let you know. And now, no more talking about stressful things. Tell me about Avery.”
Of course I beamed, I couldn’t help it—my baby and I were tight. “She’s smart and likes to collect coloring books. She’s just the best kid in the world.”
Ryker watched me with a smile as I filled him in on my daughter’s accomplishments. But his grin kept growing, and I had to stop and ask him, “What?”
“Nothing, you just... transform when you talk about her.”
I blushed, shrugging. “I can go on forever.”
“I don’t mind.”
Checking the time on my phone, I gasped. “Oh, no. I have to leave. I promised Avery we’re going to watch a movie.”
Ryker pushed back from the table. “I’ll walk you out.”
“Oh, no, no. You’re not done eating.”
He held my gaze, smiling shrewdly until I squirmed on my seat. I wasn’t ready to spend even more time with him, and he saw right through me.
But my excuse was good—I’d already finished my food, but Ryker still had half a burger and almost all the fries. I rose from the table, smiling when Ryker did the same. Taking my coat, he held it for me. His fingers brushed my shoulders. Even through two layers of clothes, the touch made my whole body sizzle. I tried to pull myself together, but clearly that wasn’t possible when I was so close to him. Everything about Ryker was just all-consuming: the way he looked at me, as if he was determined to see right through me; the way he leaned into me, as if he was just barely restraining himself from touching me. I wanted his touch just as much as I feared it.
“The burgers are excellent. Pity it’s out of my way.” I turned around and licked my lips when I realized we were only inches apart.
“I’ll lure you back here,” he said confidently.
“How?”
“Do you really want to know, or rather I surprise you?”
“Hmm... now that you mention it, I do like surprises.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. We’ll see each other soon, Heather. One way or another.”
I was caught up in his flirting game again. How had that happened? Thursday, I thought a little flirting couldn’t do any damage, but now I was wondering if I hadn’t started something I couldn’t stop.
He smiled, winking at me before I left. My stomach flipped a few times. I pressed my palm against it, but all that accomplished was to make me aware of how erratic my pulse was. Yeah, I’d definitely started something I had no idea how to stop... or if I even wanted to.
Chapter Six
Ryker
I intended to talk to Owen, a fellow fund director, first thing the next morning, but he was out of the office until later in the day. At noon, I met with my siblings and my cousin Hunter for lunch.
We had “working” lunches once or twice a week. It was the perfect opportunity to catch up. All our offices were located in Manhattan. My brother Cole worked with my cousin, Hunter. They ran one of the most successful real estate development companies around.
A few years back, we’d started having work lunches because it was the only time we had to talk about our joint charity project, the Ballroom Galas.
The gala season ran from September to June, and we had events periodically. There wasn’t a set number of galas—it depended on how many projects we were donating to and how much each event raised. The March ball was approaching fast.
We called these meetings family councils because the galas were a family affair, and we took great pride in it. Tess, Skye, and I were in charge of the organization, Cole and Hunter brought in the donors. I couldn’t invite clients, because that would be a conflict of interest.
In the beginning, it had been a hell of a lot of work setting everything up, but now it ran like a well-oiled machine, which meant that our family councils were actually catching up time.
Cole and Hunter were already in the meeting room we always met in when I arrived, sitting on opposite sides of the rectangular glass table. I decided to sit next to my brother.
“Where is Josie?” I asked Hunter.
“She’s got another meeting and couldn’t make it.”
“Ah, the perils of being a successful lawyer,” I said.
My sisters came in just after me, dropping into chairs on either side of Hunter.
“The delivery app says our food will be here in fifteen minutes,” Tess said. “In the meantime... who has news?”
“Or even just juicy gossip would