He sweeps the wet hair away from my forehead and trails his fingertips down my face until his palm tenderly cradles my cheek. His eyes meet mine. “I love you, Ruby. I’ve loved you for a decade. I’ll love you for a lifetime if you’ll let me.”
I lean into his touch and place my palm over his heart. “If I let you? What if I say no?”
“Then I’ll love you anyway. I don’t think I ever really had a choice.”
Chapter 30
Bad Bitch Scorned
? Be A Bitch - Maren Morris
Liam
Ruby curls up beside me on the sofa in the music room with a glass of wine in hand and her head resting against my chest. She’s wearing one of my shirts and a pair of knee-high socks with her hair thrown up into a haphazard bun that looks effortlessly sexy.
“So, what do we do now?” I ask.
She takes a deep breath and releases it, gesturing toward the notebook perched on the piano bench. “Now… I speak my piece.”
Ruby downs the rest of her wine and places the glass on the coffee table, sinking to the floor and grabbing the notepad and pen. She writes something but quickly scribbles it out. This repeats several times until she rips off the sheet of paper, scrunches it up, and tosses it across the room.
“You really need to stop throwing things when you’re pissed off.”
She raises a middle finger and pins me with a sardonic glare.
“Ok… what’s wrong?”
She throws her head back and groans. “I’m not sure how to say what I want to say without being a bitch.”
“So… be a bitch.”
“I can’t do that.”
I slide over to the center of the couch, caging her between my legs, and massage her back and neck.
She melts into my touch, moaning as I work out the tension in her shoulders.
“I’m gonna talk and you’re gonna listen.”
“Mmm. You can talk as long as you want if you keep touching me like that.”
I laugh and kiss the top of her head. “You fought like hell against the label that controlled you for years because they were stifling your voice. Why would you want to do that to yourself now?”
“I can’t just tell the world to fuck off, Liam.”
“Actually, you can. You can say whatever the fuck you want. Let the world see your hurt and frustration. Be the fierce, badass woman I’ve always known. Set aside the ‘Country Music Darling’ and show them the ‘Country Music Queen.’”
She glances back over her shoulder, chewing on the inside of her cheek. I rarely see her confidence waver, but her eyes betray her. “What if they don’t like the real me? What if I put out this big statement and it lights my entire career on fire?”
“Then we’ll stand in the ashes and watch it burn until we can build it back up the way it should’ve been all along. For what it’s worth, I think the people who truly matter saw the real Ruby the whole time. The authentic version of you underneath all the sparkle.”
I take her hand in mine and kiss her palm. “I didn’t fall in love withtheRuby Lynn Hayes. It was never the spotlight or the glamor. I fell in love with the girl who skinny dips in the creek and snores in her sleep. The girl who cries at happy endings and takes care of a little boy who never knew love from his own mother. The girl I never should’ve wanted but took anyway because I couldn’t imagine my life without her in it. People like Scarlet and her family, and the girl in the grocery store with your writing tattooed on her arm—they know your heart, Ruby. Let everyone else see it, too.”
She scrunches up her face as tears gather along her lashes. “I love you.”
“Never get tired of hearing it.” I press my lips to hers, pouring every ounce of my affection into the kiss. “Start writing. Don’t second-guess yourself. You can edit it later.”
She turns back to the notepad and sighs. “Ok. Let’s do this.”
