Echo (Bleeding Hearts #1)(75)
“Thank you.” I blushed. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with them, but… I thought it would be nice to do something good. Something to honor Sophia’s memory.”
Her name felt strange on my tongue, and the same familiar burn of guilt was there whenever I said it. I tried to push the image of the mangled girl in the car from my mind. I wanted to think of her as the tiny dancer with the golden halo instead.
Nicole clapped a hand over her mouth and shuddered, and immediately I thought this was the worst idea I’d ever come up with.
“I knew it.” I gathered up the Tulle and tried to put it away. “This was so stupid of me.”
“No.” Nicole reached out and stopped me. “It wasn’t. It’s perfect.”
She smiled through the tears, but I wasn’t entirely convinced.
“Did you know that this machine was his moms?” she asked.
Something swelled inside my chest as I swung my gaze to the vintage sewing machine. “It was?”
“Yes. That’s why it’s so perfect. It’s like she meant for you to have it.”
“I can’t believe Ryland let me use it…”
“I couldn’t think of anyone who would put it to better use,” Nicole said softly. “And I want to help you with this project.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “I mean, I can’t sew. But I want to help find a use for these. Like a charity or something.”
“That would be nice,” I hedged. “But what do you think Ryland’s going to say about all this?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “And honestly, I don’t care either.”
I stared at her, shocked by her bluntness.
“He isn’t the only one who lost them,” she ranted. “And everybody grieves differently. While he’s running around plotting revenge to get him through, I have nothing. And I want to do this. I want to remember the good parts of their lives.”
The passion and fire in her eyes as she spoke made the decision for me. I hadn’t seen Nicole look so determined the entire time I’d known her. And right now, this was exactly what she needed.
“Okay,” I agreed. “Then we’re really going to do this.”
“Yes.” She smiled. “Ryland doesn’t even have to know.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Over the next two months, Nicole and I worked tirelessly on our project during any spare time we had. It was difficult keeping it from Ryland, but I made sure to keep him out of the sewing room and limit my activities to the time he was at work.
Brayden and I still weren’t speaking, but Norma-Jean was. That morning she’d informed me Ryland had cut her off, much to her dismay. A spark of hope bloomed inside of me, and I couldn’t extinguish it with any amount of logic.
Which was why the minute Ryland walked in the door that evening, I was all over him.
He hit the door with an oomph as I pressed my naked body against him, fumbling to get his buttons undone quick enough.
Ryland didn’t argue as he discarded his suit jacket and unzipped his pants enough to free himself. I clung to his body when he picked me up and spun me around, seeking out the tender flesh of my neck with his teeth. He f*cked me hard and fast against the wall, rattling the picture frames and shattering a vase beside us in the process.
When he’d filled me with his release and collapsed against the wall, I finished undressing him and tugged him along to the sofa behind me.
“You’re going to kill me,” he teased, pulling me onto his lap. “You’ve been insatiable lately.”
It was true, though I didn’t know why. My entire body was a live wire, constantly humming with sexual energy. Every part of me was tender, including my breasts, and the slightest touch turned me into a useless puddle of hormones.
“Are you complaining?” I kissed my way down his chest.
“Does it look like I’m complaining?” he gripped his hardening cock in his hand.
I grinned and pushed him back inside of me where I planned for him to spend the rest of the night.
***
I barely made it to the toilet before I heaved up the contents of my stomach. Ryland trailed behind me, trying to hold back my hair while I swatted him away.
“Ugh, don’t,” I groaned. “I need to take a shower.”
He frowned and retrieved his phone from his pocket. “I think I should call the doctor.”
I reached up and stopped him as I stood on shaky legs. “I’m fine, Ryland,” I assured him. “It’s just the flu.”
He didn’t look like he wanted to leave, but he had an important business dinner tonight. He’d been talking about it all week.
“I’ll stay in bed all night,” I promised. “Okay?”
He nodded and pocketed his phone reluctantly. “I’m still going to have Nicole come by to check on you.”
He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead before he walked out the door, leaving me in peace to my sore stomach. Something strange had been going on with me lately, but I chalked it up to stress.
I stepped into the shower and scrubbed myself clean, enjoying the hot water on my skin. But the incessant ringing of my cell phone from the next room started to threaten my enjoyment, and I turned off the tap in frustration.