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“Oh, Phoebe,” I said, pulling her into my chest, letting my shirt soak up her tears. “He was at the wrong place then, right? He didn’t mean he didn’t want you. So, why did you take it so hard?”
Her hands started flailing. “It might as well have been me.”
Holding her close, I pressed a kiss to her hair and murmured soothing words. “Anyone who broke up with you would be a fucking idiot.”
She scoffed. “Yeah, right. Who could pass all this up?”
Pushing her in front of me, I forced her to look in the mirror. “Look, you know what I see?”
“A crazy person?” She refused to look up.
I swallowed hard as I gently lifted her chin. “I see an incredible woman who is slowly moving beyond the rejection of her family.” She tried to twirl around, but I held her arms so she couldn’t. “You have to get Julia’s words out of your head. She doesn’t belong there.”
Her gaze fell to the counter as she traced a pattern in the marble showing barely restrained anger. “I know she’s my grandmother, but I hate her.”
I lifted her chin again. “Your dad and Julia are dead and buried. I’m your family. Dominic, me, Aunt Lori, and my friends. Cast your family aside with that idiot who didn’t even know how to break up with the right person.”
She snickered. “Yeah, what a dumbass.”
Wrapping my arms around her from behind, I stared into her eyes in the mirror. “He was a dumbass for not seeing what an amazing woman you are and not begging you to date him. And he was a total jackass for not knowing where the woman he dated lived. If you ask me, both she and you are better off.”
She squinted one eye at me. “I get for her, but why am I better off?”
I smirked. “Because he was a fucking asshat.”
Her giggles warmed something inside me, making me smile with her and hold her tight again. Hugging her back to my chest, I soaked up the feel of her.
Kissing her temple, I looked in the mirror to see her eyes closed. “You don’t have to go it alone anymore. Let me show you around Taylor Ridge and see if maybe this is someplace you’d like to stay.”
Raising her eyes to meet mine, she blinked and something passed between us. Something soothing and true. “Okay, Chief. I’ll stay for a while. But don’t get too attached.”
She gave my arm a squeeze, then pushed past me to poke through the rest of the house. I didn’t care that she was going to be in my room. It didn’t matter. I didn’t need a master suite. I’d be just fine in the guest room or curling up together like we used to. There was nothing I wouldn’t give her. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for her. She was first and foremost my best friend, but even more than that, she was the woman who long ago burrowed into my heart.
6
PHOEBE
When I was done with my tour of Ransom’s gorgeous home, I freshened up in his giant bathroom, easily three times bigger than mine back home. Then Ransom brought my suitcase into his closet just off the bathroom. His clothes only took up a third of the closet space, so I had the rest of it to spread mine out.
It felt like I was at a luxury resort instead of a lake cabin in Minnesota. For me, it was both. Fresh, fluffy white towels in the bathroom. Large vaulted ceilings. Dark stained wood with leather accents throughout the house and rustic wide-plank hickory hardwood floor everywhere. All situated next to a giant lake. And a hotter-then-hell man tending to my every need. I felt my thighs clench. It was definitely a look and not touch-type of situation, but I really wanted to touch. I kept trying to keep my hands occupied so I wouldn’t. Problem was we were touchy people. Hugs were normal. Swatting occurred. Being close was typical.
The beautiful setting had me feeling so dreamy, I almost let myself believe I saw something in Ransom’s eyes earlier. I swore I felt something when we were standing in the bathroom together looking in the mirror. An energy that vibrated between us, hummed in the air. I was tempted to believe it meant he thought of me as maybe something more than a friend. But my brain ran through all of the reasons that wasn’t possible.
That night, I had plenty of time to take a nice long bath, poke through the cupboards in the kitchen, and watch some television before Ransom came home from his game. I wanted to go, but I just wasn’t up to peopling yet, so he went ahead.
When I heard the garage door open, I hopped up to make some hot cider for us to take out into the chilly night and watch the stars.
Once Ransom disposed of his hockey bag, he met me in the kitchen. Coming up behind me, he handed me a giant blanket, picked up the two steaming mugs, and nodded to the door.
Shoving my feet into a pair of boots, I turned the door handle. “Not locked?”
He huffed. “What for? No one out here and nothing to steal.”
I shrugged. It did seem pretty remote.
Holding the door for Ransom, I let him pass then stood in the doorway stunned. How could anyone move after seeing the beauty of the night sky before me?
Ransom set the mugs on the table. “Raven?”
