace and I exchanged. She drew lazy circles on my chest with her manicured nails, and I could feel the curl of her smile against my chest as I let her hair fall from my fingertips before reaching back down for her scalp to start the trail all over again.

It was a dream.

It had to be.

It didn’t seem real — the church, the wedding — or rather, thenotwedding. I wondered if I’d imagined Ruby Grace running toward me in her dress, if I’d dreamed her into my arms now.

But the soreness of my jaw told me that sucker punch from her former fiancé was real. The dozens of missed calls from my family and half the town on my now-dead cell phone told me it had all really happened. Ruby Grace’s hair in my hands, her breasts against my skin, the sweet, sated euphoria we both bathed in after spending the entire evening making love told me it was far, far from a dream.

It was the best reality I’d ever existed in.

I sighed, wrapping her in my arms tightly before pressing a kiss to her hair. She squeezed back, and after a moment of silence, she chuckled.

I felt the vibration of it through my chest, and I smirked, cocking one brow as I looked down at her mess of red hair. “What’s so funny, Legs?”

She shook her head. “Just thinking about the look on Pastor Morris’s face when you scooped me up and high-tailed me out of the church.”

A short exhale of a laugh hit my chest. “I think he might need therapy after today.”

“I think the wholetownmight.”

“Any regrets?”

She leaned up on one elbow, then, resting her other arm over my chest as she faced me with bent brows. “Not a single one. You?”

I pressed my lips together. “Come on, now.”

Ruby Grace smiled, leaning her cheek down on top of where her hand rested. Her golden eyes searched mine before they trailed over every inch of my face, like she was about to paint it, or like she was memorizing every detail.

“I feel like there’s so much to talk about, but I don’t know where to start.”

I twirled her hair around my knuckle, letting one strand fall before I picked up the next. “Why don’t you start with the first thing on your mind.”

“How did you find out about the real reason I left that night we were here?”

“Oh, that’s easy. Betty.”