Piece by Piece (The Riggins Brothers #2) - Kaylee Ryan Page 0,28

waiting.”

I roll my eyes at her but don’t bother to object. For one, I know Linda, and I know it wouldn’t do me a bit of good. For two, I like the way it sounds, Owen being my man. I also like the way it makes me feel. Just the thought of all the things he said to me yesterday about us being together coming true, warms me from the inside out. I want him. I’m just afraid to take that leap.

“Here you go,” I say, placing our plates on the table. I slide into the booth and grab the bottle of ketchup, squirting some onto the side of the plate of fries. “I hope you like ketchup.” I grin at him, sliding a fry through the condiment and popping into my mouth.

“If I didn’t, I would now,” he says, his eyes heated as he watches me.

“Eat up, Riggins.”

He smiles, shaking his head before repeating my process with a fry.

“Have you thought anymore about my offer?”

“Owen, it’s been hours, and I’m working.”

“Don’t try to make me think that that beautiful mind of yours isn’t spinning over our circumstances.”

“Fine. Yes, I’ve thought about it. That’s all I’ve thought about.”

“Can I help?”

“Tell me this isn’t crazy. We barely know each other, Owen. I can’t just move in with you.”

He nods, wipes his mouth, and takes a drink of his tea before he replies. “It’s crazy,” he agrees. “It’s soon,” he agrees. “However, no one can tell you how you feel, Layla. I know that it’s a very short amount of time, but already you’ve become important to me. I’m a firm believer in when you know, you know. I know that you are the woman for me. Yes, it sounds crazy as fuck, but the feeling here—” He taps his chest, over his heart. “—that feeling is strong, and I know this is the magic.”

“Magic?”

He sighs and leans back in the booth. “This is going to sound even crazier. My dad claims that the love of a good woman is magic. He swears that when he first laid eyes on my mom, he felt what he likes to call the ‘magic.’ That having the right partner changes a person.”

“Do you believe that?” I ask softly.

“See, that’s the thing. I always used to think it was just something Dad spouted off to my brothers and me. That changed recently. First, when Royce met Sawyer. He was married before, and I could feel it in my gut she wasn’t right for him. Hell, we all tried to tell him, but he married her anyway. It ended in disaster, and with my brother's heart broken. It wasn’t until Sawyer came into his life that the pain and betrayal from his marriage left his eyes, and he started to live again. To really live. He stopped working sixteen hours a day, and he was the fun-loving guy we all remember before he married the she-devil.”

“He changed?”

He nods. “For the better. That was the first time I believed in the magic my dad always talks about.”

“And the second?”

“When I met you. I used to be just like Royce, working long hours, throwing all I am at my job. I keep to myself. I’m the quiet Riggins brother.” He smiles. “I’ve never wanted more with a woman, not until you limped into my life.” He winks, and I can’t help but smile. “I think we owe it to ourselves to see where this goes. I know you feel it, Lay. I can see it in your eyes, in the way your breathing changes when I’m close.”

I nod. “What if it doesn’t work out? What happens when I give up my steady job to take yours and follow you to Nashville, and you decide it’s not the magic, and the feeling is just a bad case of indigestion?”

He throws his head back in laughter. It’s a deep rich sound that I could listen to all day. His white teeth shine through his thick beard, and I wish I had a camera, or a cell phone I could use to take a picture of him. I want to remember him this way.

“That’s not going to happen. If it makes you feel better, we can draft a contract that ensures your job security.”

“I might suck at it.”

He nods. “You might at first, but you’re a fighter, Lay. I’ve seen you, and from what you’ve told me, you fought to be where you are today. I want to give you a better