Ryan's Love - C.A. Harms Page 0,55

We’ve always been so close—same friends, same interests.” He shrugged. “The guy never knew it but he was always my idol.”

My eyes teared up at Noah’s confession. Ryan had an amazing family. I only wished mine were half as supportive, but most of the time I think they forgot they even had a daughter.

“I was engaged once,” he said.

I tried to appear like that bit of information didn’t catch me off guard, but when he raised his eyebrows and smiled, I knew he’d caught my surprised look. “Yeah, but things didn’t work out. She wanted to leave Livingston. I wanted to stay. In the end love wasn’t enough, and she ended up leaving anyway.”

“I’m sorry.” I had no idea what else to say.

“I’m not.” He shrugged. “It wasn’t meant to be.” He shifted his gaze back toward the lake, and an uncomfortable silence settled between us.

“I was engaged once too,” I blurted out. Once I said it, I just felt like an idiot.

“Yeah, Ryan told me.” I turned toward him, quickly forgetting my embarrassment. “He told me about it during the time you two weren’t together. He isn’t too fond of your ex.” He paused. “Or should I say he wanted to kick his ass for what he put you through?”

The thought of Ryan wanting to defend me made my stomach flutter. What is it about your man being all domineering that tends to make your heart race with excitement?

“Amber, are you out here?” Ryan’s voice rang out from behind us.

I turned to see him approaching, his face bearing an unreadable expression.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Ryan

“Hey, what are you doing all the way out here?” I asked as I stepped behind Amber and Noah.

I found Bailey and Jackson digging through the cooler for two beers. I asked where Amber was, and they both looked at me like I was crazy. When they said she walked off with Noah, my heart sped up. Finding them deep in conversation only made me feel like putting my brother in a headlock and warning him to stay away from my girl.

“We just took a walk,” Amber said as I stepped in front of her.

I placed my hand on her hip and pulled her closer. “Why didn’t you come find me?”

“I did find you. It just looked like you were busy.” I didn’t like how timid she was acting.

“Yeah, brother, you were busy, so I offered to keep her company.” I looked up at Noah and narrowed my stare. “Since you were keeping my date entertained and all.”

I released Amber’s hip and stood taller, glaring at him. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Noah shook his head. “Damn, Ryan, Amber has been here for over an hour already. You were so preoccupied with Zoey you didn’t even see her sitting less than thirty feet away from you.”

My stomach dropped, and I shifted back to face Amber. When she looked away nervously, fidgeting, I placed my palm against her cheek and forced her to look at me. “Zoey is just an old friend.”

“I know. Noah told me.” She forced a smile, and I felt like a complete ass.

Yes, Zoey had been flirting, but I told her about Amber. At first she seemed shocked, then she congratulated me on finding love once again. We then got to talking about Claire and some of the crazy things we all did as kids.

I guess if the roles were reversed, I would have been uncomfortable too.

“Can I get a few minutes alone with my girl, Noah?” I asked as the nervous feeling settled in my stomach. He’d called me out on my shit, I got it, but I didn’t want to fight about what I did wrong. I only wanted to remind Amber of the place she held securely in my heart.

Noah stared at me for a few silent moments before stepping backward and pivoting on his foot, then heading back toward the party.

I watched until I was sure he was out of hearing range, and my heart raced when I turned back to face Amber. I embraced her and pulled her close. “Sorry if I made you feel out of place.”

She shook her head against my chest. “No, it’s fine. It’s fine, really.”

“Let me make this right, okay? Don’t act like it’s nothing.” I swallowed hard and widened my stance, lowering myself to get closer to her. Looking her directly in the eyes, I secured her face in my palms. “Baby, one thing I’ve learned is that you never pretend something