“Right. Ruby Lynn Hayes,” she deadpans.
I shake my head and sweep some of the hair away from her face. “They know who you areto me, not the version of you everyone else gets to see. I text you every spare moment of the day and send you photos of me with that fucking orange menace. They know you’re important to me. Just like I knew if I made it out of there, you’d be waiting for me.”
The words pale in comparison to the depth of my feelings for her, but I can’t give her more than that without baring my soul.
“Liam?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“If anything ever did happen, I want you to know I’d make sure Aiden is taken care of. I know you said Ivy and Luca would take him, but he’ll always have me, too.”
If she didn’t already hold my heart in the palm of her hand, that would do it. I kiss her forehead and whisper a quiet thank you against her skin.
She lets out a yawn and nuzzles her cheek against my chest like a contented kitten.
“Rest. I’ll be right here when you wake up.” I breathe in her scent, letting its comforting warmth wrap around me.
She turns her face just enough to place a kiss over my heart. The intimacy of that one, simple gesture strikes me like a flash of lightning. I flex my hands, trying to breathe through theintensity.
A soft rasp of breath escapes her parted lips as sleep takes her, and the only sound left in the quiet room is the rapid thudding of my heart.
Loving Ruby… that’s always been the easiest thing in the world. It happened without my permission, a slow glide into oblivion years ago. Letting her go again when all of this is over will be my downfall, and I’m already bracing for impact.
It takes another full day before Ruby finally lets me out of my enclosure. I’m still in pain, but I’m doing my best not to show it. At the first sign of discomfort, Ruby will send me back to bed, and I think I might lose my shit if that happens.
I find Ruby in the kitchen, placing dinosaur nuggets on a baking sheet for Aiden. I wrap my arms around her from behind and press a kiss below her ear. “Connor should be here any minute.”
“I’m surprised he’s still in town.”
The oven beeps, and I step away, giving her room to work. “Me too. But he seems eager to make amends.”
She closes the oven door and turns to face me, leaning back against the countertop. “Good. It’s about time.”
“And you’re ok with this? I know how much he hurt you.”
“He’s your brother, Liam. Whatever happened between us is in the past. You were all he had for years. I won’t be the one to come between you two. I didn’t want that then, and I definitely don’t want that now.”
I take both of her hands in mine and squeeze. “I’m still not ok with what he did.”
“You don’t have to be ok with it, but you do have to move on. I have. Justhear him out.”
She’s right. I have a complicated relationship with my brother, but he’s still my brother. “You’re too good for us, Goldie.”
She turns up her chin and smiles; that dimple I love makes an appearance. “True, but you’re stuck with me.”
Connor arrives fashionably late, as per usual. He’s wearing a pair of jeans and a pale green short-sleeve striped button-down open at the chest, enough to tell me he has some new ink in the form of a black butterfly.
“Wow, Lee. I had no idea you had this in you. The place looks amazing,”
I glance around at my home, trying to remember what it looked like the last time Connor was here. It was little more than a rundown starter home back then, a blank canvas waiting to be molded into something beautiful. He lived in the downstairs guest room—the room I occupy now—though I’ve recently taken to spending most of my nights with Ruby.
“Thanks. It’s not much, but it’s home.”
“Not much? It belongs in a magazine!”
Ruby appears from the kitchen and laughs. “That’s what I said.”
“Hey, Ruby.” Connor gives her a tight-lipped smile and slips his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
