No Turning Back (Breaking the Rules #4) - A.M. Madden Page 0,13

smiled at how quickly she voiced that, and then fist-pumped like an idiot she wasn’t attached. Could this be happening? Could I be in the same state as the love of my life while we were both single?

While excitement swelled within me everywhere, I kept it cool and announced, “I’ll pick you up Saturday at seven. I’m looking forward to it, Ree.”

“Me too. Bye, Ryder.”

I stared into my cell well after the line went dead, vividly picturing her in my mind. Just as our lives had collided six years earlier, maybe this was the universe bringing us back together. For the first time in six months, I felt being in Florida wasn’t a curse.

Chapter Five

Riana

It’d been days since I saw him, and I couldn’t get him off my mind.

That night, Cooper had waited for me just inside the front doors, suspecting something was up. He could always read me like a book. And after coming back inside and looking as though I’d seen a ghost, he put two and two together when I told him it was Ryder who I’d been talking to.

While Cooper and I were together, he’d known Ryder had been a past love. He knew how we’d ended. He even knew if Ryder hadn’t left Jersey, we probably would’ve still been together.

It wasn’t hard for Cooper to piece my dazed reaction to the man behind it. Because of that, I kept my dinner date with Ryder to myself. Not that it meant anything. The man was taken and that was that.

Regardless, even if Ryder were single, it didn’t matter that he’d appeared back in my life out of nowhere. I’d made a commitment and come hell or high water I’d be keeping it… no turning back. So I decided to keep any interactions I may have going forward with Ryder a secret from Ricky and Cooper.

I’d also be keeping my surrogacy news a secret from Ryder. Except for a few people, I wouldn’t be sharing that information with anyone until I became pregnant. When that day came, and hopefully it would be soon, I’d then be focusing on staying healthy until the baby arrived.

Of course, that meant I’d be lying to all three men by omission. But the way I saw it, my reason to lie outweighed my need to.

Meanwhile, I had that date with Ryder looming, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop my heart from pounding whenever I thought about it. That proved to be an inconvenient reaction.

It had surprised me that he wanted to meet alone. During the five minutes I had been in Maggie’s company, she had seemed the jealous type. Again, something I couldn’t imagine Ryder being okay with. When I ran into one of Ryder’s friends last year and heard he was engaged, I envisioned someone different… someone more down to earth, warmer, less glam.

Hey, who was I to judge? Love was love.

Now wasn’t the time to worry about Ryder or his beautiful fiancée, wife… whatever she was.

Checking my appearance one last time, I grabbed the key card and left my hotel room to meet Ricky’s cousin Damon. He had arranged for me to see that condo in his building, and I was excited. Although hotel living was a decadence that I’d never experienced before and enjoyed, I looked forward to settling into my new life.

I also couldn’t wait to begin working on the nonprofit division Ricky wanted to add to his company. Last year, Rebecca had taken a step back from their business to raise her kids, and she had offered to help as much as I needed. That was what really excited me. I planned to run things similarly to Angels on Earth and couldn’t wait to develop relationships and help women take control of their lives.

Fifteen minutes later, I completed the short walk to the condo building. During it, I swallowed up the spectacular weather. Being a runner meant harsh winter elements were one thing I wouldn’t miss. Now, I could run along the beach without risking hypothermia.

I saw Damon standing in front. Cooper had shared that Damon’s and Ricky’s moms were twins, which explained why the man looked so much like his cousin. From their sandy blond hair, light-blue eyes, and cocky smirk, they could pass for brothers.

“Hi,” he said as I reached him.

“Thank you so much for helping me.”

He waved a dismissing hand. “No thanks needed.”

I glanced up at the eight stories looming above us. “I like that it’s not one of those,”