Page 101 of The Most Perfect Wrong

“I don’t know… What’s your favorite childhood memory? What’s the best thing that ever happened to you? What’s something you want more than anything?”

I rest my hand on his chest, feeling the steady rise and fall beneath my touch. “My favorite childhood memory? Hmm, that’s tough—there are so many good ones. But… it’d probably have to be the last family vacation we took. You know, before my parents got divorced.”

I scoot a little closer, wrapping my leg over his. “We went to Hawaii for the first time when I was nine. We stayed in this beach house, right by the ocean. Literally, you’d step out, and you were on the sand—just like at my dad’s place now. There were turtles on the beach every morning. I thought it was the coolest thing in the entire world. We’d wake up early and walk the beach together, all of us.”

The memory’s bittersweet. I can’t help but smile, even though a pang of sadness hits me simultaneously. “It was the last time I really remember us all together… happy, you know?”

Ryan grunts softly. “That’s really cool. Did your parents fight a lot?”

“Not a lot… at least not that I heard. But when they did, it was nasty—a full blowout—usually my mom screaming at the top of her lungs. She’d find out about another conquest and freak the fuck out at him. But most of the time, she just pretended everything was fine.” I scoff, shaking my head. “She’d even talk about him like he was the best damn husband in the world. That annoyed the shit out of me. I loved my dad—he was a good father—but he was a terrible husband.”

I pause as my words settle over me. “Wow. I’ve been doing the same thing, haven’t I?”

“It’s understandable,” Ryan says softly. “For one, you saw your mom do it… But now, you probably understand why she did it, right?”

I sigh, the realization hitting hard. “Yeah, I guess. She was embarrassed. She knew she should leave and just stayed.” I scoff again, a bitter laugh escaping. “God, I’m just like her. But she had kids—that’s at least an understandable reason to try to make it work. What was mine?”

“Didn’t you say that Brad threatened you?”

“Yeah,” I whisper. “Yeah, I guess he did… a few times, actually.” I don’t expand, and Ryan takes the hint, his silence a comfort rather than pressure.

“What matters is that you’re done now, babe.” He kisses the top of my head, and I tighten my grip on him.

I tilt my chin up to him, smiling softly. “I like when you call me babe.”

“You do? It’s not too early?”

I shake my head. “No. Not too early.” I lean in, sweeping my lips against his, the kiss soft but full of meaning.

“I could kiss you all day, you know that?” he murmurs, kissing me again before pulling back slightly. “Now, what about the other two questions?”

I push up onto my elbow, meeting his gaze. “Ah. Well, those two are easy.” My eyes lock with his, my voice soft but steady. “They both have the same answer.”

Ryan’s brows lift slightly, curiosity sparking in his expression. “Oh yeah?”

I nod, a slight blush creeping up my cheeks. “You. You’re the best damn thing that’s ever happened to me. And right now? What I want more than anything is for this to work out—you and me.”

He grins, pulling me in for yet another kiss. “You’re the best, you know that?” He rolls me onto my back, his upper body hovering over mine as he tugs my bottom lip between his teeth. My hands glide around his bulging biceps, savoring the feel of him as the kiss deepens. “Your turn,” he murmurs against my lips, pulling back just enough to speak.

“My turn for what?”

“Ask me a question.”

I pause, thinking for a second. “Okay… What’s something interesting not very many people know about you?” Amischievous grin spreads across my face. “Aside from the fact that you carry an oversized weapon in your pants every day.”

His laugh bursts out of him, loud and unrestrained. “Jesus. Are you serious with that?”

“Oh, I’m dead serious.” I smirk. “Come on, Ryan. You know you have a huge dick. There’s no way you saw other guys in high school and thought, ‘Hmm. Yep, mine’s average.’ God, I bet your friends were jealous as hell.”

His head drops next to mine as he dissolves into laughter, shaking his head over me. “Oh my God. You’re unbelievable.”

“They probably gave you shit for it, didn’t they? I bet you even had a nickname.”

He presses his lips together, trying and failing to stifle his laughter. “Jesus, Coop.” He chuckles again, rolling onto his back, his hands running through his hair as he shakes his head. “No way.”

“Oh my God, you did! What was it?” I prop myself up on my elbows, needing to see his face while he tries to wiggle his way out of this. I nudge him, grinning. “Come on, what was it?”

His smile stretches wide, reaching his eyes as he looks at me. He puffs out another laugh, clearly mortified—and it’s the sexiest damn thing I’ve ever seen.

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