Page 35 of Heart & Hope

“I think I trust you not to get all handsy, baby.”

She huffs a soft laugh and walks to her side and slides under the covers. The bed is a godsend compared to the sofa. I roll over to face Ruby, and she does the same. I resist the urge to touch her face, to trace the soft outline of her lips and cheekbones in the dim room. Her shampoo and soap fill my senses.

And lying next to the most beautiful girl I have ever seen, with only a foot of mattress between me and her, I’m hard as stone. I close my eyes, willing my body to stop reacting to hers so close.

To stay friends.

To be what she needs from me.

To not screw this up.

So instead of pulling her close and smashing my mouth to hers, I say, “Tell me about your family.”

At first, she doesn’t respond, and a beat passes between us.

“What do you want to know?”

“What are your parents like?”

“Nothing like yours. They are career-driven, always have been.”

“Ah, I know a girl like that,” I tease.

“Well, they make me seem lazy.”

“I highly doubt that. What about your sisters?”

“Tammy is a lawyer, works with Dad. And Sienna is in finance. And then there’s me, in the planning and events sector.Nowhere near as prestigious as law or money. They love to remind me of that. But I guess for older sisters, they are normal. We love each other, in our own way.”

“Sounds ominous.”

She chuckles. “Maybe, but they are all I have known. Until your family, that is.”

“Yeah.” I roll onto my back and shove my hands under my head. “My family has a knack for thinking everyone should belong. Or at least, they are welcome to be, if they want.”

“That’s nice you have that. Addy was right, your family is incredible.”

“Adds said that, hey?”

“Yup. I don’t think you could get rid of her even if you wanted to now.”

“Not sure Hudson will ever let her leave.”

“She’s lucky to have found Hudson.”

I glance at her now. In the dark, I can see the sorrow in her face.

What’s that about? Who the hell hurt this sweet, amazing woman?

“You want to talk about it, Rubes?”

She huffs a laugh and runs her hand over the mattress between us. “I don’t do relationships, Reed. My rules. But sometimes I wonder if all this effort I put in, all the sacrifices I make, professionally and personally, will be worth it in the end.”

“What’s the end?”

“To run my own planning and events firm; one day, that is. And I have been working and saving for over a decade. I’m so close, I can’t let up now.”

I roll over and push up on one elbow, looking down at her. “You’ll make it, baby. I see how hard you work. The attention to detail. Everything you do comes off amazing.”

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