Page 78 of One Reckless Moment

I risked a glance down at Paige. I didn’t want to see the pity. I really hated when people learned my story and looked at me differently. Tears brimmed her eyes, but her full attention was on me.

“The first six months were a breeze. I started high school and made friends. I joined the football team and girls started to notice me. I was the big man on campus and finally thought that I was in a good spot. Then one day, I came home after curfew because a girl needed a ride home after a bonfire. That was the first time he hit me. After that, the vibe in the house completely changed. I couldn’t do anything right, and any small mistake I made had consequences.”

“That wasn’t your fault, you were a child,” Paige whispered, wiping at her tears.

I nodded. I’d had a long time to grieve this, and I’d be patient while she consumed it in her own way. “When I was seventeen, I packed a bag and snuck out my bedroom window. I decided it was the last time he laid a hand on me. I bounced from couch to couch with friends until I finished high school. I was so close to eighteen that I think the system just gave up on me. That was when I left Portland and landed in Montana, looking for a way to survive. If your dad hadn’t offered me a job, who knows what ditch I would’ve ended up in.”

“I’m so happy you stumbled onto this ranch all those years ago.” Paige sniffed, burying her head into my chest.

“Me too, baby. I can’t imagine my life without this place.”

Paige placed a light kiss on my cheek. “I’m sorry you went through all that, and thank you for telling me.

“You should know who you married.” I smirked at her.

“That’s not who I married—or maybe it is. But not for the reason you think. You were a scared little boy, but now you’re the strongest person I’ve ever met. You had the character to stand up for not only yourself, but also the women in your life. I couldn’t be prouder to be with the man that I married.”

I leaned down and crashed my mouth into hers. Paige’s words felt like they were stitching a decades-old wound that laid open and bleeding for years. I never felt like I could sleep well at night because it could always be ripped away. Being with Paige was the first time in my life that I felt stable—as fucked up as that was.

Paige ran her hands into my hair as I pushed to hover over her. We were a tangle of kisses and roaming hands. There were no more words about my past. No words about the wedding we were hosting tomorrow, only passion and emotion as we poured our souls into each other.

I couldn’t have dreamed I’d be in this position with Paige—to be able to hold her and be with her out in the open. Now that I had her, I never wanted to let her go.

I held Paige’s gaze as I sunk into her. Something in the air shifted. We weren’t frantically ripping each other’s clothes off to fuck before someone could catch us. We were existing in our own little bubble. We were existing in the reality where I got to make love to Paige Brooks for the rest of my life.

34

THE SUMMER THAT CHANGED ME

PAIGE

As I looked in the mirror, my breath hitched. I was wearing a strapless, lace A-line dress that hit mid-thigh with a pair of simple white heels. My hair was pulled into an elegant curled ponytail with pieces hanging down in the front. There was a string of white pearls around my neck and white bow earrings with dangling diamonds on my ears.

I looked like a bride.

Part of me wanted to be excited and live in the moment, but the other part of me wanted to call off the entire thing. So much had happened since we started this summer, and the last two weeks, there’d been a shift with Cash and me. When we first came home, scared shitless that everyone was going to burn us at the stake for our announcement, I never could’ve imagined that I would fall even more in love with him.

This was all starting to feel too real.

Too close to heartbreak.

A soft knock sounded at my door as Lottie appeared in my doorway.

“Hey,” she said, wiping her eyes.

“No. No tears. We haven’t even started anything yet,” I said, shutting my eyes so I didn’t burst into tears like the sympathetic crier I was.

“I know, but this is a big deal, P. You’re getting married.”

“I’m already married.” I laughed.

“Semantics.” She waved her hand at me.

“Okay, everyone is starting to arrive, but I have something for you. Consider it your something borrowed.” Lottie pulled a small jewelry box out of her purse and handed it to me.

When I opened the little velvet box, my jaw dropped and my eyes shot up at her in shock.

“I can’t wear this,” I said, snapping the box closed and shoving it back to her.