Page 6 of Ruthless Desires: Vol. One

Oliver:Are we still out of milk?

“Shit,” I mumble.

Rhett glances over. “What?”

“I forgot to grab milk when I went grocery shopping earlier.”

“We can stop by the store,” Rhett says. “That place by the hospital is open twenty-four seven.”

I nod. If it was anything else, I’d say it could wait until tomorrow, but Oliver needs milk for his morning bowl of cereal. I know he can do without it for a day, but I don’t want him to have to.

The drive to the store is silent. We’re both too tired to fiddle with the radio to find something worth listening to, and talking would take even more energy. But halfway through the drive, one of Rhett’s hands slips from the steering wheel and comes to rest on my thigh. It’s an unexpected gesture from him, but one I’ll never push away.

My hand covers his, and I lean back in my seat and close my eyes. It’s moments like these—ones where I don’t have anything to occupy my mind—that the exhaustion really sets in. We’ve been working so hard for so long to enact our plan, yet the end isn’t even in sight.

By the time Rhett pulls into the store’s parking lot, I’m half asleep. I shake my head to wake myself up as we make our way inside. It’s a small convenience store, but they have exactly what we need, and that’s all I care about.

Rhett is halfway to the milk before I’ve even taken three steps inside the store.Damn,I’m tired. I stop, lingering near the front of the store. There’s no point in following with him moving so much faster than I am.

I yawn, glancing at the display in front of me. Some familiar-looking packaging catches my eye.Perfect.

“Hey, you want some chocolate?” I ask over the aisle.

Glancing at me from across the store, Rhett narrows his eyes. “What kind?”

I grin and hold up the package. “You think I’d ask if I couldn’t find this stuff?”

He nods, which is practically a vibrant smile for him, so I hold onto it for him. Rhett is particular about his sweets, but he never says no to this specific brand. He also never lets himself have nice things, so I usually try to take it upon myself to remedy that.

Once Rhett has grabbed the milk, we meet near the register. I’m about to lean against the counter, but I stop in my tracks at the sight of the bouquets of roses to my left. They’re way nicer than grocery store flowers normally are, and they’re such a deep shade of red that there’s no way we can leave without them.

I nudge Rhett. “Look at these.”

“Ell. It’s already late enou—” He stops the moment he sees the flowers. “Oh.”

“Ol would like these.” Gently, I pick the bouquet up and slide it into a plastic sleeve.

Rhett’s eyes soften. “Yeah. I think he would. They’re the perfect color.”

“Tonight was probably rough for him, you know? And I feel bad for leaving him all alone, but—”

“Hey.” His knuckles brush against my cheek, soft and fleeting. “You don’t have to explain yourself. I think they’re nice.”

Rhett takes the roses from me and checks out while I watch him quietly. I understand his initial impatience. We’re both tired and want to get home. Still, I appreciate how quickly he came around once he saw the flowers.

“Hey.” Rhett squeezes my shoulder, and I realize he’s already paid and is looking at me expectantly. “Let’s go.”

With a tired nod, I follow him out the door and back into the car. It’s a quick drive home—only ten minutes—and then we’re stepping into our mansion. I relax at the warm, low lighting. Oliver must’ve dimmed everything after we left so the lights wouldn’t be too harsh when we got back.

Just as I figured, Ol is waiting up. A slow song drifts through the house from the living room, drawing me in. When I step across the threshold with Rhett beside me, Oliver glances up and stops playing the piano immediately. After a quick once-over to make sure we’re okay, he lets himself focus on the roses.

“Ell,” he says softly as he stands and crosses the room. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“They made me think of you.” While I watch him inspect the bouquet, a smile spreads over my face. I’ll never be too tired to show him just how much he means to me, and I’ll never stop loving the delight in his eyes when I do something like this for him.

“Any trouble?” he asks, lowering his head and inhaling the scent of the roses.

“None,” Rhett replies. “The guy showed up just like Ludo said, and we took care of everything pretty quickly after that.”