The whisper of the voice in the back of my mind was the one who turned the lock.
Ripley walked in, closing it behind him and flipping the lock.
He lifted me off the floor and I wrapped my legs around him.
“I was worried,” he said gruffly.
“You can see I’m fine.” I said a millimeter from his lips.
He tucked his arm under my butt to hold me up, the other hand delved into my hair, pushing away the bandana I perpetually wore when working. His mouth was hard and unyielding.
I took that intensity and made it mine.
My arms wrapped around his shoulders and I crushed him to me.
I’d starved myself for so long the connection seemed bigger than it should be and perfect at the same time. Like I’d been waiting for this moment.
This man.
I tore my mouth away from him. “This is crazy.”
“Only crazy if you turn me away.”
I could be brave enough to start my own company. I should be brave enough for this.
I shook my head. “What if I want to keep you? What would you say to that?”
His chest heaved once then relaxed. “Thank God.”
“Don’t listen to me,” I said against his mouth. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
“No taking it back now, darlin’.” He nipped my lower lip. “I’m holding you to it.”
“You could hate me after a week.”
“I could. And you might hate having a guy who plays with cars for a living messing up your well-ordered life. But I’m not going anywhere.”
“You say that now.”
“There’s no guarantees in this life, Mercy. But I’ve seen with my own two eyes how many people can make this work. Why can’t we be two of them?”
“You know who I come from, Rip.”
“I know who you are. What you’ve built. What you’ve made of yourself. That’s what I know.”
I pressed my forehead to his. “When did you get so smart?”
“Pretty sure it was my mom. She married my dad after a week, you know.”
“I am not marrying you after a week.”
He grinned. “Two weeks?”
“Shut up,” I mumbled against his mouth then threaded my fingers through his thick, dark hair.
The kiss was wild and overwhelming. He strode into the bakery and over to the counter.
Usually, it was full to the brim with product, but since I was closed for the day, there was just endless countertops and my iPad I used to check people out. I should take him home. We’d only been in his car for God’s sake.
