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If Colton had hurt her, there’s not enough bail money in the world that would get me out of jail.
“I don’t mind taking risks.” She smiles brightly and another jagged piece of my heart resets. “The most risk I’ve ever taken is this summer here with you.”
Her sweet innocence unravels me. I sit up beside her and press my hand to her breast, her heartbeat imprinting on my palm. “I’ve never met anyone like you,” I tell her. “So full of life and light. You carry an entire heart in your soul, Ruby.”
At my words, her eyes widen.
“You like my heartbeat?” she asks, a hopeful note in her tone.
Slipping her hand into mine, I bring her wrist to my mouth and kiss the pulse that beats there. It’s fast. Almost shaky. “I love this beautiful beat of yours. It’s the best damn thing I’ve ever heard.”
It’s like I’ve given her the moon.
Tears flood her beautiful baby blues. “Oh, Charlie,” she says breathlessly, her swollen red mouth tilting to accept mine. I feel it then. The end of me. And I don’t fucking care. I lose myself in her sweet sunshine kiss. Then her arms loop around my neck, and I’m pulling her back down beside me, covering her with the blanket.
Minutes pass, and we lie here, our heartbeats coming back down to normal.
“I could die,” Ruby whispers fiercely, sounding strangely content. “I could die just like this.”
“Hey.” Frowning, I lean up to look at her. “Don’t say that.”
I feel like I’m about to be gutted.
The way she talks ...
I can’t stand it.
Before I can say anything, she stretches her arms up and out, exposing her bare breasts. I glance at the door, not wanting my brothers to come in and get an eyeful of the best view in the state of Montana.
“Why not? It’s true.” She nuzzles against me, kissing my throat and distracting me from my grim thoughts. “You’re wonderful, Charlie.”
Her sweetness, her vulnerability, has my jaw clenching. I tighten my arms around her, tucking her head under my chin.
The ache in my chest intensifies.
And I give in. Give into everything I’ve been denying this entire summer and face the fucking facts.
Ruby’s it.
Inevitable.
My everything.
“This is like the most perfectly shaped apple,” Ruby announces as I slam through the front door, wiping sweat from my brow. She sits at the kitchen island, barefoot, wearing a white sundress, laptop open in front of her.
I kiss her first, then toss the stack of bills nabbed from the Bullshit Box onto the countertop. As she bites into the red apple with a satisfied moan, I pour myself a cup of coffee and chuckle.
“Sunflower status?” I drawl, leaning back against the cupboards to watch her. I love how the tiniest things in life light her up.
“Oh, most definitely,” she deadpans, licking juice off the corner of her wrist.
My gaze lands on her plump lips, and my cock jumps to life. “Are you trying to turn me on?”
She laughs, her bare feet swinging on the stool. “I’m trying to eat an apple, Cowboy.” Never wanted to be an apple so bad in my life.
“Taste,” she orders. She holds the apple out to me, a flirty smile on her face. “Taste how good it is, Charlie.”
Arching an amused brow, I close the distance between us. “Rather taste you,” I growl, running my palms over her smooth, bare thighs.
