Page 74 of Ruin

I chuckled. “You did.”

“Shut up. Just shut up. You’re lucky I miss you, or I would reach through the phone and throttle you.” He missed me. My damn heart soared.

The women giggled around me.

“Josh,” Taro whispered, “do you have me on speaker in front of your family?”

Shit, I thought he would have realised.

“Ah, yeah.”

He made a noise in the back of his throat, mumbled a few curse words that sounded very threatening to me, and quickly said, “I have to go.”

“Taro,” I called. I didn’t care my family was there. I needed him to know. Needed him to understand that he was on my mind. Even when he pushed me away.

“What?” he snapped.

“Miss you too.”

“Josh,” he uttered. “Talk soon, you idiot.” He quickly ended the call. We would talk soon and face to face. I’d made the wrong choice by leaving. I mean, yeah, it’d been good to see my family and to talk with Talon, but I should have stayed by his side after everything. I’d tell him that and also the fact he wouldn’t be able to push me away again as soon as I got my arse back to his side.

He was it.

He was mine.

I knew it before I left, and my certainty cemented when I rode away, leaving a part of myself behind—that part having stayed with the person who was meant for me.

Smiling softly, I glanced up and looked around at my family. The girls were grinning. Mum even had tears in her eyes. Dad wore a smirk. “So, yeah, that was Taro. He’s Mimi’s brother and runs the Takahashi family.”

Dad straightened. “Mimi’s brother? The one who gave up his men?”

I nodded. “I’ve already spoken to Talon about it.”

Dad tipped his chin up.

“Hold up.” Nary waved a hand in front of her. “Even though I think that phone call is cute, Josh, as far as I know you’ve only ever been with women. How can you switch it up like that? You can’t play with this guy’s feelings just for some—”

“Don’t,” I clipped. “I am not playin’ with his feelin’s even when it’s only been women before him.”

More staring happened.

Sighing, I rubbed at the back of my neck. “People change. Like Knife did when he knew he wouldn’t want a life without Beast in it. I appreciate you lookin’ out for Taro, Nary, but you don’t need to.”

“Honey,” Mum started. “Are you saying you feel like Knife did with this boy?”

Boy. Taro would get a kick out of Mum saying that.

“Yeah.” My face heated. “It’s still early, but… fuck, he’s mine.”

“We’ll have to meet the guy,” Dad said.

“You will,” I stated. “Thinkin’ of headin’ back to Melbourne though.”

“Now?” Mum asked. I could see the disappointment in her eyes.

“This is awesome,” Rayne blurted. “Now you’re into guys, like Uncle Julian is, we can do each other’s nails and make-up, go shopping.”

“Whoa, hold your horses, kid,” I said quickly, chuckling. “It’s one guy I’m into, and there’s no way in hell we’re doin’ nails and make-up. I might go shoppin’ with you, but I’m still the same person I was before Taro came along.”

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