Page 43

I glance toward the bar and see Hudson chatting up a stranger. I turn back to Jameson, remembering Violet's comment about someone else on the crew having a secret crush.

"I know stepping up isn't a problem for a guy like you," Jameson mutters, a slight flush to his cheeks. "But if it doesn't work out, you could mess up your friendship with Violet." He cants his head to one side. "It's a big risk, is all."

I nod, understanding exactly what he's saying. I've risked everything by revealing my feelings for Violet, and there's no going back. I know what it's like to kiss her, hold her. Feel her warmth against my side, tucked up and protected like the treasure she is.

I don't want to lose that. Now more than ever, I want to be her man.

But how do I unsee her past and release the overwhelming desire to lock her up and throw away the key to keep her safe in a world where nothing is?

I'm waiting outside Jasmine and Violet's house when Betty the Burger Bus rolls in. I've timed it fairly well and only hope Violet isn't too tired to go get some food and talk.

She's behind the wheel, and our gazes lock as she parks the bus and cuts the engine. I see Jasmine's face appear beside her sister's, looking wide-eyed and curious as she takes me in where I lean against my bike, ankles crossed and flowers in hand.

With an ornery grin, Jasmine says something to Violet, and despite the distance and the slightly tinted bus windows, I see Violet's face flush darkly.

She looks beautiful as always—but wary of me. That cuts me like a knife, and I hold her gaze and wink at her. I hope the wink is reassurance I'm not going anywhere. No matter what she told me.

I can practically hear her huff from where I stand, and I can't stifle a grin.

Jasmine is the one who reaches to open the door before she prods her sister out of the driver's seat and down the steps. Jasmine follows immediately after but practically runs toward the front door of the house after a quick hello and wave.

I wave back. Then I wait and watch as my girl squares her shoulders and lifts her chin, readying herself for battle. That brings out a bigger smile. A proud one.

My girl's a fighter, and I love that about her.

My breath hitches in my lungs as the thought hits, and while I know it's way too soon to be declaring the L word, it doesn't mean I'm not feeling it. I'd kill to protect this woman. Burn the world to the ground to keep her safe.

Gabe's words come back to me. I will earn Violet's trust. I will make her feel safe. I will.

I silently nod and brace myself to go to battle with her demons. Her fears. Whatever it takes to focus on the future and not the past. It'll be hard. It'll be hell. But I won't let us falter now that the truth is out in the open and the future what we make of it. "Hey, sunshine."

She's close enough now that I hold out the sunflowers and wait for her to accept them. "For you."

She bites her lower lip and shakes her head. "They're beautiful, Sully, but you have to stop. Flowers are expensive, and three bouquets in a month have to have made a dent in your wallet."

I frown at that. "Three?"

Her face jerks up from where she'd been admiring the soft pink petals of the miniature sunflowers I asked a local florist to keep on hand for me, and I watch as the color drains from her face.

She swallows hard, and I hear the paper and plastic wrapping crinkle as her grip tightens.

"I mean…two. The sunflowers," she says in a low voice that sounds a little breathless.

She shifts her gaze, sliding it from the edges of the house to the neighbors' to the street. Looking for something? "The sunflowers make me think of you. Did you get flowers from someone else?"

Vi lifts a hand to her eyebrow and touches the scar briefly. It's a nervous gesture and one she does under stress.

"Jas," she says, swallowing hard. "Just Jas. I'm tired, Sully. Thank you for the flowers, but I really just want to take a shower and go to bed. It's been a long day."

I frown at that because she wears her exhaustion on her features, and I hate the fact she's burning the candle at both ends. It makes me wish I had the financial means to invest in her dream—and I make a mental plan to try to see if that's possible. It's probably not wise to muddy the waters more than I already have, but I want to support her interests and goals. "I'd like to talk first."

"I'd rather not. There's nothing more to say."

She moves toward the house, and I follow her, one step behind but just as determined to have my say as she is to get inside so she can shut me out. "Nothing you told me changes how I feel about you."

She falters and pauses at the door. I'm holding the screen door open while she's got one foot inside the house. Frozen.

"I hate what happened to you," I murmur, keeping my voice low since I don't know where Jas is at inside. If she's listening. I'm not sure how much Vi's sister knows, I'm assuming everything, but if not, I don't want to be the one who breaks the trust my girl has placed in me. "I hate that you were hurt."