My Soul To Keep (Soul Series Book 1) by Kennedy Ryan

under my jewelry box, and the thought deflates my good humor. My smile slowly leaks off my face. “And believe me, I’d take your money.”
    “Why do you work so much, Pep?”
    Rhyson’s voice, deep and soft, drifts over my skin, coaxing up goose bumps. Great. Every part of me is exhausted and wants to shut down, but my arms manage to produce goose bumps.
    “I know you’ve never had to worry about it, but some of us have bills to pay,” I say. “Some of us have to figure out how to survive.”
    I regret the waspish words as soon as they leave my mouth and contaminate the air. He doesn’t respond, but turns his head to look at me, all the laughter dissolving into the disappointment I see in his eyes. We’ve been lowering our guards all night, and I just threw mine all the way back up.
    “I’m sorry.” I pass a hand over my tired eyes, wishing I could take the words back.
    “It’s okay.” He focuses his attention on fibers of his jeans, giving me space to get this out.
    “It’s not. I . . . I don’t talk about this much.”
    “So it’s not as simple as bills to pay?” he asks, studying me closely.
    “It is, but it’s not just utilities and rent.” I give him a weary smile. “A lot more, but I can handle it.”
    “What is it?”
    Just thinking of the black cloud of debt constantly hovering over my life wraps a steel band around my chest.
    “My mom’s medical bills.”
    “Are children responsible for their parents’ debt?
    “Well, typically debtors would just take it out of the parent’s estate.” I laugh, but it’s a little sour. “Mama didn’t have much of an estate. Just Glory Bee, the diner she and my Aunt Ruthie built from the ground up. I’m not standing by and watching Aunt Ruthie lose everything too. We made special arrangements with the hospital collection agency. Aunt Ruthie and I are paying off the debt together.”
    “They let you do that?”
    “Oh, it took some convincing.” I heave a sigh, remembering that fight. “But we finally brought them around to our way of thinking.”
    “You’re a stubborn little thing, aren’t you?” He smiles and slides his leg over to bump mine.
    I grimace, sliding my leg away and clasping my arm around my knee.
    “So I’ve been told.”
    “I kinda like it.”
    “Ha! Yeah, it’s real cute,” I say with a grin. “Until you want something I won’t give you.”
    He delivers a teasing sideways glance.
    “I already want something you won’t give me.”
    I would move if those beautiful grey eyes would let me go, weren’t pulling me in and holding me.
    San walks in, saving me from becoming a slutty puddle at Rhyson’s feet.
    “Hey, guys.” He offers us a weary smile and drops his saddlebag down by the door. “Am I busting in on something?”
    Rhyson gives me one last grin before standing and extending his hand to pull me to my feet. I come up faster than I anticipated and slam into his chest. It feels good. Him towering over me. Me pressed to his broad, warm chest. I don’t step back right away. When I look up, his eyes aren’t teasing me anymore. There’s a tinder between us, waiting for just a spark to ignite to full-blown flame. The connection is always there, latent or alive, but right now, so close with our bodies touching, it burns through our clothing and heats my skin.
    San fake coughs, bringing me back to my senses. I take several steps back, running my palms up and down my thighs and shoving them into my pockets.
    “I was just leaving.” Rhyson looks around, frowning. “If I could find my phone. You see it, Pep?”
    “Pep?” San asks.
    “It’s a nickname.” I glare at him and look around for the phone. “And no, you cannot call me that.”
    I grab my phone from the coffee table and find Rhyson’s number. He peers down at the screen.
    “Is that how you saved me in your phone?” His incredulous laugh drags a smile to my face.
    “I didn’t want to put your real name in case someone picked up my phone or . . . I