No Turning Back (Breaking the Rules #4) - A.M. Madden Page 0,23

it’s only been a week, but how are you liking Florida?”

“So far, I like it. I’m really loving not freezing my butt off during a run.”

Riana had always been so disciplined with her running regimen. While I preferred working out in a gym during the winter months, she’d suit up in her high-tech winter armor and run for miles along the beach. When the weather cooperated, we’d run together, sparking a visual of us doing the same here in Fort Lauderdale.

“I get that. Same happened with me in California. It’s hard to miss the frigid northeast temperatures when you can wander outside in shorts and a T-shirt practically year round.”

We moved on to the new apartment she’d found and when she’d be moving in. “If you need any help unpacking, I’m at your service.”

“Oh, it’s all been handled by”—she halted and twisted her attention to the beach—“um… it’s taken care of. But thank you.”

There it was again, that evasiveness that kept creeping up to the surface. “Okay, offer still stands if anything changes.”

I waited for something, anything, and instead got, “How do you like being in Miami?”

“It took some getting used to. I’m liking it more now. I’d rather be here in Fort Lauderdale.”

Missing my innuendo, she smiled. “That’s great.” Ugh, this woman. There seemed to be two Rianas. The one who kept a force field around her, and the one I knew well, who was buried inside and at times tried to claw her way out.

Once conversation began to lag, I felt the need to put her out of her misery. “Ready to head back?” Again, I had to hope it wasn’t me who’d put her there.

“Yeah.” Her mouth said one thing, but her eyes said something entirely different. The short walk back to the restaurant’s valet was silent. It wasn’t until I handed my ticket to the attendee that she spoke. “I feel like I ruined our evening.”

“You didn’t ruin it. I had a great time.” One sculpted brow rose in doubt. “Honest.”

“Okay… and for the record, I did too. It was great catching up.”

By the time we were heading to the hotel, she seemed to have relaxed a bit. And once I pulled up to the main entrance, she turned in her seat and finally smiled at me.

“I really did have a nice time tonight, Ryder.”

“I did too.” So much to say sat on the tip of my tongue, nailing down another date with her, for one. But I chose not to. Oh, I had no doubt I would be seeing her again, and soon. What I chose to say instead would hopefully stay with her in a more meaningful way than just ironing out plans.

Taking her hand in mine, I kissed the inside of her wrist, something I did often when we were together. I lingered a bit while getting my fill of her smooth warm skin, that vanilla scent she always favored. When I pulled away, I stared into her eyes and held her attention before saying, “For the record, I’m not going away unless you tell me to leave you alone.”

“I don’t want you to go away,” she said so softly I barely heard her. “I just need time.”

“And during that time, we can’t see each other?”

“It’s too hard for me.” As my brows shot up in disbelief, she squeezed my hand. “Not because of you or anything you did. It’s just hard to not want to slip back into who I was when we were together, and I can’t do that right now.”

It felt like she was talking in tongues, and the only glimmer of hope I had that one day she would come back to me was in the way her grip tightened, her eyes pleaded, and her chest rose and fell with each labored breath.

I held on to that and nodded. “Okay. However long whatever you are going through takes, promise me one thing?” Her eyes shimmered with emotion as she nodded. “You give me a chance to argue my case before you make any decisions regarding us.”

“I promise,” she easily said before slipping her hand from mine. There was something else she wanted to say; I could tell. She didn’t and instead offered another perfunctory smile. “Good night, Ryder.” With one last longing glance, she opened her door, slipped out, and hurried into the hotel’s lobby.

I sat staring at her until she disappeared from my view, and then sat hashing and rehashing our entire night. If she hadn’t just promised