Ryan's Love - C.A. Harms Page 0,41

hair or kissed my cheek. I hate that when things get rough, I can’t feel her arms around me or hear her telling me everything will be okay.” Her body shook as she sobbed. “Why did she have to leave us?”

“I’m so sorry, Liv.” The rawness in her voice was killing me. There was nothing worse than you child hurting and being unable to take that pain away.

Chapter Twenty

Amber

I looked over my shoulder at Jackson. He had led me back to Olivia’s room so I could check up on her and Ryan. As we approached we heard them talking, and we didn’t want to intrude. But her words cut me deep.

She was a young girl that was still grieving the loss of her mother, and I was only causing her more pain by being with Ryan.

I slowly backed away from the room, and Jackson placed his hand on my elbow. “She’s upset, Amber. She’ll be okay.”

I shook my head and looked down at the floor, trying to control my emotions. I knew what I needed to do. For Olivia’s well-being and her relationship with her father, I needed to walk away.

“I’m gonna go. I don’t belong here,” I told him as I pulled my elbow from his grasp.

“Amber, just wait for a few moments. Talk to Ryan.”

I shook my head as I turned and walked away.

I found Bailey by the coffee machine. As she saw me approach, her smile fell from her lips. “What happened?”

Shaking my head again, I walked past her. “Nothing. I just need to leave. I never should have come. It was the wrong choice.”

She jogged after me as I walked out the big glass sliding doors, in search of my car. “Will you please stop and tell me what the hell happened in there?”

My hands were shaking as I rounded the front of my car and fumbled through my purse in search of my keys.

“Amber.” Ryan’s voice rang out through the parking lot, startling me. I dropped my keys to the pavement and quickly knelt to retrieve them.

“Amber, stop,” Ryan called out as he ran toward me, passing Bailey in his rush. The distress in his voice made me pause. I stood up as he skidded to a stop just a few inches from me.

“Where are you going?” He sounded winded.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have come here. I just wanted to know that she was okay.” I stepped back from him, and my back bumped against the car. “I’m just gonna go.”

“Baby, don’t leave. It means a lot that you cared enough to show up here for my little girl.” He placed his hands on my hips and stepped toward me. Immediately I lifted my hand and pressed it firmly against his chest.

“You need to get back inside,” I said as I looked up to see Bailey standing on the other side of the car. “Please, she needs you. We’ll talk later.”

But Ryan was stubborn as always and wouldn’t take no for an answer. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing. I just think you need to get back inside. Olivia needs you and this can wait.” I forced a smile because now was not the time to talk about us. His focus needed to be solely on Olivia. The last thing he deserved was for me to break things off after the scare he just had.

“Don’t do that.”

“Do what?” I asked.

This time Ryan stepped back and dropped hands to his sides. “Don’t pretend that whatever’s on your mind can wait until later.”

“It isn’t the place or the time.”

He stared at me, his jaw ticking. He ran his hand up through his hair before lowering it to scratch at the stubble along his chin.

After a few moments of silence, his stare was making me uncomfortable. “I can’t be that person, Ryan. The one that comes between you and Olivia. I heard her,” I said as his eyes narrowed in question. “I was outside the room with Jackson. I’m sorry for crashing in on a very private moment, but now that I know how she feels, how much she’s hurting, it breaks my heart, and I know I can help. All I have to do is step back.”

“She’s just having a rough time,” he said with panic in his voice.

“I know she is,” I said. “Because of me.”

He bent at the knees, slouching just enough to look me in the eyes. “It is not because of you.”

I shook my head and tried to calm down. My heart was pounding, and I