come?”
Ryan considered it, but only for a moment. “No. I can’t, Dan. I don’t want to.”
“Okay. I’m sorry. I had to try. Is it going to be a problem, her being here?”
“No. If you want to work with her, then I’ll find a way to deal with it.”
“Thanks. I wasn’t sure …”
“Neither was I. But her having a boyfriend here will make things easier.”
“What?! And why?”
“Her boyfriend. Donovan.”
Dan was quiet for a few moments.
“First you’ve heard about it?”
“Yeah.”
Ryan’s heart was hammering in his chest.
“Do you think he exists?” asked Dan.
He pursed his lips as he thought about it. “I guess we’ll find out. She said he’s coming to join her.”
“I see. Does that bother you?”
“Why would it?”
Dan chuckled. “You’re both as bad as each other. Still. My guess would be that it would bother you because you’re still in love with her.”
“What?! … I … What the fuck, Dan?”
Dan laughed. “Remember I’m the one who’s kept in contact with you both all these years. I see, I listen, and I know … you’re still in love with her.”
Ryan closed his eyes. He wasn’t going to ask the obvious question. He would not, could not ask …
“And she’s still in love with you.”
The air rushed out of his lungs. “You reckon?”
“I do. But it’s not what I think that matters; it’s what the two of you decide to do or not do about it.”
Ryan nodded and stared out at the lake. “Seems to me that—even if you were right—there’s not much to be done about it. She’s with someone else.”
“Seems to me that—even if you’re right—that wouldn’t matter much.”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, well, now that I’ve given you something to think about and now I can relax knowing that you’re not going to find me and kill me in my sleep, are you sure you don’t want to come out to dinner?”
“I’m sure.”
“Okay. I’ll call you tomorrow. You need to fill me in on your meeting this morning.”
Ryan had to laugh. “Oh, so you do want to know? I was starting to think that the whole trip was just a setup.”
“No. Let’s just say the timing worked out well.”
“You say whatever you like. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
After he ended the call, he got up and went to lean on the railing to look out at the moonlight sparkling on the lake. Was Dan right? Was he still in love with her? He shook his head. He couldn’t be. It’d been such a long time. And besides, how could he love a woman who didn’t believe in him? Still. He remembered the way he’d felt earlier when she’d asked him to close the door on the past. He’d thought they’d closed it years ago. But when she’d said it … he’d known he didn’t want to.
~ ~ ~
Leanne let herself out onto the balcony and smiled as she took in the view of the lake and the mountains. She did love it here. It wasn’t San Francisco, not by a long shot. But she’d spent half her life in San Francisco, and it was time for her to move on. Summer Lake could be a great next step. She had a lot of friends here. The work Dan wanted her to do would be fun and a lot less stressful than what she’d been doing. She wouldn’t be bored, she knew that much. This could be a good move … if it weren’t for Ryan.
She leaned on the railing and looked out at the lake. Was she really going to let him steal it away from her? She made a face. No! Why should she? He could damned well stay out of her way.
“Leanne!” She jumped and searched the square to see if she could spot who was calling her. It wasn’t hard. Laura was standing there grinning at her and waving madly. Her husband, Smoke, stood beside her, looking a lot less enthusiastic. Poor guy. Leanne didn’t blame him for hating her. But she’d only been looking out for Laura.
“Come on down!” Laura shouted. “Dan said you’d be here this weekend, but I didn’t think it’d be till tomorrow. I was going to call you.”
“I’ll call you … tomorrow. I just got in and I’m going to have an early night.” She’d love to catch up with Laura, but she didn’t want to spoil Smoke’s evening. And besides, she couldn’t take the risk of running into Ryan again. She’d had all she could take of him for one day. She didn’t have anything