Dragon's Fake Wedding Date - Riley Storm Page 0,25

him at all. Not unless she wanted to make it clear that it was okay.

His pulse rose, and Rann worked to keep himself under control. He didn’t experience nerves with women, dammit! This one should be no different. What was with the tightening of his throat and the suddenly clammy hands? He gripped his bottle extra carefully. Just in case.

“How are you feeling?” he asked. “Nice birthday?”

Gayle smiled. “Yeah, it was. I guess.”

“You guess?”

She shrugged. “Honestly, earlier I was feeling a bit lost. I’m not exactly where I expected to be in my life.”

“Where did you expect to be?”

“Somewhere between engaged and married with kids and a dog,” she said, lifting her free hand palm up in a semi-shrug. “I thought I’d be farther along is all.”

“Ah.” Rann snorted. “Screw anyone who says that you’re behind. You’re moving at your own pace, and anyone who says otherwise can get lost, if you ask me.”

Gayle smiled. “Yeah. But the thing is Rann, I’m ready for more. I want to be a mom. I want to have a family. I’m ready for those things.”

“Good. There’s nothing wrong with wanting more. That means you’ll find someone right for you, someone who can fill all that. Not someone you just settle for.”

She looked up at him sharply, and Rann abruptly worried that he’d said too much, that he’d gotten too serious with her.

“You think I was just settling for my ex,” she said, making it into a half-question.

“I never said that,” he pointed out. “I don’t know him, and I never knew the two of you together. What I do know is that you deserve the world, and that you deserve someone who can give it to you, who will appreciate you for the amazing person you are every single day.”

“Someone like you?” Gayle asked, shocking both of them.

Rann stammered. How was he supposed to reply to that?

“Ah, never mind,” Gayle said before he could put together a coherent string of words. “I don’t know why I said that.”

She was turning a bright shade of red and started to shift away from him on the couch.

Rann didn’t want that. The idea of her being farther away did not sit well with him. He had no idea what was going on between them, nor did he understand the effect she was having on him, but he knew one thing for certain.

He wanted her nearby. Close.

“No,” he said, reaching out before she could more than start to move. “It’s okay. I just didn’t expect you to say it, that’s all.”

Gayle settled back down next to him. She didn’t move away, nor did she speak. More importantly though, she didn’t remove his hand from her shoulder. She was accepting the contact between them.

It would be up to him to forge on with this conversation though. Gayle had opened the door, but her nerves seemed to be getting the better of her now.

“I—” He stopped short, rethinking what he was going to say. “There’s something about you, Gayle. I don’t know what it is yet, but I do know that I like it.”

“Oh,” she said in a tiny voice.

It was clearly a struggle for her to even get that much out.

“Claire didn’t force me to come today,” he said, injecting some levity into the conversation. “I wanted to. You were right earlier. I didn’t want to wait until Monday to see you again.”

“I see,” Gayle said in a much different voice, turning her head to look at him now.

Rann smiled, trying to ignore the sudden tightening of his throat as he looked at her now, seeing the pools of desire welling up in her eyes. At least, that’s what he hoped they were. Could it be that he was just imagining it, that he was seeing what he wanted to see? Or was it actually happening?

He knew he should pull back. Hold himself at arm’s length until the moment passed and they could continue speaking, discussing the tension and feelings that lay coiled between them with rational minds. But he wasn’t feeling overly rational just then.

Inside him, his dragon was coming alive. It slithered back and forth, spreading its mental wings and urging him on. It wanted her more than it had ever wanted anything before, and he was so close to having her.

“Gayle,” he said breathlessly, leaning closer to her.

“Rann,” she replied, her drink forgotten and unopened, sliding off her lap onto the couch before falling between two cushions.

Neither of them paid it any mind. Their eyes