His brows lift. “That’s a long way away. Are you from there?”
I nod and pick up my glass of wine again. “What about the rest of your family? Do you have brothers and sisters in Seattle or here?”
“I’m an only child,” I tell him.
He frowns. “What brought you here then?”
“Work,” I say although that’s a lie. I came here mainly because of Becca. I wanted to get away and work at Talia’s. Guess that saying about be careful what you wish for is true.
I just set my wine glass down when something hits the table and has my wine glass tipping over, white wine going all over my dress.
I jump up from my seat. “What the …?”
“Sis, come quick,” a man shouts.
I look over to see it’s Ryder. Why is he here? What is he doing? “Ryder?” I growl.
“Come quick, sis. Mom needs us,” he says in a rush.
“Sis?” Nick asks. “I thought you were an only child.”
“I am,” I assure him.
Ryder reaches up and grabs my left hand, yanking me across the table toward him. I let out a huff at his force. “How can you say that, sis?” He looks over his shoulder to Nick. “She’s embarrassed by me,” he says, pouting.
“Ryder,” I snap, yanking my hand from his hold. “What the hell are you doing here?” Even though my voice sounds annoyed of his presence, my body recognizes his touch and begins to heat up. God, I miss him.
“I’ve been calling you.”
Yes, he has, but I haven’t wanted to talk to him. Did he not get that when I sent him to voicemail every time?
“My phone died,” I snap, lying. “Leave. Now.”
“I can’t. Not without you. It’s Nibbles,” he says breathing heavy as if he like he just came. And that thought makes my legs weak.
“Who is Nibbles?” Nick asks with confusion on his face.
“Nibbles is our mother’s pet rabbit,” Ryder answers, sniffing.
“He’s lying,” I say flatly. “Ryder, leave.” I say but not sure it’s believable.
“Sis, how can you say that?” he asks and places his fist in his mouth and pretends to bite down on it. He sniffs again. “How can you speak of Nibbles that way?” he asks, and then I see tears in his eyes.
Enough of this bullshit! I slam my hands down on the table and lean over it.
“Are you drunk?” He leans into me, and a slow smile spreads across his face. He’s fucking playing with me. And I realize this is my payback from barging into his office this morning. “This is not funny,” I hiss, my eyes narrowing on his.
His smile fades, and he sticks his bottom lip out as it quivers. “I’m not laughing, sis. This is serious. Mom is just heartbroken. We have to get home now.”
“Isn’t your mother in Seattle?” Nick asks confused.
I watch Ryder’s jaw clench, and I smile. Yep, I’ve told him quite a bit about myself already. And now I’m glad I did.
Not wanting him to get the best of me, I throw him one last go to hell look and take a deep breath before falling down into my chair. I smile over at Nick. “What’s the rush? Nibbles is already dead.” I shrug carelessly and flip my hair over my shoulder. My dress may be covered in wine, but I’m gonna smile like I don’t give two shits that Ryder is here making a fool of himself. “Where were we, Nick?”
I look up at Ryder, and he glares down at me. I ignore him as he yanks his phone out of his pocket. I’m not going to let him win this battle. He types away at his keys, and I watch Nick look up at him confused. Poor guy. He has no idea he’s in the middle of a war.
I know Ryder is just trying to pay me back from what I pulled earlier. And I’m not even gonna say I don’t deserve it because I do. I was way out of hand to barge into his work like that, but this is different. We both have said what we needed to say. Now, there’s nothing left.
I clear my throat, and Nick looks at me. I lift my eyebrow in question for him to answer my question.
“I, uh … a drink,” he finally answers me nervously and then swallows. “Maybe get you a new drink?” he asks, sounding unsure of what to do.
“I think that’s a great idea,” I say since I’m wearing the other one I had. Nick slowly raises his hand as he looks around the packed restaurant timidly as if he’s one of those students who isn’t sure they know the answer but wanna participate, and I hold in a sigh. The man is not gonna stand a chance up against Ryder. He’s gonna eat him alive.
All of a sudden, Ryder’s phone starts ringing. I lean back in my chair. Oh, this’ll be good. “Hello, Mother,” he says softly.
My head snaps up to look at him. His mother? He doesn’t talk to her. Well, he hadn’t when we broke up a week ago. Could that much change in a week?
I place my elbows on the table, very unladylike, and rest my chin in my hands. Will this end? “Hang on, Momma. I’m gonna place you on speakerphone.”
My eyes widen at that. Why would I want to hear what the woman has to say? She hates me! The feeling is mutual after what I now know she did to Becca. That woman can go to hell.
He hits a button on his phone and pulls it away from his ear. “I’m here with Ashlyn,” he says and then holds it down to my face. I see Jaycent written across his screen, and I narrow my eyes up at him.
Oh, that son of a … “It’s Mother,” he says loudly probably letting Jaycent know he’s on speakerphone. “Momma, Ashlyn is here.”
I look up at him with pure hatred as he stares down at me with amused eyes, but he manages to contain his smile. “Ashlyn?” I hear Jaycent squeal, and it causes me to jump back in surprise. “Oh God, Ashlyn, Nibbles is dead,” he cries, and I cringe at how badly he sounds like a woman. Nick can’t possibly believe this is real. A quick look over at him tells me I was wrong. The idiot believes it.
“Tell her what happened,” Ryder orders.
“Uh ...” Jaycent pauses. “Your father ran over him … her. Ran over her. She was just hopping along …” The voice breaks, and I roll my eyes as Nick’s widen. “Tire marks … over her back …” Ryder chokes back a sob, and I roll my eyes again.
“Kill me now,” I mumble embarrassed.
“Oh God,” the voice over the phone wails at my words, and I blow some loose blond hairs from my face. I can’t believe I actually took my time to get ready for this.
Nick’s wide eyes finally meet mine. “Ashlyn, you should go. Your mother needs you. We can have dinner another night …”
“Oh, what a sweet boy,” the whiny voice adds. “I need my babies, Ashlyn. Ryder, please. Come home. We must have a … burial.”
I ignore them both and look around the restaurant. How stupid can these two be? I just told Nick that my parents live in Seattle and can’t he tell that’s a man disguising his voice? God, this guy is an idiot. And Ryder is just an ass!
I can feel Ryder’s eyes on me, and when I look back at Nick, he nods encouragingly.
I bite the inside of my cheek, push my chair back, and glare up at Ryder. The fucker actually winks at me! God, I want to scream! But I remember I have the best revenge right in front of me. I get up and walk around the table. I grab Nick’s hand and pull him to stand.
“I’m so sorry, Nick,” I say, sounding sincere. Not like this date was going to lead to anything but still, Ryder doesn’t know that. I lean in to give him a kiss on the lips, but I’m yanked away instantly.
“Gotta go sis,” he says tightly, and I give Nick a smile as I allow Ryder to drag me through the restaurant.
As soon we reach outside, I shove him away. “What the fuck was that?” I shout.
“I’ll call you tomorrow,” he says into his phone and then hangs up.
“You are unbelievable, you know that?” I snap. “I can’t believe …” I fist my hands down by my side.
“I needed to talk to you, and you’ve been ignoring my calls all day.”
“Because I don’t wanna talk to you,” I scream, wide-eyed. I feel they may pop from my anger. “How hard is that for yo
u to understand?”
“Babe …”
“Oh, don’t you dare”—I point at him—“start that shit! You cannot just walk in and call me babe.”
“I’m sorry,” he says in a rush as if I’m going to interrupt again, but I don’t ‘cause I literally have nothing to say.
I can’t help but look him over. He’s wearing the same suit he was wearing this morning, but now his top two buttons are undone and his sleeves are rolled up, sans tie. He looks so good that it makes my heart beat faster and also makes me want to stomp my foot like a child throwing a tantrum and kiss him at the same time. This is so not fair.
I take a deep breath and pull my shoulders back. You can do this, Ashlyn. “I told you everything I wanted to tell you this morning in your office. I have nothing else to say to you.” Then turn around, giving him my back, and walk off down the sidewalk.
“Ashlyn, wait!” he calls out. I don’t stop.
I hear him call out my name a few more times, but I make my way through the busy Manhattan crowds not even sure where I’m going. I think home is the opposite direction, but I’m not about to turn around. I need to get away from him.
I have to slow down as the crowd gets thicker, and I feel a hand wrap around my upper arm and I’m yanked off the sidewalk between two buildings.
“Ryder!” I snap.
He pushes me up against the red brick building and pins my body with his. Before I can move, he places both of his hands on my face, and then his lips are on mine. “Ryder ...” I mumble as I try to shove him away with my hands on his chest.
He releases my face, and I think for a second he’s gonna back away.
Instead, he grabs my hands and pins them above my head against the brick wall. Desire pulls between my legs. “Kiss me,” he says breathlessly as those dark green eyes look down into mine. “Kiss me, baby. Please,” he begs, and I growl in frustration. He can’t do this! I won’t let him! “I’m …”
“Shut up, Ryder,” I growl against his lips. He presses his lips to mine again, and I struggle with the decision to kiss him back or shove my knee into his groin.
“Ashlyn?”
Hearing my name makes me panic. I lift my knee and Ryder lets go of me, stumbling away and bending at the waist. He coughs from the unexpected turn of events.
“Ashlyn?”
We both look at where my name was called, and I see Nick standing over on
the sidewalk, staring at us wide-eyed.
“Nick.” I say embarrassed of what he just saw.
He stands there with a to-go bag in his hand, and his eyes dash back and forth between us. I let out a sigh. “I’m so sorry, Nick. I didn’t mean for tonight to go like this,” I tell him.
He drops the bag, and it hits the ground as he takes a step back. “You kissed your brother,” he says horrified.
Ryder snorts, and I glare at him before I look back at Nick. “I can see it looked that way, but that’s not what happened.”
Nick looks at Ryder for confirmation, but he just licks his lips and then gives him a wink.
“Really?” I snap, turning to face Ryder. He just smiles at me, and I turn away from him. “Nick.” He starts shaking his head real quickly and then wipes his lips with the back of his hand.
“You kissed your brother,” he says with disgust.
“We do more than just kiss,” Ryder says with a cocky smile on his face.
He gasps at his words. “Nick, he’s joking …” I say, taking a step toward him, and he takes a step back with his hands raised.
“I know what I saw,” he argues.
“Nick, don’t …”
“Goodbye, Nick,” Ryder says, interrupting me and raising his right hand to wave. Without another word, he turns and runs off into the crowd.
I spin around to face him. “What the hell is wrong with you?” I demand. He just laughs as he walks over to the bag of food Nick dropped. “I’m serious, Ryder.”
He picks it up. “Hungry?” he asks with a smile.
I narrow my eyes at him and place my hands on my hips. “I’m no longer hungry,” I respond flatly.
His eyes drop to my legs, and he licks his lips. “I’m all of a sudden starving.”
“Well, you’re going to starve to death,” I spit out and then walk out of the alleyway and onto the sidewalk. I look him up and down with disgust as I pass him, and he smirks at me.
“I’m not gonna play fair,” he warns me.
I come to a stop and slowly turn to face him. My eyes catch sight of the bracelet in his hand and then go back to his eyes. “I’m not going to play at all,” I say and give him my back once again.
“Did you know that my sister is dating my best friend?” he demands over the crowd.
I come to another stop and sigh. I turn back around once again and face him. “Yes,” I say, simply refusing to lie to him.
He takes a step back and runs a hand through his spiked hair. “How could you …?” He stops himself then takes a deep breath and lets it out. “How could you not tell me?”
I take a step toward him and narrow my eyes. “How could I not tell you?” I repeat. “You haven’t spoken to me for a week. When would I have had the chance to tell you?” I demand.
“So you’re saying you’ve only known for a week?” he asks, eyeing me skeptically.
I look away from him and bite my lower lip. “Thought so,” he says with a snort. “Everyone is keeping secrets from me,” he adds.
My head snaps back to look at him. “Maybe if you hadn’t shut everyone out—”
“You wanna know why I shut everyone out?” he demands. “It’s ‘cause all they ever wanted to do was discuss you. And I couldn’t stand it anymore,” he shouts.
“Then why are you here?” I shout back. “If you can’t stand the thought of me, why the hell did you ruin my date …?”
“Because I love you!” he shouts, fisting his hands down by his side.
I hate the way my body instantly hums at those words. And my chest tightens at the lie. I want it to be true so badly, but he’s trying to manipulate me. He doesn’t love me; if he did, he would have told me that when I called him the other night. But I hate the way my heart beats faster, wishing it was true.
I take a step back, shaking my head. “I don’t need to hear this.” This time when I walk off, he doesn’t try to stop me.
CHAPTER EIGHT
RYDER
I beat on the door again. I’ve been standing outside the girls’ apartment for over ten minutes and no answer. I pull out my cell and dial my sister’s number. It rings several times and then eventually goes to voicemail. So I call Jaycent’s. I know that fucker is in there. He answers on the third ring.
“Hello?” His voice is rough from sleep.
“Get your ass up and answer the damn door,” I growl.
“What … Where are you …?”
“I’m at the fucking door!” I snap and demand, “Now answer it!”
“Who is that?” I hear Becca’s sleepy voice, and I pound on the front door again.
“It’s Ryder,” he tells her.
She sighs. “Hang up on him …”
“Jaycent, don’t you dare …”
The door swings open just as I speak. “What in the fuck are you doing?”
I’m surprised to see Ashlyn standing in front of me. Her eyes sleepy but narrowed at me as she tightens a robe around herself.
I storm in past her and hang up my phone. “We’re having a family meeting,” I say as I stomp down the hallway. Without knocking, I open Becca’s door and find her in bed with Jaycent.
“What the fuck, Ry?” she shouts, trying to shield her body behind Jaycent as he turns to face me.
“Get up, get dressed, and get your asses to the living room.” Then I slam the door shut.
“Have you lost your mind?” Ashlyn demands, and I hate how good she looks. Even just rolled out of bed, she still takes my breath away. “It’s four in the morning,” she adds, in case I didn’t al
ready know what time it is.
“No. For the first time in a while, my mind is pretty clear,” I tell her, and she rolls her eyes.
“I’m going back to bed,” she states.
“Nope. You’re part of this meeting as well,” I say, grabbing her hand and dragging her over to the couch. She sits down with a huff but doesn’t argue.
Minutes later, Jaycent and Becca come walking out both fully dressed, thank
God. “Why are you here at four in the morning?” Becca demands.
“We’re having a family meeting,” I say, narrowing my eyes at Jaycent.
Jaycent looks from me to Ashlyn. She sits there, arms crossed over her chest with a look of pure hatred on her gorgeous face. When his eyes meet mine, he smirks. “Guess my phone call didn’t work.” Jaycent adds with a chuckle.
Before I can respond, Ashlyn speaks. “We’re not gonna talk about that.”
He shakes his head with a satisfied smile on his face. “I’ll start the coffee.”
“No,” Becca says, grabbing his arm. “We’re not having a meeting, Ryder. Have you lost your mind?”
“Why do people keep asking me that?”
“Because you have,” Ashlyn answers.
I turn to face her, the open floor plan allowing me a bird’s-eye view. “No. I’m not. But I am tired of not sleeping.”
“What does that mean?” Becca asks.
“I’ve been up for over a week over what happened between me and Ashlyn, and yesterday, I found out that all I had to do was talk to her. And then I also find out that my best friend is fucking my sister, and we need to talk it through.”
“Stop saying it like that,” Jaycent says from the kitchen.
“How should I word it?” I snap. “Because that’s how I see it.”
“Ryder.” Ashlyn says my name in warning.
I look at my sister and demand, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because of this reaction,” she says as if it’s obvious.
“Well, of course, I’m gonna react this way. He’s my best friend and seven years older than you are.”
“I’m seven years younger than you are, and you didn’t have a problem fucking me,” Ashlyn says with an arch of her brows.
“That’s …” Fuck! “Different …”
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