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my heart was trained to love whiskey long before it ever learned how to love a woman.
They all assumed I’d be single until the end of time, jumping from bed to bed, not caring whose heart was broken in the process.
But I wanted to settle down, to give a girl the Becker name and have a few kids to chase after — maybe more than anyone else in Stratford.
And I smiled. Because I did remember. I wasn’t sure how I hadn’t put two and two together, but then again, how could I recognize the stunning, classy woman before me as the same freckle-faced kid who used to kick the back of my pew?
Why did it feel like she was trying to convince me? Or maybe, it was herself she was trying to convince.
I could have stared at her all day, deciphering her like a riddle that had an obvious answer if I just thought about it long enough. But she shifted under my gaze, and one glance at the rock on her finger reminded me that she was someone else’s puzzle to put together — not mine.
“It’s whiskey. It’s expensive whiskey, at that. And I assure you, it’s delicious — whether you have tits or not.”
“Is that what you want to do?” “It doesn’t matter if it’s what I want to do,” she said quickly. “It’s what I was bred to do.” “Bred?” I frowned. “You’re not a horse. You’re a human.”
I didn’t mean to ruffle her feathers, but damn if I didn’t like getting under that pretty bird’s skin.
But it wasn’t just his questions that had thrown me, it was the man, himself.
He’d grown up, from a boy to a man, and everything about him was just bigger. His presence was larger than life.
“Anyone can lead an ordinary life, child,” she’d said to me one lazy afternoon. “But the best adventures are reserved for the ones brave enough to be extraordinary.”
Jordan was the one who made me realize that we were all the man of the house — and we were all in this battle together.
It made no sense, that I harbored some kind of sympathy for a girl who had looked at me like I was the mud staining her designer shoes.
I wanted to prove him wrong, to prove to him and everyone watching and maybe even to myself that I could do whatever I wanted and it didn’t matter what anyone had to say about it.
knew I wasn’t going to fuck Ruby Grace. For one thing, she was nineteen. For another, she was engaged. She was also the most infuriating girl I’d met, stubborn and judgmental, and nowhere near my type. I liked my women wild, little spitfires who could give me a run for my money in the sack. But none of that changed the fact that she was very, very nice to look at.
Just because she was committing to this man as his wife didn’t mean she had to lose her identity, surrender what she wanted for all that he wanted, but I knew it wasn’t my place to say any of that.
“There’s nothing more to really say, is there? I do want to get married and have kids one day.” “You’re twenty-eight,” she pointed out. “What are you waiting for?” “The right woman.”
“Stay out of trouble, Noah Becker.” “Never.”
I hated golf. But, I loved my dad.
the Becker boys did have quite the reputation. But, if I was judging only by the Noah I was with Friday night, I would never understand why. He was kind. And patient. And funny.
Dad was a doer, and he’d raised me to be one, too.
I didn’t like that Ruby Grace was on my mind,
I liked a girl who ruffled feathers.
Longing, I realized distantly.
Her smile was soft and sweet, the blush on her cheeks just barely visible now that her tan from the day was setting in.
no matter how I tried to deny it, I wanted her to be mine. It was silly to even think it when we hadn’t so much as held hands, but I felt it — some sort of deep possessiveness over a girl I’d never have. She was going to marry another man, entertain his brothers, or family or friends.
“Don’t act like what you want doesn’t matter.”
“You deserve to have the things you’ve dreamed about, Ruby Grace,” I said. “And when you marry someone, you become a team. It’s not all about him and his dreams and his achievements. You are not just a sidekick.”
“If you were mine, Ruby Grace, your dreams wouldn’t come second to anything.”
I wanted her to wake up, to see what I saw. Even if it hurt.
I couldn’t figure out why when his lips were on me, I was still thinking about Noah.
But damnit if seeing her there with him didn’t light the other fire inside of me, the one that said a feverous mine, over and over and over again.
To everyone else, I was the charming, entertaining Ruby Grace tonight. But Noah saw what no one else did.
“Seems like half our conversations are apologies.” “Well, I’m an asshole,” he offered honestly. “And you’re stubborn.”
don’t think she actually does want to marry him, to be honest.
“We’re Beckers. We always stand up for what’s right.
She’s the kind of girl you fight for.
I couldn’t walk away from her. Not without fighting for her first.
his eyes flicked up to me. Everything muted in that moment — the splash of the water, the bass of the music, the laughter of the women and the men lined up on the sides watching them. Noah watched me for what felt like an eternity — but was actually only a second — before he smiled.
I had fun with him. I liked being around him. I missed him. So, against every nerve in my body that warned me not to, I sighed, extending one hand toward him.
Weeks. I had weeks, and only a few of them, to show this girl what her life could be if she’d only open her eyes.
“Lead the way, Bonnie.” “Does that make you Clyde?” “Of course.” “You know that story didn’t end very well, right?” I smirked, stepping into her space and lowering my voice so only she could hear. “I guess we’ll have to re-write an ending of our own.”
He wanted me. I knew he wanted me. And I knew if I leaned in even another inch, he’d take me.
“If you could look twenty years down the road on a blissfully perfect day in your future life, what would it look like?”
It was her, Ruby Grace, and we both knew that anything she set her mind to, she’d not only achieve it — she’d break records, too.
“I never feel more like my real self than I do when I’m with you.”
I knew that if I reached out a hand, wrapped my fingers up in her red hair and pulled her into me, she would submit. But I didn’t. I couldn’t.
I’d promised her — just friends. And I would respect those boundaries until the day she didn’t belong to another man. Until the day she was actually mine.
I feel the same way. I want you, too. I’m here, whenever you’re ready.
