Avoiding Temptation (Avoiding #3)(8)

“Alexa Mae Walsh,” Ramsey began, holding the ring out for her viewing, “will you do me the honor of spending the rest of our lives together as my wife?”

Tears welled in her eyes, and she brushed them aside with her free hand. Her heartbeat was accelerating, and she couldn’t keep from staring at him with her mouth open. Her eyes shone with unadulterated shock at the turn of events.

“Lexi?” he murmured her name again softly. He was still waiting for an answer.

She could see the concern beginning to creep onto his face.

“Yes! Yes, oh God, yes! Of course, Ramsey,” she told him, leaning down and kissing him full on the lips.

His arms came up around her, and he picked her up off the ground and swung her in a circle. “You said yes.”

“Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,” she said over and over again.

Placing her lightly on her feet, he took her left hand in his own and slowly slid the ring onto her finger. The diamond glittered in the candlelight, and they both stared at how perfectly it fit.

“You said yes,” he repeated.

“Did you think I’d say anything else?” she whispered, transfixed by the diamond resting on her finger.

“No.” He brushed his finger against her ring. “It suits you.”

“You suit me, Ramsey Bridges.”

“Forever and always.”

Chapter 2

Lexi blinked into the afternoon sun. It was all but blinding and caused her to sneeze three times, back to back to back.

“That’s really cute,” Ramsey told her.

She glanced at him to retort, but then she let out another sneeze as she looked up into the sun over his shoulder. He chuckled softly to himself, clearly trying to hold it in.

“Thanks,” she muttered. She sniffled at the onslaught. She walked over to his parked Mercedes and hopped inside.

It had been twenty-four hours. Just twenty-four hours. A whole f**king twenty-four hours. The longest and shortest twenty-four hours of her life.

They had walked out of Jack and Bekah’s wedding.

They had actually walked out of their wedding!

Her head still swam with the thought. She couldn’t believe they had done it. She couldn’t believe Ramsey had come with her. She couldn’t believe how much mind-blowing, earth-shattering sex they had had in the past twenty-four hours.

From where they had been just one week earlier, she was hard-pressed to believe all that could happen in such a short period of time. She hadn’t even left his bedroom until a minute ago when they had both caved and decided eating was in their best interest.

Not to mention, she had a plane to catch.

Ramsey kept trying to talk her out of it. He wanted her to stay in Atlanta for a while longer. She didn’t have a job lined up yet, but she wasn’t ready to just move in with him. Call her crazy, but jumping into things right after the madness of the past week didn’t sound like the best idea. She wanted to try to work everything out with Ramsey. She wouldn’t mind considering moving in with him again, but maybe she would do it eventually—like after they got all of their trust issues out of the way.

“Come on, just stay one more week,” Ramsey said, sliding his hand into hers across the car.

“Nope. Can’t do it. I need to get home and work out some things there—find out about the jobs I applied for, settle things with Chyna, make sure Rachelle hasn’t kicked me out of the apartment.” Talk to John. Yeah, she still needed to talk to him before she could settle all of this with Ramsey.

“All things that can be done a week from now.” Ramsey backed out of the driveway and started to zip through the city.

“Psh. If I let things sit with Chyna, she’ll eat me alive when I see her next.”

“She’ll get over it. If we’re okay, then she should be, too.”

“You clearly don’t know my best friend and her ability to hold a grudge,” Lexi told him.

“I’m just glad that you don’t have the same affinity for it.”

Really? She was pretty sure she could benefit from holding on to a grudge a bit tighter. Lexi could think of one too many times when she had been too forgiving, too understanding, too accepting. Jack Howard.

No, she wouldn’t think about him today. She wouldn’t think about their past and everything that had led to her walking out of his wedding. Today was the day that she wanted to move forward and be okay with the fact that she had left with Ramsey. She would just think about Ramsey today.

Maybe tomorrow, she would let the weight of what she had done sink in—when she was all alone and could start to process what had happened. Maybe after she found out whether Jack had gone through with it…

“Where are we getting food anyway?” Lexi asked, changing the subject. She might have also forgiven Ramsey too easily. She wouldn’t think about that right now either.

“I was thinking Flip Burger,” he suggested.

Her stomach growled at the mention of food, and feeling embarrassed, she placed her hand on it.

“I guess we waited too long to eat.” Ramsey smirked at the suggestion.

She was sure that he was thinking about their sexcapade last night.

Her cheeks heated as she replayed her body sliding against his, his hands running through her hair, their hot breaths mingling in the dark room.

“Uh…Flip sounds fine,” Lexi said, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear and staring out the passenger window.