“Ryn, watch it.”
“You don’t scare me. Man whore!”
Stepping around the counter, the gentleman put his hand up to me. “Ma’am, the gentleman is right. I’m in the middle of his transaction. The mirror is not for sale.”
Turning, I looked down at Bill’s nametag. Shit. He was the manager.
Lifting my shoulders, I looked back at Tristan. “Fine. Hang it somewhere you’ll be able to see all the bitches you bring home to screw.”
Hurt flashed across Tristan’s eyes, but I didn’t care. Turning on my heels, I headed to the door.
Ugh. I hate him. He even gets the stupid mirror I wanted but didn’t really want because it was too expensive. I just wanted to keep Tristan from buying it. Ohmygod. How pathetic am I?
Walking up to my car, I was about to get in when someone grabbed my arm. Tingles immediately moved down my arm.
Tristan.
Turning me around, he pushed me against my car. “Are you fucking kidding me? What in the hell was all that about?”
The image of Tristan and Sierra at the nightclub flooded my mind. My eyes filled with tears and I hated myself for letting him upset me again. “Let me go.”
“No. What was with all the man whore shit back there, Ryn?”
Swallowing hard, I asked, “Did you fuck her?”
He pulled his head back and looked at me. “Who?”
My lower lip trembled. “Sierra. I saw you together this morning, on your deck.”
Tristan dropped his grip from my arm. Closing his eyes, he whispered, “Sierra and I are just friends.”
My heart was beating so loudly in my chest I was sure Tristan heard it. I wasn’t sure why I had to know, but I did. Taking control of my emotions, I said, “That’s not what I asked you.”
Opening his eyes, he whispered, “Yes.”
I couldn’t stop the tear if I wanted to. Tristan reached up and wiped it away. “It didn’t mean anything, Ryn.”
Slowly nodding my head, I whispered, “It never does where you’re concerned.”
Tristan looked like I just slapped him in the face. “Enjoy the mirror, Tristan.” Turning, I opened the door to my car and got in. Starting my car, I quickly began backing up without looking at Tristan. The moment I was far enough away, I pulled over and let out a frustrated scream.
How can you hate someone you love so much?
IT HAD BEEN TWO DAYS since I saw Ryn. Sierra had sent me a text message asking if Ryn and I had talked yet. My response was the same as it was yesterday when she asked. No.
Stepping through the door of Dirty Al’s, I headed to the bar. The bartender flashed me a toothy smile. “What will it be, handsome?”
“Bud Light, please.”
I sat at the bar for a few minutes before the hair on my arms stood up. I quickly looked around and saw Ryn. She was sitting at a table with some asshole guy who was sitting way too close. She was laughing as she finished up what looked like a margarita. Turning back to the bartender, I asked, “Excuse me, the brunette over there. How long as she been here?”
The bartender glanced over to Ryn. “About four hours. That douche has been feeding her shots in between the margaritas. I’ve been keeping my eye on her. Do you know her, because I was getting ready to call her a cab. No way I’m letting her leave with him.”
Nodding my head, I looked back at Ryn. “Yeah, I know her. We used to date. I’ll take care of getting her home.”
“Awesome. Do you want to settle up her tab as well?”
Reaching into my wallet, I pulled out some money and tossed it on the bar. Standing, I headed over toward Ryn. Stopping at the table, I cleared my throat. Ryn looked up and smiled that beautiful smile of hers. “Tristan. If you came here to buy a mirror, I’m sorry, we are fresh out.”
The dick sitting next to her laughed. Glancing at him, I said, “Beat it, buddy.”
He stopped laughing and stood. “Excuse me, asshole? I was with her first, so you can just go take a flying hike.”
Grabbing him by the shirt, I gave him one good push, causing him to stumble back and fall to the ground. Ryn jumped up and let out a scream. “Tristan! He was just talking to me.”
Grabbing her hand, I pulled her to me. “Bullshit, Ryn. He wanted to do a lot more than talk.”
Leading her out the door, she protested the entire way. “Tristan Williams, you let go of me right now. I’m not that drunk. I knew what he wanted and I wasn’t going there. I was about to ask the bartender to call me a cab.”
“Where’s your car, Ryn?”
She stopped walking and jerked her hand from mine. “I took a cab here. I wanted to get drunk and I knew I wouldn’t be driving.”
Walking up to her, I looked down into her eyes. She looked so sad and I knew I was the reason why. “I’m taking you home, Ryn.”
Swallowing hard, she nodded her head. “Okay.”
Helping Ryn into my truck, we drove along in silence. Every time I glanced over to her, she was staring out the window as she fidgeted with her purse strap.
Fifteen minutes later we were walking into Ryn’s place. One quick look around, I noticed the place was a lot smaller than my family’s beach house.
“Kitchen?” I asked. Ryn pointed to her left and I walked away. The moment I saw the kitchen island I felt sick. Pushing any thoughts of Ryn and Dodge out of my mind, I headed over to the coffee maker.
Ryn called out, “I’m going to get out of these clothes.”
My dick jumped and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from doing what I wanted to do.
Filling up the glass container, I poured it into the coffee maker. Four cups should be plenty. Hearing a loud crash, I turned and ran toward the sound.
Ryn was sitting at the bottom of the stairs holding her ankle. “Ryn! What happened?”
Running to her, I dropped to my knees. Ryn’s ankle was swelling already. Looking up, my heart dropped and I wanted to hit something. Ryn was crying. “I think . . . I broke it.”
Lifting her up, I carried her to the couch. Ryn’s cries echoed through my brain as I gently placed her down. “Baby, let me go get some ice.”
Slowly nodding her head, she whispered, “Okay.” I turned and headed into the kitchen. Finding a hand towel, I took some ice cubes out of the freezer and wrapped the towel around them. I quickly unplugged the coffee pot and headed back to the living room. Setting the ice down on her ankle, Ryn whimpered. “Oh God. Tristan, it hurts so bad.”
“Shit, Ryn. I think we need to go to the ER.”
Leaning her head back, she moaned. “Double damn it! I never was a good drunk!”
Stifling my laughter, I reached down and scooped her up into my arms and headed back out to my truck. “Tristan, it hurts so bad.” Ryn buried her face into my shoulder and cried. I hated that she was in pain. I’d give anything to take it away.
Opening the passenger side door, I gently placed her down in the seat of my truck. “Baby, please don’t cry. Please, please, don’t cry.”
“Hurts so bad.” Ryn whimpered. Leaning down, I kissed her forehead then wiped her tears away.
“I’m going to fix it, baby.”
Grabbing onto my shirt, Ryn looked into my eyes. “Tristan, please don’t leave me.”
Swallowing hard, I whispered, “Never, Ryn. Never.”
The nurse was pushing Ryn out of the hospital in a wheelchair as I pushed off my truck and walked over to them. “She’s more than ready to leave. I’m afraid she is a bit loopy from the pain pills and the alcohol that was in her system. She can’t be left alone tonight.”
Nodding my head, I leaned down and picked up Ryn. She wrapped her arms around my neck and whispered against my chest. “It hurts, Tristan. I’m such a baby.”
Laughing, I said, “No, baby. You have a grade-two sprained ankle and a zero pain tolerance.”
Ryn started crying. “I know. I’m never drinking again!”
The nurse opened the door to my truck and waited as I put Ryn in.
I buckled her in and looked into her eyes. “I’m so sorry, baby.”
Ryn stared at me with a dazed look. “Why are you sorry, Tristan? You weren’t the one who got drunk.”
Hunching my shoulders, I said, “I’m pretty sure I’m the reason you got drunk though.”
Glancing back up, Ryn was staring at me. Tears began to fill her eyes as she started chewing on her bottom lip. “Yeah. Yeah you were.”
The nurse behind me giggled.
The ache in my chest grew more as I stared into her eyes. “I promise to make it up to you, baby.” Giving Ryn a small smile, I kissed her quickly on the lips, stepped away and shut the door.
“You understood all the discharge instructions?”
I nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll make sure she follows through with all of it.”
Giving me a wink, she said, “Good luck. We all got an earful about you from Ryn.”
Rolling my eyes, I turned and headed to the driver’s side of my truck. My heart was breaking for Ryn, but at the same time, I was overjoyed that I would get to take care of her for a few days and there was nothing she could do about it. If there was one thing I knew about Ryn, she didn’t do well with pain. Any kind of pain.
I had hardly slept at all last night. After getting back to my house, I carried Ryn to the master bedroom that was downstairs. I stripped her of her clothes and put one of my T-shirts on her. Tucking her in, I made my way back to the living room to sleep on one of the sofas.
I heard something fall in the kitchen. Then I heard, “Shit,” coming from Ryn, and quickly sat up. Reaching for my shirt, I slipped it over my head and walked toward the kitchen. Ryn was attempting to make breakfast. When she turned and saw me, I had to suck in a breath. Tears were rolling down her face.
I quickly walked up to her and placed my hands on the sides of her face. “Ryn, did you hurt yourself?”
She slowly shook her head. “No.”
“What’s wrong?” I asked as I wiped her tears away.
“I’m starving, I have a terrible hangover and . . . and . . . I don’t know where you put my pain medicine.”
Reaching down, I lifted her up into my arms. Ryn wrapped her arms around me and buried her face. “I feel like such a baby.”
“No, you’ve had a lot happen in the last twelve hours, sweetheart.” Sitting her down, I covered her up with the blanket I used last night. “Let me go get your pain meds and some ice.”
Walking into the master bedroom, I grabbed the pills that I had set on the side table last night. Ryn must have forgotten I told her they were there. When I walked back into the living room, Ryn had the blanket up to her nose, inhaling its smell. Smiling, I felt a bit of hope that Ryn had missed me as much as I missed her. I found myself smelling her shirt last night as I held it and watched her sleep.
I started walking back into the living room. “I had them next to the bed.”
Ryn quickly dropped the blanket and looked at me. Her smile about dropped me to the floor. Reaching out she took the pills from me. “Let me go get you some water.”
Turning, I attempted to calm my heartbeat and get my breathing settled. Knowing that Ryn was in pain was tearing me apart. I’d give anything to take her pain away. Anything.
Grabbing a towel, I opened the freezer and took out some ice. Wrapping it in the towel, I took a bottled water out of the refrigerator. I assessed what food I had. Biscuits, jelly, some fruit.
Shit. I needed to get her some real food. Setting the towel and water down, I rubbed my hands up and down my face. Reaching for the phone, I hit speed dial one as I grabbed the towel and water and walked back toward the living room.
The pain on Ryn’s face made my heart hurt. Handing her the bottled water, I sat on the coffee table.
“Hi, I’d like to place a to go order for delivery. Yes. Two egg, bacon, cheese, and potato breakfast tacos. Can you make sure the bacon is in strips and not cut up? Great.”
Ryn looked at me and smiled. Giving her my panty-melting smile back, I winked. Her mouth opened slightly and she quickly licked her lips before looking away.
“Then we’ll take two carne asada tacos, a Dr. Pepper and a root beer. Oh, and make sure you send green sauce with that please.”
After giving the girl over the phone my address, I hung up and set the phone next to me. “I have some peaches. Do you want me to cut one up for you?”
Ryn began chewing on her lower lip. “Tristan, you don’t have to be doing this.”
Pulling my head back in surprise, I looked at her. “Doing what?”
Her eyes looked away from me. “Taking care of me. I’m sure I’ll be fine in a few days. I’m just glad I didn’t break my ankle.”
Smiling, I reached for her hand. It wasn’t lost on me how her whole body shuddered. “Ryn, I want to take care of you.” Grinning, I squeezed her hand. She gave me a shy grin back. We sat there and stared at each other until the sound of her cell phone snapped us out of the trance.
“Where’s my purse?”
Standing, I walked over to the dining room table and grabbed her purse. Handing it back to her, she quickly dug around and pulled out her phone.
Clearing her throat she said, “Hello?”
I motioned that I was going to take a shower and then turned and headed to the stairs.
Halfway up, I heard her say, “Hey, Dodge, no everything is fine. I’m sorry I didn’t get back in touch yesterday.”
Knowing she was talking to that fucker had me balling up my fists. I’d like to pound his face into the ground. I slowly made my way up the stairs but stopped at the top. Ryn had lowered her voice some.
“Honestly, I’m perfectly fine. I just need some time like I said. I have a lot to . . . think about it. Yes. No! No, I don’t think you should try and come back down here. I may actually leave earlier.”
I smiled hearing her tell him not to come back down, but then that smile quickly vanished when she said she might be leaving early. Fuck. How can I convince her to stay and how do I convince her to stay here with me?
“Take care of the club, Dodge. I’ll be fine. I’ve got some work I need to catch up on so I’m going to take advantage of the peace and quiet and catch up on some emails and things.”
I started to turn to head to my room. Ryn laughed, but still kept her voice down. “No, I’m going to just enjoy sitting on the deck, maybe go for a run.”
A run? How in the hell does she think she is going to run with a . . .
Then it hit me. She wasn’t telling him she was hurt. Grinning from ear to ear, I made my way to the shower. Operation: Win Ryn Back had officially begun.
WHEN DODGE MENTIONED HEADING BACK to South Padre, I had to control myself. I about yelled out no in my panicked state. I definitely didn’t want him knowing I sprained my ankle. He would have dropped everything to come back down and that was the last thing I wanted. Not when I was sitting in the middle of Tristan’s living room and he was giving me one hundred percent of his attention.
Dodge was on the other end of the phone talking to someone at his club. “Just leave the delivery at the back door; I’ll take care of it.”
Closing my eyes, I did the one thing I wasn’t totally sure I should be doing. “Dodge, we’ll talk when I get back to Austin. Right now I just need some time to clear my head.”
“Ryn, baby, you know I care about you. If you want to take this relationship further, I’m totally in all the way.”
Letting out a breath, I whispered, “I know. I’m just not sure where I see us going.”
Silence. “Ryn, I’m falling for you. You have to see that.”
Dropping my head back against the sofa, I shook it slowly. Fuck me. Why do I have the wrong guy wanting to make a future together? “I do. I just don’t want to rush into something because I’m trying to forget someone else. I like being with you, Dodge, it’s fun and there are no expectations. Can we just keep it like that at least until after the holidays?” Hearing his frustration over the phone, he whispered, “Yeah,
baby. I’ll talk to you when you get back.”
“Okay, talk to you soon.”
Hanging up I felt a bit of pressure removed. Dodge was just supposed to be my rebound fuck buddy. Then it changed to just my fuck buddy. I liked it that way. I had no expectations of him having to romance me. We were just having fun. I had to admit I enjoyed his company, but he didn’t make me feel alive like Tristan did. His touch didn’t cause my stomach to drop. His smile didn’t melt my insides completely.
Turning, I glanced toward the stairs. Tristan could be unbelievably sweet when he wanted to. I’d never let him know I heard him talking to me last night when he came in to check on me. Tristan whispered how he wished he could take the pain away and I almost called out to him when he began to leave.
Looking straight ahead, I admitted to myself what I had been so desperately trying to push away.
I was still in love with Tristan and I didn’t want to get over him.
Ugh. I wanted him so damn much. It was all I dreamt about.
Even after him admitting he had slept with Sierra, I still wanted him. I was beginning to think I would forever want Tristan Williams. Not only did I want him in my bed, but I also wanted him in my heart.
What in the hell is that smell?
Looking around, I lifted my shirt I had slipped back on this morning. Pulling my head back quickly, I gagged.
“Ohmygod . . . I stink like a bar!” I needed to take a shower. I not only smelled like a bar, but I never took a shower after I went for my run yesterday morning.
Instantly feeling yucky, I went to stand. The pain medicine they had me on was strong and I felt dizzy. Attempting to move, I made it nowhere.
Shit. Did the hospital give me crutches?
Then the doorbell rang. I remembered the tacos Tristan had ordered and my stomach growled. Running down the stairs in nothing but sleeping pants, Tristan called out, “Don’t move, Ryn! I’ve got it.”
Standing there with my mouth hanging open, I reached up to make sure I wasn’t drooling. Tristan stood at the door dressed in nothing but a pair of cotton pants that hung on his hips, so low I was sure one small move and I’d see his ass. His back muscles flexed as he moved and I let out a soft moan.