The sledgehammer was winning. “What’s it like having to call Alex boss? You know—” she leaned in closer and ran her finger down his arm, “—having to do every little thing he tells you to.”
“Do I want to know what’s going through your head, or should I just assume it’s dirty and try not to picture it?” He shuddered when she wagged her brows. “Ugh. Really?” He grimaced. “I’d rather…” His gaze went dreamy. “Oh. Cyn is your boss. Can I picture—”
She hit him. Hard.
“All righty then.” Ryan rubbed his chest absently, ignoring Glory as she shook the pain out of her hand. His chest was a lot harder than she’d thought. “First off, I don’t call Bunny boss. I call his dad boss, remember? Bunny doesn’t own the business. Besides, odds are good it will be Eric who becomes the owner of Bunsun Exteriors. Bunny wants to run the East Coast operations, but our home base is still in Oregon.” He picked up her sore hand and kissed it.
“But didn’t Alex say they might be moving it here?”
Ryan nodded. “Yeah, but I don’t know if the whole business will, or just the family.”
“I can’t see one going without the other.” She took another bite of food.
“True. Maybe they will move out here, but either way Alex and I will be staying here, where you and Cyn are.” He smiled. “My turn. Tell me about your family.”
“I have two sisters and a brother. Hope disappeared when I was sixteen. Temperance is my older brother—”
“Temperance? Poor bastard. Who names their son that?”
“My asshole dad, who wanted us all named after virtues. Faith is my younger sister. She should be about Heather’s age.”
“Speaking of which, Heather is working out, right? She’s been really happy coming into the shop.”
Glory grinned. “That kid is going to own her own shop someday. She’s really good, Ryan, and she’s scary-smart. I’m glad Cyn offered her a job.”
“Me too, no matter what Eric says. I’ve never seen her so happy before, and she’s coming out of her shell a little more every day.” He kissed her hand again. “Thank you for that.”
She blushed. “I haven’t done anything.”
“You’ve done more than you know.” He picked up his carton and began eating again. “Your turn.”
She bit her lip and asked the one thing that she’d always wondered about. “Why me?”
“Besides the fact that your scent fills my head, your voice sends shivers down my spine and your smile makes the sun shine?”
“I…guess.” Oh, he was good.
Ryan kissed her again. “I like you, more than you know. You’re funny, brave, smart and beautiful and you’re not afraid to fight for your loved ones. You’re not perfect—” for a second she almost felt insulted, “—but I like your quirks just as much as your strengths.”
“Fine.” She bit her lip, unbearably touched. “You get a second date.”
Ryan just smiled and fed her another bite of food.
“Oh, I’ve been meaning to thank you.”
“For what?” Ryan was watching her, his blue eyes blending with the brown of his Bear.
“The presents.”