by Laura Ann
“Good thing, because he can’t have you,” Ridge growled before swooping in and claiming her mouth once more.
Everly jumped slightly, caught off guard by his aggressive action, but she soon settled in and relaxed against his broad chest and into his thick arms. Oh, man, this is why women love men with muscles.
This kiss was shorter than the first and Everly found she wasn’t ready to be done. She whimpered when Ridge pulled away, but he tucked her under his chin and wrapped his arms tightly around her.
“I need to stop before I lose all sense of reason,” he said hoarsely. “You completely make me lose my mind,” he murmured into her hair.
“Sorry,” Everly whispered, wrapping her arms around his chest. She bounced slightly as Ridge chuckled.
“Why do I get the feeling you’re not really sorry about that?”
She shrugged. “Okay...I’m not sorry. I like that you feel the same way about me as I do about you.”
“You, my gorgeous guitar player, are dangerous.” Ridge stepped back and took her hand. “Come on. It’s midafternoon. I’ll make you something to eat.”
Uh-oh. “Uh, maybe I should make us something, huh?” She forced a grin when Ridge glanced over his shoulder. “After all, I know my way around the kitchen and you don’t.”
Ridge stopped and narrowed his eyes. “My eggs were that bad, huh?”
Everly shrunk back and ducked her head as a blush ravaged her skin. “Well...they were kinda...runny.”
Ridge began chuckling, then it turned into a full belly laugh. “Why the heck did you eat them?” He wiped a tear of amusement from his eye.
Everly used her free hand to punch his shoulder, fully aware he probably didn’t feel a thing. “Because you made it for me! I was trying to be polite. I’ve never had anyone make breakfast for me before.”
Using the hand he was holding, Ridge jerked her forward so he could kiss her forehead. “And this is why I love you. Always thinking of others.”
Everly had frozen when he’d said the ‘L’ word, but when he continued chuckling, she forced herself to relax. He must have just meant it in general.
“I guess it was kinda pathetic,” Ridge continued as he began walking again. “But I had no idea how to impress you. I mean, how do you impress a girl who has compliments thrown at her all day long? Nothing I say would compare.”
“You didn’t have to do something to impress me,” she said with a grin. “Just being you is enough.”
“Watch it, sweetheart,” Ridge said in a low, teasing tone. “Or I’ll be eating more than a snack this afternoon.”
Everly grinned as a comeback slipped through her mind. Dropping his hand, she sashayed in front of him to step into the kitchen. “That’s what I’m counting on,” she teased over her shoulder.
RIDGE GROANED INTERNALLY. She’s going to kill me. I’ve dealt with bombs, snipers, enemies and just about anything else you can think of, and this tiny woman is going to kill me with her sultry looks and flirty words. Unbelievable.
He looked over and scowled when he realized Everly was quietly laughing at him. His face must have given away his frustration at her comment and apparently, she knew exactly what she was doing to him. Deciding to fight fire with fire, he stepped into her space and leaned close to her ear.
Everly’s body had gone very still and he could practically feel her blood pumping. “All’s fair in love and war, sweetheart, and revenge will be sweet.”
Laughing, she shoved against his chest and headed for the fridge. Ridge walked around the bar and plopped himself on a stool, simply content to watch her work. There was something comforting about the two of them being together in the kitchen, being involved in a mundane, domestic task, almost as if they were a young, married couple.
“So who cooks for you three men?” Everly glanced up with a grin. “You’re all so big that I have to assume you get enough to eat on a regular basis.” She handed him the pickle jar. “Or maybe you just eat out all the time?”
Ridge unscrewed the lid and handed it back. “Nah. We cook at home. Believe it or not, we’re not completely helpless. Harlan makes a mean spaghetti and I can flip a pancake or two.” He rubbed the back of his neck and laughed uncomfortably. “Obviously, eggs aren’t one of my specialties. I can scramble them okay, but Leon said you preferred fried, so that’s what I was trying.”
That delightful blush crept up her cheeks again. “Thank you,” she murmured.
Ridge grinned. The eggs might not have worked, but it looked like just trying comes with some sweet brownie points. “However,” he continued, “we do eat out more than we should. Ever since our sister got married, we’ve had a hard time eating good.”
Everly frowned. “I didn’t know you had a sister. Is she older or younger?”
“Younger.” Ridge took the plate she offered him. “Thanks.” He stood and pulled out the barstool next to him when Everly walked around the counter and helped her get settled. “Goldie was Mom and Dad’s Hail Mary for a single, normal pregnancy. The fact that it was a girl was just a bonus.”
Everly laughed, then abruptly stopped. “Wait. Goldie? And your last name is Lockwood?”
Ridge grinned and nodded.
“Oh, man. I’ll bet that joke got old real fast.”
“No way! It never gets old!” Ridge cried. “It just happens to be my favorite nickname of all time!”
Everly snorted, her mouth full of food. She shook her head while she swallowed and wiped her lips with a napkin. “I’ll bet you three drove her crazy.”
Ridge rolled his eyes. “What kind of brother would I be if I didn’t?”
“Did you give her grief when she got married?”
Ridge grinned. “That, my dear, Everly, is a funny story. Remind me to introduce you sometime and let her tell it to you. Her husband, Finley, is something else.” He pursed his lips and tilted his head back and forth. “Of course, he’d have to be to put up with Goldilocks. She’s not exactly a walk in the park.”
“How could she be with you three lugs around? A girl has to learn how to stand up for herself, ya know?” She popped a chip in her mouth.
Ridge pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Would you like to see pictures of her? She looks exactly how you’d expect her to. She’s got crazy long blonde hair with curls that refuse to be tamed.”
Everly looked purposefully at his head and raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, trust me, I know how that goes, but at least my hair is short.” He punched his gallery app and brought up a photo from a family dinner they’d had not too long ago.
“Oh my word...” Everly breathed, grabbing the phone. “She’s gorgeous!” She leaned back. “Whoa. Is that her husband?”
Ridge frowned, not liking the tone in her voice. “Yeah...”
“Dang, he’s like a model!” She looked up. “Does he have any brothers?”
Ridge snatched the phone away from her and held it out of her reach when she tried to take it back. “If you can’t be nice, I won’t show you my twin nieces.”
Everly froze in her movements. “Do they have your sister’s hair?”
Ridge nodded slowly. “And our family’s blue eyes.” He narrowed his gaze and turned his head a little. “Their names are Hazel and Juniper.”
“Ooh!” She pressed her hands under her chin. “Let me see, please! How old are they?”
“Two. Are you going to make comments about other men anymore?”
Everly smiled and leaned forward to kiss right next to his lips. “You’re the only man I want to ask questions about.”
Ridge turned and stole a quick peck. “Good answer.” He brought his phone back within reach and messed around until he found the picture he wanted. When Everly squealed in delight, he had to cover his ears.
“They don’t even look real! They look like absolute dolls!”
Ridge grunted. “Don’t let those baby blues fool you. Those two are hellions. Absolute hellions.”
Everly laughed and handed his phon
e back. “That’s because they’ve got three uncles to keep them on their toes. They have to be movers and shakers.”
“Actually, they’ve got five uncles.” He took a bite and swallowed. “And two of them are even bigger than us triplets.”
Everly’s mouth dropped open. “So he does have brothers.” When Ridge scowled, she laughed and held up her hands. “I didn’t ask, you offered.”
“They’re all married,” he huffed.
“Doesn’t matter anyway,” Everly said with a smile. “I’ve got my eye on someone else.”
His vanity appeased, Ridge polished off the rest of his snack, then took both of their empty plates and loaded them in the dishwasher. “So, what did you have planned for the rest of the day?” he asked, putting his back against the counter and folding his arms over his chest.
Everly tapped her fingers on the countertop. “I don’t know. I really should prepare more for the music video coming up, but I’ve been so pent-up lately. I’ve hardly left the house, and the weight of that stalker guy hanging over me seems to have pushed my creative juices right out of my head.”
Ridge tapped his foot as he tried to figure out what he could do to help.
“Although, seeing you when I opened the door has helped a lot,” Everly ventured, looking up from underneath her lashes. “I’ve been hoping you would come back.” Happiness soared through Ridge at her words. “But why did you? Why didn’t you come before?”
He sighed and squished his lips to the side. “I thought I shouldn’t come anymore. I was worried you were going to start falling for Sawyer, and I was worried about hurting Harlan’s business if we got caught pretending to be each other.” He blew out a long breath and pushed a hand through his hair. “I finally decided that when we had the whole stalker thing out of the way, I was going to try to get to know you properly.”
“So why did you come today? What changed your mind?”
“Sawyer needed me to cover while he tracked down a lead from the last comment that psycho left.” Ridge cursed under his breath when Everly went pale. Crud. This isn’t how I want our time together to be. “Hey.” He got her attention. “Go grab your guitar and bring it out to the sitting room.”
Everly frowned. “Why?”
Ridge grinned and pumped his eyebrows. “Go on. Just grab it.”
“Okay...” Everly stood up and disappeared down the hall.
Meanwhile, Ridge walked into the family room and settled himself on one of the accent chairs adjacent to the couch. “Come here,” he urged when Everly walked in.
She walked over and held out the guitar. “You play?”
Instead of taking the instrument, Ridge grabbed her wrist. Spinning her around, he settled her between his legs and wrapped his arms around her. Leaning into her ear, he whispered, “I thought you could give me a lesson since I’ve never played before.”
It took a few moments for her to answer back. “A-Are you just trying to distract me?”
Ridge grinned and kissed the shell of her ear. “I’ve honestly never played before, but would like to learn. This also gives me an excuse to hold you, but lastly, yes, I’m trying to distract you. Is it working?”
“Too well,” she murmured as she placed her fingers on the strings. She glanced shyly over her shoulder. “But I would love to share this with you.”
“Perfect. Share away,” Ridge said with a smile.
CHAPTER 13
Everly approached Sawyer slowly, her planned words repeating through her head.
“Just say it, Everly,” Sawyer said without even looking up from his computer.
“Ugh! Seriously!” She put her hands on her hips. “How do you do that? I was being so quiet!”
“Not quiet enough, apparently,” he muttered sarcastically.
Everly huffed as she sat down with her hands in her lap. “Sawyer, I need to go grocery shopping.”
Sawyer glanced up. “Okay. Let me just finish my reports here and then we can head out.”
Everly wrung her fingers together, wanting to say more, but struggling to be brave enough to ask.
Sawyer frowned and leaned away from the coffee table. “What’s going on? There’s something more you want to say.”
“I...” Everly cleared her throat.
“Just spit it out. It’s okay.”
Squeezing her eyes shut, Everly let the words fall out. “Can we text Ridge and have him meet us at the store?” When her request was met with silence, she forced herself to open her eyes and peek at Sawyer’s reaction. He was studying her, his arms folded over his chest.
Slowly, he nodded. “I don’t see why not, as long as he’s not on another assignment.”
A goofy grin spread across her face and Everly had absolutely no control over it. “We didn’t exchange numbers yesterday...would you be willing to text him?”
Sawyer sighed and shook his head. “No.”
Everly felt her heart fall and she opened her mouth to argue, but Sawyer put up a hand.
“But I will give you his number so you can text him. I already told Ridge I wasn’t about to play the middleman and I won’t start now.”
Everly could hardly contain her excitement as Sawyer told her the numbers to program into her phone. She pulled up the message app and froze. What if he thinks I’m too forward? What if he doesn’t want to see me again? What if he’s just a fan who only likes me for my music? They had spent several hours together yesterday talking, laughing, getting to know each other and, of course, kissing, but there had been no promise of a future, no planning of other bodyguard swaps. Nothing had been mentioned about them seeing each other again, and now Everly was having second thoughts.
“Is there a problem?” Sawyer asked, his eyebrows high.
Everly chewed her lip in worry. “I...What if he doesn’t want to see me?” she asked softly. “We’ve only been together a couple of times. Maybe I’m reading too much into our time together.”
Sawyer snorted, then laughed. “You women are ridiculous.”
“Hey!” Everly said, offended at his insinuation.
“Look...” Sawyer tilted his head and gave her a tolerant look. “Did he enjoy himself with you yesterday?”
She shrugged. “He acted like it.”
“Did he sweet-talk you and tell you that he liked you?”
Everly felt her cheeks begin to burn. “Yes.”
“Did he kiss you?”
This time she couldn’t answer, so she simply nodded.
“Did he take off after the kiss or keep coming back for more?”
She closed her eyes for a moment and gave him a look. “You’re asking far too many questions about my love life, buddy.”
“Then you have your answer.” Sawyer nodded. “Trust me, if Ridge wasn’t interested, you’d know it by now. And since he walks around ready to punch anyone who says anything about the way you look, I’d say you have nothing to worry about.”
“Really?” A part of Everly was horrified that Ridge would hurt someone else, but another part of her was thrilled that he seemed to be jealous. That has to mean something...right?
“So go on. Send the text,” Sawyer urged.
Everly took a deep breath for courage and hit the word ‘send’ before she could think better of it. She began to bounce her knees. “And now we wait.”
Sawyer snorted again. “Don’t worry. It won’t take long.”
Before Everly could respond, her phone chimed and sure enough, it was Ridge. Her heart was nearly pounding out of her chest as she opened it to see what his response was.
Ridge: Name the time and place, baby. I just discovered I have some shopping to do. ;)
Everly wiggled in her seat and held in a squeal. I doubt Sawyer wants to hear that. She sent him back her plans and minutes later, it was set up.
“Almost done here, then we can head out,” Sawyer said.
“Perfect.” Everly sat for a moment longer before she jumped out of her seat. “I’m just going to...freshen up for a second.”
She ignored Sawyer’s chuckling and ran to her bathroom. After brushing her hair and teeth for the second time that day, she finally emerged to find Sawyer waiting by the garage door.
“Ready?” he asked with a smirk.
“Hmph!” Everly grabbed her keys and purse, then marched past Sawyer, shoulder-bumping him on their way out.
“No breaking the speed limit,” he teased as they pulled onto the road.
“You stink,” Everly said, sticking out her tongue.
“I totally showered this morning. There is definitely no stink here.” Sawyer pretended to sniff his armpits.
“Whatever.” Everly focused on the road for a moment. “You’re becoming like that annoying little brother I never wanted.”
“Oh, ho! Solid hit!” Sawyer grinned. “Ridge is definitely rubbing off on you.”
Everly grinned, “Thank you. I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Sawyer groaned, causing Everly to smile even wider. She put her focus back on the road and maneuvering through the afternoon traffic. It seemed to take forever for them to reach the grocery store, but after an eternity, she finally pulled into the parking lot.
After putting the car in park, she paused to take a breath. In a moment, she was going to be able to see Ridge again, causing her to be excited and nervous at the same time. The draw to him had only become stronger after their kiss the other day and Everly was eager to give into the craving.
“Might as well go in. You’ll never see him sitting here,” Sawyer said, opening his door and standing up. He automatically began to scan the parking lot, and the movement reminded Everly of why they were all here together.
Much slower than she had been moving, she opened her door and stood up, her eyes darting around, then meeting Sawyer’s. When he nodded at her reassuringly, she let out a breath of relief.
“Let’s get you inside.” Sawyer came around and placed himself next to her and they walked into the large building.
Everly felt a pang of disappointment when she didn’t see Ridge right away. She searched the faces of all the customers, but no one had the right blond curls and bright blue eyes she was looking for.