Fearless - Fern Michaels Page 0,43
pretty big, not quite Olympic-sized, but large enough to get a good workout in, or just float around on a hot day. That’s mostly what we use it for the few times we do. Are you a swimmer?” Anna asked.
“Patrick was on the swim team his freshman and sophomore years,” Ryan answered for him.
Perplexed, because Ryan hadn’t mentioned this before, she let it slide. “That’s awesome. You’re welcome to practice in the pool anytime. So, what was your specialty?”
“Two-hundred-yard freestyle and backstroke.”
Anna wanted to ask why he hadn’t competed in his junior and senior years but felt now wasn’t the time. They’d just met, and this could have something to do with the issues Ryan said he had. In all honesty, he seemed normal enough. He didn’t say much, but again, some teenagers didn’t talk to adults about their everyday life unless you pulled it out of them. Maybe he’d gone through some weird antisocial stage and spent a lot of time holed up in his room.
“Patrick, I didn’t realize you still had an interest in swimming,” Ryan said, a surprised look on his face.
“I don’t. Just curious about her pool, that’s all,” he said, dropping his head to stare at his lap.
Maybe he did have issues. Animated one minute, sullen the next. Anna wondered if he was depressed. Though she certainly wasn’t an expert, she knew that this, too, wasn’t uncommon with teenagers. She thought of school shooters and felt herself blush. She was labeling a young guy, and that wasn’t her way. She wasn’t going to figure out these two kids in one night, but she certainly knew they would be challenging if she and Ryan were to become more serious than they already were.
Finally, the tension eased up enough. They finished their dinners, and when the waiter returned to ask if they wanted dessert, Ryan spoke for all of them. “No, I think we’ve had enough. Right, kids? Anna?”
“Yes, thank you, I am beyond stuffed.” She’d barely touched her chicken Caesar salad.
“Just bring the bill,” Ryan told the waiter.
Abrupt, but he could be that way sometimes. Anna didn’t care for that side of him. No one was perfect, but she’d always treated service staff with respect. It was a hard and often unrewarding job. Maybe she’d mention this in the future.
She said her good-byes to Patrick and Renée, with a promise to barbecue Labor Day weekend. Ryan gave her a kiss on the cheek and walked her to her car. “I’m sorry the kids were such little shits. It’s been rough on them since their mom died. I hope you’ll give them another chance?”
She smiled. “Of course. Let’s do the barbecue, see how it goes. They’re kids, Ryan. I get that. Remember, I have one, too. And there is something I need to discuss with you,” she added, hoping he’d take the bait and give her a line to start a conversation she’d been dreading.
“We’ll talk later. You’re an angel. Anna,” he said, this time leaning close to her, whispering in her ear, “you know I’m in love with you?”
Shocked, Anna just stood there, a million thoughts racing through her mind.
Chapter 11
Anna drove home almost in a state of shock. She cared for Ryan and knew that he cared for her, too. But to tell her that he was in love with her, at what she thought of as such an inappropriate setting, time, whatever, struck a chord with her, and it was not a pleasant one. While she didn’t expect a fairy tale, she hadn’t imagined he’d confess his feelings for her in the parking lot of a restaurant while his kids waited in the car. But then again, they were both older, and maybe this is how these things worked now, seizing the moment and all.
She remembered Wade proposing to her. It had been so romantic; he’d hired a limousine, taken her to the beach, they’d shared a glass of Dom Pérignon. Then he stooped, pulling her with him, and as they gazed at the stars above them, he’d asked her to share his life. It was perfect. She shouldn’t be comparing Ryan’s declaration of love to Wade’s marriage proposal. They were two different people. And why was she thinking marriage? Ryan hadn’t mentioned it, never even hinted that he was ready for such a lifelong commitment, and she wasn’t either. Though she had to admit that she had thought about it in general terms, especially the past few weeks.
The phrase It’s complicated came to