"I'm totally fine. I got this. What can I get you, sir?" I ask the man who was waving the twenty when he steps back up to the bar.
"Seven and Seven."
"On it."
For the next hour, I lose myself in the mindlessness of serving drinks, making change, and running tabs, blocking out what Brandy said. Even if I wanted to pay the fine, the bar has already taken almost every cent I have.
When the thought enters my brain, I realize I'm going down the same exact path I've always gone-misguided family loyalty. I don't owe them anymore. But habits like that can't be broken overnight. Someone else waves a twenty at me, and I get back to work.
When the crowd finally thins around two thirty, I'm dead on my feet.
Hope calls a cab for someone whose liquor has gotten the better of him, and I cover her section of the bar. A man in a cowboy hat sits at the end, his head tilted down.
"Can I get you something, sir?"
The brim of the hat lifts to reveal Boone's piercing blue eyes, and my mouth drops open.
"Seriously?"
He shrugs. "What? You don't like my hat?"
"How long have you been here?"
"Long enough to see your cousin isn't in jail."
Out of habit, I glance down the bar to where Brandy stood earlier. "You saw that?"
"I was about five feet away, ready to intervene, when Hope chased her off. She doesn't get to hassle you. No fucking way."
I meet his familiar blue gaze. "She said they're making her pay a fine, and she might go to jail if she can't. The Fishbowl was closed by the fire marshal indefinitely due to public safety issues."
"She's not getting a single bit of sympathy from me."
"I know. But still . . ."
"Look, finish doing your thing, and we'll talk about this later."
I turn, ready to do what he says because I can't wait to get out of here tonight, but I pause and look back at him.
"You didn't need to babysit me. I talked to Hope. She can give me a ride."
"I said I'd be here, and I'm a man of my word. First thing I'm gonna make sure you understand is that when I say I'm gonna do something, I do it." Boone pauses thoughtfully. "There's a matter of a few orgasms outstanding that I owe you too, and I'll deliver on those as well."
I look both ways down the bar, hoping no one else overheard him.
"You can't say stuff like that to me here." I lower my voice to a whisper-yell. "I'm at work!"
Boone doesn't bother to check the surroundings. He rises from his stool and leans over the bar so our faces are only inches apart. "I don't give a damn who hears me say that I'm taking you home tonight. You're my girl, and it's about time I show you exactly what that means. I'm gonna spoil you, Ripley Fischer. It's about damn time someone did, and I'm privileged to have the opportunity."
My heart slams into my chest, and I have no idea how to respond.
Boone takes advantage of my momentary speechlessness to wrap a hand around the back of my neck and slide his lips along mine.
"Kiss me, sugar. I've missed the taste of you."
Oh God. I've missed the taste of him too. I know I should pull away, but I can't find the strength.
"Good girl," Boone mumbles before his tongue dives inside and there's no talking at all.
I lose myself in the kiss for a few seconds before someone wolf-whistles.
"Get 'er done!"
I jerk back, and Boone releases his hold on me.
"I'll be waiting out back."
There's no question of whether I'm leaving with Boone. That's done and settled. Now, the only question is what happens next.
Do I use this as my chance to say good-bye?
16
Boone
I open the truck's door for Ripley, then wrap both hands around her waist and lift her into the cab. It's not like she can't do it herself, but I like having my hands on her, and it's been too damn long.
When I climb into the driver's seat and start the engine, Ripley says two words that change my plans.
"Your place."
I look over at her. "You sure?"
She gives me a nod, and I decide that I'm not about to argue with her.
"All right, then."
We don't talk on the drive, each of us lost in our own thoughts, but I come to some conclusions of my own. When the gate slides open, I finally speak.
"This means something to me, Ripley. You mean something to me." I turn my head to meet her gaze as I let the truck roll up the drive and the gate closes behind us. "Give me a chance to prove to you just how good this can be before you give up on us completely."
She thinks I don't know how her brain works, but I'm getting a pretty good grasp on it.
"I can't make you any promises."