Page 42 of Real Sexy
“Sit down and eat.My ham will get cold if I take the time to argue with you about this nonsense.”
We sit down at the table, with Mr.Thrasher at the head and Mrs.Thrasher at the foot near the kitchen.Everyone joins hands as Boone’s dad leads us in a prayer.
By the time his mom serves dessert, it’s official.I’ve completely fallen in love with Boone’s family.
Well, most of them.
23
Boone
Icould wringmy brother’s neck, just hard enough not to kill him.It’s clear he’s not sure about Ripley and doesn’t like how fast things have moved with us.But that’s too damn bad.There’s one thing I know about Ripley now—if I give her too much time to think, she’ll talk herself out of giving me a shot and I’ll lose my chance forever.I’m not about to let that happen.
“Your brother hates me,” Ripley says as I close the door to the garage apartment.
“He doesn’t hate you.”I drop our bags on the bench at the end of the bed.
“If looks could kill, you’d be picking my body bag up off the living room floor.”
The very thought of Ripley in a body bag makes my stomach turn, threatening the ham and scalloped potatoes I ate for dinner.
“Don’t say that.He’s just looking out for me.”
“Was he the same way with Amber?”she asks.
I hate to admit it because I know Ripley’s going to draw some sort of conclusion from it, but it’s going to be the wrong one.But still, I can’t lie.
“He didn’t like Amber.He only met her twice, and both times, she didn’t give him a whole lot to like.I promise he won’t be like that with you.He’s in protective-older-brother mode right now.I think it’s easy for him to forget I’m thirty-two years old and totally capable of making my own decisions.”
“He thinks you’re making a mistake with me.That you shouldn’t have gotten involved with someone else so quickly.I can’t say I disagree with him, Boone.I was supposed to be the rebound, but you didn’t follow the rules.”
“I’ll tell him the same thing I’m about to tell you—it doesn’t matter how much time there was between, because it was pretty fucking apparent once I got my head out of my ass that I was dead wrong about Amber.I wanted the line of bullshit she sold me, and I was too fucking blind to realize that’s exactly what it was—bullshit.”
“What if I can’t give you what you want?I don’t know how to do this!”Ripley waves toward the house as she keeps going.“You have a perfect family.A mom and dad who love each other and care about you.A brother who would kill someone for you.A sister-in-law who isn’t a bitch, and a nephew who’s as sweet as can be.They even have the perfect dog!”
“So?What the hell does that matter?”
“You know what I had?A murdered mother who slept around to try to escape her reality of being married to an asshole drunk who didn’t have a problem showing her—and me—the back of his hand whenever he felt like it.Oh, and don’t forget a lying, freeloading bitch of a cousin, and an aunt I haven’t seen in close to twenty years.”
“That doesn’t mean shit, Ripley.You’re loyal and kind, won’t accept help unless you’re forced, and I’m pretty fucking sure you wouldn’t hesitate to throw yourself on a grenade if it meant it would save someone you love.”
She goes quiet, and a rough breath leaves her lungs.“But that doesn’t mean I know how to be part of something.I know your brother is just looking out for you, but maybe he’s right.Maybe you do need more time before you figure out what you want.”
I close the gap between us and yank her against me.“I don’t need time to know that you’re not like any woman I’ve ever met before, and everything you are is everything I want.Don’t try to push me away just because you’re scared of what’s happening here.”
“I’m not scared.”
I look her in the eye.“Sugar, you’re fucking terrified.”I lift a hand to skim along her cheek.“You told me that girls like you don’t get a happily-ever-after, and I told you I was going to prove you wrong.I’m a man of my word.I’m done asking you to give me a shot.I’m taking it, because I know I can make you happy.I can give you everything you’ve been afraid to want.You want front-porch swings and little dark-haired babies, I’m the man who’s gonna give them to you.Do you understand me, Ripley?I’m not fucking around.You want a recording contract with a big label and a splashy tour?Then we’ll make it happen, and we’ll conquer it together.You’ve never been part of a team before, and it’s time you understood what that’s like.”
“It’s too much, too fast.I don’t know if I can do this.”
“Sugar, all you have to do is try.”
24
Ripley
Boone is slayingme one word at a time.I’m terrified that I’ll fall for the picture he’s painting and I’ll wake up and find out that it’s all a dream—or a nightmare.Instead of giving him the answer he wants to hear, I crush my mouth to his.
