The Academic Bride

by Lucy McConnell

  The doc strode from the room, leaving them alone for the first time ever. Well, at least the first time while he was awake. She looked at her shoes, wondering if he had any idea how much time she’d been in this room dreaming of the moment when his eyes would flutter open and he’d smile that amazing smile just for her.

  Mia pressed her palm to her forehead and looked down at Ryder, who was smiling at her like an idiot in love. Love. Real love. Not I’m pretending for the sake of flirting with you, but honest-to-goodness love.

  The intensity of it scared her more than his ability to sleep for days on end. She blinked once and took off after the doc.

  “Wait!” she called. As adorable as her red shoes were, running in them on a slippery hospital floor was not easy.

  The doctor paused so she could catch up.

  She grabbed onto his white sleeve. “Isn’t it a bit early to send him home? I mean, he had a big fall, and his head—have you checked his head?”

  “We have. All you need to do is keep him happy and calm for a couple of days and I’ll see him on Wednesday.”

  “So no brain damage?”

  “None.”

  “Amnesia?”

  “He’s cleared.”

  “What about delusions?”

  “Miss Davis.” The doctor sighed heavily. “There’s no reason to worry. Ryder is going to be fine.”

  “But—” She wasn’t quite sure how to explain that when he went up the hill he was a near stranger and now he thought he loved her. Never mind the sense she had that she loved him too. They could get a two-for-one deal on head scans.

  The doc held up his finger. “Repeat after me: happy and calm.”

  “Happy and calm,” Mia repeated.

  The doctor nodded once and left her standing there in the middle of the hallway.

  “Happy and calm,” she said again on her way back to Ryder’s room. “Happy and calm. And in a few days, everything will be normal and I’ll be alone—again.” She frowned. Alone was not scary; it was familiar. Familiar and grey. If allowing Ryder to believe he loved her kept him happy and calm, she would just have to go with it.

  Wouldn’t Sandra be pleased?

  No sarcasm. Happy and calm.

  Mia’s nerves were anything but happy and calm, jumping every time her heel clicked against the white linoleum flooring.

  When she made it back to the room, she found that Ryder had fallen asleep again. Which was just as well. Maybe tomorrow he’d wake up and this whole engagement would seem like a dream to him. It certainly did to Mia.

  She stepped into the hallway, thinking through the logistics of taking Ryder home from the hospital. She could use the excuse of the paperwork for her boss to be out in the morning and get him settled. If she did that, Sandra would expect her to have Ryder’s signature, and she didn’t feel right asking Ryder to sign anything until she knew he his mind was right. Which was kind of ridiculous, considering what his touch had done to her brain. Still, until she knew for sure that he knew they weren’t engaged, she wasn’t willing to hand him a pen.

  A few days. The doctor had just asked for a few days of happy and calm. She could do that.

  “Who’s crazier, the man with the head injury or the woman who pretends to be engaged to him?” she asked herself. Pressing her fingers to her temple, she made her way to the front desk to call a cab.

  Chapter 9

  Mia gripped the steering wheel as she turned the corner of Main Street and Center. The doctor had taken his sweet time making rounds and it was already eight-thirty.

  Ryder was given the all-clear to come home—go home. Go to his home.

  Just because she’d walked his dog, and mopped his kitchen, and picked up his front room, and sorted through his clothing to find the pair of plaid pajama bottoms and T-shirt that looked oh so good on him right now, didn’t mean she lived there. Nor was she going to live there in the near future. Or the far future, for that matter.

  Ryder hadn’t mentioned a wedding or an engagement all morning, yet he’d seemed awfully comfortable with her around, as if they were engaged. As if her taking him home was the most natural thing in the world. As if leaving the hospital wasn’t the first time he’d held her hand in public or looked at her like he was the luckiest guy in the world. Like he told her every day that she was beautiful. Like they’d relied on each other like this before.

  It was wonderful.

  And crazy.

  And crazy wonderful.

  Mia had no idea life could be like this. She’d tended her dad before he passed away, but she was young and had always had him around. After years of being alone in the world, having someone to care about was energizing and exciting and in some ways, right. Which was why she’d put off having the are you mentally capable of understanding that I am not your fiancée chat. Plus, after being in his home, being his emergency contact, and having shared a kiss, albeit a short one, she kind of felt like she had been through a lot with Ryder and taking him home was the next logical step.

  Which wasn’t logical at all, but there you go.

  She glanced at the clock again. She’d passed the point of being late for work and had crossed over into the “I have the stomach flu and I’m going to need a half day” excuse. She pressed on the gas.

  Next to her, Ryder leaned the seat back and closed his eyes.

  Mia didn’t like the green tint to his pallor. “You doing okay? The leg holding up? Did they give you enough pain meds to get through the day?”

  “It’s not the leg, it’s the stomach.”

  “Do you always get carsick?” Mia reached behind her and dumped the contents of her lunch sack on the back seat. She handed him the empty bag—just in case.

  “Nope, this is a new experience.”

  “Maybe it’s the meds. Or the hospital food. You did eat those eggs—they were kind of runny.”

  Ryder groaned. “Maybe. ’Kay, don’t talk about food anymore.”

  “’Kay.” She careened around another corner. Realizing her speed wasn’t helping Ryder, she slowed down and loosened her grip on the wheel. “Sorry.”

  Ryder’s hand went to his eyes and his chest rose and fell in measured breaths. The poor guy was miserable.

  Mia tapped her fingers against her leg. She glanced at him a couple times while keeping an eye on traffic. “Jasper should be excited to have you back.” Ryder had taken the clothes she brought him without even asking how she got into his house.

  Happy and calm was Mia’s new mantra. She was just going to go with all this. Go with it until Ryder either came to himself or … or what, put a ring on her finger? A disappointed part of her knew that wasn’t going to happen.

  Happy and calm.

  Ryder gave a slight shake of his head. “I’ll bet he’s torn the place apart.”

  “It wasn’t too bad. I mean, he knocked over the dog food bag in the pantry and spread it across the kitchen floor, but that was easy to clean up. And he probably drank toilet water, but unless you use 1000 Flushes I think he’ll survive.”

  Ryder reached across the console and gave her knee a squeeze, causing Mia to yelp. “What was that for?”

  “Making sure you weren’t a dream.”

  “You’re supposed to pinch yourself.” She rubbed her leg where he’d squeezed, her body alert and attuned to his in a way she’d been trying to avoid. Before entering the hospital doors, she’d managed to convince herself to look at Ryder as a service project—help the poor guy out. But when he touched her, all the distance flew out the window and she grinned like a dork.

  “That’s no fun.” He gave a small smile, and she pronounced his car sickness cured.

  Once in his driveway, she went to his side to help him in the house. She offered her hand and he used it to pull himself up. The knee could bear a little weight, but the doctor suggested he use crutches. Ryder said he had a pair at home, so he didn’t take the ones the hospital offered.

  However, getting him in the house was going to be tricky. He pu
t his arm across her shoulders and leaned heavily on her. He had a shower that morning and smelled of soap, all clean and fresh, and the laundry detergent that lingered in the T-shirt she’d brought him. The fabric stretched across his chest, which turned out to be as impressive as she’d always believed it would be. Mia tentatively put her arm around him and had to bite her lip. He was kind of muscly, even around the middle, and her thoughts weren’t as pure as they should have been. She bit her lip.

  Jasper barked excitedly inside the house. The front door shimmied as he threw himself against it.

  “He knows you’re here,” said Mia.

  Ryder eyed the door wearily. “Yeah, this could get interesting.”

  Mia pushed the door open and they hobbled forward, Jasper running in circles around them and bouncing against Ryder. “Down, Jasper,” he ordered.

  They stepped forward and Jasper shoved against Mia’s legs, knocking her off balance. “Shoot.” She stumbled, her hands landing on Ryder’s chest and pushing Ryder up against the wall. His arms went around her back and she gripped his shirt in an effort to steady herself.

  They held still for a moment, making sure they weren’t going to tumble to the floor. Their breaths came in short gasps, adrenaline making Mia’s fingers tingle. She giggled with relief and sank into him.

  “Sorry.” Mia had tripped right into Ryder’s arms and his gaze. His hands rested on her lower back, warm and secure. She barely resisted the urge to brush her fingers over his stubble.

  “You’re leaning on me.” Ryder smiled.

  Mia smiled back. “I’m not. I tripped and you caught me.”

  Ryder’s grin grew. “Yeah, and then you leaned.”

  “How did I lean when I leaned, and what does that even mean?”

  Ryder brushed his fingers across her cheek again, leaving a trail of heat in his wake. He may not have any idea what his touch did to Mia, but she kind of thought he might. “Leaning implies wanting and accepting …” Ryder put his lips next to her ear, the heat from his body creating a slow burn in Mia’s belly. “Leaning.” He trailed his finger down her cheek and to her neck.

  “Oooooh, you mean leaning.” Mia moistened her lips. “I might have leaned,” she admitted.

  “Do you know what comes after leaning?” Ryder traced her lower lip with his thumb.

  Mia shook her head. She was so languid with the desire to be kissed she could hardly stand. Ryder pulled her closer and she went willingly. He kissed her cheek, tipping her head to the side.

  She moaned, unable to put together a coherent syllable. Her eyes dropped shut and his lips were on hers, warm and strong. Her hands, already gripping his shirt, pulled him closer. He enveloped her in his arms, and she had the feeling of being folded into his heart as he slowed the kiss and broke apart. She dropped her gaze to his collarbone as he pressed his lips to her forehead, and then her temple, and then her cheek. Just as she lifted her lips to Ryder, Jasper jumped up on Mia’s back, jolting them out of the leaning spell. Like peeling off a heavy blanket, the world came into focus again and Mia squinted against the light.

  “Jasper, down!” Ryder said in a low, commanding voice that was all deep and sexy.

  The dog plopped to his paws.

  “I’ll take him outside.” Blushing, Mia stepped out of Ryder’s arms, leaving him to use the wall for support. “Be right back.”

  Ryder nodded, looking a little dazed himself.

  Had she done that? She grinned, thinking maybe she had a little of the effect on him that he had on her. Still feeling the effects of being comprehensively and meticulously kissed by her black diamond, Mia put her hand on the wall to steady herself.

  She locked the doggie door behind Jasper so he couldn’t bound back in and knock Ryder over. The lab decided to run circles around the backyard.

  When Mia came out of the mud room, Ryder was in front of the fridge. “I’m starving.”

  How’d he get in here? She looked around and found chairs pulled out and staggered so he could use them as props. Blast his ingenuity and independence. She was looking forward to picking up where they left off.

  “You just ate at the hospital.” Mia refilled Jasper’s water in an effort to take her mind off what had just happened. Ryder seemed completely recovered. She needed to catch up and play it cool.

  “Yeah, but I was asleep for days. I missed like twelve meals, so I need to catch up.” He pulled the door open, moving slowly because his weight was all on one foot. “Where did all this food come from?” He scratched his neck, looking confused and cute and a little worried—like he’d spaced a shopping trip.

  Mia jumped into an explanation. “I brought it over this morning. It’s just some stuff I had that I thought you could use. You know, because it might be a couple days before you can get to Chickadee’s.”

  “Is this ravioli?” He held up a brown bag with a picture of spinach ravioli on the front.

  Mia took the bag. “It’s super easy. You boil this for three minutes, top with sauce from a bottle.” She pulled the pasta sauce from the cupboard next to the fridge and set it on the counter. “Add some mozzarella cheese and you’re good.”

  Ryder stared at the bag like it was a copy of Moby Dick and he was supposed to read it this afternoon and turn in a ten-page report the next morning.

  Men! Mia rolled her eyes. She put the bag back in the fridge, her shoulder brushing Ryder’s chest. Darn, that T-shirt didn’t leave anything to the imagination. Not that her imagination had ever been as good as what was actually there. “We’ll save this for dinner. I’ll make you a tuna sandwich for lunch.” She cringed at how presumptuous she sounded. One kiss. One amazing, heart-stopping kiss and she was acting like the queen of his castle. “I mean, if you want me to.”

  Ryder nodded, his energy seemed to drain away along with the color in his cheeks as they stood there, and Mia wanted to get him settled so she could leave without feeling guilty. She really did need to get to work sometime today. “Can you make it to the couch?” she asked.

  He put his arm around her shoulder. “I think I need to lean on you.”

  Mia poked him in the ribs and turned her face so he wouldn’t see her blush. She almost told him he could lean on her anytime, morning, noon, or night. But she held back, pretty sure that the doctor’s instructions of happy and calm didn’t include kissing.

  She got him to the couch, propped his sore knee up on a pillow, and tucked a blanket over his legs. He must have been tired, because the moment his head leaned back he breathed deeply and slept hard.

  The clock over the stove read eleven. She threw out the idea of getting into work before one and sent a text to Sandra explaining where she was and that she would be in later that afternoon.

  Sandra responded. Did you get the papers signed?

  Crap! I left them in my desk last Friday.

  Mia!

  I know. I’ll do it ASAP.

  How’s the other thing going?

  Mia ran her hand through her hair. By “other thing,” Sandra meant the mistaken engagement. As far as engagements went, it was going pretty well. They’d shared an amazing few minutes connected at the lips and filling up her heart, and she was about to make him lunch in his kitchen. But as far as correcting the misunderstanding, things were tanking fast.

  No comment.

  That good, huh? Is he HANDSY?

  I’m done talking to you.

  LOL.

  Mia didn’t reply. Despite their easy banter, she had the feeling she wasn’t doing much to impress her new manager. Her worry came from the fact that Sandra had taken the chance hiring Mia instead of bringing in someone with an MBA. However, Mia found it all too easy to brush the worry away, because she had a hard time caring about the actual job.

  Yes, it was a move up the ladder.

  Yes, it meant better pay.

  And yes, it was a better long-term position.

  But she didn’t love it. Not like she’d loved interacting with the guests on the slopes. Not like she’
d loved being in the fresh air. And certainly not like she loved the chance to be outside. Her soul craved the great outdoors, and there were no greater outdoors than Ruby Mountain—her dad had taught her that.

  With the work sitch taken care of, Mia found it easy to skip the standard tuna fish sandwich and make Amos’s grilled tuna surprise. After mixing the tuna, mayo, mustard, pickle juice, garlic salt, pepper, and dash of oregano, she buttered the bread and set it to brown in a frying pan. Spreading the tuna mixture over the bottom of the sandwiches, she caught herself humming “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” Being here, puttering around in the kitchen, having Ryder near, was a golden moment. The kind of moment where sunlight filtered through the leaves and the air was crisp with serenity and possibilities. Releasing a contented sigh, she allowed herself to believe that she and Ryder were engaged and that she would soon step into a thousand golden moments every day.

  Ryder had flirted at the hospital and of course there was that leaning thing in the front hall, but he hadn’t said anything specific about being engaged. He could have forgotten all about it. Perhaps his memory blinked on while he slept last night. Maybe the best kiss ever was just him being caught up in the moment. She giggled to herself, allowing the memory of his arms wrapped around her to distract her from her task.

  The sandwiches sizzled, and she flipped them over.

  Or …

  He could still think they were promised to one another. Of course, if he believed that, their kiss in the front entryway was completely natural in his eyes. Something engaged couples did every day—every hour. As her thoughts drifted that direction, Mia jerked them back in line and made sure she didn’t burn lunch.

  She spent the rest of the time in the kitchen mentally counting the different colors of socks in her dresser, making lists of what was in her spice rack, and rearranging Ryder’s silverware drawer. Anything to keep from thinking about kissing Ryder, what kissing Ryder meant, and if she’d ever have the opportunity again.

  When the sandwiches were done, she cut them diagonally and placed them on plates. Adding a pickle spear and a handful of chips to each, she made her way to the front room.