A burning sensation washed over him. What was this guy doing at Bianca’s doorstep this late? Didn’t Bianca tell Ryan she was just friends with Jake? This wasn’t a very friendly hour to visit.
Luckily, I know Bianca has my band’s and my best interest at heart.
Jake’s arrogant words came back to him, and Ryan’s breaths became coarse. Did Bianca lie to him?
He slowly pushed the door ajar and tiptoed his way to the corridor. He stayed hidden in the shadow of the hall door. From there, he could see Bianca speaking to Jake, but they couldn’t perceive his presence.
Bianca looked tense. “Jake, for heaven’s sake. Why didn’t you call?”
Ah, so they were on a regular call basis. A bitter taste invaded Ryan’s mouth.
Jake simpered and reached out to Bianca’s cheeks. “Bi’, you used to like when I stopped by unannounced.”
It was as if a dagger pierced Ryan’s heart at those words. So Bianca had lied to him. Jake wasn’t just a simple friend or colleague from the restaurant. He had been to Bianca’s place before.
Bianca recoiled from his touch. “Stop it, Jake. I’m not alone.”
Jake’s eyebrows rose high. “Ah, yeah? Do you mind if I come in and check?”
Bianca put her foot in front of him, so Jake couldn’t enter. “Yes, I actually do. Ryan is here. He’s taking a shower.”
Ryan let out the breath he didn’t even realize he was holding. Maybe he’d judged too fast. Bianca had just told Jake that he was here.
Jake’s jaw dropped. “You mean the billionaire O’Connor? You’re sleeping with our new boss? Wicked.”
Bianca let out an annoyed huff. “Sshh. Be quiet, he’ll hear you. And no, I’m not sleeping with him. You’re basing your presumptions on your own standards. Weren’t you the one who stopped calling me because you thought you had a chance with Scarlett and her rich family?”
Ryan narrowed his eyes. The story between Bianca and Jake was getting clearer and clearer. Bianca had definitely withheld the truth from Ryan. But it seemed that whatever happened between them was in the past.
The image of Jenna flashed into Ryan’s mind. He hadn’t been honest with Bianca on all matters either. Maybe Bianca was only embarrassed to admit she had dated such a jackass as Jake.
Jake didn’t seem to mind Bianca’s comment. He shrugged and smiled. “Yeah, but you know I was thinking of you while I was with her.”
Bianca’s face moved into a grimace of horror. “How gross. Anyways, you still didn’t say what you want. Why did you come here?”
Jake threw a calculating look at Bianca. “I talked to Angie. She thinks you’ve got some kind of plan going on with Mr. Billionaire here. That’s why you spent that insane amount of money to buy him at the auction. She just didn’t say that you were using all your charms to get your way with him.”
Bianca’s cheeks became crimson, and she lowered her gaze.
Ryan’s heart squeezed. He hadn’t thought of this before. For some reason the idea that Bianca was trying to use him never occurred to him. He observed the guilty look on her face, and his gut twisted. Was Bianca playing a game with him?
Jake tapped Bianca’s shoulder. “Don’t get me wrong, Bi’. I’m not judging. You know as well as I do that I’m all in with your future vision. Getting the festival set up would be a huge thing for my band. I love my life here. If your fling with Ryan O’Connor helps ensure he does what you want, you’ve got my blessing.”
Bianca jerked back. “I don’t need your blessing, Jake. And just for your information, I’m not scheming anything behind Ryan’s back. I confess I bought him to have more time to talk business with him. But nothing else. I want him to feel convinced about my aspirations because he thinks they’re right, and not because I jumped into his bed.”
Ryan’s neck relaxed. He’d been such a fool to doubt Bianca. She wasn’t doing it to gain his favors. While hearing her mention the words, “jumped into his bed,” an image of her slender body in his arms blindsided him, and he had to blink twice to regain control of his yearning desire.
Jake cleared his throat. “Of course you’d say that. You probably agreed with Stefano to keep a low profile. Don’t worry, I won’t blow your cover.” He inched closer to Bianca’s face. “But please remember that once you get what you want and secure our restaurant’s future, I’ll be extremely grateful to you. Maybe we can pick up where we left off?”
Bianca opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Jake whirled around and hurried back down on the stairs.
Bianca gaped at his back with her jaw hanging lose, then she shook her head and closed the door. She turned and pressed her back on it, closing her eyes.
What was she thinking about?
Ryan watched her for a second, before retreating to the bathroom. He didn’t want to be caught spying on her. If she wanted to tell him about Jake at some point, she should do it on her own terms.
The saxophonist’s last words kept swirling in his mind.
Were they mad conjectures? Probably. Ryan recalled the jovial face of Stefano Celli. No, it was very unlikely that the Italian owner had put Bianca up to this.
He inhaled then exhaled. Why was it so hard for him to trust women? If he wanted to get to know Bianca more, he had to give her the benefit of the doubt, didn’t he?
When he arrived at the bathroom door, he slammed it loudly and called out.
“Bianca, I’m done. How’s the pizza coming along?”
Chapter 23
Bianca glanced at Ryan as they sat beside each other on the couch. His arm was around her shoulder, but something in his behavior was off.
She’d noticed it at dinner as well. Though he had chatted about his life in Philadelphia, told her about his first business success, and joked with her, his thoughts seemed to be somewhere else.
Only when she showed him the business plan she’d drawn up for The Sapphire and the planned festival did he seem to step back to the present. But his demeanour was still far less affectionate than before.
What was it with this man? One moment refusing Bianca, then the next drawing her in. Calling her incredible and kissing her, then acting distant again.
Bianca stifled an annoyed groan. It was perhaps nothing. Maybe she only interpreted his actions as cool because her own heart brimmed over with passion for him.
Even just sitting beside him like this made her heart race and her palms moist.
“So, while I was taking the shower, I thought I heard the doorbell ring,” Ryan said. His face was impassive, unreadable.
Bianca’s throat dried out. Did he know Jake had passed by?
No, not likely. He was still in the shower when she spoke with Jake. She crossed her ankles in front of her. Maybe she should just tell Ryan it was Jake.
But she had told Ryan she didn’t have anything going on with the saxophonist, so it would be hard to explain how Jake knew where she lived or why he felt like visiting her at night.
Jake’s cheeky accusations popped into her head, and bile spread through her mouth. How did he dare to insinuate such things? She certainly didn’t like Ryan because he was a billionaire or because he had a say about her future.
No, if she was honest, these were the two aspects she disliked about him. They made him unattainable. At least for a true relationship in the long run.
“Bianca? Did you hear me?” Ryan brushed his fingers across her hair.
The gesture was so intimate it stole her breath. Her flesh tingled where he touched her.
His question. Right. She didn’t answer yet. Quick, she needed to make a decision. Truth or a white lie?
She went with the latter. “It was just my neighbor Clara. She saw Rainbow run by her window and wanted to make sure I found him and brought him home.”
Bianca avoided Ryan’s glance as she pronounced the lie, but she watched his movements out of the corner of her eye.
Did his jaw twitch or was it her imagination?
“You have kind neighbors.”
His voice was flat. He drew his arm from behind her shoulders and stretched them both out in front of himself.
Did his arm get tired or did he withdraw from her for some other reason?
Bianca’s chest tightened. She had to find out if Ryan was still interested in her, or if he had changed his mind in the past hour. Though it didn’t seem logical that he did, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going on with him.
“Ryan?”
Okay, now or never.
“Yes?” He sounded surprised.
Bianca shifted her weight on the couch, turning her upper body toward him.
She searched his face and when their eyes met, she leaned forward. Ryan’s mouth parted slightly and his eyes became larger.
He didn’t flinch or move away, so Bianca continued closing the distance between them. The refrain from the old “Shoop Shoop” song popped into her head. How was it again? Yes, to test a man’s true feelings there was only one thing to do.
And Bianca was going to do it. She was going to kiss him. Fine, maybe it was a bit odd to draw her inspiration from Cher, but the principle was probably true.
A man like Ryan who made a living based on dazzling others with his words, might be able to fool her when he spoke. But his lips were going to be honest.
She had to know if she was building a castle in the air that was going to crush her any minute.
Ryan didn’t close his eyes, and neither did she.
They kept gazing at each other as her lips reached his. His pupils dilated so quickly that his grey irises became like thin halos around the ebony dark. Bianca’s heart nearly stopped as she got sucked into the depths.
She slowly raised her hands and entwined her fingers through his hair. A moan left Ryan’s throat. It was the first genuine sound since he had come out of the shower. It wasn’t controlled by him. Bianca’s heart thumped in her chest. Was he going to respond to her touch?
Suddenly, Ryan pressed forward and gave a hungry nibble to her lower lip. His arms opened and enveloped her into a tight embrace.
Exultation surged through Bianca and she deepened her kiss. The dark spell that seemed to have descended on their evening ever since Jake stopped by dissipated. Ryan cared for her; it was clear from the raw but still tender way he reacted to her advances. Her mind wasn’t playing a trick on her this time.
When they were both out of breath, and Bianca felt giddy with joy, she slid her head to Ryan’s chest and pressed her cheek to his torso. “Mhm, you smell good,” she whispered.
Ryan chuckled. “It’s your own shower gel.”
Bianca peeked up at him. “No, I mean you. Your scent. I can smell it despite the soap. It’s nutty and fresh. Like fresh cut grass.”
A lopsided grin spread on Ryan’s face. He bent down and planted a kiss on Bianca’s nose. “You’re weird. But in a cute way.”
He stroked her cheek with a thumb and murmured something.
“What did you say?” asked Bianca.
He seemed caught off guard because his nose wrinkled and his mouth pressed into a line. Bianca’s breath hitched. What did he say? Was it something about her?
Ryan cleared his throat. “I said, I wish I didn’t have to travel back on Tuesday.”
Bianca’s stomach warmed at his words. “Then don’t. Stay till Friday at least. Come to the Nostalgia Dance with me.”
Ryan’s brows shot up. “Would you want that?”
More than anything.
The thought of Ryan returning to Philadelphia was something she didn’t want to contemplate at this moment. She nodded. “Very much.”
Ryan stared at her, then his lips curled up. “Fine. Why not? I’ll let Stefano know that we’ll sign the papers next Saturday instead of Tuesday. I’ll call my secretary first thing in the morning.”
Bianca straightened. If Ryan was ready to sign the papers later, did it mean he was ready to change his original proposition about selling off the restaurant and turning it into a chain?
Did Bianca dare to ask him?
Jake’s cocky phrase still echoed in her ears. She didn’t want Ryan to think she wanted special treatment now that they were…what were they exactly?
She bit her lip before asking, “Did you decide about what to do with The Sapphire?”
A coldness crept over Ryan’s face. “Why do you ask?” Then he shrugged and his eyes softened. “Sorry, it just feels weird to discuss business with you now that we are…you know.”
Bianca nodded. “I know. I shouldn’t have asked. Sorry.”
Ryan shook his head. “No, I think it’s fair. I decided to keep the restaurant’s branding intact. It will be the condition when I sell it to my buyers. I think it has far more potential this way.”
Bianca’s heart almost stopped and she gasped. “You did what? You’re keeping The Sapphire as it is?”
Ryan scratched his chin. “Technically, it’s going to be the Welles Brothers who will keep it the way it is, but I’ll put it into their contract as a clause.”
Bianca couldn’t believe her ears. “So no chain?”
“No chain.”
Bianca couldn’t resist the urge that swamped her body and she jumped at Ryan, closing her arms around his neck. “Thank you, thank you. You’re the best.”
He seemed surprised by her reaction, because his body became rigid, but then he snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. “You’re welcome. But I’m not doing it because of what we have now. I’m doing it because it makes business sense.”
Bianca smiled. “I wouldn’t have expected any less of you.”
She approached Ryan’s face, and their lips met again. Bianca let herself enjoy the feeling for the first time without guilt.
This business transaction had been weighing on her shoulders. She wasn’t even conscious of how anxious she’d been feeling about the outcome. Now she could focus her attention on Ryan without any second thoughts nagging at the back of her mind.
Who knew, maybe their universes weren’t so far apart after all?
If Ryan kept visiting his father in Rocky Harbor each month, and Bianca continued her work, then they could keep seeing each other. Maybe for the first time in her life, her heart wasn’t leading her into peril but toward happiness…
As Ryan’s tongue fought a playful battle with hers, she realized that for now this possibility was becoming more and more real.
Chapter 24
Ryan tightened his bow tie and observed himself in the mirror. The fabric of his new tuxedo wasn’t nearly as nice as the one the McKelly Tailor Salon made, but it didn’t wrinkle on his shoulders at least. Unfortunately, not many shops carried elegant tuxedos in this town.
He shined his shoes and folded the small napkin for his jacket’s pocket with great care. He wanted to look his best for Bianca tonight. It was their first official date in public.
He still couldn’t believe he was so lucky to have had an entire week in her company. How could it only be a week, when he felt this strongly about her? He really liked this woman.
Guilt flooded over him and his expression sobered.
Why did he lead her to believe that everything would stay the same with her job? He couldn’t guarantee it. He had made a promise to her that he might be unable to deliver.
Even if he put a clause in the contract with the Welles brothers about not turning the restaurant into a chain, those cunning businessmen might find a loophole in it. The only way to guarantee Bianca’s job security was to keep the place on Bright Future’s account.
But his company didn’t have the profile for handling such an asset. Ryan bought and sold, but he didn’t make the acquired venues flourish.
He inhaled and kept the air in his lungs till they threatened to burst. He exhaled with a loud sigh. Should he make such a decision for a woman? Even if it was Bianca? It went against his motto of keeping his decisions purely rational.
His thoughts wandered back to the day before, when Bianca gave him a tour of the marketplace she u
sually went to. She showed him how she picked the groceries for the restaurant’s menu and why she opted for certain dishes and not for others. After his lesson, she took him to her favorite café and they sat for hours just chatting about life and their dreams.
It was incredible how similarly they thought about many things, except about money. Thanks to Bianca’s company, however, Ryan began to see that maybe he’d lost sight of his original motivation for becoming rich. He wanted to feel safe and happy. To be able to protect his loved ones. Nonetheless, if he continued his life the way he was living it these past years, there wouldn’t be anyone to care for.
The ring of his phone interrupted his musings.
He looked at the screen.
Helga?
It wasn’t normal for his secretary to call him this late on a Friday night. They had already spoken this morning about Jeremy’s promotion and drafted a contract for the Welles brothers. What could she want?
Ryan pressed the green button and stuck the phone between his chin and his ear. With his free hands, he put on one of his shoes and said, “Helga? What’s wrong?”
Helga’s usually even tone sounded choppy. “I’m not sure, Mr. O’Connor. It might be nothing, but I wanted to let you know anyways.”
Ryan stopped in his tracks. “Tell me.”
A shuffling of papers echoed in the speaker as Helga replied, “It’s Miss Jenna, sir.”
Jenna? This was unexpected. Since their last call, Ryan had transferred the money they’d agreed upon to her theater director. He hoped Jenna was satisfied with this arrangement, but he didn’t really think about her anymore. Bianca filled all his thoughts.
“What about her?”
Helga cleared her throat. “This morning when I came in, I found her in your office. The receptionist, unaware that you two stopped seeing each other, let her in. She apparently claimed that she left something important in your desk. She even dared Julia to call you if she didn’t believe her. Being such an early hour, Julia agreed to her request.”
Ryan’s brows drew together. What was Jenna doing in his office? Was she looking for something specific?
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