fast and yes, I also realize that all of this is happening at a
really bad time in your life. I guess I just hope that one day you will see how
incredible you are and how easy it was for someone like me to fall for a
goddess like you.” I know I sounded kind of harsh but after everything we’d
been through in just one week I can’t believe she still seemed to have little
to no faith in me or herself.
Everleigh looked at me with wide doe
eyes. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you by saying that. This just all
seems too good to be true…you and me. You came into my life when I didn’t
realize how badly I needed someone there. After what Scott did to me I never
thought I’d love anyone again but you came along and totally knocked down every
single wall I’d built. Please try and understand that it’s thrown me for a
loop. I do trust you, Ryder, I really do, and I promise to try and not question
you or second guess your feelings anymore,” she said, seemingly blinking back
tears. “Can you ever forgive me?”
I sighed and smiled at her. “Forgive
what, Evie?” She smiled shyly at me and I leaned down to kiss her perfect full
lips. My dick twitched against her bare stomach and I leaned back. “Okay, we
both need to stop this now before I say fuck breakfast and drag your sexy ass
back to that bed.”
She smiled wider and kissed my lips
quickly. “I won’t be long and I’ll start on breakfast once I get out. I’m not
sure what kind of groceries are in there because I haven’t been to the grocery
store since before…” she said, her voice trailing off to nothing more than a
whisper.
I rubbed her arms comfortingly. “Don’t
worry, Evie, the kitchen is stocked. I had Kip and Nathan shop for some
things.”
She nodded and swallowed hard. “Okay, great,
thanks. Well, I’m going to go do this. I’ll be five minutes I promise,” she
said, quickly turning on her heels and walking into her bathroom.
I ran a hand through my messy bed head and
sighed. I realized it had only been a day since Max had been buried and
Everleigh hadn’t really dealt with anything yet. That worried me…eventually she
would have to really face this head on, but I promised her one last worry free
day before she had to face the world again.
Chapter 6
Everleigh
The hot water of the shower felt good.
My muscles were sore and it wasn’t just because of the incredible night of I
spent making love with Ryder (although that was a big part of my stiffness). I
had been so tensed up from crying and barely functioning that I felt like I had
aged ten years in the five days since Dad passed away. I thought I’d prepared
myself for this but I clearly wasn’t able to handle losing my dad so I had sort
of just zoned out and cried when I needed to. The full weight of his death
hadn’t hit me yet and I was terrified for the moment when it would.
Ryder had told me that he completely
fell apart when his father passed away and that he had Beau, Kris, and Jude to
help him through it. I hoped like hell that I still had people here to get me
all the way through this. I know I had Danni, but Trish would soon be moving on
to take care of someone else and I wouldn’t have her here to talk to anymore.
Deuce was my dad’s friend and I knew he loved me too but he had his own family
and the diner to worry about.
I also knew that Ryder was here for now
but he and the guys would need to leave eventually. Even though their manager
had set them up with a place to record while they were here, it was only for a
little while and they would be moving on. The thought of my newfound family
leaving me alone with nothing but an empty house and a broken heart terrified
me. It rocked me to my soul at how much I had come to love and depend on Ryder
and the guys in the short time I’d known them. What did that say about me?
Once I was clean and the water was
starting to get cold, I shut off the shower and stepped out onto my rug.