her out. With a flourish of my hand, I opened the car door and waved her in. “Let our evening begin.”
During our short drive to the seafood restaurant that I had chosen, right on the beach, I managed to have her laughing almost the entire way. I loved that sound. But now that we were at our table, her guard was back up.
“Nice night,” I said after our waiter retreated.
Her gaze swept around the tranquil beachfront setting. “This is lovely, Ryder.”
“I assumed you’re still a pescatarian. I hope you like the food. They rated well.”
“Oh yes… I am, and I’m sure it’ll be delicious. I appreciate that. Thank you.”
I waited until we placed our order, until our water glasses were filled, and until the bread had been placed on the table between us. Only then did I stare directly into her eyes and cut to the chase. “What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing.” Her response was so quick it couldn’t have been thought through.
“Ree. I know something is bothering you.” I took her hand to comfort, but she pulled it away just as quick as her “nothing” had popped out, and I had a feeling that wasn’t as thoughtless of a response.
When I pathetically slid my hand back to my side of the table, an apologetic frown curved her lips. “I’m sorry. Ugh. I’m acting like an idiot.”
“No, I’m sorry for coming on so strong. I guess I just want you to relax, talk to me… like you used to.” I hated the vulnerability that was written on her face, the uncertainty I could see in her eyes.
Our waitress appearing with the bottle of merlot I had ordered halted any further conversation. While she uncorked and poured the rich burgundy liquid, I formulated what I would say to get Riana to relax… and that opportunity came a few minutes later.
Lifting my glass, I said, “To new beginnings.” She raised hers with a small smile and tapped it against mine. “Look, I’m going to cut to the chase. Seeing you last Saturday fucked me up a bit.”
“What? Why?”
“There you were, out of the blue, like a vision. But then to learn you lived here now… it was hard to believe.”
“Ryder, I don’t want to give you the wrong impression. It’s great seeing you, and I also want to catch up, but more than that…” She shook her head while falling silent.
“Why?” I prodded.
“There are many reasons.”
“Before I push you to tell me them, I’m going to give you a few reasons of my own as to why I feel it should be more than that.”
“Okay,” she said, not sounding at all convinced.
“After I got to California, I missed the hell out of you. So much so, I was on the verge of quitting.” I fed off the widening of her eyes. “Yeah. Of course I didn’t tell you that. I knew you’d talk me out of it. Tell me I’d regret it someday.”
“I would’ve been right.” She folded her hands on the table. “Look how great things turned out for you. Your career is on fire. You’re married about to be married, or already are, to a gorgeous wom—”
“Married?” I practically hollered. Lowering my tone, I added, “I’m not married, Ree.”
“Oh, did you guys not set a date yet?”
There was no way she was messing with me. Riana couldn’t pull off a joke without screwing up the punch line. “Who are you talking about?”
“You and Maggie.” Instant laughter. I couldn’t help it… and the longer I laughed the more irritated she became. “What is so funny?”
“I’m not engaged or married or even dating Maggie. Yeah, that night you saw us was our third date, but, Ree, the very next day I parted ways with her. Why would you think we were married?”
“I ran into Wes in Manhattan. He bought me a coffee.” Wes? What the fuck did that asshole do? “You and I had lost touch by then, so I asked about you. He told me you loved California, and that you picked up more clients. Wes didn’t tell you that?”
I scoured my brain but didn’t recall Wes mentioning he’d seen Riana. “No, he didn’t. What else did he say?”
The stainless-steel fork on her placemat began flipping beneath her slim fingers. “He also told me that you were engaged to be married.” That confirmed Riana’s running into Wes was after my surprise visit back to the East Coast… one that Riana never knew happened. She tilted her head in consideration. “That was