Unbreak My Heart (Rough Riders Legacy #1)

“Listen to me.” I trapped her face in my hands. “The only reason I came to Phoenix is because you’re here. There. I fucking said it. You. Are. It. For. Me. You always have been. So that power to fucking crush a heart to dust? Runs both ways.” I dropped my hands before I used them to shake some damn sense into her. I forced myself to step back. I forced myself to start walking away.

“That little confession isn’t helping clear my head, West,” she yelled at me.

I turned and smiled at her—not a nice smile. “It wasn’t supposed to. See you around, McKay.”





I tossed and turned for hours after I’d left the bar.

I’d known that Boone would kiss me. I’d wanted it. So when it finally happened tonight…I thought I’d prepared myself.

What a joke.

Reliving the sheer perfection of how thoroughly he’d kissed me was making my breath catch even now.

It was just a kiss.

No matter how many times I told myself that…I didn’t believe it.

It hadn’t felt like just a kiss.

Looking into Boone’s eyes, I knew it hadn’t felt that way for him either.

And then he’d told me the truth.

The only reason I came to Phoenix is because you’re here. There. I fucking said it. You. Are. It. For. Me.

So his kiss hadn’t been to remind me of the past; it’d been a promise for the future.

A future I never thought we’d have.

Because the first time he kissed me was also the last time I saw him. For seven years.

God. I didn’t want that to happen again.

I shut my eyes.

Every sight, sound, scent and feeling I’d had that night crashed over me. Sleep wouldn’t come but the memories did…


The bright moon glow that night had sent silvery light across the clearing.

Seemed a little strange, Boone calling me out of the blue and asking me to meet him. I hoped it meant something more than he was bored.

I ignored the snarky voice in my head, asking why I went running every time Boone West crooked his little finger at me. But I hadn’t seen him since his graduation. He’d slipped back into the not-returning-texts zone. School had ended two days ago and my summer plans were still up in the air.

I put my car in park and killed the ignition. Butterflies danced in my belly. Where had this nervousness come from? I was out here with Boone. Mr. Trustworthy. Mr. Oblivious.

His butt rested against his motorcycle seat. His booted feet crossed at the ankle. His arms folded over his chest. He wore a super tight T-shirt which displayed the ripped muscles in his arms and the ridges in his lower abdomen. I’d seen that shirt on him a dozen times and every time I whispered a little thank you to the T-shirt gods.

Stop gawking at him.

Nothing wrong with being attracted to my best guy buddy.

Was there?

No. Especially when he didn’t have a clue how I felt.

I walked up to him, my hands jammed into the back pockets of my jeans. “You summoned me?”

Boone frowned at my attire. “Wasn’t tonight the dance?”

“No. It was last night.”

“Oh. Was it fun?”

“I don’t know. I skipped it.”

“But…you said that night at the lake you wanted to go.”

I shrugged. “Marin is at her grandma’s for a week so she wasn’t going. Besides, they probably only played country music.”

“You should’ve gone.”

But I knew you wouldn’t be there.

“You asked me here to chew my ass about a dance I didn’t go to?”

“No.”

“What are you doing out here, anyway? Did your bike break down again?”

“Funny. It was a great night for a ride. I lost track of time. When I pulled over, I realized I wasn’t far from your place.”

“So you called me.” Instead of just showing up at my house. That made no sense. Especially if Boone thought I was at the dance. What was going on with him? He acted…jumpy.

“You got any decent tunes in that piece of crap car you’re driving these days?” he asked.

The Mercedes was hardly a piece of crap and he knew it. Boone also knew that the only reason my dad had bought it was for the safety features, including an excess of air bags after the air bag in my first car failed to deploy during my car accident. “I’ll play music as long as you don’t bitch about what it is.”

“Deal.”

After I rolled down the windows, I plugged my iPod into the stereo system. I mimicked his pose against the car, standing opposite him.

Boone grinned when the music started. “Foo Fighters. Cool.”

“Don’t get used to it. The next song might be by Flogging Molly.”

“I don’t even know what the hell that is, McKay. You’re more ur-bane than me.”

“Right. Seriously, West, what’s up? It’s not like you to text me, demanding I meet you out in the middle of nowhere. Especially this late.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Since when is ten late?”

“Since my dad grills me about where I’m going at ten at night and who I’m going with.”

“Did you tell him you were meeting me?”

“Yeah.” I smirked. “He said not to let you drive my car.”

“Smartass.” Boone paused and tipped his head toward the sky. “As much as I love how bright the moon is, I miss seeing the stars on nights like this.”

“Me too.”