Page 123 of Holding You
Ruby’s hand rests on my arm.
“Have a great weekend while you’re here, Clarissa,” she says and turns to walk off.
I follow instantly.
“Ruby,” I call out. It’s clear she’s on a mission to get away from me, or Clarissa, as quickly as possible.
“She’s wrong,” Ruby turns to face me. “You defended me, and you don’t even know the story, and I don’t … I’m not … I don’t care about the money.”
Her lip starts to shake. I grab her hand and pull her away from the crowd. Since Hudson’s Bar is at the end of the block, Iround the corner there, stopping when she leans against the brick building.
I step closer to her and tilt her chin up so she’ll look at me.
“What just happened?”
She bites her bottom lip and it drives me insane as I wait for her answer.
“Clarissa said I had a type, and I don’t. I mean, I do, but it’s not money.”
“I never once thought you only liked me for my money, Ruby.”
She nods, but I can see in her eyes that she’s still not okay.
I don’t ask anything more; I just stand there, holding her hand in mine until she’s ready.
Finally, after a minute, she lets out a breath.
“I didn’t really understand how much money the Davenports had when I got pregnant,” she says quietly.
I keep my gaze locked on hers, grateful that she wants to open up to me, and she goes on.
“I just knew that leaving with them was going to open opportunities I couldn’t get here. Opportunities that would be good for me as a young mom and help set me up for when I’m older and need to provide for Max. I didn’t think the entire town would think I betrayed them and chose money over them.”
I frown.
Ruby choosing to leave at seventeen to have a baby in a place she’d never been, surrounded by people she didn’t know, all so she could give her kid the best life is a selfless choice that most adults wouldn’t make.
If anyone thinks otherwise, they’re idiots.
“No one thinks that.”
She grunts. “You were there just now.”
“Clarissa doesn’t count. She doesn’t live here. Only thosewith real estate in their name here count. This town loves you and is lucky as hell to have you in it. I know they know it, too.”
She twists her mouth, and the urge to bend down and kiss her hits me strongly. To feel her under my hands again. Her soft skin, plump lips, and to hear her moans as she comes over and over.
Her hand flattens against my chest, her fingers curling around my shirt. I lean closer, but then a horn honks nearby, breaking the trance.
As if I didn’t need the reminder of why kissing Ruby again is a bad idea, my phone rings in my pocket.
The caller ID ruins my entire day.
Davenport Inc.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
RUBY
