Page 123 of Lessons in Heartbreak

Ruby dug her hands into my hair and tightened her fingers, tugging my head up so she could slide her mouth over mine in a searing, impatient kiss.

My girl.

We’d come a long way in seven weeks. There was no hiding what we wanted from each other, and through some difficult, emotional conversations, Ruby admitted that her greatest fear was leaving me behind—hurt and alone.

That fear might never go away, but every single day we spent together, it made us both realize that happiness wasn’t some lofty goal we were forever chasing. It wasn’t trying to heave the imaginary boulder up over the barrier and be done with it.

Happiness—true joy—was soaking up the tiny moments we had with each other, seeking contentment in living everyday life with a person we loved, no matter how long that might be.

Forever wouldn’t be long enough, not if we had another fifty years, but even what I’d had with her was the best time in my entire life. The car accident, and broken arm, had turned out to be a strange gift of time for the two of us. I wasn’t living most of my waking hours with the team; instead, I got to spend most of my days with her. Football would be there when my arm healed, but getting this much time early in our relationship was fucking gold.

In between physical therapy and time in the gym, helping the team review film, my life was coming home to Ruby, helping her make dinner (or as much as I could with only one good hand), taking baths and swimming and napping and watching movies and taking Bruiser for daily walks. It was checking the progress on the gardens and spending quiet days in Welling Springs, sharing muffins on the bench while we watched the space transform into something even more beautiful.

Everything about our life was beautiful.

Maybe it was more beautiful because we didn’t know what the future held, but God, I wasn’t taking anything for granted.

Not making a mess in the kitchen because I couldn’t crack an egg with one hand or having her at my doctors’ appointments, not falling asleep next to her, and definitely not moments like this—where we so easily got lost in each other.

Tightening my grip in her hair, I angled my head to deepen the kiss. The slick winding of my tongue around hers had her whimpering into my mouth.

“Come on, baby,” I told her. “Let’s start this morning right.”

Eyes locked on mine, Ruby lifted up, sinking down over my length, and we groaned in unison. My arms wrapped around her waist while she worked herself slow and sweet against me. It wasn’t fast and it wasn’t hard. It was a torturous build, each rock of her hips and dent of my fingers in her flesh had my heart hammering behind my chest.

Mine,it said. She was mine. And I was hers.

She tipped her head back and let out a decadent sigh as she came, and I fixed my mouth on her neck, groaning my own release against her skin.

Ruby slumped against my chest, burying her face into the side of my throat. “Naked Tuesdays might not be a bad idea,” she murmured.

I smacked the side of her ass. “I’m very smart. I keep telling you this.”

She pulled back to grin at me. “Too bad we can’t start today, huh?”

“Why not?” I couldn’t think straight with her still warm and tight around me. She pulled up with a hiss, and wouldn’t you know it ... it was the perfect height. I tugged her closer so I could kiss the tip of her breast again, licking across her chest to give the same treatment to the other.

Ruby laughed, cupping my face so she could kiss my forehead, then the tip of my nose. “Forget scarring Eileen—your niece and nephew might not appreciate a nudist household when they get here.”

Shit. Sex with this woman scrambled my brain something fierce. You’d think I’d be used to it, but I still wasn’t. All she had to do was smile at me, and I swear, I forgot my own fucking name.

I blinked. “Right. They’re landing in”—I glanced at the clock with a wince—“forty-five minutes.”

Ruby picked up my sling off the floor and handed it to me. “On.”

“Bossy,” I grumbled.

“I’m taking a shower first.” She paused before entering the bathroom. “Do not join me, because you know what’ll happen.”

I gave her a grave nod as I stood from the bed. “Insatiable, I’m telling ya.”

Ruby sighed. “Put the sling on.”

Before she walked away, I grabbed her hand and swung her back in my direction, cupping her face with both hands. “I love you.”

Her eyes softened. “I love you too.”

We kissed, Ruby’s hands sliding along my stomach. I swept some stray hair off her face. “Thank you for pushing me to ask for the visit.”

---