“I think…” I whisper, and then trail off. There’s nothinkabout it. I know it as sure as I know my own name, I am as certain of this as I am that the sun rises in the east. “I’m falling for you, Ev.”
A heavy exhale rushes from his chest as his face splits in two, a wide, damp-eyed grin filling the screen.
“Oh, baby girl,” he says, a wry chuckle lifting the words. “I’ve already fallen.”
“I might not ever stop.” The admission takes me by surprise, my mouth running away and leaving my brain behind to pick up the pieces. Typical Ruth.
“That’s okay,” he murmurs. “I’ll be here, falling with you.”
We’re quiet for a long moment. I listen to the sound of him breathing, Della’s quiet chuffs, the birds, and the distant rumble of engines working on the ranch.
“I’m wild about you, Ruth Bevan,” he says, breaking the silence. “I am drop-down fucking crazy about you, and I’m going insane without you, here. When do I get to see you, baby?”
My lips curl into a small smile as I reach for my diary on the coffee table. I flip through it quickly, not caring about the tiny tear I make in the paper as two pages get caught together.
“I have to be in New York again in a couple of weeks.”
“You want me to come to New York? I’ll come to New York, Ruth. I’ll come to London, if—”
“No,” I say, interrupting his thoughts. “I was thinking I could come and see you on the ranch again, instead of flying straight home.”
Another heart-stopping, dazzling grin breaks out on Everett’s face. God, that man. He could heal the world with that smile, I’m sure of it.
“You just tell me when, baby girl,” he says, eyes scrunched almost closed with the enormity of his grin. “You tell me when, and I’ll be there at the airport to meet you.”
This man knows all there is to know about me. He knows secrets I’ve never dared tell anyone else, the fears I’ve been too afraid to give a voice to… and still, he stays. There’s no think about the way I feel for him. I’m not sure there ever was.
“I love you, Ev.”
“Good. Because I will never stop loving you, Ruth.”
Chapter twenty-three
Everett
I’m fucking desperate. I’venever fucked my hand so much in my life—even in my teens. But lately, it’s me and my right hand every morning in the shower, every night before I fall asleep. And it’s always Ruth on my mind. Her vanilla perfume. Her arms around my neck. Her legs around my waist.
All I want to do right now is commiserate in my shower with my fist and the vanilla shower gel I bought—to make it feel a little more authentic, or maybe just because I’m a fucking simp for Ruth fucking Bevan—but instead, I’m at Jody’s place, listening to him waffle on about some shit his brother’s girlfriend’s uncle’s dog’s cousin said, and watching Brooks try and fail to get the grill started. He calls himself a fucking cowboy.
“Your London Girl is a lawyer, right, Ev?” Jody shakes me from my thoughts of Ruth with his mention of… Ruth. I blink rapidly, trying to figure out whether or not I’ve heard anything other than my own name andLondon Girl. It’s been my best friends’ name du jour for Ruth ever since I made the dumb mistake of telling them she existed. Even after meeting her, she’s stillLondon Girl.
“Ev? Earth to Everett. You in there, bro?” Jody elbows me in the ribs, and I yelp.
“What?”
“Your London Girl. She’s a lawyer.”
“Yeah, and?”
“And maybe she can help Reston.”
“Help Reston with what? He writes sad-sack mopey love songs. Ruth is an intellectual property lawyer. She deals in copyrights.”
“So, she’ll be perfect!” Jody fizzes with excitement. The grill finally catches, and Brooks cheers with a fist in the air. I groan inwardly. “Res got a couple offers for promotions and publishing, but it’s a ton of long, wordy shit. Think she’d take a look?”
I sigh. “Maybe. She’s pretty busy. She’s not your personal legal advisor.”
“No, I know—I’d tell him he’s gotta pay. That’s how it works, right?”
