I’m startled awake by a door slamming against the wall. When my gaze snaps open, I find Jeremiah standing on the threshold of the bedroom staring at Ryder and me in bed, curled around each other like old lovers.

“Well, good morning to you two.” He smiles, partly in shock, and the rest is in camaraderie at Ryder, whose arms are still tightly wrapped around me. “Does your brother know you’re here?” he questions, meeting my gaze.

“No, but I’m an adult and I can be wherever I like.” My confidence falters when Preston strolls into the bedroom behind his best friend.

“Pip.” He nods, then saunters toward the desk, settling himself on the top. “Ryder,” he starts, causing my heart to kick wildly in my chest. I know he told me to go after Ryder, after my heart, but seeing us in bed could make him change his mind. “Just remember one thing, you hurt her, I’ll hurt you. And you won’t enjoy it.”

“Fuck off. Both of you, get out of my bedroom.” At that, Ryder hurls a pillow at Preston, who catches it easily. I chuckle at the display of testosterone in the bedroom.

“We’ll wait in the living room,” Jeremiah informs us as he strolls out, along with my brother, who follows close behind.

Groaning, I push up, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. “I better go.”

“Like fuck you are. They’ll be leaving soon. Wait here.” Ryder moves quickly, putting on the prosthetic, and is on his feet in seconds and out in the living room. Their deep voices hurtle my way through the open doorway. “Can we get some alone time? I told her last night.”

“As I said, I’m not angry, but don’t fucking break her heart, man.” My brother’s warning to Ryder makes me smile. Growing up, we’d never been close, but I guess some things do change.

“You know I won’t. Now get your ass out of here. I need to spend time with my lady.” Ryder’s gruff tone comes through loud and clear, causing me to laugh at his words.

“Man, you’re whipped.” Jeremiah chuckles.

I hear the door clicking, and then I’m sure we’re alone. I don’t leave his bedroom. I’m sitting on the bed when he finally makes his way back into the space carrying two large mugs of steaming coffee.

“Extra cream for you, little lady,” he tells me with a smile that makes my heart skip a few extra beats. Ryder is handsome, in a rough, rugged way. And that was the reason I fell for him when I didn’t even know what love was. He wasn’t fake. He was real, honest. Nothing he said had that condescending tone some of the boys at school used to have. He treated me like an equal.

“Thanks.”

“I would’ve made you breakfast in bed, but Jer and Preston interrupted us,” he tells me, a smile on his lips that’s almost shy. Unusual for Ryder.

“You know, you don’t have to spoil me,” I tell him, scooting closer to where he’s perched on the edge of the mattress. “And I’m not going anywhere, so maybe we can spend the day in bed, talking.”

“Butterfly, if we spend the day in bed, there will be no talking, unless it’s you screaming my name over and over again for hours.”

A giggle slips free from my lips then. I haven’t genuinely laughed in so long. It feels foreign to me. He pulls me closer, and I let him. I needed this, and I just didn’t realize how much I needed him. His arms are like a foundation, and my heart is clearly teetering on the ledge.

When Ryder left, I promised myself not to fall again. I also vowed that if he ever came back, I wouldn’t let him drag me into his orbit, but there was no way I’d win that war. I couldn’t fight the gravitational pull I have toward him, but there is nowhere else I’d rather be.

“I want to make you breakfast,” he announces, pressing a kiss to my forehead like he used to when I was a teenager. “Do you still like choc chip pancakes?”

“Is that even a question?”

Ryder stands, tugging me off the bed and into his hold. I tilt my head to meet his gaze. “If you sass me again I may have to put you over my knee and give that pretty little ass a spank.” His threat turns my insides to goo, and the butterflies he always seemed to awaken within me flurry to life.

“Is that a promise?” I tease, causing him to swat my ass. “Ouch!”

“It’s a promise, Butterfly.” He smirks. “Let’s go make something to eat.” Slipping his fingers through mine, he leads me into the modern kitchen, which looks like it’s not been used. But then again, this is Ryder and I’m certain he’s never cooked before.

He pulls out bowls, flour, eggs, salt, and some baking powder, along with two small packets of chocolate chips, and milk. I watch as Ryder moves around the kitchen, my coffee mug in front of me. There’s nothing more I need than being here with him. I know that. I guess I’ve always known that.

“You seem to have the the right ingredients for pancakes,” I observe when he sets everything out on the counter.

“It’s my ritual. I make them because they remind me of you,” he tells me, not meeting my questioning gaze. He moves about the kitchen and I allow him to mix what he needs to before I voice the words that have been sitting on my tongue since last night.

“So, how long was your rehabilitation?” I whisper, unsure of how to start all the questions I have running around in my mind. There’s a barrage of them and I feel like asking too many might give Ryder the opportunity to slip back into the darkness what still flickers in his eyes.

“It took months, over a year to finally accept it. There are still times I don’t believe it,” he tells me sadly. His voice is low, gravelly with emotion as he informs me about his past. The one I wasn’t there for.

“Why didn’t you come home?” I’m genuinely curious.

Ryder halts all movement. Slowly, he turns to face me. The expression on his face is pure agony and I’m afraid I’ve just messed up our bliss.

“Honestly?” he asks and I nod, my heart thumping wildly in my throat, making it difficult to swallow. “I didn’t want you to see me like that, so broken.”

“You’re not broken, you never were,” I tell him, rising to my feet and rounding the counter. “Even when you told me about your past, about what you did…” I allow my words to filter into the silence that surrounds us. For the first time in a long while, there’s no music. It’s only the rhythm of our hearts.

“Piper, you’ve only seen the parts of me you wanted to. The bad boy you had a crush on, he was the one you wanted,” he tells me. He’s so sure of himself.

“No, Ryder, that’s not all I saw. Deep down, I saw those dark parts of you, that side you hide from everyone else. That’s the Ryder I fell in love with. All those scared, lonely parts, along with the handsome, snarky parts. Don’t make me sound like a stupid kid who has a crush.” My frustration is evident in my words, and Ryder hears it.

Cupping my face in his hands, he pulls me closer, so his breath is mine. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant…” He sighs gently. Then offers a wry smile. “When you love someone, you put them on a pedestal.”

“Is that what you did to me?”