Yours to Hold: Ribbon Ridge Book Two (25 page)

Damn, that hurt even worse.

He set the dishwasher to run and hesitated in the kitchen. He’d just gotten paid, and his Archer paychecks were more than enough to pay the bills on Hayden’s house, take care of his own expenses, and still have plenty left to stash away. Or gamble . . .

He didn’t know how long he stood there staring at the wall, but Derek’s cough startled him. “Kyle? You ready?”

Kyle shook his head. “Yeah. You go on ahead. I’ll meet you there.”

Derek came further into the kitchen, frowning. “What’s going on with you? You’ve been miles away all day. The last few days, actually. It’s not Alex’s letter, is it?”

“No. It was good.” He offered a weak smile. “Just contemplating things, I guess.”

Derek rested his hip against the counter and crossed his arms. “What things?”

“Nothing. Come on, let’s go.” Kyle moved toward the door to the main room, anxious to evade this interrogation. That made two nosy inquiries so far tonight, and if he went to the dinner, it would just get worse. He could either suffer through it—but fuck, he was tired of doing that—or bail.

Derek snagged his forearm and drew Kyle to stop. “Let’s not. Spill. I’m not leaving until you do, and then you can have the wrath of my bride on your head. You don’t want to piss Chloe off.”

Kyle turned, anger flaring in his chest. “Let it go, will you? This is your day. Weekend. Whatever.”

“So? Life happens. And if life is happening to you
right now
, let’s talk about it. Waiting until after my honeymoon might be too late.”

“God, I hate when you’re logical.”

Derek shrugged. “It’s a gift.”

“More like a menace. Fine. I’m miserable.”

Derek resumed his arm-crossed stance against the counter. “Why? You want to gamble? I see that weird glint in your eye.”

“Christ, you can look at me and see when I want to gamble by the look in my eye? Remind me to wear sunglasses from now on.”

Derek’s mouth quirked up briefly. “Not really, I just took a guess. Maybe I’m wrong?”

Kyle turned and leaned his backside against the opposite counter. “You’re not wrong. I was just calculating how much I could wager tonight.”

Derek nodded, pivoting so they faced each other across the small space. “Your paychecks are pretty good, so I’m guessing that was a dangerous amount.”

Self-loathing itched up Kyle’s spine. “Any amount is a dangerous amount.”

“I hadn’t thought of it like that, but yeah, I guess so.” He winced. “Sorry.”

Some of the tension left Kyle’s muscles. He was actually relieved that Derek had interrupted him. “Don’t apologize. I need to do a better job of explaining this to you. Of helping you understand my addiction.”

“I’d like that. What about everyone else?”

Kyle ran his hand through his hair and exhaled sharply. “I need to talk to them. I just . . . I don’t know how. When I think of telling Sara, my stomach twists in knots. And when I think of telling Liam, my teeth grind.”

“I can understand that. But I’ll be there for you every step of the way.” He looked at Kyle with concern and compassion. “You know they’ll support you, right? Even Liam. His bedside manner may not be the best, but maybe this will help him, too.”

“Help him feel superior,” Kyle muttered.

Derek laughed. “You guys are so competitive.”

“Ha. It’s hard to compete with someone who routinely kicks your ass in life.”

“Not true. Liam is nowhere near as genial as you.”

Kyle snapped his gaze to Derek’s and arched a brow. “
Genial
? What am I, ninety?”

Derek laughed again. “You know what I mean. He’s always so focused and uptight. He practically broods.”

“Good description.”

“Anyway, if he’s a jerk about it, screw him. No one else will do that.”

Derek was right. They would all be supportive, especially Sara. And with a team behind him, maybe he
could
make it . . .

But he realized there was someone missing from that team. The person he wanted most on his side. The person he constantly thought of and went to the very moment he felt wobbly. “I don’t want to hide who I am anymore.”

“That’s good.”

Kyle looked over at Derek, feeling tentative but determined. “Alex’s letter . . . he called me on that. But it’s more than the addiction. There’s someone who’s important to me, someone you’re all going to be inclined to hate.”

Derek’s brow furrowed. “I can’t imagine why.”

“Just trust me. I was inclined to hate her too, but then I got to know her, and she’s smart and funny and caring and pretty much the best person I know.” He threw Derek a sheepish smile. “No offense.”

“None taken. Sounds like you’re in love with her.”

“Completely.” The admission soared through his chest and banished all of the darkness and weight he’d been carrying. He couldn’t stop from smiling.

Derek smiled back. “Awesome.” He reached over and briefly clapped Kyle on the shoulder. “I’m so happy for you. Can I ask, is it Magnolia?”

“Yeah, but that’s not really her name. It
is
, but . . . never mind.”

“Why didn’t you bring her tonight if you guys are together?”

“Because we aren’t together.” A shadow fell over him as he remembered where they’d left things.

Derek put his hands on the counter on either side of him, bracing himself. “Why the hell not? You’re in love with her. She’s probably in love with you.”

“I don’t know that, actually. She broke up with me a couple of days ago.”

“What the hell for?” The outrage in his voice gave Kyle comfort—damn, it was good to have Derek with him again.

“It’s complicated. You’ll understand when you meet her.”

Derek looked confused. “I
have
met her.”

Kyle shook his head. “I’m not doing a good job explaining, and I can’t right now.” He suddenly had to see her, had to know if she truly didn’t want him or if she’d just been doing the most amazing thing anyone had ever done for him. “Would it be okay if I went and got her and brought her to the dinner?”

Derek pushed away from the counter. “I was just going to insist that you do.”

“It’s going to take me a bit—she lives in Newberg.” He hoped she was home.

“Take as long as you need, but, bro, if something happens”—he wasn’t specific, but the implication was if things went south, either with Maggie or with wanting to gamble—“call me.”

Kyle nodded, already moving toward the door.

“I mean it,” Derek said loudly, following him.

Kyle turned and gave him a little shove in the shoulder. “I promise. Now fuck off.”

Derek grinned. “You first.”

Kyle practically ran up the road to the parking lot, where Hayden was waiting for him. Shit, he’d forgotten all about Hayden.

Hayden leaned his head out the car window. “Where’ve you been? I was about to put out an APB.”

“Listen, can you catch a ride with Derek and Chloe to the winery? I need your car.”

Confusion clouded Hayden’s eyes. “Uh, I guess?”

Kyle opened the door for him, anxious to be on his way. He resisted the urge to pull Hayden out of the car, jump inside, and tear out of the lot like he was commandeering his vehicle and taking off on a hot pursuit.

Derek pulled into the lot—he’d parked down by the cottage—and rolled down his window. “You’re coming with us, Hayden.”

Kyle sent Derek a silent thank-you and a wave.

Hayden finally got out of the car, leaving the door open. “Where are you going?”

“See you in a bit.” Kyle jumped into the car and fired it up, then sped out of the lot only slightly less chaotically than he’d envisioned.

Apprehension, excitement, anticipation—all of it bubbled inside of him. He likened the feeling to when he went to the racetrack or the casino or a poker game, but it was so much better. Maggie was an addiction he didn’t want to fight, and he hoped she felt the same way about him.

Chapter Twenty

A
S
M
AGGIE FINISHED
watering her garden, she softly apologized to the plants for neglecting them a little this week. “But don’t worry. I’m done with those hectic hours.” She ran a finger over one of the ripening tomatoes and felt a pang of sadness over the loss of Kyle’s salsa.

“Will they be ready in another week maybe?”

Kyle’s voice seemed to come from somewhere inside of her. Had she been thinking about him so hard and for so long that she now imagined she heard him?

“Eh, maybe closer to ten days.”

This time she swung around.

Kyle held up his hands. “Are you going to drench me again? Please don’t, I spent a lot of time on this outfit.”

And he looked gorgeous. He wore a black button-down with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of dark blue jeans that hugged his thighs in just the right way. But on his feet were one of his many pairs of flip-flops. You could take the man off the beach, but you apparently couldn’t take his shoes.

She felt plain and disheveled, though she’d showered when she got home. After that, she’d wound her hair up on top of her head, donned a pair of cut-off shorts that looked like they could be in her mother’s closet, and she hadn’t stopped there—she’d put on a tank top
without a bra
. And she realized it wasn’t the first time as she recalled the night after the accident at the clinic.

She lowered the hose. “Sorry. You look really nice. Why aren’t you at the rehearsal dinner?”

“I’m on my way.”

She frowned. “This is not remotely on your way.”

He chuckled as he moved toward her. “Ah, Maggie, I will never get tired of looking at these little worry lines.” He smoothed his thumb between her eyes and drew it up over her forehead. Then his touch was gone, and she had to keep herself from swaying toward him.

She shook herself. “Why are you here?”

“Because I can’t stop thinking about you. Wanting you. Loving you.” He lightly touched her upper arms. “I pick my family
and
you.”

Had he said loving? She couldn’t form words and just stood there staring at him like an idiot.

He wrapped his hands around her biceps and stroked her warm skin. “It was never about you. It seemed like it was—to both of us. But I was worried they would hate me, not you. I would never let them hate you. Not when I love you so very much.”

She let out a sound that was somewhere between a sob and an inhalation of disbelief, but she quickly clapped her hand over her mouth.

He moved closer until he was all she could see and smell and touch—if she wanted to. And oh, how she wanted to. But she didn’t. Not yet. She was too afraid this was all a dream.

“I . . . I love you, too.”

He exhaled with what sounded like relief. His lips curved up. “Thank God. Derek said you probably did, but you broke up with me, so I wasn’t sure.”

She looked up at him and allowed herself to fall into his gaze. “I thought it was the right thing to do. You’re dealing with a lot.”

His hands stilled against her flesh. “So, you didn’t really want to break up?”

She shook her head. “No. Like I said, I was just trying to do the right thing.”

His arms came around her, and he snatched her up against his chest. “You are the most amazing woman. I am completely yours—to have, to hold, to do whatever you want with.” His lips covered hers in a searing kiss.

She clutched him tightly, her body awash with sensation and longing and a joy she’d never known. They kissed like it was the first time or maybe the last. God no, she hoped it wouldn’t be the last. No, she
knew
it wouldn’t.

She broke away, gasping. “I don’t understand how this is going to work. What about your family?”

“What about them? I’m not hiding anymore—not who I am and not who I love. I came to take you to the rehearsal dinner with me.”

She pushed away from him. “No, no. I can’t do that.”

“Yes, you can.”

She waved her hand at him and then bent to pick up the spray nozzle. “No.” She walked the hose back to the spigot on the house. “I love that you want to take me public, but not at the rehearsal dinner.”

He walked behind her. “Why not? It’s a joyous occasion. They’re inclined to be in a good mood.”

She wound the hose around its hook. “Which is why it’s a terrible idea. I don’t want to ruin Derek and Chloe’s moment.”

“Derek knows you’re coming.”

She snapped her head up to look at him in surprise. “He does?”

Kyle nodded. “He might not know exactly who you are, but I prepped him . . . a little. He’ll support me. And so will everyone else.”

She finished winding the hose. “Including your parents?”

He took her hands in his. “Maggie, trust me. It’s going to work out.”

She shook her head. “I do trust you, but I can’t do this tonight. Look at me. I am so not ready for a dinner.”

“So go upstairs and change. I’ll help.” His gaze dropped to her breasts. “Although, I enjoy this look. Very, very sexy.”

Heat pooled in her core. “Stop it. You’re not helping.”

“I’m not?” He sidled closer to her and kissed her jaw, bringing his hand up to cup her breast. His thumb and finger teased her nipple until it was rock hard. “Oh yeah, I could get used to this access.”

She skipped away from him toward the house. “You need to go. You’re the best man now. You can’t miss the rehearsal dinner.”

He followed her inside. “I’m not going to. And I’m sure as hell not going without my date.”

She scooped up the glass of chardonnay she’d poured earlier and took a hearty, bolstering swallow. “What exactly do you plan to do? Just waltz in and introduce me as Alex’s therapist?”

“No. I’m going to introduce you as my girlfriend, Maggie Trent, aka Magnolia the Amazing Landscape Designer Who Totally Saved Our Bacon.”

She couldn’t resist a smile at that. “I didn’t do it to score points.”

“I know you didn’t, and I’ll make sure they’ll know it, too.” He came toward her, his heart in his eyes. “Tell me what I have to do to get you to come. I’ll do whatever it takes. I’ll scream your name from the mountaintops and tell everyone who cares—and even those who don’t—how much I love you and how I can’t live without you.”

She sucked in a breath, her heart feeling as though it were fifteen sizes too large for her chest. “You can’t live without me?”

He shook his head. “I tried. For three miserable days. I can’t do it.”

He’d been miserable? So had she. But misery could do things to him that it wouldn’t necessarily do to her. “Did you gamble?”

“No, but I thought about it. A lot. I even went to a GA meeting.”

“You did? That’s great.” She held up her hand. “Wait. Here we go again. I can’t be your counselor.”

He cupped her face. “You can’t help who you are, and that’s an extraordinarily caring person who tends to react emotionally. That I get to be at the center of that is incredibly humbling and makes me feel like the luckiest person on earth. You aren’t my therapist. You’re my partner. At least that’s how I see you. The question is whether you can get that out of your head. Can you see me as just a man and not a project in need of fixing? Can you see past my compulsion, my addiction, and all of my other imperfections?”

Partner.
She’d never had one of those before. She liked that. “No,
I’m
the luckiest person on earth. You aren’t perfect, but who is? Certainly not me, and yet you make me feel like I’m Wonder Woman. Without the golden lasso.”

He grinned. “I’d sure like to see you in a Wonder Woman outfit. Think we can make that happen?”

She laughed, the sound building from her chest and warming every part of her. “I’m not sure I’d fill it out the same way.”

He ran his hands under the hem of her tank, skimming them up her rib cage until he’d pushed the fabric to her breasts. “I beg to differ. You’d fill it out just fine.” He stroked his thumbs over her nipples, sending shocks of desire ricocheting through her.

She looked at him through narrowed eyes. “We are never going to make it to the rehearsal dinner if you don’t stop that.”

His hands stilled. “Does that mean you’re coming?”

She arched a brow at his choice of words, and he responded with a wicked smile.

He drew the tank over her head. “Upstairs.
Now
.”

She spun on her heel and dashed to the stairs. “I need to get dressed. You stay here.”

“Not a chance.” He chased her up to the bedroom and tackled her to the bed.

She already had her shorts undone and was wriggling out of them as he kicked his shoes off. She tore at the buttons of his shirt, but his fingers knocked hers away. “Careful,” he said, “I need to put this back on. Don’t even think about sabotaging tonight.”

“Then you better shut up and make this quick if you want to get there.”

His mouth crushed down on hers in the hottest kiss she’d ever received. She helped him push his shirt off and giggled as he took extra care to lay it gently on the floor. He wasn’t so meticulous with his jeans, thank goodness. He pulled them off as fast as possible, taking his boxer briefs with them. But before he dropped them, he snagged a condom from the pocket.

She reached between them and stroked his cock as he worked to get the condom on.

“Will you stop?” he said. “Now who’s not helping?”

She giggled. “Sorry, it’s been a few days.”

“More than that.” He stroked her folds. “God, you are so wet.”

She pushed up into him, losing all semblance of humor as desire pulsed through her core. “Kyle,” she breathed, needing him.

He plunged into her, sheathing himself to the hilt for a long, delicious moment before he began to move. His fingers continued their maddening work, focused intently on her clit, driving her so fast to the brink of orgasm. It was good they had to be fast, as she didn’t want to prolong this. She wanted satisfaction, and she wanted it
now
.

He pummeled her with swift, almost brutal strokes, but she wanted every single one of them with a ferocity that might’ve scared her if she hadn’t had the emotion to match her lust.

She pulled his head down. “I love you so much.” She kissed him, drawing his tongue into her mouth as surely as she was drawing his cock into her body, her heels pressing against his ass. Her orgasm shattered through her as he gripped her hip and drove into her hard and deep.

He pulled back from her kiss and shouted his own release, his muscles clenching. They rode the storm until sanity seemed to finally reenter the room. He rolled away from her and flung his arm over his forehead. “Damn, Maggie.”

She was already bounding out of the bed and heading toward her closet. “What should I wear? You’re in jeans . . . but it’s at least semidressy? Sundress?”

“Whatever. I can’t move.”

She laughed. “You better, because I’m not going alone.” In her partially organized closet, she hesitated. What was she thinking? Just because she and Kyle were good—way better than good—could she really intrude on their family event right now?

She ran her fingers over a few dresses but didn’t pull anything out. A few minutes later, Kyle came in fully dressed.

“Hey,” he said, “can’t decide?”

She shot him a timid look. “Lost my courage.”

“No, no, no.” He gathered her into his arms. “You have plenty of courage, and if you don’t, you can have some of mine. Everything is going to be fine. Worst-case scenario, they throw me out of the family and it’s their loss. I have a family right here.” He tipped her chin up and looked into her eyes. “Right?”

She’d never loved anyone more than in that moment. “Right.”

“I love you, Maggie Trent, and tonight everyone is going to know it.”