Page 160 of When Wrecked Meets Ruined
“Why are you so late?” he asked.
“I had to take care of something this morning.” I paused in the doorway on my way out. “Evie’s back.”
He studied my face for a moment. “You’re going down that road again?”
If anyone should understand, it was him. “One last shot to see if we can get it right.”
“She fucked you up pretty bad. You almost threw everything away because of her.”
“That was a long time ago. I won’t make the same mistakes again.”
“Let’s hope not. That was a shit show. Just be careful. She fucks with your head.”
As if I didn’t already know that. But we weren’t eighteen anymore, and this time it felt different than it had back then. Different than it had in California too.
“I’ve got it all under control,” I assured him.
“Where have I heard that before?” Walker muttered as I walked out of his office and headed to the practice field for sprints.
I owed Walker a lot. Austin too. If it hadn’t been for Austin, I would have been kicked off the team and lost my scholarship. But he’d gone to bat for me, and I’d groveled my way back onto the team. Then I’d spent my next three years of college working my ass off to prove that I was worthy of my spot as number one wide receiver.
I did it for Elijah because he never got the chance. And I did it for myself. For my family, too, I guess.
As Brody had said, “People will let you down. That’s a sad fact of life, and I know you know that. But the minute you give up on yourself, it’s game over. Don’t be that asshole, Ridge. Be better. Show them what you’re made of, and don’t you ever give up, you hear me?”
I heard him, loud and clear, and thank fuck, I’d listened. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be where I was today.
CHAPTERFIFTY-NINE
Evie
It didn’t matterwhat I wore because this wasn’t a date, and I wasn’t a supermodel. So I was wearing distressed denim shorts with a black cotton top with puffy sleeves and flat strappy black sandals.
Cool, but not trying too hard, right? Ugh, why should I even care? And why was I talking to a mirror?
I skipped my signature red lipstick, styled my hair in loose curls, and put on a few coats of mascara. Good enough.
Grabbing my purse off the bed, I walked out of the bedroom and descended the stairs to the kitchen.
Unlike the date in California, I wasn’t nervous this time. Probably because we were hanging out asjust friends. Although I still had those butterflies in my stomach that refused to go away, I was trying to ignore them.
“Evie,” Fable said when I stopped next to the kitchen table. She held out her fruit pop. “Want some?”
I leaned down and pretended to take a lick. “Yummy. Thank you.”
She beamed at me and went back to eating her dessert, and before Jesse or Quinn could say a word to me about tonight’s non-date, the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it,” I said when Quinn made a move to stand up. “Finish your dinner. I’ll see you guys later.”
“You have your key, right?” I nodded. “Have fun,” she said with a big smile.
“Not too much fun,” Jesse warned.
“Yes, Dad.” I laughed as I walked to the front door and swung it open. Ridge was wearing shorts and a T-shirt, so at least I’d gotten the dress code right. “No Michelin-starred restaurants for us tonight?” I asked as we followed the stone path to the driveway.
He laughed. “Not tonight.”
“I can’t believe you still drive this thing,” I said when he opened the door of his pickup truck for me.
